| Blog Description |
A US Army Signal Corps soldier blogs about the Army, radios, Defense Transformation, politics, terrorism, organized crime, and anything else that comes to mind.
 |
| Buttons 4 You |
<a href="http://signaleer.blogspot.com;action=home"><img src="http://img528.imageshack.us/img528/2320/signaleerchickletik9.gif" alt="RTO Trainer" />
<a href="http://signaleer.blogspot.com;action=home"><img src="http://img102.imageshack.us/img102/9481/signaleerbtn150dd6.gif" alt="RTO Trainer" />
|
| MilBlogs |
|
|
 |
| RTO Trainer's Blogroll |
|
| Military News |
RSS news feeds and News widgets
|
| Hey, Buddy. Got the Time? |
|
|
| Terrorism News |
News widgets and RSS news feeds
|
Blackanthem |
|
| 101st Fighting Keyboards |
|
| Blog Reading Level |
|
 |
| Referers |
|
|
| Disclaimer |
| This is my blog. It is not authorized or approved by DoD, the US Army, the US Army Signal Corps, the Oklahoma Army National Guard or any subunits of any of the foregoing. All material is my own and does not represent any of the aforementioned groups. |
|
| Morale: The Good Old Days In Iraq |
| 26.12.09 |
| "So, while the U.S. combat brigades still assigned to Iraq remain in place (largely restricted to their new, suburban, bases), over 3,000 support (transportation, engineering, maintenance and communication) troops have been quietly sent to Afghanistan. Some are ordered to Afghanistan shortly after they arrive in Iraq. For many of these troops, it's their first time in Afghanistan, after having served two or more tours in Iraq. While U.S. troops have been in Afghanistan since late 2001, for most of that time, there were only about 20,000 of them there. Now it's over 60,000, and rapidly expanding to 100,000. In Iraq, a much more developed country (more roads, access to the sea and much closer to Europe), there have been 150,000, or more, American troops there since 2003. U.S. bases in Iraq are well equipped, the danger is low and there's not a lot to do. In contrast, the bases in Afghanistan are sparse, there's a lot more violence (although still only about half as much as there was in Iraq during 2005-7), and a lot more to do. So the U.S. troops arriving in Afghanistan straight from Iraq encounter a bit of culture shock." |
|
|
|
|
| Leadership: The Boss Is An Idiot And Is Getting Us Killed |
|
| "A third factor in the exodus was the dislike of the army’s “force protection” fixation. The army put a lot of emphasis on keeping casualties down. But a lot of the combat commanders interpreted this as doing as little as possible. This, despite the fact that those commanders who get outside their camps a lot, thereby reduce enemy activity in the area, and overall American casualties. But these aggressive tactics come with some risk, and many battalion and brigade commanders (lieutenant colonels and colonels) are more risk averse than the captains and lieutenants (company and platoon commanders). Once you hit lieutenant colonel, you are making the army a career, and are less inclined to take chances. But captains and lieutenants can afford to take chances, and are put off when their bosses are not." |
|
|
|
|
| Information Warfare: The Man Upstairs |
|
| "There will never be enough of the specially trained and equipped joint terminal air controllers (JTAC) to do the job. These guys, who are usually themselves air force, army or marine pilots, have to be looking at the target before a smart bomb can be dropped. These rules have been largely watered down over the last seven years. Wartime demands often do that. But many in the air force point out that JTACs not only get more training than JFOs (five weeks, versus two), but are also combat pilots, giving them much useful practical experience. But the army and marines are taking advantage of the simplicity of smart bombs, and the sheer necessity of getting air support when it is needed, no matter the risks." |
|
|
|
|
| Counter-Terrorism: The Torture Kings Consider Reform |
|
| "This joint effort has also bumped into a growing campaign to eliminate torture and corrupt police practices in many Arab nations. The regular use of torture by Arab police is an open secret, as is the corruption in many Arab police forces. While it didn't get much play in the West, the rebuilding of the Iraqi police force was accompanied by stories, that did get a lot of play in the Arab press, where criminals and terrorist made no secret of preferring getting arrested by the Americans, rather than the Iraqi police. The Americans treated you better, and tortured you not at all. While the Abu Ghraib photos, of American military police tormenting (by Arab standards) Iraqi prisoners angered many Arabs, they also made the point that, at their worst, the Americans were much easier on prisoners than their Arab counterparts." |
|
|
|
|
| Infantry: The Sniper Revolution |
|
| "But both the army and the marines were also taking advantage of the greater number of veteran troops in their combat units, and the fact that just about every soldier has a rifle with a scope, and has a lot of target practice behind them. In the past, infantry commanders were encouraged to find and designate about ten percent of their men as sharpshooters (sort of sniper lite) and make use of these guys to take out enemy troops at a distance, with single shots. This was a trend that had been growing for over a decade, and was becoming a major feature of American infantry tactics. These sharpshooters, especially the ones with combat experience, were the prime candidates for sniper school. The trained snipers, however, also have the special skills required to find the best shooting position, and how to stay hidden, and get out of harms way if discovered." |
