US Army

Sujet: US Army Mer 9 Jan 2008 - 17:32

Rappel du premier message :

Citation :: « J'aime les USA, et je combats pour elle», c'est ainsi que Lamia Lahlou commente son adhésion à l'armée américaine, et sa participation à la guerre contre l'iraq- depuis déjà 8 mois-. Née au Maroc en 1986, Lamia Lahlou rejoint l'armée américaine 3 ans après les attentats du 11 septembre 2001.

Tempérée par sa propre volonté, «la marocaine», ne mâche pas ses mots pour affirmer que ce pas emboité s'inscrit dans le cadre d'un «vrai Jihad». Rapporte une idéo diffusée largement sur Internet (Voir ci-aprés).

Choquée par la mort de sa meilleure amie, Lamia croit dur comme fer que l'adhésion à l'armée américaine est le seul et unique moyen susceptible de calmer le feu de sa vengeance.

A noter que les USA continuent à «renforcer » son armée via le recrutement des marocains, à l'heure où ALQIADIA ciblent d'autres recrues du Maroc vers la Hollande et la Belgique, tout en passant par la Syrie, l'Espagne et l'Iraq.

source: emarrakech.info

Rafi

Citation :: Victor-Model Black Hawk To Fly January 2017
Jen Judson, Defense News 7:20 p.m. EDT May 2, 2016

ATLANTA — The US Army plans to fly its Victor-model UH-60 Black Hawk for the first time in January 2017, Brig. Gen. Bob Marion, the service’s aviation program executive officer, said Saturday at the Army Aviation Association of America’s Mission Solutions Summit.

Northrop Grumman won a contract in the spring of 2014 to swap out the old analog cockpits in the Army’s UH-60 Black Hawk Lima-model helicopters with a new open-architecture digital cockpit.

The Army had to use innovative means to afford and develop the cockpit, which the service would have otherwise been unable to do, Marion said. Getting the program off the ground is due to a big cooperative effort between the Army’s equipping peg and its sustaining peg.

The sustaining peg is going to fund the recapitalization of the L-model aircraft at Corpus Christi Army Depot (CCAD) in Texas.

Meanwhile, three prototypes are being developed at the Prototype Integration Facility (PIF) at Redstone Arsenal, Alabama. The PIF is a government organization set up to meet the Army's rapid prototyping needs.

The service is the prime integrator, while the original equipment manufacturer assumes more of a consulting role. The PIF, for example, was conducting the integration of the Cockpit and Sensor Upgrade Program (CASUP) for the OH-58 Kiowa helicopter. That program was canceled when the Army decided to retire the Kiowa as part of a larger restructuring of its aviation assets.

Ultimately, CCAD will integrate the cockpits into the L-models once the integration development work is done. This pathway is similar to the plan for Kiowa CASUP. CCAD was to conduct integration of the cockpits once the PIF finished the initial prototype work at its facility.

“We are going to put [the cockpits in] so that when we deliver it from a pilot vehicle interface standpoint there will be minimal training between someone who knows how to fly a UH-60 [Mike-model] and someone who is going to now fly a UH-60V,” Marion said. “The idea here also is that It’s not just minimal training in the airplane, it’s that our training devices are going to operate the same way from a pilot’s perspective."

The plan is to convert 760 L-model variants to the V-model. The V-model brings the L-model to an M-model standard, the most up-to-date variant of the Black Hawk.

http://www.defensenews.com/story/defense/show-daily/aaaa/2016/05/02/victor-model-black-hawk-fly-january-2017/83837778/

Citation :: Xponential 2016: TerraMax UGV rolls ahead

Daniel Wasserbly, New Orleans - IHS Jane's Defence Weekly
03 May 2016

Oshkosh Defense is pushing forward with its TerraMax unmanned ground vehicle (UGV) technology as the US military eyes potential applications for such systems.

Oshkosh's TerraMax has participated in a variety of US government efforts, starting with the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) more than a decade ago, and since then in programmes with the US Army Tank Automotive Research Development and Engineering Center (TARDEC), US Navy's Office of Naval Research (ONR), and the US Marine Corps (USMC).

