National Defense articles from April 2003

National Defense archives from April 2003

Editor's corner.
April 1, 2003... A potential doomsday scenario of chemical and biological attacks against U.S. forces deployed in the Middle East has put into sharp focus the quality of protective gear issued to thousands of troops. Defense Department officials repeatedly have...

Logistics superiority--improving a strong suit. (President's Perspective).
April 1, 2003... The U.S. edge in military operations rests on three traditional strengths: superior quality of the fighting forces, advanced systems and technology and superb training. Superior logistics is another strength to be added to the list, as a subset...

Quest for innovation prompts 'Acquisition Challenge'. (Washington Pulse).(Brief Article)
April 1, 2003... A $12-million weapon-modernization program sponsored by Rep. Duncan Hunter, R-Calif., seeks ideas from contractors on how to improve existing weapons systems. The so-called "Defense Acquisition Challenge" got underway in March. In charge...

McHugh visits National Guard, Reserve units. (Washington Pulse).(Brief Article)
April 1, 2003... The National Guard and Reserves will face recruitment and retention problems if the Pentagon and Congress do not develop policies to reduce the strain and improve the quality of life for these forces, said Rep. John M. McHugh, R-N.Y. ...

Study forecasts future of warfare. (Washington Pulse).(Northrop Grumman report)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2003... Northrop Grumman Corp. released a report analyzing the performance of U.S. armed forces in Desert Storm, Allied Force and Enduring Freedom to try to identify trends from past conflicts that may be used in planning future wars. Written by...

Pentagon defining homeland security role. (Security Beat).(Brief Article)
April 1, 2003... The Defense Department continues to focus and clarify its role in homeland security, said Peter Verga, special assistant to the secretary of defense for homeland security. The department contributes to homeland security in two ways, he said....

TSA builds Homeland Security command center. (Security Beat).(Transportation Security Administration)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2003... The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) is home to a new command center, according to Terry Maynard, assistant undersecretary for intelligence at TSA. Maynard was part of a panel discussion at a conference of the American Institute of...

Northcom 'Different from other commands'. (Security Beat).(Brief Article)
April 1, 2003... The Northern Command will focus on sharing information with other agencies so it can better execute its homeland security mission, said Lt. Gen. Edward Anderson, deputy director of Northern Command, or Northcom. Anderson noted there are...

Customs Service fights terrorism. (Security Beat).(Brief Article)
April 1, 2003... The U.S. Customs Service "has done great things for our country since 1789, but they are lousy marketers," said William Parrish, who is executive director of the Office of Anti-Terrorism at the service. Customs houses a massive database of...

Engineers use space age coating to protect forces. (Security Beat).(Brief Article)
April 1, 2003... In response to global terrorist threats to U.S. forces, engineers from the materials and manufacturing directorate at the Air Force Research Laboratory have developed a method for providing crucial protection: a polyurethane, elastomer coating...

'Brain fingerprinting' could change lie-detector tests. (Security Beat).(Brief Article)
April 1, 2003... The Farwell method of brain fingerprinting is a new technology applicable for investigating crimes and exonerating innocent suspects, with a record of 100 percent accuracy in research on FBI agents, U.S. government agencies and field...

'Total Information Awareness' System: threat to privacy? (Security Beat).(Brief Article)
April 1, 2003... Americans shouldn't worry too much about the Defense Department's controversial plans for a Total Information Awareness (TIA) System, according to Amitai Etzioni, a professor at George Washington University, in Washington, D.C., and author of...

Submarine cruises seas like an airplane. (Tech Talk).(Deep Flight Aviator submersible)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2003... The Deep Flight Aviator submersible-a two-person, underwater flight trainer-reinvents the concept of underwater exploration. Instead of pressurizing an entire submarine, the Aviator protects the crew in two small pods and uses wings that...

UN inspectors choose portable agent detector. (Tech Talk).(Brief Article)
April 1, 2003... United Nations weapons inspectors in Iraq have been using portable FT-IR spectrometers to search for Saddam Hussein's chemical weapons. Before the inspectors left for Baghdad last fall, the UN purchased a number of TravelIR Hazardous Chemical...

Anti-terrorism vehicle goes on tour. (Tech Talk).(Brief Article)
April 1, 2003... A new vehicle for teams responding to nuclear, biological or chemical attacks is currently touring the country. The NBC Team Cruiser was developed by Life Safety Systems, of Santa Cruz, Calif.; Ford Trucks, of Dearborn, Mich.; SVI Trucks, of...

Computer system eases casualty evacuations: technology lets transcom track every military patient around the globe.
April 1, 2003... A computer system deployed nearly two years ago to monitor the movement of casualties out of a combat zone will be upgraded to make it compatible with the Defense Department's global transportation network. The casualty-evacuation...

Gen. Jones is the Navy's 25th 'Honorary Aviator'.(Gen. James L. Jones)
April 1, 2003... In appreciation for his role in securing the integration of Navy and Marine Corps tactical aviation, the chief of naval operations made Gen. James L. Jones an Honorary Naval Aviator earlier this year. Jones, who was the commandant of the Marine...

18th Airborne Corps covets fast-moving artillery guns.
April 1, 2003... The commander of the 18th Airborne Corps Artillery recently submitted a formal request to Army headquarters for a new truck-mounted 155 mm howitzer, claiming that the rowed guns in the current arsenal lack the mobility and range needed for...

War buildup stresses transportation system: Pentagon must reassess strategic mobility requirements, says Gen. Handy.
April 1, 2003... The chief of U.S. military transportation will ask the Pentagon to reevaluate its requirements for aircraft, ships and land vehicles needed to move forces and supplies to multiple conflicts around the world. The transportation system could...

