National Defense articles from March 2003

National Defense archives from March 2003

Editor's corner.(Editorial)
March 1, 2003... As Navy aircraft carriers deploy at a faster-than-usual pace, in preparation for possible conflict in the Persian Gulf, technology developers back in Washington, D.C., are seeking ways to speed up the flow of combat intelligence to the cockpit...

Defense budget takes calculated risks. (President's Perspective).
March 1, 2003... The defense budget submitted to Congress in early February is touted by the administration as its first budget that truly addresses the need to "transform" our military services into a force better equipped to deal with the threats of the new...

Readers forum.(Letter to the Editor)
March 1, 2003... Civil Affairs I am the executive officer for the 450th Civil Affairs Battalion (Airborne) in Afghanistan. In reference to your article in February 2003 (Pentagon Broadens Duties for Civil Affairs Teams), I must point out a number of...

Tensions in Congress running high, gridlock to continue. (Washington Pulse).(Brief Article)
March 1, 2003... "In fighting in the authorizing committees," will be a mark of the upcoming year in Congress, said a congressional expert. Legislation to create a homeland security department, transportation security administration and passage of a war on...

Latvia outlines military modernization plan. (Washington Pulse).(Brief Article)
March 1, 2003... Representatives of Latvia's government recently visited Washington to meet with U.S. Defense and State Department officials, as well as policy analysts and journalists. After announcements late last year that Latvia would be invited to join...

Spratt: defense spending plans not realistic. (Washington Pulse).
March 1, 2003... "The Bush administration is committing itself to a huge defense buildup whose costs exceed the administration's budget projections and will last long after President Bush leaves office," said Rep. John Spratt (D-S.C), the ranking member of the...

American group seeks peace in Chechnya. (Washington Pulse).(American Committee for Peace in Chechnya )(Brief Article)
March 1, 2003... The Washington D .C.-based American Committee for Peace in Chechnya recently introduced a peace plan, which is now being considered by Russians parliamentarians and Chechen leaders. The committee is led by Carter-era National Security...

Erratum.(Correction Notice)
March 1, 2003... In the February 2003 story, "Digital Visual-Aid Technology Helps Pilots Own the Weather," it should have been stated that Kollsman Inc. is the systems integrator for the Enhanced Vision (EVS) product installed on Gulfstream aircraft.

Private Defense Information taken off Internet. (Security Beat).
March 1, 2003... The Defense Information Systems Agency (DISA) recently removed the biography of its commanding officer from its public Web site, citing a memorandum by Secretary of Defense Donald H. Rumsfeld. The memo reportedly said that all private...

House creates Select Committee on Homeland Security. (Security Beat).(Brief Article)
March 1, 2003... Instead of having homeland security issues handled within existing committees, the House of Representatives created a Select Committee on Homeland Security, chaired by Rep. Chris Cox, R-Calif. Cox has served as vice chairman of the Government...

Physician assertiveness will prevent outbreaks of illness. (Security Beat).
March 1, 2003... The ability to prevent people from getting ill after a biological or chemical agent attack does not just depend on the types of detectors installed in cities, said an expert. Just as important are "disease surveillance and integrated...

Navy steps up deployment of Air Defense system. (Security Beat).(Brief Article)
March 1, 2003... Pressing ahead with deployment of its Area Air Defense Commander (AADC) Capability system, the Navy is working on an advanced battle-space management package designed for both forward-deployed operations and homeland defense. The Naval Sea...

Avoid 'analysis paralysis,' DHS workers advised. (Security Beat).(Dept of Homeland Security)
March 1, 2003... With the new Department of Homeland Security scheduled to stand up on March 1, Secretary Tom Ridge urged the 170,000 employees of the 22 federal agencies that will be merged together not to fall victim to "analysis paralysis." Whenever a...

Congressman wants nanoscience advisory board. (Security Beat).(Michael Honda)
March 1, 2003... Rep. Michael Honda, D-Calif., introduced legislation to establish a national nanoscience and nanotechnology advisory board, as part of a national nanotechnology coordination office, within the President's Office of Science and Technology...

Former General Dynamics chief named S&T head at DHS. (Security Beat).(Charles E. McQueary, undersecretary for science and technology, Department of Homeland Security )(Brief Article)
March 1, 2003... The White House announced that Charles E. McQueary would serve as the first under secretary for science and technology in the newly established Department of Homeland Security (DHS). McQueary recently retired as president of General Dynamics...

Airbags move to airplanes. (Tech Talk).(Brief Article)
March 1, 2003... The notion that an airbag can save the lives of car drivers and passengers also could be applied to airplanes. That is the marketing pitch from Amsafe Aviation, in Phoenix. Australia's Gippsland Aeronautics will be the first to install Amsafe's...

Sensor sees through walls. (Tech Talk).(Geophysical Survey Systems Ultravision)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2003... Soldiers and security guards in the market for better sensors may be interested in a new motion detector that sees through concrete walls. Geophysical Survey Systems Inc., of North Salem, N.H., developed an UWB (ultra wideband) security...

Bomb squads get rugged computers. (Tech Talk).(Brief Article)
March 1, 2003... The FBI's bomb squads will be operating new PCs equipped with high-speed wireless communications. The Bomb Scene Response Reporting Kits are being distributed to nationally accredited bomb squads throughout the United States. The Defense...

