National Defense articles from February 2007

National Defense archives from February 2007

Industrial base issues on the agenda for 2007.
February 1, 2007... EVERY YEAR AT NDIA WE ENGAGE IN, an earnest debate about the issues we believe to be critical to the defense community. Based on input from our members, we have identified six issues that, for all intents, affect everyone who is involved in...

Military war gaming.(LETTERS)(Letter to the editor)
February 1, 2007... As a member of the U.S. Army Acquisition Corps, I would like to respond to the December 2006 article, "Industry has yet to crack government market code." Those of us responsible for providing training solutions to the military are...

Air Force flight training.(LETTERS)(Letter to the editor)
February 1, 2007... In reference to the story, "Air Force sets sights on 'Airman of the future' video games" (December 2006, page 38), I would like to correct several points. First and foremost, Distributed Mission Operations (DMO) training has been...

Tank engine overhaul.(LETTERS)(Letter to the editor)
February 1, 2007... In reference to the article, "Overhaul Underway for Abrams Tank Engine, " (September 2006, page 38), characterizing the AGT1500 turbine engine as "heavy duty" is inaccurate. Heavy duty hosing would be closer to the mark. Without a doubt,...

Pentagon's African command: will it float?(Washington PULSE)(Brief article)
February 1, 2007... While Pentagon officials fine-tune plans to create a new military command to oversee Africa, Navy leaders are floating a proposal to base that command's headquarters on a ship at sea. Supporters contend that a Navy ship offers extra...

'Specialty metals' law costs Air Force big bucks.(Washington PULSE)
February 1, 2007... Air Force acquisition officials increasingly are becoming frustrated by a legislative mandate to comply with the Berry Amendment, which requires that all U.S. weapons be certified as containing only domestically produced "specialty metals." The...

Lights ... camera ... anchors aweigh?(naval vessel to be launched)(Brief article)
February 1, 2007... Movie studio engineers who normally ply their trade for Hollywood have set up shop in Great Lakes, Ill. They are putting the finishing touches on a replica of a Navy warship that is intended to dazzle potential recruits and to assist them in...

Unmanned aircraft victims of their own success.(Washington PULSE)
February 1, 2007... The runaway popularity of intelligence-gathering unmanned aircraft in Iraq may have contributed to the Army's decision to curtail future buys of new aircraft. The Army had planned to buy four classes of UAVs--one for each echelon of command:...

Backyard bombs: DHS technology chief to focus on explosives threat.(SECURITY BEAT: Homeland Defense Briefs)(Department of Homeland Security, Jay Cohen)
February 1, 2007... The Pentagon will have some help in its ongoing effort to defeat improvised explosive devices if Jay Cohen, director of science and technology at the Department of Homeland Security, gets his way. "We're going to get back in the IED...

Experts throw doubt on container screening plans.(SECURITY BEAT: Homeland Defense Briefs)
February 1, 2007... As the Department of Homeland Security continues efforts to devise efficient ways to detect nuclear material or bombs entering U.S. ports through shipping containers, two experts said it is more likely that such a bomb would be assembled inside...

Famed college to offer first robotics degree.(SECURITY BEAT: Homeland Defense Briefs)
February 1, 2007... WORCESTER POLYTECHNIC INSTITUTE, one of the first engineering and technology universities in the nation, helped give birth to the space age. It now intends to be the first to offer a bachelor's degree in robotic engineering. The private...

Customs ponders actions after port disasters.(SECURITY BEAT: Homeland Defense Briefs)
February 1, 2007... WHILE THERE HAS been a great deal of attention paid to preventing a terrorist attack at a U.S. port of entry, there is a renewed focus in the Department of Homeland Security to determine what happens in the aftermath of a disaster. DHS...

Deepwater information technology at risk, says IG.(SECURITY BEAT: Homeland Defense Briefs)
February 1, 2007... While the Coast Guard's ongoing problems with its new fleet of ships and aircraft have been well documented, the Department of Homeland Security's inspector general warned that the service's information technology backbone may also be headed...

Digital age logistics systems still no panacea for troops.(DEFENSE WATCH)
February 1, 2007... PROVIDING ESSENTIAL SUPPLIES and services to troops on the front lines ranks among those unglamorous jobs that everyone takes for granted, but increasingly consume larger bites of the Pentagon's half trillion-dollar annual budget. In many...

