National Defense articles from March 2007

National Defense archives from March 2007

Defense budget sets stage for tough choices ahead.(PRESIDENT'S PERSPECTIVE)
March 1, 2007... AS CONGRESS CONTINUES to dissect the details of the Bush administration's proposed defense budget for fiscal year 2008, it is becoming increasingly apparent that the nation's military faces a worrisome financial future. At first glance, it...

Enjoy your money while you can ...(military spending)(Brief article)
March 1, 2007... More than any other service, the Army has relied on Iraq-war funding to refurbish vehicles and acquire new hardware. In 2008, the Army is seeking $55 billion for weapon acquisitions, more than half of which will come from war-emergency...

Why does the Army have to do everything?(Washington PULSE)(Brief article)
March 1, 2007... The demand for specialized military units in Iraq--such as police, medics and helicopter pilots--continues unabated. Most of these forces so far have come from the Army, which has prompted senior green-suiters to question why the Joint Chiefs...

Enlarging the Army: how soon we forget.(Washington PULSE)(Brief article)
March 1, 2007... It wasn't until Robert Gates took over as defense secretary three months ago that the Pentagon announced plans to permanently expand the size of the Army and the Marine Corps. An earlier move by former SecDef Donald Rumsfeld to add 30,000...

Air Force seeks greater clout in regional commands.(Washington PULSE)(Brief article)
March 1, 2007... The Air Force soon will be reorganizing its intelligence operations--which currently are so balkanized that the senior leadership doesn't have a good grasp of the services own assets and skills. That makes it difficult to win key billets in...

Sneak peeks: TSA to use standoff sensors in crowded train stations.(SECURITY BEAT: Homeland Defense Briefs)
March 1, 2007... The Transportation Security Administration will begin using a recently unclassified remote sensor to scan rail and cruise line passengers as they walk by for explosives and other weapons, said an agency official. Passive millimeter wave...

Border patrol reaching out to fill 6,000 slots.(SECURITY BEAT: Homeland Defense Briefs)
March 1, 2007... BORDER PATROL RECRUITERS have a tough job ahead of them. The goal spelled out by President Bush is to double their ranks by the end of 2008. That means filling 6,000 new slots if Congress comes through with the funding. Francisco Lopez...

Coast Guard ponders future, delivers new mission statement.(SECURITY BEAT: Homeland Defense Briefs)
March 1, 2007... Small boats and icebergs. As if the Coast Guard didn't have enough missions on its plate, these are two threats the service must keep its eye on, Commandant Adm. Thad Allen, said in a speech delivered shortly before the service released the...

Cargo screening deadline not feasible, Hawley says.(SECURITY BEAT: Homeland Defense Briefs)
March 1, 2007... A PROPOSED THREE YEAR deadline to physically inspect every piece of cargo loaded aboard airliners is impossible, the head of the Transportation Security Administration told senators. "Any mandate to physically inspect 100 percent of air...

Infrastructure plans delivered on time.(SECURITY BEAT: Homeland Defense Briefs)(Brief article)
March 1, 2007... The Department of Homeland Security, with the help of its private sector and federal agency partners, met its year-end deadline to pull together 17 plans to guard resources vital to the nation's security and economy, according to a senior DHS...

A Navy with fewer aircraft carriers no longer unthinkable.(DEFENSE WATCH)
March 1, 2007... THE DISPLAY OF NAVAL firepower currently in progress in the waters of the Persian Gulf is a reminder of the commanding presence of the big-deck aircraft carriers. But even this imposing show of military muscle may not be enough to save the...

Army aviation: delivery of armed recon helicopter delayed one year.(UPFRONT)
March 1, 2007... A crucial test to determine whether the Army's new armed reconnaissance helicopter is ready for production has slipped at least six weeks due to problems integrating a new sensor package, officials said. It is the latest in a series of...

Navy begins work on next-generation bomb disposal robot.(UPFRONT)
March 1, 2007... Nothing made Army Lt. Col. Michael Evans happier than seeing mangled, twisted and charred explosive ordnance disposal robots sitting outside the repair facility at Camp Victory, Iraq. "Every one of those damaged robots... equated to a team...

Defense Dept. needs more technical expertise, says chief weapons tester.(Charles McQueary)(Interview)
March 1, 2007... Despite decades of acquisition reforms, major military procurement programs continue to experience cost growth and technology readiness problems. These challenges could be solved to a large extent if the Defense Department put more emphasis on...

Better business: Army not always amenable to the ways of corporate America.(ANALYSIS)
March 1, 2007... It is a study in contrast that an Army that deploys the world's most modern military force is governed by management rules and practices that no sane corporation would tolerate. But the Army is not in business to make money, so why should...

$2b database to keep tabs on Army stocks.(ANALYSIS)
March 1, 2007... Seeking to manage a rapidly growing inventory of war equipment, the Army is spending nearly $2 billion on a new database that will track 3.4 billion items. The Army decided to build this so-called "corporate database" because it did not...

Missile shield: sea-based missile defense scores hits, but will it work in a real attack?(MISSILE DEFENSE)
March 1, 2007... The Navy has embarked on a plan to deploy 18 warships that would defend the United States and key allies against ballistic missile attacks. But there is still one major weakness in U.S. missile defense systems that neither the Navy nor the...

To catch a bomber: U.S. airports still lack technologies to detect liquid explosives.(HOMELAND SECURITY)
March 1, 2007... DESPITE KNOWN TERRORIST THREATS, it could be years before airports in the United States are equipped with scanners to detect liquid explosives hidden on passengers and inside carry-on luggage. A heated debate about the need to deploy...