|
|
|
|
| Hot Air » Blog Archive » Chavez to automakers: Share the wealth, or else |
|
| "Unfortunately for Venezuelans, the result will be the same as Chavez’ previous nationalizations. The four automakers will eventually leave Venezuela, and perhaps be replaced by Russian and Chinese automakers — although Russia and China may not be all that keen to work under a confiscatory regime, either. The quality of autos will drop, because after all, people who have the opportunity and means to buy Toyotas, Fords, and Fiats rarely choose Russian or Chinese cars for a reason." |
|
|
|
|
| Murphy's Law: Arabian Nightmare For Iran |
| 22.12.09 |
| "The commander of U.S. forces in the Middle East made an observation that the Gulf Arab nations wished he hadn't. General David Petraeus noted that the United Arab Emirates (UAE) Air Force, and it's 80 F-16E fighters could probably quickly destroy the entire Iranian Air Force. The Gulf Arabs would prefer the Iranians to believe their own propaganda, that the Iranian military is much more powerful than it actually is. The Iranian Air Force is mainly a mighty force only in terms of Iranian propaganda. The Gulf Arabs don't want the Iranians to make a strong effort to upgrade their air force and air defenses. The Iranian myth is much better for the Gulf Arabs than Iranian military commanders who plan and prepare on the basis of what they really have." |
|
|
|
|
| Afghanistan: Why The Russians Are Jealous |
|
| "A variation of this ancient tactic is still going to be used against the Taliban, but without any threat to civilians. The Afghans consider this reluctance to hurt civilians to be a major weakness, which they exploit as often as possible. Mostly, this means using civilians as human shields, and having weapons moved separately from the gunmen, until the last moment. The Taliban know that the American ROE (Rules of Engagement) prohibit smart bomb attacks on unarmed men. But the Taliban have major weaknesses when it comes to public support (most Afghans hate them, especially in the north), and the U.S. forces have far superior intelligence collecting capabilities." |
|
|
|
|
| Like Hell |
| 21.12.09 |
“There are 100 senators here and I don’t know that there’s a senator that doesn’t have something in this bill that isn’t important to them,” [SEN Harry] Reid (D-NV) said. “If they don’t have something in it important to them then it doesn’t speak well of them.”
On the contrary. If they don't have something in it, being smart enough to keep their fingerprints off this unconsitutional piece of crap, I say it speaks very highly of them. |
|
|
|
|
| Intelligence: AWACS And The Pirates |
|
| "Currently, the anti-piracy patrol, with a few exceptions, does not attack the pirates, even if the pirates are caught attacking a merchant ship. But the presence of warships, or a military helicopter, usually causes the pirates to abort their attacks. The anti-piracy patrol also refrains from even capturing pirates, because few Western nations have laws for prosecuting piracy." |
|
|
|
|
| Attrition: Screwing Around Now Gets You Screwed |
|
| "Three things are going on here. First, the pregnancy gets the soldier out of Iraq, or Afghanistan, without any penalty (other than having to raise the kid, a not inconsiderable cost.) Second, the pregnancy is evidence that at least two soldiers were violating the prohibition against sex in the combat zone. But there was a third cost; the army loses the services of that soldier for their remainder of their tour. It was this factor that caused the general to impose the pregnancy penalty. Too many essential troops were being lost to pregnancy. Many other commanders have quietly complained of this situation, but this is the first time a senior commander used the authority they had to do something about it." |
|
|
|
|
| Electronic Weapons: Chasing RATS |
| 18.12.09 |
| "Actually, RATS isn't a phone, it's a wi-fi device that looks like one (as does the Ipod Touch). RATS has GPS, a compass, vidcam and software that enables users to connect, and show each others location on the screen. It's also possible to operate robots with RATS, or receive video from a UAV overhead (like the five pound Raven the army uses thousands of.) RATS has mapping software, and the ability to download maps and use them with the wi-fi location system to provide a constantly updated view of where everyone is. Typically, gear like RATS is carried by officers and NCOs down to team (groups of five troops) leaders or vehicle commanders. RATS can also send or receive video or pix. The touch screen makes RATS easy to use in combat. RATS is a development project, but you can see how quickly it could turn into a water and shock proof, encrypted device, ready for the battlefield." |
|
|
|
|
| Information Warfare: SkyGrabber And The Curse Of Encryption |
|
