U.S. Army Recognizes Itself

The U.S. Army recognized the top inventions of 2006. And they are all Army programs. Created by the Army. For the Army.

Blow Torch Counter Improvised Explosive Device System, U.S. Army Research Laboratory, Aberdeen Proving Ground, Md. This vehicle-mounted system detonates IEDs at safe stand-off distances, minimizing vehicle damage and Soldier injuries.

"It's fairly easy to operate, and it gives a sense of security to the Soldiers when they're on convoy duty," said Maj. Brian Hackenberg, who helped develop the system.

Integrated Robotic Explosive Detection System, U.S. Army Aviation and Missile Research, Development and Engineering Center, Redstone Arsenal, Ala. Capable of crossing rugged terrain, this remotely operated system incorporates an explosive trace detector onto a robotic platform.

Plastic Shaped Charge Assembly for Remote Destruction of Buried IEDs, U.S. Army Armament Research, Development and Engineering Center, Picatinny Arsenal, N.J. Remotely emplaced, the PSCA destroys known or suspected unexploded ordnance with higher accuracy than similar devices currently in use. Its low-fragmentation plastic housing eliminates collateral damage.

Humvee Crew Extraction D-ring, U.S. Army Aviation and Missile Research, Development and Engineering Center, Redstone Arsenal, Ala. Combat locks on the up-armored Humvee provide security for Soldiers but often get so damaged the doors can't be opened. The D-ring provides solid anchor points for the hooks of a tow strap, chain or cable to pull open damaged doors.

"There was an issue of Soldiers getting trapped inside Humvees that had been damaged for whatever reason ... enemy fire or being flipped. Soldiers had problems getting the doors off these up-armored Humvees so we took their advice and created the D-ring," said Wesley D. Patterson, who is part of a Fast Assistance in Sciences Team that deploys to help Soldiers solve problems that can be resolved within six months.

M1114 Humvee Interim Fragment Kit 5, U.S. Army Research Laboratory, Aberdeen Proving Ground, Md. This kit was fielded as a ballistic improvement for the M1114 Humvee in April 2006. A prototype door solution with fabrication and mounting instructions was provided within one week with automotive testing and safety certification.

Remote Urban Monitoring System, U.S. Army Communications-Electronics Research, Development and Engineering Center, Fort Belvoir, Va. RUMS hardware combines emerging technologies in Wireless Local Area Network technology, night-vision cameras and unattended ground sensors to eliminate false alarms. Tripped sensors transmit an alarm signal to the camera module and operator after video and audio from multiple camera modules confirm the unattended ground sensor's alarm signal.

Constant Hawk, U.S. Army Research Laboratory, Aberdeen Proving Ground, Md. Constant Hawk is a surveillance capability that uses an electro-optic payload to collect intelligence and identify areas that require increased surveillance by other assets.

OmniSense Unattended Ground Sensor System, U.S. Army Research Laboratory, Aberdeen Proving Ground, Md. OmniSense is an unattended ground sensor system used to detect and classify personnel and vehicles in perimeter defense.

EM113A2 Rapid Entry Vehicle, U.S. Army Armament Research, Development and Engineering Center, Picatinny, N.J. The REV provides rapid entry, non-lethal crowd control and rescue-squad insertion capabilities into areas requiring non-lethal intervention. The vehicle increases Soldier survivability through improved situational awareness and the ability to move and fire from within an armored vehicle.

BuckEye System, U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center, Vicksburg, Miss. BuckEye uses a digital camera to produce geospatial information for intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance. It also produces high-resolution 3D urban mapping.

-Bill

A Dot Calm Era?

Looks like online retail shopping has slowed according this piece in the New York Times. Have we entered an age where pointing and clicking has become so stressful we put the mouse down?

-Bill

Why Estonia Matters

CSIS released this study on the recent cyber-attacks in Estonia. According the authors, Estonia doesn't matter much. Well, maybe just in terms of not being a victim of an electronic attack from an enemy combatant. The effects of virtual attacks such as spam or hacking are at minimum annoying and at most enough cause to raise the threat level color.

On a state level, these types of virtual disruptions are certainly worth keeping track.

-Ace

Add Another Continent to the Network

Tom Barnett has yet another excellent piece in the latest Esquire, this time an article on the new bases planned for the African continent. Read the entire article here.

"The Horn of Africa was supposed to be Washington's bureaucratic mea culpa for the Green Zone, a proving ground for the next generation of interagency cooperation that fuels America's eventual victory in what Abizaid once dubbed the "long war" against radical Islam. But as its first great test in Somalia demonstrated, the three D's are still a long way from being synchronized, and as the Pentagon sets up its new Africa Command in the summer of 2008, the time for sloppy off-Broadway tryouts is running out. Eventually, Al Qaeda's penetration of Muslim Africa will happen -- witness the stunning recent appearance of suicide bombers in Casablanca -- and either the three D's will answer this challenge, or this road show will close faster than you can say "Black Hawk down."'

-Bill

Goure's Got it Right

Good article from Defense News (subscription access):

Pentagon Hones Its Procurement Strategy

"Call it net-centricity with a purpose. As the Pentagon and U.S. military services build their networks of networks, they are looking especially for gear that can filter the rivers of sensor data, then share the gleanings easily among the services.

“We are no longer investing in networking simply for the sake of increasing communication and dumping information. We are now investing into networks for a purpose, networks driven by strategy,” said Daniel Gouré, vice president of the Lexington Institute.

And neither is the military interested in raw information; there’s too much of it already, thanks largely to the enormous amount of electronic intelligence-gathering systems. Instead, troops and their leaders need tactically or strategically relevant information, Gouré said.

“The interesting question is an operational one. What is your conception of what net-centric is about? It is not simply about sharing information,” Gouré said. "

-Ace

Two from BBC

Check out Tom Barnett's posting on censorship on the Net as well as our posting from May 21. BBC is sure keeping track of the censorship issues.

-Ace

The Net and Your Future Employment

The Internet has certainly helped the job hunting process with sites devoted to job openings, resume tips and what clothes to wear to an interview.

Harvard Business Review wants to know what happens when a job candidate is Googled and the search results find some interesting information.

Read the case study here and feel free to send in your thoughts.

-Mike