The company is now doing some work with its own internal research and development funding, and is talking with government partners to try to advance the technology, said John Beck, Oshkosh's chief principal unmanned systems engineer, during 2 May remarks at AUVSI's annual Xponential conference in New Orleans, Louisiana.

Each programme has had slightly different requirements, and Beck noted that Oshkosh has experience tailoring the system for specific requirements.

Wider leader-follower technology has been explored through a number of army and USMC efforts, and for the army, it now falls under its Automated Convoy Operations (ACO) programme. The concept for ACO is to use optionally manned platforms - appliqué kits could be fitted on any vehicle in the inventory - for travel missions.

Requirements are not yet finalised or validated for leader/follower capabilities, but the army has said it would seek some specific funding in fiscal year 2018 (FY 2018), and then hopes to release a request for proposals in FY 2019 and award a contract in late FY 2019 or early FY 2020.

http://www.janes.com/article/59917/xponential-2016-terramax-ugv-rolls-ahead

Citation :: US Integrates Force Protection Systems in Egypt’s Sinai
May 2, 2016

Soldiers from 1st Squadron, 2nd Cavalry Regiment, Task Force War Eagle, are spearheading the integration of the Army’s remote-operated Force Protection Systems during a peacekeeping mission in the Sinai Peninsula.

TF War Eagle is deployed to the Sinai Peninsula in support of Multinational Force and Observers (MFO). For the MFO, TF War Eagle is responsible for remote sites, the administration of the MFO South Camp, a mobile observation team, various force protection missions and providing special response teams.

Although TF War Eagle is deployed to Egypt as part of a peacekeeping mission, the rise of an Islamic State-aligned insurgency in Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula is prompting the task force’s leadership and the Department of Defense to review U.S. troop involvement in the mission. This review of U.S involvement has yielded a decision to “automate” the mission by monitoring activity along the Israeli-Egypt border using remotely operated systems rather than American personnel on the ground.

There are two primary remote-operated systems that TF War Eagle is using to usher in the automated change: Containerized Weapon Systems (CWS) and Rapid Aerostat Initial Deployment (RAID) cameras.

The CWS system can be described as a “weapons system in a box” as it contains a mast mounted Common Remotely Operated Weapon Station (CROWS). The standard CROWS come equipped with a daytime camera and a night camera that can see through the darkness.

The CWS not only keeps U.S. Soldiers out of the harsh elements of the desert, but it also provides early warning of any threats against the perimeter. Furthermore, the system allows U.S. Soldiers to observe much further outside the camp’s perimeter than the naked eye would allow.

Capt. Mark Bedrin, Apache Troop commander and TF War Eagle’s Force Protection Commander at MFO’s North Camp, said, “The CWSs are a catalyst for the [automated] change. The MFO emplaced the CWSs as a direct fire system and developed techniques to enhance their advantages.”

In addition to the CWSs at North Camp, the task force is employing RAID towers around the camp to further enhance force protection. They have made ground-breaking improvements in Base Defense Procedure by integrating the CWS with the RAID towers into a single common operating picture (COP).

With this technology, operators of the RAID towers can observe a potential threat on the horizon and then designate the threat on the COP. Subsequently, the CWS operators are automatically notified of the threat through the COP. TF War Eagle is the first unit in the U.S. Army to integrate these two remote-operated force protection systems.

Due to the rise of an insurgent faction in the Sinai Peninsula, TF War Eagle is being forced to evolve in order to accomplish its mission. The task force’s evolution has manifested itself in the ground-breaking use of remote-operated force protection systems in conjunction with each other.

As reported by 1st Lieutenant Maxwell Flanagan

http://www.african-defense.com/defense-news/us-integrates-force-protection-systems-in-egypts-sinai/

Citation :: Tuesday, 3 May 2016
Orbital ATK to provide the US Army with small caliber ammunition

Orbital ATK, Inc., a global leader in aerospace and defense technologies, announced today that it has received orders totaling $210 million to produce small caliber ammunition for the U.S. Army. Orders were placed for .50 caliber, 5.56mm and 7.62mm ammunition under Orbital ATK’s supply contract to produce a variety of small caliber ammunition for the U.S. government at the Lake City Army Ammunition Plant (Lake City) in Independence, Missouri.

http://worlddefencenews.blogspot.com/

Citation :: Xponential 2016: US Army would like 'more expeditionary' UAS

Daniel Wasserbly, New Orleans - IHS Jane's Defence Weekly
04 May 2016

The US Army hopes industry can help develop unmanned aerial systems (UAS) technology better suited for expeditionary operations and manoeuvre warfare.