| "As for why the Predator video was liable to this kind of capture. Well, sometimes, you take a chance. And then you get caught. For years, the video from UAV was unencrypted. This was to save communications capacity ('bandwidth'), which was always in short supply. To encrypt the video would require more bandwidth, and specialized equipment on the UAVs and ground receivers. There would also be a slight delay for the guys on the ground using the video. For all these reasons, the video remained unencrypted. This was not a secret, it was known to people in the business. Now everyone knows, and encryption, and all its costs, will be added to UAV video broadcasts." |
|
|
|
|
| Algeria: The Lesser Of Two Evils |
|
| "But the Arab form of police state is not all muscle. The 'carrot and stick' approach has been around for thousands of years. For example, in the last three years, the government has distributed $166 million to victims of Islamic terrorism. As these extremists are already disliked for their seemingly random attacks on civilians, they also come off poorly in comparison with the government, which provides medical attention for the victims, security forces who often capture or kill the terrorists and, finally, cash payments to the victims. Thus, while Algerians may not like their corrupt and controlling government very much, they dislike the Islamic terrorists even more." |
|
|
|
|
| Gitmo Does Not Cause Terrorism by Andrew C. McCarthy on National Review Online |
| 17.12.09 |
| "It’s worth remembering that the “Blind Sheikh,” Omar Abdel Rahman, perhaps the world’s most influential jihadist, was never held in Gitmo. Instead, he and eleven of his followers got the gold-plated due-process plan: a nine-month 1995 trial in the criminal justice system for waging war against the American people. (That’s not rhetoric; that was the charge: conspiracy to levy war against the United States — Section 2384 of the federal penal code.)" |
|
|
|
|
| My Way News - House approves $290 billion increase in debt limit |
|
"The House on Wednesday passed legislation giving the federal government the ability to borrow a whopping $290 billion to finance its operations for just six additional weeks.
The 218-214 vote sends the must-pass bill to the Senate, which is expected to approve it as its last act before adjourning for the year. The alternative would be a market-rattling, first-ever default on U.S. obligations.
The measure is needed as a result of the out-of-control budget deficit, which registered $1.4 trillion for the budget year that ended in September. The current debt ceiling is $12.1 trillion and is set to be reached by Dec. 31." |
|
|
|
|
| Insurgents Hack U.S. Drones - WSJ.com |
|
| "Senior defense and intelligence officials said Iranian-backed insurgents intercepted the video feeds by taking advantage of an unprotected communications link in some of the remotely flown planes' systems. Shiite fighters in Iraq used software programs such as SkyGrabber -- available for as little as $25.95 on the Internet -- to regularly capture drone video feeds, according to a person familiar with reports on the matter." |
|
|
|
|
| Morale: The Weightless Weight Room |
|
| "The U.S. Army has bought 3,205 TRX Suspension Trainers, for about a hundred dollars each. Some 200 are being sent to units in Iraq and Afghanistan. These devices are suspended from anything that will bear a few hundred pounds of weight, and be used as a portable weight lifting room. This is a big deal with combat troops, who have learned that muscle will save your life in the battlefield." |
|
|
|
|
| Peace Time: Dangerous When Moved |
| 15.12.09 |
| "As U.S. bases are shut down, many memorial items, dating from World War II, are being moved, sometimes to be scrapped. Those involved in the removals are warned to remember a 1958 incident. Back then, a British air base, at Scampton, was rebuilding the road through the main gate. There were two 'gate guards' on either side of the main gate. One was a demilitarized Lancaster heavy (four engine) bomber, and the other was a 22,000 pound (10 ton) 'Grand Slam' bomb that was believed to be demilitarized. But it wasn't." |
|
|
|
|
| Leadership: Where "Good Enough" Can Get You Killed |
|
"NATO and American trainers have to recruit and educate a lot of their own technical people, after first improving the literacy skills of promising candidates. But then, when you've trained, say vehicle mechanics, you often find that they will leave the army (often just deserting) for a better paying civilian job.
Thus you have the familiar pattern where, new equipment, say trucks, are delivered to the army or police. After a while, most of the vehicles become inoperable. This is because of the chronic shortage of qualified mechanics and operators to maintain these vehicles. As a result, after a year or so of use, these vehicles start to break down, and there are not enough qualified mechanics to keep the vehicles operational." |
|
|
|
|
| Forces: Iraq Comes Back |
|
"The 1st Intervention Corps consists of the two motorized, one infantry and one armored divisions. One of the motorized corps is the also known as the Reaction Force Division. This is considered the most effective division in the army, and one to be used for the most difficult situations. Think of this corps as the new 'Republican Guard.'
