Subscribe
KABUL, Afghanistan –The Pentagon expects to double its spending in an effort to reverse the deadly trend improvised explosive devices have had on military operations in Afghanistan and to get ‘left of the boom,’ Department of Defense officials said Thursday.
Dr. Ashton Carter, the U.S. Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition, Technology and Logistics and U.S. Marine Lt. Gen. John Paxton, the U.S. Joint Staff director of operations, spoke to members of the media at the International Security Assistance Force Headquarters about the Pentagon’s plan to bring needed equipment and experts to counter the roadside bombs which the insurgents are using to attack coalition forces and innocent Afghans.
“We were sent to accelerate, prioritize and catalyze the counter-IED efforts here in Afghanistan because Secretary Gates recognized that this is a different situation,” said Carter. “He wanted us to get as good here as we are in Iraq and get up the learning curve quickly.”
He explained that the IED's being used by the enemy are a challenge because they prevent ISAF forces from moving where they want to and hence hinder their overall effectiveness of the mission.
Enemy IED's also prevent innocent Afghan’s freedom of movement, he said.
With regards to logistics, Carter highlighted the increasing deployments for the service members and intensifying efforts in Afghanistan by added enablers such as intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance.
Carter said there have been many developments put in place to support the surge of service members coming into Afghanistan.
“We have built an air bridge which has made shipping the equipment into the region so much more efficient [in] Afghanistan,” he said.
He noted that about 1,000 specialized technical personnel will be arriving with Counter-IED skills. These intelligence analysts, laboratory technicians and law enforcement specialists with investigative skills and more than 100 robots, along with all kinds of specialized equipment, are expected to be in Afghanistan soon.
According to Carter, NATO members from 12 nations have received the same Counter-IED training as the incoming U.S. Army 101st Airborne Battalion.
While Carter discussed the developments and improvements in Afghanistan, Paxton said there were three pieces to the Counter-IED operation: equipment, training and sustainment.
He said in December a six-man team went around Afghanistan and got the layout of the land. In January, they saw some of the brigades training in the U.S., and consequently, looked at operations here in theater. They said units consistently asked for sensors to see what’s around or in front of them. Now that equipment is coming into Afghanistan to help units fight this threat.
Paxton concluded that he and Carter’s remaining time in Afghanistan will be spent seeing if the equipment has been properly distributed and will be assessing how it’s being used.
| Date Taken: | 07.09.2010 |
| Date Posted: | 07.09.2010 06:41 |
| Story ID: | 52581 |
| Location: | KABUL, AF |
| Web Views: | 461 |
| Downloads: | 169 |
This work, Counter-IED Efforts try to get ‘Left of the Boom’ in Afghanistan, by SrA Tania Reid, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
