National Defense back issues from May 2007:
Logistics requires teamwork, solid leadership.(PRESIDENT'S PERSPECTIVE)
May 01, 2007; ... THE BUSINESS OF SUPPLYING AND sustaining a military force in combat often is overlooked and underappreciated. Currently, it is a $130 billion a year enterprise that employs 1.1 million people and has a network of more than 100,000 suppliers. The good news for U.S. forces now ...
In defense of aircraft carriers.(LETTERS)(Letter to the editor)
May 01, 2007; ... I read your article, "A Navy With Fewer Aircraft Carriers No Longer Unthinkable," (March 2007, page 14). For some strange reason, to me, a Navy with fewer aircraft carriers is unthinkable. Fighting wars at sea is not only about sinking mega-warships, it is about controlling what goes on, ...
More on navy carriers.(Letter to the editor)
May 01, 2007; ... In reference to your article, "A Navy With Fewer Aircraft Carriers No Longer Unthinkable," (March 2007, page 14), I found it amusing and lacking a lot of information. Your sources provided unrealistic costs and insight. Two things jump out. In Operation Iraqi Freedom, remember, we could ...
Tunnel warfare.(Letter to the editor)
May 01, 2007; ... I was recently alerted to your article, "Daunting Challenges Face Those Waging Sub-terranean Warfare." (February 2007, page 20) I was very surprised that you had no reference whatsoever to the Underground Facilities Analysis Center. The UFAC has been in existence for 10 years ....
Vehicle misidentified.(LETTERS)(Letter to the editor)
May 01, 2007; ... The featured picture in your article titled "Military Services in the Market for 4,000 Blast-Proof Vehicles," (February 2007, pages 24-25), is listed in the caption as a Cougar mine-protected vehicle. This is an error as the vehicle ...
Better business.(Letter to the editor)
May 01, 2007; ... In reference to the March 2007 story, "Army Not Always Amenable to the Ways of Corporate America," on page 22, I believe that my views on the transformation of the Army's industrial base were not fully reflected. I believe that the application of Lean and Six Sigma techniques at the Army's ...
Comrades in arms with penchant for bitter rivalries.(DEFENSE WATCH)
May 01, 2007; ... In his latest, and downright grim, communique about the situation in Iraq, retired four-star general and West Point professor Barry McCaffrey marvels at: the miracle of joint-service combat power. The report, which concludes that U.S. forces in Iraq are "in a position of ...
SecDef laments paucity of reconstruction talent.(Robert Gates, defense secretary)(Brief article)
May 01, 2007 ... A dramatic downsizing of the U.S. Agency for International Development during the past decade is now resulting in undue burdens for the Defense Department, said Pentagon chief Robert Gates. Humanitarian and reconstruction duties in Iraq and Afghanistan are having to be carried our by ...
Lawmakers wonder why services can't cooperate.(Washington PULSE)
May 01, 2007 ... The Air Force continues to face congressional scrutiny over its decision to abandon a multibillion-dollar project to build an unmanned stealth bomber for the Air Force and the Navy. "Why have we walked away from this program?" asked Rep. Joe Sestak, D-Pa., a retired Navy vice ...
Air force tanker: a competition, but not really.(Washington PULSE)
May 01, 2007 ... Politics is a huge piece of an upcoming competition between Boeing and the European conglomerate Airbus to build possibly hundreds of aerial refueling tankers for the U.S. Air Force. Many industry insiders agree that it is unlikely that Airbus will win the contract, and that the tanker ...
$160b army effort so far an 'interesting experiment'.(Washington PULSE)
May 01, 2007 ... Army leaders for months have been engaged in a public relations campaign behalf of the embattled Future Combat Systems--a $160 billion modernization program. While the Army continues to publicize FCS "success stories," the Defense Department's acquisition chief, Kenneth Krieg, sees the ...
Virulent outlook: expert slams federal government pandemic plans.(SECURITY BEAT: Homeland Defense Briefs)
May 01, 2007; ... The Bush administration's plan for treating and stemming a pandemic outbreak in the United States will not work, said Barbara Billauer, a professor at the University of Maryland School of Law and a public health expert. To prevent the spread of a pandemic disease, the government ...
Alienation, frustration contribute to the making of a terrorist.(SECURITY BEAT: Homeland Defense Briefs)
May 01, 2007; ... Potential terrorists often become suicide bombers when they already feel dead, according to terrorism psychologist Anne Speckhard. In areas of conflict, such as Iraq and Afghanistan, the population undergoes daily trauma and becomes frustrated with violence. "When ...
Governors want guard voice at the Pentagon.(SECURITY BEAT: Homeland Defense Briefs)
May 01, 2007; ... HEAVY NATIONAL GUARD deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan are taking a toll on state disaster preparedness. The nation's governors are responding by seeking a presence at the Pentagon to protect their turf. "Governors are the commanders-in-chief of their state Guard and are ...
