National Defense articles from January 2008

National Defense archives from January 2008

Stability, reconstruction skills key to long lasting security.(PRESIDENT'S PERSPECTIVE)
January 1, 2008... As U.S. forces carry out the difficult job of stabilizing and rebuilding Iraq, civilian and military leaders are beginning to realize that this nation-building expertise will be critical in the future. The Defense Department is emphasizing...

In the army, why can't soldiers be customers?(DEFENSE WATCH)
January 1, 2008... It is a truism in business that the customer is always right. But in the peculiar world of military contracting, it is not always clear exactly who the customer is. By most reasonable criteria, one would presume that the customers of...

Heavy duty: marines: MRAP impedes operations.(WASHINGTON PULSE)
January 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] The Marine Corps and the Army have decided to curtail their orders for mine-resistant ambush-protected vehicles, ostensibly because they foresee fewer roadside bomb attacks in Iraq. But there are other reasons, such...

Sea duty for combat hardened marines.(WASHINGTON PULSE)
January 1, 2008... Marine officers who joined the Corps during the past five years are unlikely to have set foot aboard a ship. That bothers the commandant, Gen. James Conway. "They've been to Iraq two or three times in most instances but, in some cases, now are...

Intelligence assets, not surprisingly, in short supply.(WASHINGTON PULSE)(Brief article)
January 1, 2008... When they come to Washington once a year, the four-star U.S. military commanders who oversee every region of the world get to present their wish-lists to the Joint Chiefs of Staff and civilian officials at the Pentagon. Inevitably every year,...

Urban combat training not up to par.(WASHINGTON PULSE)
January 1, 2008... Since the early days of counterinsurgency fighting in Iraq, the Army and the Marine Corps have built dozens of training facilities in the United States designed to simulate urban combat. Officials often have boasted that these sites offer...

Watching the watchers: satellite to demonstrate maritime surveillance for coast guard.(SECURITY BEAT: HOMELAND DEFENSE BRIEFS)
January 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] The Coast Guard will enter the space age when a rocket carrying an experimental payload lifts off at the end of 2007 from the Kapustin Yar launch site in Russia. Designed to track vessels far from U.S. shores,...

DHS continues to oppose 100 percent cargo screening.(SECURITY BEAT: HOMELAND DEFENSE BRIEFS)(Department of Homeland Security)(Brief article)
January 1, 2008... Customs and Border Protection is pressing on with congressionally mandated pilot projects that will show if it is feasible to screen every shipping container for nuclear materials before they arrive at U.S. ports. They will share the...

TSA struggling with 'stovepiped' information infrastructure.(SECURITY BEAT: HOMELAND DEFENSE BRIEFS)(Transportation Security Administration)(Brief article)
January 1, 2008... Anyone who has followed the Defense Department's never-ending struggle to allow its disparate communications systems to link to each other knows what the term "stovepiped" means. Different systems used by different services built by...

Climate change will result in societal upheavals, think tanks warn.(SECURITY BEAT: HOMELAND DEFENSE BRIEFS)(Financial report)
January 1, 2008... * A changing climate will have profound impacts on U.S. national security as droughts, floods, famines and epidemics create instability throughout the world, according to a joint report released by the Center for Strategic and International...

Government sets sights on creating federal fire response plan.(SECURITY BEAT: HOMELAND DEFENSE BRIEFS)(Brief article)
January 1, 2008... The devastating wildfires that engulfed more than 500,000 acres in southern California last fall highlighted the need for a federal fire response capability, said Paul McHale assistant secretary of defense for homeland defense and America's...

Communication options for sailors at sea.(INSIDE SCIENCE + TECHNOLOGY)
January 1, 2008... For all the sophisticated systems and weapons to be found aboard naval warships, there is one fundamental area where technology has been trailing: communications over and under the seas. Sailors have complained that the shipboard...

After effect: nonlethal weapons: help or hinder?(IN FOCUS: DEFENSE AND TECHNOLOGY NEWS)
January 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] A series of successful tests have boosted chances that the Defense Department will deploy a new "nonlethal" crowd-control weapon to Iraq next year. But it appears doubtful that nonlethal weapons--including...

Pentagon backs interagency program for disaster response.(IN FOCUS: DEFENSE AND TECHNOLOGY NEWS)
January 1, 2008... Government agencies are taking a fresh approach to information sharing after being assailed for poor coordination and response to Hurricane Katrina. To help close information gaps that stymied the federal response to Katrina, public and...

Almost green why not just call them 'soldiers?'.(IN FOCUS: DEFENSE AND TECHNOLOGY NEWS)
January 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] The Air Force and the Navy are grooming their own class of ground troops. These new breeds of soldiers--known by names such as "common battlefield airman" and "Navy expeditionary sailors"--are being deployed to...

Privatized operations: government needs to reexamine rules for battlefield contractors.(Industry Study)
January 1, 2008... Privatized military operations have been a constant presence in conflict zones throughout history. Today, private contractors support the United States and its allies in Iraq and Afghanistan in unprecedented numbers. The contractor...

Satellite communications: army exploring new ways to beam streaming video to fast-moving troops.(COMMUNICATIONS)
January 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] ORLANDO, Fla. -- The Army and Marine Corps want battlefield commanders to receive real-time streaming video, voice and other communications beamed down from satellites perched 22,000 miles above Earth. The...

Underwater killers: improvised explosive devices: Could they threaten U.S. ports?(Maritime Security)(Conference notes)
January 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] The U.S. Navy possesses one of the premier mine-hunting forces in the world, but it is ill-prepared to thwart terrorist attacks on U.S. ports and waterways, officials said. "Underwater improvised explosive...

Spending surge: bigger budgets disguise larger fiscal dilemmas.(Defense Forecast)(Cover story)
January 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Defense Secretary Robert Gates recently quipped that he stopped trying to predict the future when he left the CIA almost 15 years ago. Gates' wry observation followed a question about whether he thought the Pentagon...

Turbulent waters: ship construction costs endanger Navy's fleet expansion.(Defense Forecast)
January 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] With runaway shipbuilding costs, disruptions in key programs and competing budgetary needs, the Navy is heading into one of its toughest procurement cycles yet. "The U.S. Navy is facing a numbers crunch," said...

Steady state: DHS pressing on with troubled technology programs.(Analysis)
January 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATIONS OMITTED] One truism that has emerged in the Department of Homeland Security's first six years is that controversy always follows whatever it attempts. Whether it is program delays, public uproars over its policies,...

Rough seas: Coast Guard procurement programs struggling but staying afloat.(Homeland Security)
January 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] NEW ORLEANS -- Coast Guard officials are optimistic that a new agency in charge of acquisitions can help salvage the service's modernization plans and restore confidence in its ability to manage complex projects. ...

Breathe easy: novel breathing system offers safer alternative.(TECH TALK: A TIP-SHEET ON THE LATEST GADGETS)(Brief article)
January 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] A start-up company in Boise, Idaho, is offering a hybrid breathing system which relies on non-corrosive chemicals to provide oxygen and scrub carbon dioxide from expelled breath. Unlike other existing products,...

High grade flashlights tagged for cops.(TECH TALK: A TIP-SHEET ON THE LATEST GADGETS)(Brief article)
January 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] The U.S. subsidiary of FN Herstal S.A. of Belgium is producing six-volt, all weather xenon flashlights that crank out 150 peak lumens. They are powered by lithium CR123 three-volt batteries. The flashlights are...

Protective shield gives shooters panoramic view.(TECH TALK: A TIP-SHEET ON THE LATEST GADGETS)(Brief article)
January 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Law enforcement and military personnel recently field tested hand-held ballistic shields that feature a full range of vision and a contoured design that allows straighter arm positions for shooting. Marketed in...

Temporary camouflage features easy removal.(TECH TALK: A TIP-SHEET ON THE LATEST GADGETS)(Brief article)
January 1, 2008... The United Kingdom's Akzo Nobel Aerospace Coatings is fabricating a range of high performance paints for military equipment. Among these offerings is a "peelable" camouflage coating that also can be removed by pressurized water. This, and...

Terrorist swimmers: don't go near the water.(TECH TALK: A TIP-SHEET ON THE LATEST GADGETS)
January 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] The Navy and Kaman Aerospace have developed a "programmable" grenade that is specifically designed to kill hostile swimmers who seek to place bombs on the hulls of friendly ships. The new device is called the...

Concrete pads and walls are light and eco-friendly.(TECH TALK: A TIP-SHEET ON THE LATEST GADGETS)(Brief article)
January 1, 2008... Training facilities at the Army's National Training Center in Fort Irwin, Calif., are being constructed at a record pace thanks to a technology that was developed by Ecolite Concrete USA of Los Angeles. The company has come up with an...

Lamps reduce vehicle's electro-magnetic signature.(TECH TALK: A TIP-SHEET ON THE LATEST GADGETS)(Brief article)
January 1, 2008... A light emitting diode retrofit kit for humvee military trucks offers quick replacement of incandescent lighting systems. Grote Technologies of Madison, Ind., is manufacturing the kits which operate with on-board lighting control...

Codes of conduct don't always protect reputation.(Ethics Corner)
January 1, 2008... The term "appearance of impropriety" invariably arises in the context of conduct and ethics. Federal employees by regulation are required to avoid conduct that creates the appearance that they are violating the law or ethical standards. ...

Joseph P. Hylan, NDIA operations director.(IN MEMORIAM)(National Defense Industrial Association)(Obituary)(Brief article)
January 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] * The National Defense Industrial Association lost a dear friend and colleague when Director of Operations Joseph P. Hylan suffered a heart attack and passed away in the Atlanta airport while returning from the...

Roger Ohlrich, NDIA general counsel.(IN MEMORIAM)(National Defense Industrial Association)(Obituary)(Brief article)
January 1, 2008... * Roger Carl Ohlrich, general counsel of the National Defense Industrial Association, passed away on Nov. 10. He was 69. Ohlrich attended the University of Michigan, where he earned a degree in Business Administration and his Juris Doctor...

AFEI announces winners.(NDIA NEWS)
January 1, 2008... * The Association for Enterprise Integration announced the winners of the 2007 Enterprise Integration Award Program at its September Enterprise Security Fall Festival in Vienna. Va. The top government winner was Anniston Army Depot's...

2007 Skibbie Scholarship recipients announced.(NDIA NEWS)
January 1, 2008... * Stanko Dimitrov and Christina ShaoQin Lee are this year's Skibbie Scholarship winners. Dimitrov is an intern at Argonne National Laboratory and is pursuing a Doctorate in Industrial and Operations Engineering at the University of...

Women in Defense Board installs new officers.(NDIA NEWS)(Brief article)
January 1, 2008... * At the recent annual meeting of Women In Defense, the 2007-2008 National Board of Directors was installed by NDIA Chairman Tofie Owen. The following now comprise the board: Susan Warshaw Ebner, president; Margaret DiVirgilio, vice...

NDIA calendar: upcoming exhibits, shows and events.(National Defense Industrial Association)(Calendar)
January 1, 2008... JANUARY [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] 14-16 2008 Homeland Security S&T Stakeholders Conference West Los Angeles, CA Putting First Responders First * A premier opportunity for First Responders, state and local governments,...