National Defense articles from December 2004

National Defense archives from December 2004

'Ethical readiness' mandatory for defense industry.(President's perspective)
December 1, 2004... At a time of great stress for our nation's armed forces, it is worth reaffirming the need for industry leaders to engage in a meaningful discussion on the impact of the recent procurement scandals and to figure out how best to move forward. ...

Defense industrial policy debated.(Washington Pulse)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2004... Army leaders and defense industry officials will convene in Washington, D.C., this month to discuss the future of "industrial preparedness," said Army Assistant Secretary Claude M. Bolton Jr. A key topic will be the Army's past failures in...

Military pork-barrel projects rolling in.(Washington Pulse)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2004... It has been a banner year for the Army's research arm, as far as congressional largesse goes. The Tank Automotive Research, Development and Engineering Center received an extra $152 million in fiscal year 2005, which will be spread among dozens...

$60b estimated for Iraq reconstruction ...(Washington Pulse)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2004... The cost for the reconstruction of Iraq's basic infrastructure should top $60 billion, according to David Nash, former head of the U.S. office in charge of the rebuilding efforts. Out-of-control looting only has compounded the woes of the...

... Rebuilding also plagued by rampant corruption.(Washington Pulse)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2004... Nash told a gathering of defense contractors that they should expect trouble getting equipment into Iraq. Suppliers of heavy construction gear claim that many of their shipments sit in Kuwait and can't get transported into Iraq. A major hurdle...

NYPD walks international beat in search of terrorists.(Security beat: homeland defense briefs)
December 1, 2004... New York City police are not just patrolling the five boroughs in search of terrorist cells. They also have deployed investigators around the world, according to one of the city's top counter-terrorism officials. The department conducts...

Border, port, air security score funding hikes.(Security beat: homeland defense briefs)
December 1, 2004... President George W. Bush in late October signed the 2005 Homeland Security Appropriations Act, which provides $28.9 billion in discretionary spending for the Department of Homeland Security. This is $1.8 billion more than the previous years...

Reports traces transport security research dollars.(Security beat: homeland defense briefs)
December 1, 2004... Billed as a rebuke over the Department of Homeland Security's managerial efforts to foster protective technology, a recent Government Accountability Office report answers an oft-asked question--what is the department spending its research...

H&K makes history with pistol contract.(Security beat: homeland defense briefs)(Heckler and Koch incorporation)
December 1, 2004... The Department of Homeland Security has awarded the largest ever law enforcement contract for pistols to Heckler & Koch Defense Inc. to make tens of thousands of small arms for immigration and customs enforcement personnel. The multi-year...

Heartbeat detector is big in Japan.(Security beat: homeland defense briefs)
December 1, 2004... Despite less than glowing reviews from U.S. research labs, the Japanese regional police force has purchased 100 passive detectors that purport to detect the electric field created by a beating human heart. "Everyone looked at us like we...

Obliged to add troops, army agonizes over costs.(Defense Watch)
December 1, 2004... Speculation that the Bush administration, once reelected, would resurrect the military draft to shore up Army and Marine Corps forces in Iraq created much anxiety among voters in last month's presidential election. In reality, substantive...

With urgent equipment needs, army redirects future combat systems.(Upfront)
December 1, 2004... The Army is sketching a spending plan to accommodate both urgent equipment needs and an ambitious program to develop a new family of futuristic combat systems. Although officials stress that supplying troops in Iraq and Afghanistan is the...

Survival in combat zones requires 'layers' of protection.(Upfront)(development of better armored combat vehicles)
December 1, 2004... An armored combat vehicle two-thirds lighter than an Abrams tank but just as durable is viewed by many as a pipe dream. But Army scientists believe they are inching closer to that goal, even though they recognize that it may take many years and...

If ports are attacked, U.S. lacks plans to deal with aftermath.(Upfront)
December 1, 2004... While the United States has established protocols to halt shipping imports in the event of a terrorist strike at a port facility, officials concede there is no existing procedure to handle the hard part--turning it back On. The lack of a...

Guard makes play for leadership role in national security events.(Upfront)(US National Guard)
December 1, 2004... The National Guard has found a niche in securing high-risk events. The past year featured a plethora of these "national security special events," or NSSEs, as designated by the Department of Homeland Security. These high-profile operations...

NATO struggling to define its role in war on terrorism.(Upfront)(North Atlantic Treaty Organization)
December 1, 2004... Rising stars in the North Atlantic Treaty Organization are receiving comprehensive instruction in the military and political ramifications of global terrorism at the NATO Defense College in Rome. This training, however, does not mean that...

Missile Defense Agency prepares to deploy interceptor weapons.(Upfront)
December 1, 2004... The Missile Defense Agency is pressing ahead with plans to begin deploying a controversial and expensive system to protect the United States and allies against ballistic missiles. In November, the agency was scheduled to place a sixth...

