The Defense Department has started to weigh its options on the future of the Joint Improvised Explosive Device Defeat Organization, Defense News reported Monday.Marcus Weisgerber and Joe Gould write the move comes as latest version of the defense authorization bill unveiled last month requires the Pentagon to present an outlook for JIEDDO.
The article says defense officials expect the body to be restructured as a smaller unit within the office of the secretary instead of being shuttered or divided among branches of the armed forces.
Weisgerber and Gould report DoD narrowed down its options based on the need for counter-IED missions as well as anticipated budget cuts within a ten-year period.
“We have to realize that the IED is part of our operational environment now,†retired Army Command Sgt. Maj. Todd Burnett, a former adviser to JIEDDO, told Defense News.
JIEDDO started in 2006 with a goal to address global threats and prevent the proliferation of IEDs.
A May report by the Center for Naval Analyses suggests IED will remain a problem for the forseeable future, according to Defense News.
