National Defense articles from June 2007

National Defense archives from June 2007

Education trends portend trouble for defense.(PRESIDENT'S PERSPECTIVE)
June 1, 2007... The United States in recent decades has seen some troubling trends. One of the most critical is that our schools are producing fewer U.S.-born science and math graduates than countries such as China, Taiwan, South Korea, India and Mexico. ...

More services, less hardware define current military buildup.(DEFENSE WATCH)
June 1, 2007... In the midst of the largest military expansion since the Reagan administration, industry analysts warn that the gravy days cannot last much longer. While that austere forecast may be hard to comprehend in the context of soaring defense...

Expectations for Africom slightly overplayed.(Washington PULSE)(United States Department of Defense's Africa Command)(Brief article)
June 1, 2007... The Pentagon slowly has begun to downplay what so far have been lofty expectations about its new Africa Command, which is scheduled to open for business next year. In a series of high-profile announcements last year, defense officials hailed...

Defense Dept. seeks open dialogue with industry.(Washington PULSE)
June 1, 2007... Pentagon officials for years have preached about the need to attract innovative, non-traditional businesses, which typically shy away from the cumbersome ways of government procurement. But the Defense Department has yet to find an...

Air Force stumbles on cyber-war planning.(Washington PULSE)(Brief article)
June 1, 2007... The Air Force announced with great fanfare earlier this year that it was elevating the mission of cyber-warfare to an all-important status, and designated the 8th Air Force at Barksdale Air Force Base, La., as the home of the new Cyberspace...

Contractors: beware of Pentagon civilians.(Washington PULSE)
June 1, 2007... Companies trying to score Pentagon contracts need not spend bundles of money on Washington lobbyists. Positive results can be attained inexpensively by following the steps prescribed by Matthew R. Kambrod in "Lobbying Defense: An Insider's...

Terrorism schools: Defense Department prison policies fomenting radicalism, expert says.(SECURITY BEAT: Homeland Defense Briefs)
June 1, 2007... The practice of mixing suspects with hardened terrorists in Iraqi prisons is further spreading radicalism, and could spawn the next generation of violent extremists who could threaten Europe and the United States, said a terrorism expert who...

Terror lawsuits can serve as intel gathering tool, says lawyer.(SECURITY BEAT: Homeland Defense Briefs)(Michael Elsner of Morley Rice LLC investigates fraud accusations on Arab Bank PLC)
June 1, 2007... Money is the fuel for terrorists, and it may be their Achille's heel, said Michael Elsner, an attorney representing victims of suicide bombings in Israel. His firm, Morley Rice LLC of Mt. Pleasant, S.C., is assisting in a lawsuit against...

More work needed to reduce chlorine shipments, report says.(SECURITY BEAT: Homeland Defense Briefs)(Brief article)
June 1, 2007... A SPATE OF DEADLY CHLORINE GAS attacks in Iraq has highlighted the need to secure the toxic chemical at home and abroad. Twenty-five U.S. water utilities that once received the gas by rail have switched to safer alternatives to treat their...

Interpol makes inroads tracking down fraudulent passports.(SECURITY BEAT: Homeland Defense Briefs)
June 1, 2007... The international police organization, Interpol, has set up an Internet accessible database that allows immigration authorities to quickly check passports to see if they have been lost or stolen. "Terrorists need to travel and there's no better...

700 miles of border fence whittled down to nearly half.(SECURITY BEAT: Homeland Defense Briefs)
June 1, 2007... CONGRESS LAST YEAR PASSED the Secure Fence Act, which authorized 700 miles of double-fenced border barriers. Critics charged that the law was a bone thrown to voters at the tail end of a remarkably inactive 109th Congress as the border...

U.S. space initiatives fall short on ambition.(INSIDE Science AND Technology)
June 1, 2007... For a perspective on the nation's science and technology status, one need look no further than President Bush's initiative to send Americans back to the moon by 2015. The plan is to have astronauts spend extended periods of time on the...

Son of crusader: future combat vehicles will fall short of preferred weight.(UPFRONT)
June 1, 2007... CHARLESTON, S.C. -- "Future Combat Systems 20-ton cannon in 2008: fact or fiction?" an artillery officer asked in a 2003 military journal. The answer four years later is "fiction." Officials working on the Army modernization program...

For the first time, Navy will launch weapons from surveillance drones.(UPFRONT)
June 1, 2007... Just like the Air Force, the Army and the CIA, the Navy soon could be deploying its own armed drones. To that end, the Navy will request funds in fiscal year 2010 to begin outfitting its new surveillance drone with kinetic weapons. The...

Erratum.(UPFRONT)(Correction notice)
June 1, 2007... In the May 207 story, "Air Force Gunships Could Be Grounded," page 24, the rank was omitted and the first name misspelled of Maj. Gen Donald Wurster.

