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A Riverine Assault Boat from Detachment-1, Riverine Squadron-3, speeds toward civilian contractors with Joint CREW [Counter Radio-controlled IED Electronic Warfare] Composite Squadron-1, out of Baghdad, to test the effectiveness of the boat's anti-IED CREW system under realistic operational conditions, near Contingency Operating Base Basrah, Dec. 14. Photo courtesy of Multi-National Division – South. BASRAH — The Sailors of Riverine Squadron-3 are an integral part of the defense of Contingency Operating Base Basrah, patrolling the waterways to deter attacks against the base. Yet, while they are watching the backs of everyone here, there are plenty of threats to their own safety...

PAKTIA PROVINCE, Afghanistan, Dec. 9, 2009 – A new program backed by Afghan national security forces and Combined Joint Task Force 82 empowers Afghan citizens to take a stand against improvised explosive devices. Afghan National Army Maj. Gen. Abdul Khaliq, left, speaks about a program that rewards civilians for providing information about enemy activities during a news conference at Forward Operating Base Thunder in Afghanistan’s Paktia province, Dec. 7, 2009. U.S. Air Force photo by Tech. Sgt. Jennifer Lindsey  (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. “Operation Jaeza,” or “reward,” protects Afghans from enemy actions targeting innocent people, said Maj. Gen....

WASHINGTON, Nov. 19, 2007 – If Congress does not come through with a supplemental bill President Bush will sign, money for defeating the largest killers of American personnel in the war on terror will run out Dec. 1, a senior official said here today. Retired Army Gen. Montgomery C. Meigs, director of the Joint Improvised Explosive Device Defeat Organization, told Pentagon reporters that the organization will have to stop funding new initiatives and just maintain operations. “We’re out of (funding) new stuff now; we’re going to have trouble sustaining current contracts after the first of December,” Meigs said. The...

WASHINGTON, Sept. 7, 2006 – DoD is spending almost $3.5 billion this year to defeat improvised explosive devices, and the effort’s leader today said he expects the same level of funding in fiscal 2007. Retired Army Gen. Montgomery C. Meigs said the Joint IED Defeat Organization is using an all-encompassing approach to counter the threat of IEDs, terrorists’ main weapon in attacks against coalition forces and civilians in Iraq and Afghanistan. In Iraq alone, IEDs have killed almost 1,000 servicemembers. There is no “silver bullet” solution to the leading cause of death for coalition troops, Meigs told media during a...