Joint Improvised-Threat Defeat Agency

Joint Improvised-Threat Defeat Agency
JIDA Seal
Agency overview
Formed February 14, 2006
Headquarters The Pentagon
Employees 400 government civilians and military personnel; ~575 contract personnel
Annual budget $450 million for fiscal year 2015
Agency executives
  • Lt. Gen. Michael H. Shields, U.S. Army, Director[1]
  • Maj. Gen. Julie Bentz, Vice Director[1]
Parent agency U.S. Department of Defense
Website https://www.jieddo.mil

The Joint Improvised-Threat Defeat Agency (JIDA, pronounced like "JI-DUH") is a combat support agency operated U.S. military organization of the Department of Defense established on March 11, 2015 to deal with improvised threats such as the improvised explosive device (IEDs). The agency was born from the Joint IED Defeat Organization established in 2006, which focused on IEDs.[2] JIDA's mission is to "enable Department of Defense actions to counter improvised threats with tactical responsiveness and anticipatory acquisition in support of combatant commanders' efforts to prepare for, and adapt to, battlefield surprise." This mission supports counter-terrorism, counter-insurgency and other related mission areas including Counter-IED.[3]

The change from JIEDDO to JIDA occurred when Deputy Defense Secretary Robert Work approved an organizational realignment of JIEDDO from a joint wartime activity to a combat support agency under the authority, direction and control of the Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition, Technology and Logistics.[4]

Organization

Operating under the authority of the USD(AT&L), JIDA's director serves as the principal adviser to the Department on IED matters. JIDA is organized along a coordinating staff structure with divisions aligned under a chief of staff. Additionally, there are deputy directors who help focus mission areas across the joint staff.

Under JIDA, there were three primary lines of operation: attacking the network,[5] defeating the device,[6] and training the force.[7] Congress funds JIEDDO along these lines of operations.

Surveillance

JIDA's "Attack the Network" operation enabled offensive operations against networks of financiers, IED makers, trainers, and supporting infrastructure by providing intelligence, surveillance, reconnaissance, information operations, counter-bomber targeting, biometrics, and weapons technical intelligence.[5]

JIDA's Counter-IED Operations/Intelligence Integration Center (COIC) was established in August 2006 to support the combat commanders with fused analytical products. The COIC was disestablished in 2015, however its functions were aligned under the Deputy Director of Operations. These functions coordinate more than 30 government and intelligence agencies . JIDA was one of the first U.S. government agencies to employ Palantir's data mining technology (as of 2013, it still used Palantir).[8]

Technologies

The Defeat the Device line of operation enhanced freedom of maneuver and safe operations for coalition forces, focusing on providing defensive technologies to detect IEDs, neutralize them before they can be detonated or mitigate the effects of detonation.[6] It's rapid acquisition ability makes the agency unique. JIDA can develop a solution and have it making a positive effect on the battlefield in as little as three to four months—75% faster than the regular acquisition process. It streamlines decisions and resource allocation by consolidating the Department of Defense's three major decision-making processes (acquisition, future requirements, and financial management) under one authority. Flexible funding authorities provided by the U.S. Congress also helps.

JIDA works with private industry and requests for proposals are regularly posted on the JIEDDO BIDS Portal.[9] JIEDDO's counter-IED capability areas include countering threat-networks, detection, neutralizing IEDs, limiting homemade explosives, information integration and fusion to increase situational awareness, weapons technical intelligence, and counter-IED training.

Training

"Train the Force" is JIDA's third line of operation.[7] The Joint Center of Excellence (JCOE), established in April 2006, is JIDA 's lead organization for the train-the-force line of operation and is responsible for developing the training that enables this.[10] Led by JIEDDO's deputy director of training and located at the Army's National Training Center, Fort Irwin, California, JCOE provided support to joint and service institutions and assists with developing counter-IED doctrine and tactics, techniques, and procedures. It has contributed significantly to the institutionalization of combat-proven counter-IED training.

