Comments
One also needs to look at the CIED projects being funded by DARPA that after three years have not provided a single new tool, product, or process to the troops but sure has lined the pockets of defense contractors such as SAIC. IE even the outsourced projects to universities needs to be brought under control as a few universities have profited greatly but again not a single tool, product, or process has made it from them to the troops.
Currently there must be a total of 16 such projects being funded by DARPA or JIEDDO that really have provided no value add to the Services so if one thinks it is necessary to eliminate JFCOM then one is mandated to look at these projects as well as the savings would go into the 100s of millions of dollars.
While one is looking at cutting the JIEDDO budget---it might be wise to look at the defense contracts signed and supported by the JCOE which is directly responsible to JIEDDO.
Examples;
1. A 2008 no bid contract for AT-Solutions (former EOD types) was first signed by the JCOE Chief who then instructed the local AT-Solution's PM to simply fill in the amount of the contract which he prompty did for a total of 20M-causing the then local AT-Solution's PM to be forced to leave because he had failed to enter the max amount allowable of 24M. He left gladly as he had felt it was an ethnics violation, but not wantly to be black balled in this business so he never reported the violation. This was just the tip of the iceberg in similar contracts issued by the JCOE.
2. JCOE has supported various Combined Training Center's with additional manpower specialists when the CTC's had no money to engage them---they simply would turn to the JCOE and hint at the need-often referred to as the CTC OPM/OOPM program.
3. One should really look at the internal structure of the JCOE and one would discover they really do nothing-was originally designed to provide intelligence reporting on new IED attack methods to the CTC's for inclusion in their bct training scenarios, but they have for the last four years never really produced a single usable report that was not available on other intel databases and web sites---they simply became the "bank" for anyone's whims from the defense contracting world .
4. Then look at the sub creation of each Services' Centers of Excellence under JCOE ie Army COE, AF COE, and even the Navy got into the act---ALL simply replicating each other with no additional value add to the Services all with cross hiring of contractors and then lending them out to various training centers.
JIEDDO can still be lean and mean, but it needs to clean house---if you eliminate JFCOM to save money, then JIEDDO is next as it has basically fullfilled what it was intially designed to do, but now there are multiple defense contracting companies doing multiple different programs all of a CIED nature NOT being controlled by JIEDDO thus there would seem to be no longer any actual need for JIEDDO.