Aviation security: DHS expands search for anti-missile technology.(HOMELAND SECURITY)
March 1, 2007... The Department of Homeland Security is proposing an unmanned aerial vehicle defense system designed to fly above airports and protect commercial aircraft against shoulder-fired missiles. This concept is the newest in a pool of potential...

Protecting the rails: Congress, DHS turn their attention to guarding ground transportation.(HOMELAND SECURITY)
March 1, 2007... No one should be surprised if terrorists strike a passenger rail system on U.S. soil. Industry and government officials have stopped short of saying "it's not a matter of if, but when." But they caution that all the signs are there. ...

Battleground Africa: U.S. military seeks to quash terrorism before it takes root.(Special Operations)(Cover story)
March 1, 2007... BAMAKO, Mali -- The assault began with two-minutes of .50-caliber machine gun fire from a ridge overlooking a mock terrorist training camp. After the gun's ammunition was spent, a flare went up signaling the beginning of the attack....

Desert commandos: special operators say training goes both ways.(Special Ops IN AFRICA)(Cover story)
March 1, 2007... BAMAKO, Mali -- The day began at Bamako's international airport as the Malian army's 33rd parachute commando regimen lined up in the pre-dawn darkness to aboard a U.S. Air Force C-130 transport. Despite the early hour, the paratroopers were...

Cross-culture: special forces' skills 'needed more than ever'.(ANALYSIS)(Cover story)
March 1, 2007... Special operations forces have never been in such high demand. Just more than a year ago, the Pentagon approved a major expansion of their ranks and a substantial funding increase. But experts are questioning whether the Pentagon is making...

State of mind: Army simulation tracks special operators' physical, mental reactions.(Special Operations)(Cover story)
March 1, 2007... In a mountainous landscape, software engineer Jason Mohr guides a virtual U.S. soldier to a narrow wooden bridge, where an Afghan leader meets him. He greets the villager and tries to negotiate passage across the bridge. As they converse,...

Airborne: Army wants more tethered aerostats for battlefield.(TECH TALK)
March 1, 2007... Tethered aerostats with multi-mission sensors and communication systems are being assembled by Lockheed Martin of Akron, Ohio, under a recently awarded $77.5 million contract. The persistent threat detection systems were first delivered to...

Digital eyes gain closer capture, greater clarity.(PixonImaging, DigiVision introduce binoculars)(Brief article)
March 1, 2007... TWO COMPANIES IN California have found a way to substantially improve high-powered digital binoculars for troops in the field. PixonImaging and DigiVision of San Diego have melded software and hardware to capture an image of a target as if it...

Thin air yields gallons of drinking water.(TECH TALK)
March 1, 2007... WATER DRAWN from the atmosphere is being provided by a new technology originated by Aqua Science Inc. of Miami Beach, Fla. The 20- and 40-foot machines extract drinking water from the air via a system that does not entirely depend on...

Lighter, environmentally friendly generators unveiled.(Ingersoll-Rand Company Ltd.)(Brief article)
March 1, 2007... Seven new PowerSource generators--ranging from 94 to 570 kVA--have been introduced by Ingersoll Rand of Davidson, N.C. Featuring a foot print up to 30 percent smaller than previous generators, lowered pollution emissions and reduced noise...

Compact weather station for drones.(Brief article)
March 1, 2007... A lightweight, portable weather station that is crafted for unmanned aerial vehicle ground controllers is being produced by Climatronics of Bohemia, N.Y. TACMET II, a self-contained system, offers weather information in real-time. It is also...

Danish army orders protective transport containers.(TECH TALK)
March 1, 2007... Specially designed truck-transported shelters that can safeguard 18 troops and their equipment have been developed by EADS Defence Electronics of Friedrichshafen, Germany, and Krauss-Maffei Wegmann of Munich, Germany. Two of the containers...

'Cross-domain' solution protects government secrets.(Tenix America)(Brief article)
March 1, 2007... A MCLEAN, VA., COMPANY is offering military, intelligence community and homeland security organizations a way to share information from classified and unclassified networks at a single workstation. Interactive link suite from Tenix America...

Little known legislation takes federal contractors by surprise.(GOVERNMENT POLICY NOTES)(Tax Reconciliation Act of 2006)
March 1, 2007... Last May, during negotiations between the House and Senate on the Tax Reconciliation Act of 2006, a provision was "slipped in" the final legislation that was not part of the original House or Senate bill, nor was it ever debated in either...

Message to industry: 'do the right thing'.(ETHICS CORNER)
March 1, 2007... Recent headlines have raised concerns about how federal procurements were handled on a variety of levels. Even if you think you know the rules, they could change or be interpreted differently, affecting the sufficiency of your offer,...

NDIA events calendar.(National Defense Industrial Association)(Calendar)
March 1, 2007... MARCH 2007 19-21 Homeland Security Symposium and Exhibition Arlington, VA POC: Christy Goehner @ (703) 247-2586 Exhibits: Allison Burns @ (703) 247-2584 19-22 Annual National Logistics Conference & Exhibition ...

Affiliate events.(National Defense Industrial Association)(Brief article)(Calendar)
March 1, 2007... www.afei.org MARCH 14-15 Open Technology--Realizing the Vision Hyatt Crystal City Hotel, Arlington, VA APRIL 24-27 Defense Enterprise Architecture Summit Hilton San Diego Mission Valley, San Diego, CA Contact...

Chapter events.(National Defense Industrial Association)(Brief article)
March 1, 2007... MARCH 12-15 Tennessee Valley Chapter Se3 Conference Von Braun Center Huntsville, AL 21 Central Florida Chapter Defense Forum Breakfast Radisson University Hotel ...