Colonel Courtney Cote, the army's project manager for UAS, noted that systems such as the General Atomics Aeronautical Systems MQ-1C Gray Eagle and AAI RQ-7B Shadow 200 are not expeditionary sets of equipment, and rely mainly on fixed infrastructure, runways, and forward-operating bases.

He said during a 3 May briefing at AUVSI's annual Xponential conference in New Orleans, Louisiana, the army would like to see systems become more expeditionary to effectively support a ground manoeuvre commander, as opposed to the sort of fixed infrastructure operations the service has conducted for the last decade.

A vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) platform would be relevant and the army is exploring a future tactical UAS programme, but Col Rote admitted it is difficult to get a 'new start' programme in a competitive budget.

He suggested a more expeditionary UAS force could perhaps also benefit from an upcoming Universal Ground Control Station, reducing the number of personnel needed to operate UAS, and by making systems more capable.

Moreover, Col Rote said he is always interested in increasing the ability to operate in a 'contested environment', meaning he would like assured position, navigation, and timing (PNT); assured data links or at least higher integrity links; and increased autonomy.

Citation :: Xponential 2016: US Army seeks flexibility through Universal Operator concept

Huw Williams, New Orleans - IHS Jane's International Defence Review
04 May 2016

The US Army's Universal Operator concept will provide the service with a greater degree of flexibility in the employment of its unmanned aircraft systems (UASs), according to Colonel Paul Cravey, capability manager for UAS at the army's Training and Doctrine Command (TRADOC).

Speaking at AUVSI's Xponential 2016 conference and exhibition in New Orleans, Col Cravey said that the army's '15 Whiskey' UAS operator career path would be underpinned by the provision of a Common Scalable Interface that will be platform agnostic.

Col Cravey said that while the army's employment of its UAS resources and its manned-unmanned teaming (MUM-T) arrangements have been successful, enemies are learning to adapt and chip away at the asymmetric advantage that the service currently has, as such, concepts like the Universal Operator will enable the capabilities and advantages brought by UAS to be more widely felt.

Citation :: Xponential 2016: US Army large UGV programmes begin to re-emerge

Daniel Wasserbly, New Orleans - IHS Jane's International Defence Review
04 May 2016

Amid industry criticism of constant 'demonstrations' that do not lead to procurement contracts, the US Army said it is beginning to establish funded programmes to field large unmanned ground vehicles (UGVs).

The army's robotics efforts are emerging from a low point funding-wise, with USD292 million for ground robotics programmes in the fiscal year 2014-18 (FY 2014-18) five-year funding plan, said Stuart Hatfield, robotics branch chief for US Army G-8 (headquarters office for plans and resources).

In the FY 2017-21 funding plan now being considered for approval by Congress, the army requested USD900 million for ground robotics, he said during 3 May remarks at AUVSI's annual Xponential conference in New Orleans, Louisiana.

Citation :: US Military Hardware Arrives at Destination Point in Moldova – MoD

US armored vehicles participating in the US-Moldova Dragon Pioneer 2016 joint military drills arrived Wednesday in the Moldovan town of Negreshti, their destination point, Moldovan Defense Ministry said Wednesday.

CHISINAU(Sputnik) — A total of 58 pieces of military hardware entered Moldova from Romania in the town of Sculeni and took the M-14 motorway to Negreshti on Tuesday. Besides participation in the drills that will last until May 20 and include 198 US soldiers as well as 165 Moldovan servicemen, the US vehicles are due to be showed in the Moldovan capital Chisinau during the Victory’s Day celebrations on May 9.
“The American ‘cavalry’ arrived at the destination point [Negreshti],” the Ministry posted on its Facebook page referring to the 2nd US Cavalry Regiment deployed for the exercises.
Presence of the US military hardware caused public outrage in Moldova with members of the Party of Socialists and social activists trying to block the vehicles at the Moldovan-Romanian border. The Socialists’ leader Igor Dodon vowed to hold them again on the Chisinau’s fringes if the vehicles are going to be deployed in the Modovan capital on May 9.

