Arlington VA: The latest, most realistic training to combat improvised explosive devices (IEDs) begins early for deploying Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen and Marines supported by the Joint IED Defeat Organization (JIEDDO) and its Home Station Training Lane (HSTL) initiative.
As the permanent location for active duty, reserve and National Guard units, home stations prepare warfighters for larger exercises at major Combat Training Centers (CTCs) prior to deployment.
“As I continue to travel to the different lanes throughout the services, I see progress happening that in the end will keep warfighters bettered prepared for the fight,” said Command Sgt. Maj. Todd Burnett, senior enlisted advisor to the director of JIEDDO.
“In some cases, units may not receive a CTC rotation, so the effort that goes into the lanes ensures everyone has some counter-IED training prior to deployment and some understanding of what they may encounter.”
Recognizing that many units did not undergo counter-IED training at the beginning of their deployment cycle, JIEDDO’s HSTL initiative created or improved IED-specific training facilities, aides, tactics and documentation for over 50 Army, Navy, Air Force and Marine Corps home stations in just 16 months.
“Home station training better prepares units for their CTC rotations and means less time travelling to other bases for better training,” said Bron Dianich, JIEDDO’s home station training manager. “In this high operational-tempo environment, that means more time for these men and women to be around their families.”
The HSTL initiative encompasses JIEDDO’s support for over 150 service-specific training programs, such as the funding and procurement of surrogate Mine-Resistant, Ambush-Protected (MRAP) vehicles. Surrogates provide warfighters with the operational look and feel of an MRAP at their home station, while actual, full-armored MRAPs are fielded to Iraq and Afghanistan.
Training versions of JIEDDO-fielded counter-IED equipment, such as vehicle-based mine-roller kits and man-portable radio-frequency jammers, are also provided to home stations.
“JIEDDO’s focus with HSTL is primarily as a training enabler,” said Patrick Beatty, JIEDDO’s training branch chief. “We help develop technologies that defeat the device and provide essential training to the end user on how to best learn and apply those technologies.”
The installations supported by HSTL include – but are not limited to – the U.S. Army’s Ft. Hood and Ft. Bragg; the U.S. Navy’s Point Mugu and China Lake facilities; the U.S. Air Force’s Lackland and McGuire bases; and the U.S. Marine Corps’ Camp Lejeune and Camp Pendleton.
“Everyone knows about Ft. Hood and Ft. Bragg and the larger installations we support,” continued Dianich. “The real success story for HSTL is bringing the smaller bases up to speed with counter-IED training – places like Ft. Pickett, Camp Atterbury, Ft. Dix and the National Guard’s Gowen Field. We did good work brining Hood and Bragg from 90mph to 100mph, but for Gowen Field, we brought them from 0mph to 60mph – and that’s great.”
Representatives from JIEDDO’s training arm will be on hand at the 131st General Conference of the National Guard Association of the United States in Nashville, TN from Sept. 11th to the 13th to provide guidance to unit representatives in attendance and answer home station training questions.
The first phase of the HSTL initiative began in the fall of 2007, with a focus on support for the Iraq IED threat. The second phase of the initiative, which took effect in 2008, expands the funding and scope of the initiative to additional bases. The modular nature of the initiative also allowed the second phase to address the current IED threat in Afghanistan.
“The most current and relevant information in enhancing these lanes comes from the returning units,” said Burnett. “They assist the lane facilitators with the latest trends coming out of both Afghanistan and Iraq.”
JIEDDO’s support of the HSTL initiative will continue until FY10.
“JIEDDO initiated this effort to cover an identified training gap,” said Beatty. “The HSTL initiative will transfer to the Services in FY10.”