Air Force mulling over programs to kill, protect satellites in space warfare.(Upfront)
December 1, 2004... Much to the consternation of advocates who oppose the use of arms in space, the Air Force is speaking bluntly about its right and intention to explore the orbital deployment of weapons platforms. That objective is not new, and broad hints...

Updating tactics: army revises doctrine for modular brigades.
December 1, 2004... Caught between the pressures of war in the Middle East and the need to reorganize, the U.S. Army is juggling new methods of combat training while rewriting the rulebook for equipment and tactics. By adopting modular brigades, the Army is...

Army fine-tunes training, tactics for urban combat.
December 1, 2004... The U.S. Army, grappling with the intense stress of urban operations in Iraq, requires more training facilities to better prepare troops for this treacherous combat, officials and war veterans said. The service needs to set priorities for...

Virtual missions: Army pilots fly simulated operations before deployments.(Flight Training)(Cover Story)
December 1, 2004... The U.S. Army's aviation branch is working to make a collective simulation exercise a staple of the pre-deployment package for pilots heading to Iraq and Afghanistan. Already, the aviation training exercise is mandatory for task forces assigned...

Collective simulation essential for pilot leadership training.(Flight Training)(Aviation Combined Arms Tactical Trainer-Aviation)
December 1, 2004... Ensconced in dark, quiet trailers, Army pilots armed with virtual reality helmets are in the middle of an air assault mission. The command cell, meanwhile, conies alive with the hectic radio transmissions of an operation gone out of kilter. A...

Army schoolhouse tries to fill 'insatiable demand' for aviators.(Flight Training)(Flight School XXI at Fort Rucker Alabama)
December 1, 2004... The lonely, neon lights of the aviation schoolhouse penetrate the dark before dawn at Fort Rucker, Ala. Inside, crammed in a small classroom, about a dozen pilots are huddled over books and papers, murmuring engine-power calculations and...

Air Force chopper pilot training splits from Army.(Flight Training)(Flight School XXI)
December 1, 2004... After more than three decades of learning the ropes alongside Army pilots at the flight school in Fort Rucker, Ala., the Air Force has chosen its own training program for novice helicopter aviators. The pivotal reason for the change is the...

Army still needs world-class 'red force' in training centers.(Ground Combat)
December 1, 2004... Standing by his decision to send the service's elite training troops to fight in Iraq, a senior Army official said he is considering changing the structure and use of the units that so far have been assigned to play the enemy's role in...

Defense Dept. shifts course in procurement of simulations.(Transforming Training)
December 1, 2004... Pentagon officials are rethinking their approach to managing war-gaming simulation programs in a move to avoid costly missteps that led to the cancellation of a billion-dollar project a year ago. At issue is the need to provide officers...

Military steps up training for joint close-air support.(Transforming Training)
December 1, 2004... The U.S. Joint Forces Command is increasing its efforts to ensure that aviators from all military services follow the same procedures when they provide joint close-air support to ground troops during combat. The command this year began...

Dangerous convoy duties prompt expanded training for truck crews.(Transforming Training)
December 1, 2004... The Army is intensifying the training drills required for truck drivers and maintenance crews heading to Iraq. Exercises that simulate Iraq's treacherous combat environment are intended to better prepare officers and soldiers assigned to...

Air Force drills emphasize 'expeditionary' combat skills.(Transforming Training)
December 1, 2004... Amid efforts to downsize its ranks, the U.S. Air Force is beginning to reorganize its training and education programs. With the number of aircraft expected to shrink in the years ahead--particularly fighter jets--the service will require a...

Army Reserve seeks to toughen up training for part-time soldiers.(Transforming Training)
December 1, 2004... As reservists encounter tough fighting in Iraq, the Army is revamping training programs to better prepare these troops for combat, according to Lt. Gen. James R. Helmly. Helmly serves both as head of the Army Reserve Command, headquartered...

Computer games helping to train commanding officers.(Transforming Training)
December 1, 2004... The U.S. Army's Command and General Staff College, at Fort Leavenworth, Kan., has trained 600 students using computer simulations designed for video-game enthusiasts. Such methods would have been unthinkable in the old days of paper-map...

Sailors move from classrooms to shipboard simulators.(Transforming Training)
December 1, 2004... The U.S. Navy will be plowing millions of dollars into new simulators that will be used aboard ships, rather than ashore, to help sailors acquire specialized skills before they depart on a mission. Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Vernon...

Internet age recruiting: 'America's Army' fan base expanding.
December 1, 2004... At least half a million video-game aficionados each month play what has become a successful military recruiting tool: America's Army. Since its release July 4, 2000, the video game has garnered 3.3 million users around the world, who have...

Army licenses game to entertainment company.
December 1, 2004... The U.S. Army will license its official video game to a commercial entertainment company, in an effort to reach millions of youngsters who play Microsoft X-Box and Sony Playstation console games. Though the Army uses commercial games as...