Power hungry: Army seeks light, efficient batteries to meet insatiable energy demand.(UPFRONT)
February 1, 2007... In an Army that heavily depends on battery-operated devices to do its job, the complaints are well documented: Batteries are too heavy, too bulky and not very user-friendly. All that could change, if Steve Slane has his way. Slane, chief of...

Holding the low ground: daunting challenges face those waging subterranean warfare.
February 1, 2007... To take a desktop trip into a clandestine tunnel, one only needs to visit the YouTube.com Web site and punch in the words "Gaza" and "tunnel." In the clip, Israeli Defense Forces guide the viewers into a deep shaft that opens up into a...

Heavier armor: military services in the market for 4,000 blast-proof vehicles.(TACTICAL VEHICLES)(Cover story)
February 1, 2007... Expectations that U.S. troops will not leave Iraq for the foreseeable future have prompted the military services to request an additional 4,000 mine-resistant armored vehicles. Unlike armored humvees, mine-protected vehicles have V-shaped...

Army, Marines to acquire 50,000 new trucks to replace humvees.(TACTICAL VEHICLES)(Cover story)
February 1, 2007... A fistful of defense companies will be vying to win a contract to develop a replacement for the humvee--the Army and Marine Corps' light, all-terrain truck. Later this year, the Marine Corps and the Army will seek industry bids for the...

Fighting with words: bridging language and culture gaps through games.(new computer wargame 'Tactical Iraqi Language Trainer' introduced)
February 1, 2007... Computer scientist W. Lewis Johnson slipped on his headset and logged on to his latest creation. In a virtual Iraqi city, his military-camouflaged character began to negotiate the alleyways, streets and marketplaces. But unlike a typical...

Companies shifting language aids, trainers to iPods, handheld PCs.(WARGAMES)
February 1, 2007... For U.S. troops in Iraq, communicating in Arabic soon may be as simple as playing a tune on an iPod. A software program, called VCOM Mobile, enables troops to select preloaded English phrases on iPods and display the corresponding...

Virtual marketplace: Defense Dept. lacks clearinghouse for military videogames, say analysts.(WARGAMES)
February 1, 2007... As the military begins to rely more on the so-called "serious" games to ready its fighting forces, the vendors selling the high-tech virtual trainers are voicing frustration with the Defense Department's cumbersome acquisition process. The...

Software helps assess the 'training value' of games.(WARGAMES)
February 1, 2007... Measuring the training value of a videogame often has been an improvised endeavor, where engineers and programmers create their own--often not credible--assessment tools. Web-based programs now are being introduced to collect, analyze and...

Interagency training: lack of military-civilian coordination hinders war-zone rebuilding efforts.(WARGAMES)
February 1, 2007... ORLANDO, Fla. -- Rebuilding war-torn Iraq and Afghanistan has been cited repeatedly by military officials as one of the cornerstone efforts that will help the United States win the war on terrorism. A major obstacle to achieving this goal,...

Battlefield networks: soldiers on the move have yet to profit from Information Age.(COMMUNICATIONS)
February 1, 2007... Army combat brigades during the past two years have been outfitted with the latest communications and networking technology. But the improved connectivity available to brigade commanders and staffs has yet to filter down to smaller mobile...

Procurement decisions: delays in 'joint tactical radio' program cast doubts on future.(COMMUNICATIONS)
February 1, 2007... The military services by and large have abandoned a Pentagon-directed effort to replace their combat radios with new digital devices, at least for the foreseeable future. Ten years after the Defense Department launched its ambitious "joint...

Information GAPS: fusion centers aim to connect federal, state, local agencies.(COMMUNICATIONS)
February 1, 2007... BALTIMORE -- Capt. Charles Rapp, director of the Maryland Coordination and Analysis Center, opened the door inside a nondescript office building on the outskirts of this city. No placard or sign outside gave away his office's location. ...

Funding, numbers of state fusion centers uncertain.
February 1, 2007... SO FAR, THERE IS NO congressional mandate for state or local agencies to organize intelligence fusion centers such as the one found in Maryland. There are also no guarantees that the federal grants helping fund such centers will last. ...

