The Defense Department has approved a realignment of the Joint Improvised Explosive Device Defeat Organization, or JIEDDO, with the goal of improving oversight and accountability, a Pentagon spokesman announced today.
Deputy Defense Secretary Robert Work approved an organizational realignment of JIEDDO, Army Col. Steve Warren told reporters. The change will see it transition from a jointly manned activity to a combat support agency under the authority, direction and control of the undersecretary of defense for acquisition, technology and logistics, he said.
Transition Preserves Capabilities
Warren said, the “decision preserves the central capabilities [and] strengthens oversight and accountability.” He called the realignment the culmination of a process that began last year when the department determined that it was time for the organization to transition.
JIEDDO was first stood up as an Army task force in 2003 to rapidly counter the threat posed by the growing number of improvised explosive devices in Iraq, which had become the largest cause of casualties among U.S. troops there.
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Story by Nick Simeone, DoD News, Defense Media Activity