WASHINGTON (May 15, 2014) – Warfighters have a robust resource to help train for operating in environments plagued by improvised explosive devices.
The Joint IED Defeat Organization, known as JIEDDO, Knowledge and Information Fusion Exchange, known as JKnIFE, provides training resources to prepare joint forces to successfully attack the improvised explosive device, or IED, network and future operating environments.
“The goal of the leadership at JIEDDO is to deliver training that meets the learning objectives identified by U.S. Central Command and the JIEDDO Joint Center of Excellence,” said Sgt. Maj. James Carabello, JIEDDO senior enlisted adviser. “Central to this is the ability for U.S. forces to recognize an emplaced IED under a variety of complex attack scenarios in the contemporary operating environment.”
The JKnIFE portal, https://jknife.jieddo.mil, consolidates current, relevant counter-IED data from numerous sources into a central web portal easily accessible by warfighters with a common access card.
“The site’s target audience includes junior enlisted and junior officers,” said Carabello.
“One of the challenges of pre-deployment is letting troops know what training is needed beforehand,” said Shelvy Convert, a JIEDDO training advisor. “The portal tackles this issue by providing an easy to follow ‘road-to-war’ training plan that references instructions and doctrine to tell warfighters when they need training and also why they need it.”
The principle focus of JKnIFE is counter-IED training.
“Enhancements made recently provide an improved warfighter resource, making information easier to gather and navigate from a more counter-IED focused data repository than its previous iteration,” Convert said.
The site uses a first-contact approach to counter-IED training, which focuses on understanding how terrain is used as a weapon, atmospherics, how to think like an insurgent so warfighters can make predictions and be proactive rather than reactive, said Carabello.
The portal also provides awareness on theater operations via IED-event storyboards, after-action reports, tactics, techniques, procedures and lessons learned. The portal is meant to be a definitive counter-IED resource for warfighters heading downrange to better prepare them for operations in an IED environment.
“Recent technical improvements to the site provide faster accessibility and download speeds, making information easier to retrieve,” said Convert, “other improvements in site navigation and organization into a portal platform were a direct response to warfighter feedback.”
Features of the site help link users to the location of counter-IED training equipment throughout the continental United States. Through this module, warfighters can locate, connect and train with the necessary equipment during pre-deployment ramp-up. The availability of this equipment along with other documents found on the portal are maintained and updated by a team of professional content managers, Convert said.