U.S. food supply chain among nation's many vulnerabilities.(SECURITY BEAT: Homeland Defense Briefs)
May 01, 2007; ... AMONG THE DOZENS of potential targets terrorists can attack in the U.S. homeland is the nation's food supply chain. The demand for fresh produce, the quick and efficient distribution networks and the short shelf lives of products "makes it a very good delivery system for ...
Scientists bemoan loss of exploration vessel.(INSIDE Science AND Technology)
May 01, 2007; ... It has been around for nearly four decades, but it may be one of the Navy's best kept secrets: a small nuclear-powered submarine that has been plying the world's oceans on scientific missions. One of its latest expeditions was in the Gulf of Mexico, where it helped a group of ...
Fuel crunch: Air Force energy-saving plans face technical, financial hurdles.(UPFRONT)
May 01, 2007; ... The Air Force is proposing new measures to cut aviation fuel consumption by 10 percent within the next six years. Among the initiatives is to substitute up to 50 percent of the fleet's conventional fuel with synthetic alternatives by 2016, officials said. The plan, which would ...
Tracking military supplies no longer requires RFID.(UPFRONT)
May 01, 2007; ... The Defense Department has relaxed an earlier mandate that all vendors that deliver food, equipment and other provisions to the U.S. military affix radio-frequency identification tags on their products. Radio-frequency identification, or RFID, tags and handheld readers are used ...
Air Force gunships could be grounded.(UPFRONT)
May 01, 2007; ... For four decades, the AC-130 gunship has rained down destruction on enemies from the Ho Chi Min Trail in Vietnam to the mountains of Afghanistan. The storied gunships, however, may be grounded within the next two years. The problem is stress on the 17 U-models' ...
Erratum.(Correction notice)
May 01, 2007 ... In the April 2007 story, page 45, "Navy Steaming Ahead With Shipbuilding Plans, ...
Trouble shooter: Cohen puts imprint on beleaguered Homeland Security technology arm.(Jay Cohen)(Interview)
May 01, 2007; ... A terrorist has a smorgasbord of potential ways to launch an attack--chemical, nuclear, biological or conventional explosives--along with a plethora of potential soft targets including ports, public transportation, schools and the food and water supply. "Our aim is to remove ...
'Interim' fix: trials and tribulations persist in Joint Tactical Radio.(COMMUNICATIONS)
May 01, 2007; ... The military services are slashing by nearly two-thirds their expected buys of the Defense Department's troubled joint tactical radio system. As the program continues to lose support across the military services, Defense Department officials are engineering a last-ditch effort ...
Defense Department 'bundles' handheld radio procurements.(COMMUNICATIONS)
May 01, 2007; ... THE DEFENSE Department is expected to soon seek industry bids for as many as 89,000 handheld combat radios. To obtain lower prices, the Pentagon will consolidate multiple contracts that currently are managed individually by each military service. The Army, Marine Corps, Navy, ...
Big-ticket army program still lacks communications network.
May 01, 2007; ... THE COMMUNICATIONS network that is the basis for the Army's $160 billion "future combat systems" continues to suffer setbacks and its costs are expected to soar. A hacker-proof high capacity network that would connect Army vehicles and soldiers is a fundamental underpinning of ...
'Hybrids sailor': recruits virtually experience the high-tech Navy.(NAVY TRAINING)
May 01, 2007; ... Five years into an ambitious program to overhaul an outdated training regimen rooted in the Cold War, the Navy appears to be making progress. With sophisticated warships poised to enter Its fleet during the next several years, the Navy is relying more and more on technology to ...
Boot camp graduates sail through warship simulator.(NAVY TRAINING)
May 01, 2007; ... TO TEST WHETHER recruits on the cusp of graduating from boot camp have what it takes to become sailors, the Navy next month will begin running them through an immersive simulation designed to replicate the experience of serving on a ship. Inside a 157,000-square foot training ...
Blue screens: Air Force 'Virtual Flag' makes up for lost flying hours.(AIR FORCE TRAINING)
May 01, 2007; ... KIRTLAND AIR FORCE BASE, N.M. -- Along the back wall of a dimmed warehouse-size room, four large screen displays cast a blue glow over the F-15E pilots and weapons systems officers sitting inside the jet simulator cockpits. The airmen, from Seymour-Johnson Air Force Base in North Carolina, ...
Air Force to design specialized simulations for tactical training.(AIR FORCE TRAINING)
May 01, 2007; ... KIRTLAND AIR FORCE BASE, N.M. -- The Air Force not only is shifting a percentage of live flying time into simulations but also small-unit tactical training. In addition to the quarterly "Virtual Flag" exercises that train hundreds of airmen, soldiers, sailors and Marines across ...
Aerial convoys: Army, Marines plan improvements for cargo choppers.(COMBAT AIRLIFT)
May 01, 2007; ... As the Army and Marine Corps embark on programs to modernize their medium-heavy cargo helicopters, roadside bombs and ambushes have forced the U.S. military to increasingly rely on the skies to transport supplies and troops in Iraq and Afghanistan. The Marine Corps has been ...
