Training Provided by C-IED Fusion Center Counters Global IED Threat

While the casualties inflicted by IEDs in Iraq and Afghanistan have understandably garnered the most public attention due to their volume and severity, other global regions—particularly in the PACOM AOR—are also waging an ongoing war against these deadly devices. One organization devoted to countering that threat is the Asia Pacific C-IED Fusion Center, which trains soldiers, sailors, airmen and marines deploying to all theaters of operation. According to COL Marty L. Muchow, Director of the Center, its objective is to provide Commanders of deploying forces the most effective CIED training possible, given a thorough understanding of the unit’s mission, place, and time of mission accomplishment. [eventPDF] While there are variances in causation, said COL Muchow—IED threats in the Asia-Pacific region are attributed to radical religious extremists, religious and ethnic separatist groups, Communist and other political movements, and criminal activities—the end result of IEDs is the same. Statistics show that India has the most IED events in the region, followed by the Philippines and Thailand, he said. "A lot of people think of the IED threat will think only of CENTCOM," said COL Wells. "But the fact is that PACOM has the second greatest IED threat." The Center has two main goals, said COL Muchow. The first, he said, is to train all U.S. personnel deploying in PACOM’s AOR or outside of PACOM’s AOR to another contingency operation. "Our primary mission is to protect our warfighters who are in harm’s way," said COL Muchow. That training, he said, ranges from individual instruction to force on force training. "Our goal is when they hit the battlefield, they’ll be ready," he said. The second mission in PACOM "is to provide additional CIED capabilities to our member nations," said COL Muchow. Currently, he said, The Fusion Center provides direct training to the armed forces of 11 partner nations—a number that he indicated will likely grow over time. "As our resources and capabilities expand our partner nation capabilities will increase as well," he said. The primary way the number of partner nation allies grow is through Security Cooperation programs, which seek to build relationships with allied nations. The Security Cooperation programs are through PACOM and U.S. Army, Pacific (USARPAC), which commands most Army forces in the Asia-Pacific region, with the exception of Korea. The Commanders of PACOM and USARPAC detail engagement strategies as part of five year plans which outline goals and objectives the region. "This provides us with a primary roadmap as to who to target," said COL Muchow. Relationships with partnering nations for the Fusion Center are also forged through requests from nations which are seeing a developing or growing IED threat. In those cases, he said, if the resources are available the Fusion Center will send mobile training teams in order to assist the armed forces in those nations with combatting the threat. What is most recently troubling, he said, is an increase in activity between the Pacific region and the Afghanistan and Iraq region. "Our primary concern is some of the migration of threat into our AOR," he said. "They’re more effective, and more lethal," he said. "That’s probably the main effect we’re trying to counter right now." The Center combines training on existing and emerging technology with instruction on environment and situational awareness. Technology to combat IEDs is rapidly developing and improving, said COL Muchow, with advances being seen in mine detectors to remote robotics, due largely to funding generated by the Joint Defeat IED Organization (JIEDDO). Warfighters who are more familiar with the relevant technology are naturally better equipped to use it properly, he said. "Almost every platoon is now able to utilize this technology to check out a threat before they put boots on the ground," he said. "We’re really focused on identifying what tools we have at our disposal, and how to properly use them. That’s one of the biggest thing s we do." Training for increased IED awareness is the counterpart to technical training, said COL Muchow. "The primary focus is on what the key signs are," he said. "Every device is placed by a person—there will always be a tell-tale sign of something specific to the bomb builder or placer, so we try and give the latest possible updates on these signs." Training on these Tactics, Techniques, and Procedures (TTPs) is invaluable, he said, noting that regardless of increased technology, "80 percent of IEDs are still detected by boots on the ground." The key to successful training in this area, he said, is in its specificity and timeliness. "We focus our training on specific areas—specific provinces or cities," he said. "And we’ll provide briefings literally right before they get on the plane. There are a lot of nuanced reports coming from in theater, and we replicate that as closely as possible." Colonel Marty L. Muchow, Director of the CenterAsia Pacific C?IED Fusion Center, will be speaking at IDGA’s 6th Annual Counter IED Summit, to be held from Jan. 23-25, 2012 in Alexandria Virginia. For more information, visit www.counteriedsummit.com, or call 1-800-882-8684.

Training Provided by C-IED Fusion Center Counters Global IED Threat

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