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2nd IBCT, 2nd ID, qualifies JFOs.

Article Excerpt
The 2nd Infantry Brigade Combat Team (IBCT), 2nd Infantry Division (2nd ID), Fort Carson, Colorado, took advantage of the new Joint Fires Observer (JFO) Course at Fort Sill, Oklahoma, and other training and evaluation to qualify one company forward observer in each of the brigade's eleven maneuver companies and one in each of the brigade's four combat observation lasing teams (COLTs) for a total of 15 qualified JFOs in the brigade.

After our first JFO candidate graduated from the Fort Sill course in February, we reviewed his packet, which revealed there were additional requirements for him to become a qualified JFO. A JFO Course graduate is defined as a certified JFO, but not qualified. The entire process is defined in a memorandum of agreement (MOA) among the Army, Air Force and Special Operations Command.

The MOA defines a certified JFO as one "who satisfactorily completes the appropriate service academic and practical training requirements of a core JFO training curriculum and completes a comprehensive evaluation." The Fort Sill JFO Course satisfies the first requirement.

JFO Requirements to Be Qualified.

The process for a certified JFO to become a qualified JFO requires a considerable amount of home-station training concurrently with an Air Force joint terminal attack controller (JTAC). A qualified JFO is "a certified JFO who has maintained currency by achieving the established minimum recurring training and evaluation requirements."

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