Read more: http://sputniknews.com/military/20160504/1039060083/us-military-hardware-moldova.html#ixzz47h1I6XC4

Citation :: Army stretches its sea legs with first sealift exercise in 15 years
Michelle Tan, Army Times 2:24 p.m. EDT May 4, 2016

Soldiers from the 101st Airborne Division recently found out what it takes to load a brigade combat team’s worth of equipment onto a ship as part of the first Sealift Emergency Deployment Readiness Exercise the Army has conducted in years.

Wilson described the process as trying to put together “a big puzzle.”“The biggest part was trying to figure out how to fit all 900 awkwardly-shaped pieces onto that ship and then how to pull them off,” said Maj. Jared Wilson, the executive officer for 2nd Battalion, 506th Infantry Regiment, which is part of the 101st Airborne’s 3rd BCT.

The exercise was “different because we haven’t done this in quite a long time,” he said. “It requires a lot of attention to detail, it requires a lot of specific training.”

The Sealift Emergency Deployment Readiness Exercise was the first of its kind since the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. It was centered on getting the 101st Airborne’s 3rd Brigade Combat Team from Fort Campbell, Kentucky, to the Joint Readiness Training Center at Fort Polk, Louisiana, for the brigade’s combat training center rotation.

It also is part of a growing push by the Army to conduct more brigade-level Emergency Deployment Readiness Exercises, or EDREs, as it works to rebuild its ability to deploy quickly anywhere in the world.

http://www.defensenews.com/story/military/2016/05/04/army-stretches-its-sea-legs-first-sealift-exercise-15-years/83869788/

Citation :: Aviation Should Embody Army Operating Concept, But It’s An Uphill Climb
Jen Judson, Defense News 6:54 p.m. EDT May 5, 2016

ATLANTA — The US Army’s aviation force should embody the Army Operating Concept — its mission describes the doctrine to a T — but as its aircraft age, budgets shrink and its size grows smaller, service leaders question whether the fleet can keep up.

Gen. David Perkins, the Army's Training and Doctrine Command commander, described the world as increasingly complex, full of unknowns and unpredictable, but said the Army will be guided by several principles in order to be successful in future conflicts. The four-star general said at the Army Aviation Association of America’s Mission Solutions Summit last week that Army aviation aligns exactly with how the Army expects to operate in the future as outlined in its operating concept released in the fall of 2014.

Using a slide to outline those principles of how to “Win in a Complex World” — which is also the title of the Army’s operating concept released in 2014 — Perkins said the Army has to be able to maneuver from multiple locations and domains. The Army also wants to present multiple dilemmas to the enemy, so the enemy is unable to adapt.

Additionally, he said, the service must be able to support units dispersed over large areas. Finally, the Army wants to be able to give commanders multiple options, which puts them in a position of advantage.

Perkins said that is exactly what Army aviation is meant to do: It covers all domains, connects ground forces in areas over a large theater, presents multiple dilemmas to the enemy and provides multiple options for the commander.

But there’s a growing rate of instability in the world, Maj. Gen. William Gayler, the service’s new Army Aviation Center of Excellence commander at Fort Rucker, Alabama, said at AAAA. “Now that instability continues to move, but resourcing is divergent from that.”

The Army is dropping to a force of 980,000 while demand for the service’s support has not gone down, he added. Nor are there any signs budget problems will be solved quickly.

Looking back on 15 years of war, Gayler said, “We’ve just had some staggering success, we’ve flown over 20 million flight hours as a branch. We are constantly deployed today,” but,” we paid tremendous costs in treasure to meet that demand.”

And America’s adversaries have “been going to school on everything we are doing,” Gayler said.

