Rapid acquisition, training team help secure Iraqi elections Published Feb. 23, 2009 By Chuck Paone 66th Air Base Wing Public Affairs HANSCOM AIR FORCE BASE, Mass. -- An Electronic Systems Center rapid acquisition project helped ensure recent Iraqi elections were conducted peaceably. ESC provided 600 all-weather, fully stabilized metal detectors that were used at polling venues across the nation. The center also provided three members of a four-person team that spent 60 days in Iraq training the U.S. military units that would deploy and operate the units. The units cost about $3,000 a piece, said Ed Mason, chief of the Irregular Warfare/IED Defeat Office at ESC, which serves as the Air Force lead. Total cost of the effort, which included buying a complement of key spare parts, was about $2 million. The team completed the acquisition in less than 90 days. With suicide bombings having become the tactic of choice among insurgents, the Person-borne (PB) IED threat had become a significant general concern and a specific worry for the Jan. 30 elections. The Defense Department's Joint Improvised Explosive Device Defeat Office, better known as JIEDDO, knew ESC was examining potential PBIED solutions, according to Mr. Mason. "JIEDDO first asked us about getting one or more of the options we were examining this fall into theater, but they all needed additional upgrades and would take too long to field," he said. "We needed something relatively inexpensive that we could get into Iraq quickly. Eventually we all agreed on metal detectors." The metal detectors the program office personnel worked to procure are not distinctly different from those found at airports and other critical entry points all over the globe. However, some customized configuration was required. "We added very long Ethernet cables so U.S. Army personnel monitoring the detector displays could do it from 100 meters away, and often behind shelter," said Steve Sherman, a key member of the team. The units also had to be built for outdoor use, which included stabilization to prevent failure during periods of strong winds. And since, in some instances, power supply might not be available, they had to be able to run for eight to 10 hours on battery power. Once the specifications were agreed upon and the acquisition under way, JIEDDO asked ESC to deploy a team that could train the trainers, the people in the U.S. military units who would in turn teach the actual operators. Mr. Sherman, Maj. Dave Skiba and Staff Sgt. Matt Smith from the program office at ESC joined JIEDDO contractor Jerry Morgan for the deployment that commenced just after Thanksgiving and wrapped up in early February. The team dispersed throughout the country, traveling to major bases and numerous, smaller forward operating bases. "We always flew, sometimes on Air Force fixed wing aircraft, but more often on Army and Marine rotary wing craft," Mr. Sherman said. "Most of the time we had to coordinate travel as we went along, and we didn't always get priority on the flights, but eventually we got everywhere we needed to go. Staying flexible was the most important thing." Traveling separately, the four personnel covered nearly 30 locations, from which the 600 units would be dispersed. They covered the basics of set-up, operation and what to do in the event of a problem. The team also wound up handling the property accountability requirements, making sure that everything had been assigned to the right units and properly recorded on property books. "That was one more pretty important job that wasn't part of the original plan for these guys, but they did a great job, as a single mission turned into many missions," Mr. Mason said. With the elections over, the equipment remains in the hands of the U.S. military units and can now be re-deployed for use at key entry control points as needed, Mr. Sherman said. "At first there was some question about whether we should just turn the equipment over to the Iraqis, but doing it this way allows us to keep using the units to protect U.S. forces," he said.