Wanted: better battle gear: combat veterans catalog equipment shortfalls.(TECHNOLOGY)
June 1, 2007... HONOLULU -- One by one, soldiers, Marines, sailors and airmen marched up to a podium before an industry conference here and gave a litany of battlefield deficiencies they have recently encountered in operations around the globe. Many...

Tiny fiber sensors offer another option for communicating.(TECHNOLOGY)
June 1, 2007... HONOLULU -- Light and thermal sensing fibers that are embedded in uniforms can both alert soldiers that they have been targeted by laser range finders and permit them to hear communications via infrared light. This new technology was...

Pacific Command seeks technologies for expanding missions.(TECHNOLOGY)
June 1, 2007... HONOLULU -- The chief of U.S. Pacific Command, Adm. Timothy Keating, asked for help in four broad categories: intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance; undersea warfare; communications; and personal protection. "We're pretty good on...

Liquid hydrogen-powered drones within reach.(TECHNOLOGY)
June 1, 2007... HONOLULU -- As the demand for unmanned aerial vehicles continues to soar, companies are producing systems that fly higher for longer periods and can carry more payloads, including lethal weapons. One of the newest systems in development is...

Weapons of choice: bomb making skills spread globally.(terrorism)(Cover story)
June 1, 2007... SINGAPORE -- His name was Dr. Azahari bin Husin. He held a Ph.D. in statistical modeling from Redding University in England, and because of his innovations, he was considered one of the top experts in his field. But he chose nor to pursue a...

The eastern front: Southeast Asia struggles to create anti-terrorist network.(terrorism)
June 1, 2007... SINGAPORE -- The strategy is called "whack-a-mole" and it's precisely what those fighting the so-called global war on terror want to avoid. Waiting for a threat to rear its head, then reacting with a hammer is considered bad policy. ...

Port security around Singapore critical to world economy.(terrorism)
June 1, 2007... SINGAPORE -- Though small in size, the city state of Singapore resides in a busy neighborhood. It's the home of the busiest port in the world, and it's not uncommon to see Several hundred container ships stacked up in neat rows Stretching...

Midair collision: a never-ending feud over roles and missions.(ANALYSIS)
June 1, 2007... At the heart of the latest Air Force-Army spat over who should control surveillance drones is a debate that began six decades ago: Should the Army only fly helicopters and leave fixed-wing airplanes to its brothers in blue? The feud over...

Air Force estimates $79 billion budget deficit.(ANALYSIS)
June 1, 2007... THE AIR FORCE ANTICIPATES its 2008 budget will be $9 billion short of what it needs to support its current assets. By 2013, the shortfall is expected to reach $28 billion. A confluence of higher-than-forecast fuel costs, health care and...

Ammo supplies: production is meeting war requirements, but modernization still lacking.(MUNITIONS)
June 1, 2007... The Army has managed during the past five years to replenish small-caliber ammunition stocks that had shrunk during the 1990s. A shortage of small caliber ammunition during the first years of the Iraq war prompted the Army to quickly ramp...

Soldiers need more non-lethal weapons, better knock down power.(MUNITIONS)
June 1, 2007... TROOPS IN IRAQ and Afghanistan would like to see non-lethal alternatives to conventional ammunition, said Lt. Col. Al Kelly, commander of the 17th Infantry Brigade. Non-lethal weapons are needed for crowd control and mob situations, he...

Munitions industrial base: trouble on the horizon.(COMMENTARY)
June 1, 2007... A confluence of current events indicates that a vital national resource--the munitions industrial base--urgently requires attention. These concerns are not merely theoretical or speculative. They are based on historical facts. Between 1985...

Skeptics watch cannon progress closely.(MUNITIONS)
June 1, 2007... THE DEFENSE DEPARTMENT civilian leadership cancelled the mobile artillery Crusader platform five years, ago, but the concept lives on in the Future Combat Systems non-line-of-sight cannon. The cannon, currently weighing 27 tons, will be the...

Germ warfare: agencies scramble to create vaccine market.(BIOWARFARE)
June 1, 2007... When anthrax was delivered to Capitol Hill and media outlets in envelopes in 2001, the prospect of a widespread biological attack became real to the U.S. government. For Jay Cohen, undersecretary of the Department of Homeland Security's...

Government contracts focus on vaccines, emergency response.(BIOWARFARE)
June 1, 2007... THE DEFENSE THREAT Reduction Agency has awarded several vaccine contracts under a program designed to protect against genetically engineered biological weapons. The $1.5 billion five-year program focuses on defenses against intracellular...

Ready to respond? National Guard, Army chemical units criticized for being untrained, unprepared.(BIOWARFARE)
June 1, 2007... The news appears good on the surface. The Defense Department has doubled its investment in chemical and biological defense since 9/11, and proposes a 20 percent increase during the next five years. But the additional funding has not yielded...