And over time, gaps have widened. “We need to fill those gaps with what I call reach, protection and lethality,” Gayler said. “Reach, to me, is I want to deny sanctuary to any adversary in terms of power, range, speed, endurance and the ability to get them regardless of a weather condition or environmental condition. Reach, it’s the only way to enable the Army Operating Concept.”

But the ability to have that reach is being threatened.

The Army’s helicopters are gaining weight — in the case of the Black Hawk, 78 lbs a year — and despite upgrades and technology refreshes, its getting harder for those aircraft to fly anywhere on the planet.

The Army is only able to fly in 84 percent of the world with the existing power generation in its helicopters. In Afghanistan alone, Army aircraft can only fly in about 47 percent of the country.

“We’ve been growing and gaining weight for all the rights reasons,” Gayler, said. “Every new technology, everything designed to protect a crew or its passengers, but we‘ve given maneuverability at the objective away. We’ve given away payload, we’ve given away ammo, we are limiting options to a commander, we are not giving options. We do give options if the weather’s right but if the weather’s not right, we can’t give options,” he lamented.

Gayler warned if things don’t go a different direction, the aviation branch may not

http://www.defensenews.com/story/defense/show-daily/aaaa/2016/05/05/aviation-should-embody-army-operating-concept-but-s-uphill-climb/83989138/

Citation :: Xponential 2016: US Army eyes DARPA's cockpit automation project

Daniel Wasserbly, New Orleans - IHS Jane's Defence Weekly
06 May 2016

The US Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) has found the US Army, rather than the US Air Force (USAF), to be the most interested in efforts to boost automation in aircraft cockpits.DARPA's Aircrew Labor in Cockpit Automation System (ALIAS), for example, is meant to allow pilots to focus more on mission command and less on worrying about data and other flight functions.

Researchers thought the USAF would be the main customer, but so far the US Army's rotary-wing community has shown the most interest, Dr Bradford Tousley, director of DARPA's Tactical Technology Office, said during a briefing at AUVSI's annual Xponential conference in New Orleans, Louisiana, on 4 May.

He said the army wanted more automation for various reasons, including as a means of addressing some training and budget shortfalls for aircrew.

ALIAS, though still a research programme, is seeking to deliver a "drop-in, removable kit that would promote the addition of high levels of automation into existing aircraft, enabling operation with reduced onboard crew", according to DARPA.

It would support an entire mission from take-off to landing, including emergencies such as system failures. "Easy-to-use touch and voice interfaces would facilitate supervisor-ALIAS interaction" and the system could be used to integrate future automation capabilities for specific missions, the agency said.

Citation :: US Army approves Carl Gustaf M3 MAAWS for general use

Robin Hughes, London - IHS Jane's Missiles & Rockets
16 May 2016

US Army light infantry units are to be equipped with the Saab 84 mm Carl Gustaf M3 Multirole Anti-Armor Anti-Personnel Weapon System (MAAWS) as a standard issue tactical support weapon, following completion of a Conditional Materiel Release (CMR) authorisation by the army in late 2015. In parallel, the army continues planning and tasking efforts to achieve Full Material Release (FMR) to the service in late 2016.

With the CMR complete, the M3 is now officially an organic weapon system within each army combat platoon, and will initially be fielded within selected Infantry Brigade Combat Teams (IBCTs), which will now train, maintain, and sustain the M3 as part of the IBCT organisational structure. Going forward, all brigade combat teams will receive 27 Carl Gustaf launchers, about one per platoon.

"The CMR allowed the system to be quickly fielded to operational units before the more exhaustive Type Classification [TC] FMR process is completed. This allows IBCT commanders to train and deploy with the M3 MAAWS, pending finalisation of the TC FMR progress," Jack Seymour, marketing director for Saab North America, told IHS Jane's.

Select army active duty and National Guard components have already begun receiving the M3 MAAWS, and beginning this year units equipped with the system will be able to train and qualify on the weapon system in their home bases. The US Army's Standards in Training Commissions (STRAC) allocations, outlined in the DA PAM 350-38, will authorise M3 MAAWS gunners and assistant gunners to qualify and maintain combat proficiency annually with live-fire exercises.