Loaded questions: Air Force struggles to define future airlift needs.(COMBAT AIRLIFT)
May 01, 2007; ... The Air Force is walking a political tightrope as it tries to garner support for multibillion-dollar investments in new cargo aircraft while it copes with cost overruns and tightening budgets. Service officials assert that the ongoing wars and planned increases to the size of the Army and ...
Air Force may forgo cargo features in future refueling tanker.(COMBAT AIRLIFT)
May 01, 2007; ... As the Air Force moves forward with plans to replace its aerial refueling tankers, it may decide to forgo earlier plans to make the tanker a multi-mission aircraft. A budget crunch and political pressures to keep the program on schedule could jeopardize efforts to add cargo and passenger ...
Eyes wide open: Army wants to make 'every soldier a sensor'.(BATTLEFIELD INTELLIGENCE)(Cover story)
May 01, 2007; ... "EVERY SOLDIER IS A SENSOR" is a catchphrase employed with increasing frequency by Army generals. But what does it mean? To some, it is simply increasing awareness about the dangerous environments infantrymen find themselves in. To others, it is more literal: technology can be ...
Unblinking gaze: soldiers test tools for urban surveillance.(BATTLEFIELD INTELLIGENCE)
May 01, 2007; ... FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. -- The nine infantrymen sweeping through a mock village sent the robot in the targeted building first. Its camera showed that the room was clear. As the squad entered the building, a soldier stuck a surveillance camera above a door jam. All nine soldiers continued ...
Flurry of lobbying reform affects defense industry.(ETHICS CORNER)
May 01, 2007; ... Congress with a frenzied frequency is introducing government reform legislation. Proposals are labeled "lobbying reform," "accountability in contracting," "clean contracting," "anti-profiteering" and "honest leadership" --all aimed at ending what some members allude to as the culture of ...
Chilled chips: smaller is better in satellite terminals.(TECH TALK)
May 01, 2007; ... A digital technology that has been developed by Hypres Inc. of Elmsford, N.Y., for the project manager of Defense Communications and Army Transmission Systems, promises to substantially trim the foot print of ground-based satellite stations. Besides chopping the size of 60-foot ...
Explosive detection kits provide on the spot results.(Expray and DropEx)(Brief article)
May 01, 2007; ... Want devices that ascertain the existence of TNT, RDX, chlorate and peroxide-based explosives? Mistral Group of Bethesda, Md., is offering two test kits--Expray and DropEx--that offer rapid results. They are able to detect a wide range of explosive ...
Rough and tumble laptop now available.(TECH TALK)
May 01, 2007; ... COMPUTER MAKER DELL Inc. of Round Rock, Texas, is now producing a ruggedized laptop PC for military and civilian customers. Called the Latitude ATG, for all terrain grade, the portable processor features a super bright 14.1 inch display that is ...
Landing zone kit comes in hardened case.(TECH TALK)
May 01, 2007; ... TWO WEST COAST Companies have teamed to produce a protected and portable helicopter landing zone system. Providing the high impact, watertight ...
Medical station boasts small arms protection.(TECH TALK)
May 01, 2007; ... GERMAN ARMY TROOPS are receiving 30 medical treatment centers that are housed in 20-foot, air-conditioned shelters. Officials say the units, called TransHospitals, can be operated autonomously for up to three days. They are designed for use in combat ...
Enhanced communication-information centers fielded.(Defense Communications and Army Transmission Systems)(Brief article)
May 01, 2007; ... U.S. military leaders in South Korea have received new command center technologies that were developed by the project manager of Defense Communications and Army Transmission Systems at Fort Monmouth, N.J. The theater air naval ground operations center there, for example, offers ...
Flight evaluator unveiled.(D7000)(Brief article)
May 01, 2007; ... A COMPACT, MODULAR airborne data and recording system--called the D7000--has recently been introduced by Heim Data Systems Inc., a subsidiary of Zodiac Data Systems Inc. of Alpharetta, Ga. "With up to a 256 Mbit/s total system data rate, this recording system employs media ...
NDIA events calendar.(National Defense Industrial Association)(Calendar)
May 01, 2007 ... MAY 2007 14-17 Global Demilitarization Conference & Exhibition Reno, NV POC: Veronica Allen @ (703) 247-9478 Exhibits: Alden Davidson @ (703) 247-2582 15-17 National Small Business Conference ...
Affiliate events.(National Defense Industrial Association)(Brief article)(Calendar)
May 01, 2007 ... JUNE 21, 2007 Cyber Deterrence Arlington, VA MARCH 4-5, 2008 Fulfilling the Warfighters' Vision 2008 Tampa Bay, FL Contact Nicole Peterson at 703) 247-9474 or email npeterson@afei.org MAY 15, 2007 ...
Chapter events.(National Defense Industrial Association)(Brief article)(Calendar)
May 01, 2007 ... JUNE 14 Picatinny Chapter 32nd Annual Firepower Benefit Birchwood Manor Whippany, N.J. AUGUST 13-16 Tennessee Valley Chapter Space & Missile Defense Conference Von Braun Center ...