JCOE's four subordinate centers of excellence are located at high-throughput training locations. The Army Center of Excellence, also located at the National Training Center, supports the U.S. Army's fielding of new equipment and the integration of counter-IED training into pre-deployment training.[11] The Marine detachment, located at the Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center Twentynine Palms, California, supports U.S. Marine battalion and regimental combat team pre-deployment training.[12] The U.S. Air Force Center of Excellence at Lackland AFB, Texas, provides joint subject-matter experts in electronic warfare; intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance; and military working dogs. The U.S. Navy Center of Excellence, located at the Naval Surface Warfare Center, Indian Head, Maryland, provides expertise in counter-radio-controlled IED electronic warfare, robotics, homemade explosives (HMEs), and explosive ordnance disposal.[13]

History

JIDA traces its origins to the U.S. Army's Counter-IED Task Force established in 2003 under the leadership of U.S. Army Brigadier General Joseph Votel, to respond to the rapidly escalating IED threat at the outset of the Iraq War in 2003. In mid-2004, then-Deputy Secretary of Defense Paul D. Wolfowitz transformed the Army-led organization into a joint IED task force reporting directly to him. Remaining under the leadership of Brigadier General Votel, the once-small group could now leverage experience and expertise of warfighters across the services, enhance its networks attack focus, increase procurement of device-defeat tools, and build a robust set of IED-specific force training operations. As the IED threat in Iraq continued to escalate, a Deputy's Advisory Working Group convened in December 2005 and recommended the creation of a permanent organization. On February 14, 2006, then-Deputy Secretary of Defense, Gordon England signed Department of Defense Directive 2000.19E, establishing JIEDDO. U.S. Army General Montgomery C. Meigs served as JIEDDO's first director.[14]\

JIEDDO directors

JIDA directors

Seal

JIDA's official emblem pays homage to its history as an Army task force, the counter-lED mission and its unique attributes. [15] EAGLE: The war eagle, adapted from the Department of Defense seal, denotes JIDA as a combat support agency, an enduring capability for the Department as a whole.

PURPLE BORDER: The dark purple suggests total military readiness and joint collaboration with other Federal agencies.

GRAY SHIELD Denotes the pervasiveness of a constantly evolving improvised threat and its unknown future. The terrestrial globe symbolizes the global nature of improvised threats and the need for JIDA to “see and sense” its migration across geographic lines, maintain a forward footprint, the potential for worldwide deployment of U.S. warfighters in support of the Combatant Commanders, and its efforts to develop international partnerships.

CHAIN: Encircling the globe is a chain suggesting the interconnected communities of action necessary to contain the enemy network, defeat improvised threats, and protect U.S. forces.

COLORED BOLTS: The lightning bolts indicate speed and accuracy of the delivery of capabilities to the Services—green for the Army, dark blue for the Navy, ultramarine blue for Air Force and scarlet for the Marine Corps. They represent each branch of service to which counter-IED material and non-material capabilities and training support are provided.

LATIN: The Latin inscription, “APTO AUT MORIOR,” which translates to “I Must Adapt or I Will Die.”

JIDA worked with the Army Institute of the Heraldry to design the official seal for the new defense agency. The final seal was approved July 13, 2015.

References

  1. 1 2 "JIEDDO - Leadership". Jieddo.mil. 2013-02-26. Retrieved 2014-07-14.
  2. ↑ "Department of Defense Directive 2000.19E"
  3. ↑
  4. ↑
  5. 1 2 "JIEDDO - Attack the Network". Jieddo.mil. 2013-02-26. Retrieved 2014-07-14.
  6. 1 2 "JIEDDO - Defeat the Device". Jieddo.mil. 2013-02-26. Retrieved 2014-07-14.
  7. 1 2 "JIEDDO - Train the Force". Jieddo.mil. 2013-02-26. Retrieved 2014-07-14.
  8. ↑ Burns, Matt (January 11, 2015). "Leaked Palantir Doc Reveals Uses, Specific Functions And Key Clients". TechCrunch.
  9. ↑ "JIEDDO BIDS Portal". Bids.acqcenter.com. Retrieved 2014-07-14.
  10. ↑ "Pages - default". Irwin.army.mil. 2010-11-20. Retrieved 2014-07-14.
  11. ↑ "Pages - default". Irwin.army.mil. 2010-11-20. Retrieved 2014-07-14.
  12. ↑ "Twentynine Palms". 29palms.marines.mil. Retrieved 2014-07-14.
  13. ↑ "NAWCTSD: Center of Excellence". Navair.navy.mil. Retrieved 2014-07-14.
  14. ↑
  15. ↑

Further reading

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