The war against IED's.

• Author: Mills, Tom
• Position: - Letter to the editor

I read "Defense Stifles Innovation Despite Urgent War Needs" (July 2006) with a great deal of interest, especially as it references the IED situation. Mark Johnson points out that no major contractor has set up a separate entity to do the things the military needs in terms of new equipment. Making a humvee into a 7-ton armored vehicle may be one solution, but that is 'safety from' rather than 'prevention of' the threat. I agree that many companies are geared up to chase only big-ticket items, and their overhead may even mandate it. IED training devices, to use one example, are not high ticket. But for us, it is an important solution that we take personally and it is also good business and opportunity.

Our success is largely based on the growing recognition of and demand for training more of our military on IED defeat tactics as they apply to the 'grunt' level. While companies are developing jamming and other technologies, the 'bad guys' are just as quickly adapting and adjusting as well. Bottom line is that the people who deal with the IED problem are the 'boots on the ground'.

So, I just want you to know that there are companies out there that do concentrate on the 'small ticket solutions'.

Tom Mills

AMTI

Virginia Beach, VA

In reference to your article "Air-Ground Coordination in the Battlefield Found Lacking" (June 2006), the real problem is not simply a lack of trained ground-tactical air controllers.

Furthermore, since the departure of U.S. forces from Vietnam, a proven, effective, survivable "covert airborne surveillance platform" was shelved by the Defense Department in the reactionary assumption that a forward air-controller aircraft could not survive in the only...