First of its Kind: JIEDDO Battle Course
This six mile high intensity training course will better prepare the service men and women to deal with this number one threat of improvised explosive devices (IED’s) similar to those faced overseas. It trains the Marines what to look for and what to do once they find such a device.
The training course also helps the Marines deal with other situations from a variety of landscapes; urban, rural, mixed and village. There is even a pedestrian bridge that was built out of shipping containers and role players dressed up as enemy bombers situated on it, which gives this course an extra element of surprise. Instructors train the Marines to locate, identify and react to these roadside bombs and bombers to provide an actual feel that a unit will encounter under deployment.
Established by the Department of Defense in 2006 the Joint IED Defeat Organization (JIEDDO) is the Pentagon’s lead agencyfor all efforts to combat improvised explosive devices in support of the Army, Navy, Air Force, and Marine Corps and Soltek has led the way in this effort.
Soltek team members on this project included John Thur, Project Manager; Kelvin Herman, Superintendent/CQC Manager; Jason Lithopoulos, Project Engineer; Joseph Stoddard, Foreman; and Elizabeth Noriega, Administrative Assistant.
Click on the link to the top right (Article) on this page to see a news clip of this battle course in action.