The other three corps are named after the part of the country they are based in." |
|
|
|
|
| Afghanistan: Fighting For The Dry, Mountainous Nothing In The Middle Of Nowhere |
|
| "American commanders believe the 30,000 additional U.S. troops, plus increases in Afghan and NATO forces, will enable the Taliban to be crushed within a year. But after that, Afghanistan will require economic and military assistance for at least twenty years, to bring sustained peace to the country. The plan is to turn over security to the central government within five years." |
|
|
|
|
| Naval Air: Sea King Leaves The Navy |
| 14.12.09 |
| "The U.S. Navy has retired its last UH-3H Sea King transport helicopter, and transferred most of the remaining ones to the U.S. Marine Corps. The navy used to be the largest operator of the H-3, using hundreds of them for anti-submarine warfare, as well as transporting personnel and supplies, plus search and rescue." |
|
|
|
|
| Logistics: Light The Little Suckers Up And Watch Them Die |
|
| "It takes 48 seconds to clean half a liter (16 ounces) of water (and 90 seconds for a liter). Just stick the probe in the water, press the button and watch the countdown timer. One set of batteries will purify 58 liters (14.3 gallons). Unlike purification tablets, the SteriPen method does not leave a chemical taste. For this reason, many troops buy a SteriPen, which cost a hundred dollars." |
|
|
|
|
| The Long View [Darleen Click] |
|
| "Cash For Cubes! In an effort to stop global warming & create jobs!!!11!, the Obama administration pays selected Democrats in the Teamster Union to haul ice cubes from bicycle powered freezers in about-to-be-foreclosed homes to the Maldives, where it is packed around panting polar bears, sweating penguins, and an occasional spotted owl." |
|
|
|
|
| U.S. agency sees more health spending with reform | Reuters |
| 12.12.09 |
| "U.S. healthcare spending would rise by about $234 billion over the next decade under the Senate Democrats' overhaul bill and some of the proposed savings might never be achieved, a U.S. agency said in a report released on Friday." |
|
|
|
|
| Big Government » Blog Archive » UN Security Stops Journalist’s Questions About ClimateGate#more-44722#more-44722 |
|
"A Stanford Professor has used United Nation security officers to silence a journalist asking him “inconvenient questions” during a press briefing at the climate change conference in Copenhagen.
Professor Stephen Schneider’s assistant requested armed UN security officers who held film maker Phelim McAleer, ordered him to stop filming and prevented further questioning after the press conference where the Stanford academic was launching a book." |
|
|
|
|
| Intelligence: Up The Creek Without A Linguist |
|
| "The Department of Defense can't train enough new military interpreters, so it has to hire local people. That is difficult in Afghanistan. The problem is that the local terrorists realize that the interpreters are important, and they, well, terrorize the interpreters into quitting or, even better, becoming a terrorist spy. This, obviously complicates things for the combat troops who need the interpreters to get their work done. The solution has been to have the intelligence troops work closely with hiring and monitoring interpreters. In some parts of Afghanistan, the interpreters are hired in secret, and much effort goes into keeping their job status secret from the local community." |
|
|
|
|
| Air Transportation: Black Hawk Upgrade |
|
| "This M model is the new standard for the UH-60. The UH-60M features several improvements, including new rotor blades (more reliable, and provide 500 pounds of additional lift), an all electronic cockpit (putting all needed information on four full-color displays), an improved autopilot (which will fly the chopper if the pilot is injured and unable to), improved flight controls (making flying easier, especially in stressful situations), a stronger fuselage, more efficient navigation system, better infrared suppression (making it harder for heat seeking missiles to hit), and more powerful engines. The oldest model, the UH-60As, will continue to serve until the last of them is retired in 2025. By then, all UH-60s will be L or M models." |
|
|
|
|
| Electronic Weapons: Turning PlayStation Into A Supercomputer |
| 11.12.09 |
"Three years ago, the Tesla supercomputer add-on for PCs appeared on the market. This was basically an Nvidia graphics board tweaked to act like a supercomputer, rather than a device that put 3-D, photo-realistic game graphics on your computer screen. The latest version of this system will give you a teraflop of computing power for $10,000.
The Cell Processor on the PlayStation 3 (PS 3) is also a GPU, and that GPU alone was used to built several of the fastest supercomputers on the planet." |
|
|
|
|
|
|