PC tank simulator sharpens lethal skills.(TECH TALK)
February 1, 2007... A PC-based simulator is now allowing soldiers in Israel to conduct high fidelity exercises in their tanks. Called the appended tank crew trainer, the field deployable simulator is being produced by Elbit Systems of Haifa. The system is...

Back at company headquarters ...(TECH TALK)
February 1, 2007... ELBIT SYSTEM OF HAIFA, ISRAEL, HAS developed a mission rehearsal simulator for company to battalion forces. The combined arms tactical battle group trainer is meant to bolster "basic to advanced skills, tactical battle doctrines, decision...

Two-wheel transporter for police unveiled.(Segway Inc.)(Brief article)
February 1, 2007... Segway Inc. of Bedford, N. H., has perfected its next-generation personal transporters that are aimed at the community policing market. The advanced transporters--powered by lithium-ion batteries--incorporate two new technologies. The...

Portable shield saving lives in Iraq.(Defense Shield Inc.)(Brief article)
February 1, 2007... DEFENSE SHIELD INC. of East Syracuse, N.Y., is manufacturing mobile defensive fighting positions (MDFPs) for Marines and Army soldiers. The structures provide cover and protection from small arms fire, and offer a clear range of view of...

Accountability and Transparency Act passed.(GOVERNMENT POLICY NOTES)
February 1, 2007... Just before adjourning for the 2006 election, Congress enacted the Federal Funding Accountability and Transparency Act and sent it to the president for signature. When fully implemented, this measure will affect all federal contracts, prime...

Contractors should get ready for scrutiny.(ETHICS CORNER)
February 1, 2007... Federal contractors must be prepared for the change in political and business climate in Congress. The success of the Democratic Party in the 2006 elections in part was based on a coherent theme of ethical misconduct by the Republican Party and...

Competition called 'Critical' to nation's economy.(NDIA NEWS)
February 1, 2007... A recent conference sponsored in Washington, D.C., by the Association for Enterprise Integration highlighted the importance of competition. "It is critical that we keep our nation the most competitive in the world," said Richard M....

Columbus supply center recognizes top contractors.(NDIA NEWS)
February 1, 2007... At NDIA's 2006 Land and Maritime Conference, the Defense Supply Center Columbus, Ohio, recognized more than 100 contractors. Among them were several of the association's corporate members. Receiving gold awards were ITT Aerospace Controls,...

Winners of latest Skibbie Scholarships announced.(NDIA NEWS)
February 1, 2007... The winners of the 2006 Lawrence E Skibbie Graduate Scholarships are: * Ronalynn Espedido, who is pursuing a masters of science degree in information security at DePaul University in Chicago. * Yevgeniya Gokun, who is seeking a masters...

NDIA names a dozen model chapters for 2006.(NDIA NEWS)
February 1, 2007... The National Defense Industrial Association recently selected 12 of its local organizations around the country to serve as model chapters for 2006. The chapters, their leaders and their affiliations are: * Aberdeen Proving Ground, John Roth...

Women in defense: new board of directors takes office.(NDIA NEWS)
February 1, 2007... The 2006-2007 board of directors for Women In Defense, an association affiliated with NDIA, took office at the organization's annual meeting at the Army Navy Country Club in Arlington, Va. The directors include: President Jane M. Walter, of...

NDIA events calendar.
February 1, 2007... FEBRUARY 22 Technical Support Working Group Advanced Planning Briefing for Industry Washington, DC POC: Laura Alexander @ (703) 247-2568 26-28 Special Operations/Low Intensity Conflict Symposium and Exhibition ...

Affiliate events.
February 1, 2007... FEBRUARY 21-22 Warfighters Vision 2007: Winning the Global Fight Hilton Mark Center Alexandria, Va. MARCH 14-15 Open Technology--Realizing the Vision Hyatt Crystal City Hotel, Arlington, Va. APRIL 24-27 ...

Chapter events.(NDIA EVENTS CALENDAR)
February 1, 2007... MARCH 2 Greater Los Angeles Chapter West Coast Dinner Beverly Hilton Hotel Los Angeles, Calif. 21 Central Florida Chapter Defense Forum Breakfast Radisson University...