Marines unveiling two new games.(United States. Marine Corps)
December 1, 2004... The Marine Corps is adapting two commercial video games--one a first-person-shooter and the other a platoon level strategy game--for training purposes. Each side sees the deal as a win-win; the Marines get cutting-edge video game...

Quantico museum to let visitors experience life as marines.
December 1, 2004... The Marine Corps Heritage Foundation, in partnership with the Marine Corps, is building a new museum that will use the latest electronic technology to help visitors understand more clearly what it means to be a Leatherneck. The...

Army and marines to consolidate gunnery training devices.
December 1, 2004... The U.S. Army and Marine Corps are developing common software in an effort to standardize a multitude of gunnery training systems. Current gunnery training programs for the Abrams tank and the Bradley fighting vehicle are supported by eight...

Battle experiments: live and virtual troops mix in amphibious exercise.(Combined Joint Task Force Exercise)
December 1, 2004... Mixing live and virtual troops in a multinational force was one of the biggest challenges facing organizers of a Joint Forces Command exercise last summer. Combined Joint Task Force Exercise (CJTFEX 04-2) was the most complex joint war...

Personalized instruction matches sailors with jobs.
December 1, 2004... A new Navy system that relies on individualized training instead of rigid classroom instruction will produce better-qualified sailors more quickly, according to the admiral in charge of the program. The revolution in training (RIT) replaces...

Quick mission rehearsals goal of joint training.( joint national training capability )
December 1, 2004... Slashing the rehearsal time needed for joint training missions from months to days is one of the goals of the joint national training capability (JNTC), a concept designed to move joint warfare from rhetoric to reality. Yet today's joint...

Learning tools: demand for non-combat skills fuels interest in games.(military training)
December 1, 2004... The success of tactical shooting games as military training tools has bolstered the case for expanding the use of this technology into non-combat areas. As priorities shift on the ground in Iraq and Afghanistan, experts point to an array...

Games grab attention at Department of Homeland Security.
December 1, 2004... U.S. homeland security officials are encouraging first responders across the country to consider games and simulations to fulfill their training needs. The Department of Homeland Security's office for domestic preparedness (ODP) contracted...

Wireless conferencing introduced for tank crews.(Tech Talk)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2004... A hands-free, digital radio for armored personnel carrier and tank crews permits unencumbered communication in and out of vehicles. The VIC-500 vehicular intercom system, developed by Tadiran Communications, allows a crewman to keep in touch...

Fast water craft targets security operations.(Tech Talk)(American Marine Holdings)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2004... A military patrol catamaran known as "SeaCoaster" was unveiled by American Marine Holdings, of Sarasota, Fla., for the Office of Naval Research. A 102-foot prototype is expected to race across the water at almost 60 knots. Underpinning the...

Small, speedy vehicle puts out fires.(Tech Talk)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2004... A new generation fire fighting vehicle-the ANSUL MAGNUM 440 developed by Tyco Fire & Security, of Marinette, Wis.-was unveiled at a convention of the International Association of Fire Chiefs. Designed for use at airfields, defense...

Troubled security clearance program needs fixing.(Government Policy Notes)
December 1, 2004... For the past decade or more, the defense industry has witnessed an alarming decline in the federal government's ability to process the background investigations needed to approve security clearances for the industry's civilian workers. The...

NDIA's tech info unit initiates apprentice program.(NDIA News)(National Defense Industrial Association )
December 1, 2004... NDIA'S Technical Information Division has initiated a new apprentice-recognition program for individuals relatively new to the configuration and data-management disciplines. The initial group of apprentice candidates were qualified in 2003, and...

AFEI honors award winners at Second Annual EXPO.(NDIA News)(Association for Enterprise Integration)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2004... The Association for Enterprise Integration has announced the winners of its Second Annual Excellence in Enterprise Integration Awards. The top industry award went to Parsons Corporation, of Pasadena, Calif., for its work in Iraq. Parsons...

AFEI Net-Centric Ops forum to serve as industry catalyst.(NDIA News)(Association for Enterprise Integration)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2004... The Association for Enterprise Integration (AFEI) has taken on the role of facilitating the exchange of ideas concerning the convergence of standards in the area of "net-centricity" amongst business consortia and the organizations that set...

Conference to highlight defense workforce issues.(NDIA News)
December 1, 2004... Women In Defense's second annual conference will focus on federal outsourcing and human capital management, said the organization's event planner, Fritzi Serafin of the Jefferson Consulting Group. The conference will be held on Feb. 24,...

NDIA events calendar.(Calendar)
December 1, 2004... DECEMBER 2004 13-16 International Soldier Systems Conference & Exhibition Boston, Mass. POC: Ann Saliski @ (703) 247-2577 Exhibits: Dawn Harper @ (703) 247-2584 14-16 USSOCOM Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear...