National Defense articles from July 2003

National Defense archives from July 2003

Editor's corner.(development of Land Warrior, computer network for Army personnel)(Editorial)
July 1, 2003... In its decade-long pursuit of Land Warrior, the Army has traveled a bumpy road. The Land Warrior is the Army's first attempt to turn foot soldiers into digital warriors. Made up of a computer, a radio, a customized rifle and a...

Navy to select new ship designs on July 17. (Washington Pulse).(Littoral Combat Ship program)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2003... The Navy plans to select up to three contractors on July 17 for the next phase of the Littoral Combat Ship program. Each will receive a $10 million, seven-month contract to refine their designs and concepts. The Navy stipulated that each...

Marine Corps working to restore readiness. (Washington Pulse).(Brief Article)
July 1, 2003... The much-discussed "reconstitution" of U.S. military forces after the war in Iraq needs to be viewed under a different light this time around, said Gen. Michael W. Hagee, commandant of the Marine Corps. The Defense Department's emphasis on...

National Guard monitors pace of deployments. (Washington Pulse).(Brief Article)
July 1, 2003... The National Guard is keeping a close eye on the pace of deployments being assign to its personnel, said Lt. Gen. H Steven Blum, chief of the National Guard Bureau. A total of 147,000 Army and Air National Guard personnel are deployed in...

Rumsfeld vocal about personnel reform. (Washington Pulse).(Secretary of State Donald Rumsfeld; civil service hiring changes)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2003... Seeking to bolster his case for a broad overhaul of the Pentagon's personnel system, Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld said that the current civil-service structure severely hampers efforts to recruit and retain talented young workers. ...

Homeland defense chief assesses priorities. (Security Beat).(Paul McHale)
July 1, 2003... The U.S. Northern Command, responsible for domestic security, needs to improve its capabilities to defend the land and the waterways, said Paul McHale, assistant secretary of defense for homeland defense. While Northern Command's ability to...

Using U.S. transportation against terrorists. (Security Beat).
July 1, 2003... One arena where information technologies could be put to good use against terrorists is the nation's transportation system, said Arthur E. Johnson, senior vice president for strategic development at Lockheed Martin Corp. "The ability to...

National Guard launches reorganization. (Security Beat).(Brief Article)
July 1, 2003... The National Guard's plan to consolidate its three headquarters in leach state into one "joint force headquarters" will enable the organization to improve the readiness of its operational units, according to Lt. Gen. H Steven Blum, chief of...

Administration undermining port security, says Senator. (Security Beat).(Bush Administration; Ernest Hollings)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2003... The Bush administration's commitment to domestic port security disappointing, according to Sen. Ernest Hollings, D-S.C. He recently requested that the General Accounting Office investigate current port security efforts. Despite requests...

Pentagon intelligence shop will be lean. (Security Beat).(Brief Article)
July 1, 2003... The new office of the undersecretary of defense for intelligence I headed by Stephen Cambone will need at least a year to settle and "carry the whole weight," said Richard Haver, a special assistant to Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld. ...

These carrying cases can stop bullets. (Teck Talk).(body armor by Forcefield Corp.)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2003... Civilians who normally do not wear body armor, but feel the need for protection, are the target customers for San Diego-based Forcefield Corporation. The company has developed a family of lightweight carrying cases that can double as body...

Brazilian rain forest under watch 24/7. (Tech Talk).(satellites monitor the Amazon rain forest for illegal environmental activities)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2003... A vast network of air, space and ground sensors looking over the Amazon has become the world's largest environmental monitoring program. Called SIVAM (System for the Vigilance of the Amazon), the $1.4 billion project connects more than 500...

Contaminant remover adapted for civilian use. (Tech Talk).(vehicle by Intertech Research Engineering)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2003... A new vehicle, dubbed the Decontaminator, helps clean up chemical and biological agents at night and in bad weather conditions, said the manufacturer, Intertech Research Engineering. The Decontaminator was intended for military use, but it...

Night vision in full color. (Tech Talk).(Brief Article)
July 1, 2003... Detection in color--rather than the universal green produced by standard night-vision systems--increases the soldier's ability to find the enemy and helps reduce the probability of fratricide, said Jonathan Walkenstein, of CANVS Corp. The Coral...

European chopper targets U.S. market. (Tech Talk).(Agusta-Westland helicopter)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2003... A modified version of the EH-101 medium-lift helicopter now entering the U.S. military market is touted for being able to climb faster than 1,000 feet per minute, to an altitude of 5,000 feet in 95-degree temperatures with one engine shut down....

Robots replace security guards. (Tech Talk).(Defense Department uses Mobile Detection Assessment Response System)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2003... The Defense Department now is employing robots as security guards. A case in point is the Mobile Detection Assessment Response System. Developed by General Dynamics Robotic Systems, of Westminister, Md., MDARS has obstacle avoidance...

Debate over logistics reform intensifies: DLA director says merger with Transportation Command would be a mistake.(Defense Logistics Agency)
July 1, 2003... A merger of the Defense Logistics Agency and the U.S. Transportation Command is not the answer to current shortcomings in the military supply-distribution system, said DLA Director Vice Adm. Keith W. Lippert. The Pentagon has been...

Air Force balances urgent needs, long-term goals: programs will require closer coordination between government organizations and industry.
July 1, 2003... The Air Force has begun an aggressive campaign to change business practices, in an effort to accelerate technologies needed to meet pressing requirements, senior service officials said. The results, so far, have been encouraging, said Air...

Air Force to run wars from sensor-packed jets: as the MC2A aircraft program moves along, Air Force keeps options open.
July 1, 2003... A multibilion-dollar program to develop an airborne command-and control hub is likely to challenge the Air Force's ability to manage what is, by all accounts, one of the most technically complex military platforms ever built. A brainchild...

Security technologies should be networked, Pentagon says.
July 1, 2003... The Defense Department wants to stop buying stand-alone security and force-protection technologies and, instead, acquire systems that are networked and interoperable, officials said. Much of the technology available today offers "point...

'No single solution' for Army's info-tech problems.
July 1, 2003... When it comes to battlefield communications technology, the Army has lots of good ideas, but nowhere near enough money to equip the entire force with the most up-to-date systems, said Lt. Gen. Peter Cuviello, the Army's chief information...

7th Fleet experiment probes Navy's near-term concerns.
July 1, 2003... Worries about the proliferation of diesel submarines and long-range ballistic missiles shaped combat scenarios during a recent U.S. Navy war game. The Navy's 7th Fleet tested several new concepts of operations and technologies during a...

Calendar.(Calendar)
July 1, 2003... JULY 14-17 Tri-Service Power Expo 2003 Event #3670 Norfolk, Va. POC: Angie DeKleine @ (703) 247-2599 Exhibits: Dawn Harper @ (703) 247-2584 At the Tri-Service Expo 2003, war fighters and decision-makers from the...

Researchers dedicated to improving munitions. (President's Perspective).
July 1, 2003... It is by now common knowledge that precision-guided weapons and the precise battlefield effects they create have helped the United States achieve tremendous military successes in recent years. Our success is not only due to precision targeting...

Navy's sealift command picks up the pace: cargo is moving faster than in first Gulf War, 'but we need to be faster' yet, chief says.
July 1, 2003... One of the dearest lessons learned from the recent U.S.-Iraq war is the need for greater speed in moving combat equipment and supplies across oceans, said Navy Vice Adm. David L Brewer III, head of the Military Sealift Command. The MSC has...

Navy cargo ship, USNS Seay, just keeps rolling along.
July 1, 2003... The rebuilding of Iraq is just as demanding on sealift operators as the war. The current missions of the USNS Seay (T-AKR 302) offer a glimpse of the post-war sealift operations. The Seay--one of the Military Sealift Command's Bob Hope...

Army considers privatizing its depots, ammo facilities.
July 1, 2003... The U.S. Army--under pressure from Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld to trim infrastructure--is mulling over proposals to privatize its arsenals, ammunition plants and repair depots. Rand, a federally funded nonprofit research institute...

Army redrafts roadmap for 'Land Warrior'.
July 1, 2003... The Army's plan for turning soldiers into digital warriors is once again being rewritten, in the wake of disappointing field trials that showed that technology is improving, but is not yet ready for combat. More than a decade ago, the Army...

Army puts the Stryker on a fast track: light armored vehicle to prove its value in urban, peacekeeping operations.
July 1, 2003... In anticipation of extended peacekeeping duties in Iraq and future contingencies in urban areas, the Army is stepping up efforts to field its first Stryker light-armored vehicle brigade. Despite a string of controversies that plagued the...

What the Army needs to win the logistics battle. (Commentary).
July 1, 2003... When the United States deploys military forces to fight, to make peace, to keep peace, to provide humanitarian assistance in a famine or flood, it also sends along a community that provides logistics support to those war fighters. Retired...

False Claims Act suits should concern defense contractors. (Legal Viewpoint).
July 1, 2003... During the past 15 years, the U.S. Department of Justice has collected more than $5.2 billion from False Claims Act cases, and the pace of recoveries is increasing. Last year alone, the DOJ collected at least $1 billion in settlements. The...

Military depots: politics undermines cooperation; public-private partnering key to the long-term health of maintenance and repair depots. (Viewpoint).
July 1, 2003... One of the more contentious issues that the Defense Department and Congress regularly debate is the operation of maintenance and repair depots. With just a few exceptions, the discussions in recent years have remained the same. Congress...

Government. (Brass Tracks).(Brief Article)
July 1, 2003... Navy Rear Adm. Michael J. McCabe has been nominated to the rank of vice admiral and assignment as commander of the Third Fleet in San Diego. McCabe was director of the Air Warfare Division, N78, in the chief of naval operations' office. ...

Industry. (Brass Tracks).
July 1, 2003... Virtual Technology Corporation, in Alexandria, Va., has hired Craig Bertolett, a former U.S. naval officer, as director of operations. Bertolett, brings 10 years of government contracting experience to VTC. Northrop Grumman Corporation, of...

NDIA's CDM certification takes root in U.K. (NDIA News).
July 1, 2003... During the past few years, the National Defense Industrial Association has introduced to the United Kingdom the configuration and data management certification process. Among the first in the country to become certified was Dave McKee, of BAE...

Naval Postgraduate Masters School's degree program. (NDIA News).(Brief Article)
July 1, 2003... The Naval Postgraduate School's Systems Engineering and Management (SEM) masters degree program is accepting applications for the class beginning Sept. 15. The application deadline is Aug. 15. U.S. military officers, civilian federal...