Originally, issue of the M3 in US service was restricted to US Special Operations Command (SOCOM); beginning with the Army Rangers in 1989, the US Navy SEALS in 1997, and later the rest of the US Special Operations Forces.

http://www.janes.com/article/60331/us-army-approves-carl-gustaf-m3-maaws-for-general-use

Citation :: General Dynamics wins $184m IT services contract for US Army Europe

18 May 2016
General Dynamics has been contracted by the general services administration to provide enterprise information technology (IT) services to the US Army Europe (USAREUR) for a five-year period.

Valued at around $184m, the Theater Mission Command Contract II (TMCC II) requires the company to provide IT services for mission command networks and systems that support USAREUR, joint, coalition, and Nato operations.

The single-award task order includes the delivery of IT and technical service management, systems engineering, data protection, cross domain solutions and information exchange in locations across Germany, Italy and the Balkans.

General Dynamics information technology's intelligence solutions division senior vice president Bernie Guerry said: "General Dynamics has extensive experience providing mission support to defence intelligence agencies, with a particular emphasis on enterprise communications, cyber defence, systems accreditation and IT services.

"TMCC II will deliver mission-critical IT services to support the operational requirements of the USAREUR warfighter and NATO coalition partners."

This contract was awarded to General Dynamics One Source, a joint venture of General Dynamics's information technology and mission systems businesses.

General Dynamics has been supporting the US Department of Defense for the past 40 years by providing global support to the US Armed Forces.

The company said that it will continue to assist USAREUR's mission to improve the readiness of US Armed Forces operating in Europe.

http://www.army-technology.com/news/newsgeneral-dynamics-wins-184m-it-services-contract-for-us-army-europe-4896553

Citation :: Pentagon Contract Announcement
(Source: US Department of Defense; issued May. 18, 2016)
Sikorsky Aircraft Corp., Stratford, Connecticut, was awarded an $88,117,272 modification (P00350) to contract W58RGZ-12-C-0008 to exercise an option for eight UH-60M aircraft.

Work will be performed in Stratford, Connecticut, with an estimated completion date of June 30, 2017. Fiscal 2016 other procurement funds in the amount of $88,117,272 were obligated at the time of the award.

Army Contracting Command, Redstone Arsenal, Alabama, is the contracting activity.

http://www.defense-aerospace.com/articles-view/release/3/173939/sikorsky-wins-%2488m-for-eight-uh_60m-helicopters.html

Citation :: NATO: Suicide Bomber Targets US Military Convoy in Northern Afghanistan

A suicide bomber has targeted a convoy of US soldiers in northern Afghanistan on Saturday, the NATO-led Resolute Support mission confirmed.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) —According to the Khaama Press news agency, the incident took place in the Bagram district of northern the Baghlan province. A suicide bomber rammed a Vehicle-borne Improvised Explosive Device into the convoy.

"We can confirm that one coalition vehicle was struck by an IED [Improvised Explosive Device] this morning in the vicinity of Bagram," the Resolute Support mission said, as quoted by the news agency.

According to the media outlet, the Taliban militants claimed the responsibility for the attack, saying that it caused numerous casualties.

"Despite Taliban claims and reports in the media, there were no injuries to coalition personnel involved," the mission said, refuting Taliban’s claims.
NATO transitioned from its military campaign against the Taliban insurgency to a non-combat operation in Afghanistan on December 31, 2014. The Taliban has since stepped up its activities across a number of Afghan provinces, killing civilians and security officials in regular attacks.
Formed in the 1990s, the Taliban seeks to enforce Sharia law in Afghanistan and neighboring Pakistan. The group is known for numerous terrorist attacks against authorities and civilians in both countries.

Read more: http://sputniknews.com/military/20160521/1040014444/nato-us-afghanistan-suicide-bomber.html#ixzz49I5FScYE

Citation :: War Paint Squadron sharpens cavalry skills at Combined Resolve
May 24, 2016

The Troopers from 5th Squadron, 7th Cavalry Regiment, have been putting their cavalry and reconnaissance skills to the test at the Joint Multinational Readiness Center’s Combined Resolve VI, reported by army.mil.