Cadets learn from Civil War 3-D models. (Tech Talk).(U.S. Military Academy's Geospatial Information Science Program)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2003... The U.S. Military Academy's Geospatial Information Science Program has purchased a 3-D solid terrain model of the Civil War battlefield at Gettysburg, Pa. It will be used in military history and geography courses. Computer-cartography...

How to get a jolt when you really need it. (Tech Talk).(Medtronic Physio-Control Lifepak 500 DPS,)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2003... A device to help revive a patient experiencing cardiac arrest--known as automated external defibrillator--can operate in extreme weather conditions and rugged environments. Minneapolis-based Medtronic Physio-Control makes the Lifepak 500...

Base closures a top concern for incoming GOP lawmakers.
March 1, 2003... As they begin to establish their presence on the House Armed Services Committee, incoming Republicans are gearing up to fight for their local military bases. In anticipation of a round of base closures planned for 2005, several lawmakers said...

SASC members apprehensive about BRAC, force readiness.(Senate Armed Services Committee)
March 1, 2003... All nine new members of the Senate Armed Services Committee--six Republicans and three Democrats--plan to focus much of their attention this year on military readiness, force modernization and base-closure issues. Sen. John Cornyn,...

'Joint bases' is the name of the game in BRAC '05.(base realignments and closure)
March 1, 2003... Details on the Bush administration's plan to dose scores of military bases by 2005 will begin to surface next month, when a top-level panel of military and civilian defense officials is due to outline its recommendations to Secretary of Defense...

U.S. scales back JSF, Super Hornet buys: Consolidation of Navy-Marine tactical aviation eliminates 497 aircraft.(Joint Strike Fighter)
March 1, 2003... Only a year ago, a flag officer described the Navy's aircraft procurement program as "our biggest challenge." At the time, the officer showed a spending plan that funded 85 aircraft in 2004, with quantities gradually increasing through...

Navy, Air Force team up in 'Joint Fires Network': current technologies not flexible enough for fast-paced strike warfare.
March 1, 2003... An experimental U.S. Navy technology that links "black boxes"--used to collect and process intelligence aboard ships and aircraft--is helping fill the gaps that have made it difficult for the military services to share and distribute...

Navy's fire-support weapon programs lag: long-range naval guns, precision-guided projectiles, are at least a decade away.
March 1, 2003... A protracted debate on how the Navy should best provide long-range fire support to ground forces will not be settled any time soon. Since the battleships were decommissioned after the Cold War, the Navy has been criticized for failing to...

NATO units in Kosovo predict mission could last a decade.
March 1, 2003... The winding village roads teem with old cars covered in the grime of winter. The familiar dark green NATO trucks and white and blue-inscribed United Nations vehicles dart in and our of the traffic. Amid the ruins of burnt houses, new red brick...

Former Kosovo Liberation Army morphing into a national guard.
March 1, 2003... On the walls along the dim hallways of the Kosovo Protection Corps headquarters hang rows of pictures that tell the story of the KPC's missions since its inception three years ago. Seeking to put behind a murky past, the Corps--a civilian...

New intelligence office must fix information breakdowns.
March 1, 2003... Military commanders often have complained that the U.S. intelligence bureaucracy fails to adequately satisfy their needs for up-to-the-minute information about the enemy. Their frustration has been further exacerbated by the fact that, when...

Marine Corps sets sights on more precise shooting.
March 1, 2003... In an isolated corner of the U.S. Marine base at Quantico, Va., a small unit is working to turn one of the oldest combat weapons- the infantry rifle-into a precise, ultramodern killing machine. The unit, the Weapons Training Battalion,...

Precision weapons command more attention, resources.
March 1, 2003... The Pentagon plans to allocate a larger share of its precision-weapons spending to three programs--the joint direct attack munition, the small diameter bomb and the joint air-to-surface standoff missile, Defense Department officials said. ...

Military transformation requires new suppliers: Pentagon study says more innovative companies needed in defense sector.
March 1, 2003... The Pentagon's latest study on the defense industrial base confirms what has become increasingly obvious to experts and observers: the Defense Department and its top contractors are hindering the entrance of new firms into the marketplace. ...

NDIA lists top defense issues for 2003. (Government Policy Notes).
March 1, 2003... NDIA's Board of Directors has approved the association's "Top Issues for 2003." The issues--which were proposed by NDIA's Government Policy Advisory Committee, whose membership includes all chapter presidents, as well as the chairs of all...

Brass tracks.
March 1, 2003... Government Navy Rear Adm. John M. Kelly is being assigned as director of the programming division, N80, office of the chief of naval operations. Kelly currently is serving as commander of the Cruiser Destroyer Group Three. The...

Scholarship honors past president Lawrence F. Skibbie. (NDIA News).(National Defense Industrial Association)
March 1, 2003... The National Defense Industrial Association (NDIA) is pleased to announce the second annual Lawrence F. Skibbie graduate student scholarship for $10,000. The scholarship is intended to support one or more advanced graduate students in...

WID event to examine Defense Outsourcing. (Women in Defense).(Women in Defense)
March 1, 2003... Women In Defense (WID), A National Security Organization, will host its first annual national conference on April 11, from 8:30 a.m. to 2:45 p.m., at the Ritz-Carlton Tysons Corner in McLean, Va. The conference--entitled "Defense Workforce...

Ndia event.(Calendar)
March 1, 2003... ndia even event MARCH 3-6 19th Annual National Logistics Conference & Exhibition "Logistics... Enabling the Mission" Event #3730 New Orleans, LA Regular Registration Fees: Members $655...