House Armed Services panel reorganized: new subcommittee lineup to address 'mission needs,' says HASC chairman.
April 1, 2003... A reorganization of the House Armed Services Committee was needed, in order for the six subcommittees to focus on critical military missions rather than on traditional lines of budget categories, said HASC Chairman Duncan Hunter, R-Calif. ...

Pentagon lobbies for environmental legal relief: environmental managers told to be more attuned to military training needs.
April 1, 2003... An escalating dispute between the Pentagon and environmental advocacy groups is not about to be settled any time soon. The Defense Department--which brags about being a responsible environmental steward that complies with the laws--has been...

U.S. rushes to upgrade chem-bio gear: research and development programs remain unfocused, say critics.
April 1, 2003... If and when U.S. troops come under chemical or biological attack, they will be better prepared than they were during the 1991 Persian Gulf War, military officials said. In the past decade, funding for the Pentagon's chemical and biological...

Competition heats up for ship repair jobs: as orders for new vessels lag, yards fight for contracts to maintain existing ones.
April 1, 2003... A long the wharves of Virginia's historic Hampton Roads--home to the largest naval base in the world--the competition among shipyards always has been stiff. These days, however, the shipyards are competing more to repair existing U.S. Navy...

Pentagon revamps management of unmanned aircraft programs.
April 1, 2003... The Defense Department is adding billions of dollars to future budgets for unmanned air vehicles, but Pentagon officials cautioned that UAV programs increasingly will be scrutinized not just for their technical performance, but also for how...

Coast Guard concerned about high cost of unmanned planes.
April 1, 2003... The U.S. Coast Guard is trying to keep its procurement options open, in anticipation of steep price tags for new aircraft and possible changes in its homeland-security missions. Specifically, the Coast Guard is concerned about making long-term...

Navy to Upgrade UAV Tactical Control System: planned modifications focus on interoperability with Air Force, Army.
April 1, 2003... The U.S. Navy is continuing development and testing of the Tactical Control System for unmanned aerial vehicles. The TCS, which allows the simultaneous control of multiple UAVs and their payloads from the same control station, was conceived as...

Littoral Combat Ship moving closer to reality: Navy keeps options open, could end up buying two different LCS hullforms.
April 1, 2003... For the U.S. Army, transformation is about a family of vehicles called "Future Combat System." For the Navy, it's about a fleet of small fighting vessels named "Littoral Combat Ships." The Navy envisions LCS operating close to enemy shores,...

Pentagon cancels program with 'checkered' past: Joint Simulation System plagued by delays, technological challenges, conflicting demands.
April 1, 2003... Seven years after the Defense Department embarked on an ambitious program to develop a computer-based multi-service combat simulation, the project is on its last legs, having failed to meet expectations and exhausted the patience of Pentagon...

Coast Guard training center becoming joint': service needs more advanced simulation technologies to meet high demand, officials say.
April 1, 2003... The Coast Guard's special missions training center will evolve over the next year into a joint maritime training center to include the Marine Corps and the Navy. Demand for the center's services has grown significantly during the past two...

New Command Center: a war planner's high-tech dream.
April 1, 2003... A state-of-the-art command center in Camp Pendleton, Calif., will help the Marine Corps take advantage of the latest information technologies when planning combat operations, officials said. Built for the 1st Marine Expeditionary Force under...

U.S., U.K. vow stronger industrial cooperation: trade reform, outsourcing efforts could lead to growing business opportunities.
April 1, 2003... The United States is the largest investor in the economy of the United Kingdom, while the United Kingdom is the biggest foreign customer for the U.S. defense industry. For companies on both sides of the Atlantic, this means partnerships are the...

Bush team reviewing defense trade policy. (Government Policy Notes).
April 1, 2003... The Bush administration in 2002 began a comprehensive assessment of the effectiveness of U.S. defense trade policies in an effort to identify changes needed to protect the country's national-security and foreign-policy interests. This...

Government. (Brass Tracks).(Brief Article)
April 1, 2003... Army National Guard Maj. Gen. H. Steven Blum has been nominated for promotion to the rank of lieutenant general with assignment as the chief of the National Guard Bureau. Blum currently is chief of staff for the U.S. Northern Command and the...

Industry. (Brass Tracks).(Ronald D. Sugar)
April 1, 2003... Northrop Grumman Corporation's board of directors has elected Ronald D. Sugar--the current company's president and chief operating officer--as Northrop Grumman's next chief executive officer. Sugar, a 35-year defense industry veteran, assumes...

NDIA division teams with Naval Warfare Center. (NDIA News).
April 1, 2003... Rear Adm. Michael Mathis, commander of NAVSEA's Naval Surface Warfare Center, recently asked NDIA's Systems Engineering Division to bold a workshop series to look at the specific roles and responsibilities of the NSWC divisions and the defense...

Implementing a reasoned strategy for network centric operations. (NDIA News).(Brief Article)
April 1, 2003... National defense, homeland security and electronic government are all dependent on the seamless flow of information. Some call this "information interoperability," but most just see sharing information as the best way to leverage investments in...

E-Commerce tool transforms medical buying. (Women in Defense).
April 1, 2003... The Defense Medical Logistics Standard Support system improves medical logistics at reduced costs, according to Patricia J. "Trisha" Patson, president and CEO of AmerInd, Inc., Alexandtia, Va. Deployed by all branches of the armed...

NDIA events calendar.(Calendar)
April 1, 2003... MARCH 31 - APRIL 3 2003 Interoperability and Systems Integration Conference Event #3120 Phoenix East/Mesa, AZ, Non-member Registration Fee.......$705 POC: Dania Khan @ (703) 247-2587 description: This conference is the...