Sniper detection: SADS finds the location of shooters.(TECH TALK)
June 1, 2007... Need to find a sniper fast? Check out the small arms detection system from Rafael Development Authority Ltd. of Israel. SADS, the company says, is able to quickly detect and pinpoint the general direction of a hostile shooter. It consists...

Emergency escape windows offered to troops.(TECH TALK)
June 1, 2007... TROOPS RIDING IN up-armored high mobility multipurpose wheeled vehicles (humvees) and comparable trucks could have the option of exiting rapidly via emergency escape windows. The kits, which rely on existing window designs, were developed by...

Trainer designed to assist troops in deadly rollovers.(TECH TALK)
June 1, 2007... A coalition of military experts from the Army Forces Command, program executive officer for simulation, training and instrumentation and Tank Automotive, Research Development and Engineering Center has devised a trainer for troops to rehearse...

Drink that refreshes, invigorates.(TECH TALK)(CamelBak Elixir)(Brief article)
June 1, 2007... A California company that is known for its hands-free hydration gear has come up with a pill that offers a cocktail of electrolytes, vitamins minerals. One tablet of CamelBak Elixir enhances 24 ounces of water. Four tablets, the company says,...

Water machine geared for disaster relief.(TECH TALK)
June 1, 2007... Spectra Watermachines of San Rafael, Calif., has developed a device that can produce up to 3,500 gallons of drinking water a day from polluted or salt water. The Solar Cube, which is energized by solar or wind power, can also provide emergency...

Quick release vest unveiled.(TECH TALK)
June 1, 2007... A NEW BULLET PROOF VEST that has been introduced by First Choice Armor of Spindale, N.C., allows troops under duress to remove the protective gear in less than four seconds. They simply strip off the break-away garment. The configurable...

ITT penalties: does the punishment fit the crime?(ETHICS CORNER)
June 1, 2007... If you have ever experienced driving down the road and seeing out of the corner of your eye a smoking multi-car pileup or a tractor-trailer upended in a ditch, then that neck-snapping "what was that!?!" experience would mirror what many of us...

Jones honored with James Forrestal Industry Leadership Award.(NDIA NEWS)(Clay Jones, Chairman of Rockwell Collins Inc.)(Brief article)
June 1, 2007... Rockwell Collins Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer Clay Jones was awarded the James Forrestal Industry Leadership Award on April 25 by the National Defense Industrial Association. Jones was presented the award for "having...

Manos, Parry recognized for procurement division work.(NDIA NEWS)
June 1, 2007... Karen L. Manos of Gibson, Dunn and Crutcher LLP and D. Scott Parry of Lockheed Martin Corp. have been awarded the NDIA Procurement Division's prestigious Howard H. Cork Memorial Award for 2006. This award, presented to Manos and Parry in a...

Outstanding ROTC officers receive Codd Award.(NDIA NEWS)(Reserve Officers' Training Corps)(Brief article)
June 1, 2007... The National Defense Industrial Association announced the winners of its annual Colonel Leo A. Codd Memorial Award winners for 2006, which recognizes outstanding junior officers in ROTC programs throughout the United States. First through...

NDIA leadership.(NDIA NEWS)(National Defense Industrial Association)(Brief article)(List)
June 1, 2007... NDIA LEADERSHIP Chairman of the Board Tofie M. Owen Jr. Senior Vice President for Corporate Development SAIC Vice Chairman of the Board Hal Yoh The Day and Zimmermann Group, Inc. Senior staff Lawrence...

NDIA events calendar.(National Defense Industrial Association)(Calendar)
June 1, 2007... JUNE 2007 25-27 Joint CBRN Conference I Exhibition Ft. Leonard Wood, MO POC: Laura Alexander @ (703) 247-2568 Exhibits: Dana Pezzuti @ (703) 247-2573 25-28 Live Fire Test & Evaluation Conference Charleston,...

Affiliate events.(NDIA EVENTS CALENDAR)(National Defense Industrial Association)(Brief article)(Calendar)
June 1, 2007... JUNE 21, 2007 Cyber Deterrence Arlington, VA MARCH 4-5, 2008 Fulfilling the Warfighters' Vision 2008 Tampa Bay, FL Contact Nicole Peterson at: (703) 247-9474 or email npeterson@afei.org JUNE 12-14, 2007 ...

Chapter events.(NDIA EVENTS CALENDAR)(National Defense Industrial Association)(Brief article)(Calendar)
June 1, 2007... JUNE 14 Picatinny Chapter 32nd Annual Firepower Benefit Birchwood Manor Whippany, N.J. 18 NDIA-AFA Mile High Chapters 2ND Annual Golf Tournament ...