General: K-9 teams find IEDs better than $10 billion tech gear - Washington Times: "The Army general in charge of defeating roadside bombs in Iraq and Afghanistan says the most effective tool is "two men and a dog," even though the military has spent nearly $10 billion on new detection and clearing technologies.
Lt. Gen. Michael L. Oates said his task force is surging anti-bomb resources — human and technological — into Afghanistan to support the expanded U.S.-led coalition troop presence there. But he acknowledged that he has more work to do to find ways to measure how effective their efforts are.
Gen. Oates' task force, Joint Improvised Explosive Device Defeat Organization (JIEDDO), was established five years ago and has spent $16.6 billion — about $9.4 billion of it on technology to detect and neutralize homemade bombs that can be built and hidden in a variety of ways.
Gen. Oates said technology, like the electronic frequency jammers used in Iraq to prevent bombs from being detonated by cell phones or TV remotes, has been successful, but the highest detection rates were still achieved using K-9 units and trained handlers.
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