Combined Resolve VI is a squadron-level decisive action rotation, May 5-25, designed to train the U.S. Army’s regionally allocated forces to the U.S. European Command.

This combat training center rotation is unique in that the focus of the exercise is a cavalry squadron.

“This is a kind of [combat training center] rotation I’ve never heard of in my 18 year career,” said Lt. Col. Christopher Mahaffey, the commander for 5th Squadron, 7th Cavalry Regiment. “We have an entire CTC staff to deal with just one cavalry squadron, so we’re truly lucky to get this opportunity and I think you see that in the way our Troopers are approaching training.”

The squadron’s senior enlisted advisor, Command Sgt. Maj. Timothy Bolyard, said the exercise is increasing the squadron’s readiness and ability to conduct reconnaissance missions, specifically with a number of junior leaders serving in duty positions higher than where they would normally serve.

“One of the largest challenges we’ve ran into is just rustiness,” said Bolyard. “A lot of junior leaders don’t have the experience conducting the [reconnaissance] operations they are right now.”

The squadron has several sergeants doing staff sergeants jobs and a staff sergeant filling in for a platoon leader, but Mahaffey doesn’t see this as a bad thing.

“It’s not necessarily a challenge as it’s a learning opportunity,” said Mahaffey. “Everything becomes a chance to learn something new about how we do things.”

Bolyard believes the opportunity presented to these junior leaders will benefit them in the long run.

“They’re getting exposed and learning firsthand versus coming up through the ranks, and it will make them better leaders when it comes down to it,” said Bolyard. “It will really benefit the Army because a lot of these Soldiers will leave here and go to other places, experiencing working at a higher level than their rank is. They’ll cross pollinate across the force with their experience here and be able to share that with their junior Soldiers.”

Staff Sgt. Matthew Quick, a senior scout for 5th Squadron, 7th Cavalry Regiment, said the majority of his Troopers were new to the platoon, so having the opportunity to shoot gunnery up to the platoon-level at Grafenwoehr, Germany prior to Combined Resolve helped set them up for success.

“It helped us to communicate as a platoon, picking out targets, target identification and fire commands,” said Quick.

Now Quick said they are able to take it to the next level during the situational training exercise lanes and force-on-force to focus on the reconnaissance tasks the platoon is expected to execute.

“This exercise is giving us the opportunity to actually focus in on the things that we need to improve on and find out what we’re strong at so we can conduct [after action reviews] after each mission and find out what we need to do to improve,” added Quick.

Though the exercise has presented a number of challenges for the Troopers of War Paint squadron, they continue to turn them into learning opportunities to increase the squadron’s overall readiness and ability to accomplish their reconnaissance mission.

“It’s a great training opportunity,” stated Bolyard. “I feel that you can learn more about being a scout here than you can anywhere else.”

http://defence-blog.com/army/war-paint-squadron-sharpens-cavalry-skills-at-combined-resolve.html

Citation :: Tiger and Apache pilots partner for electronic warfare training
May 25, 2016

Soldiers from Kampfhubschrauberregiment 36 “Kurhessen,” 1st Battalion, 3rd Aviation Regiment, 12th Combat Aviation Brigade, and JägerBattalion 291, conducted a four day joint helicopter training exercise, “Strong Punch,” focused on electronic warfare detection and evasion techniques, May 17-20, at Heeresflugplatz Fritzlar.

That reported by website of U.S. Army in Europe.

Strong Punch is an exercise laboratory in which German and American aviators can evaluate and refine the effectiveness of their current tactics, techniques and procedures (TTP’s) in a threat environment that consists of real world, modern electronic warfare platforms (EW) and reconnaissance surveillance equipment.

The exercise began in 2013 when Staff Captain Thomas Müller and Chief Warrant Officer 2 John Sims had the idea to train together using the reconnaissance assets from JägerBattalion 291. Their goal was to cultivate the aviator experience base in their respective formations by flying training missions against an active opposing force.

Each day of the exercise brought a new scenario and focused on a different type of operation. The first day consisted of a screening mission and a forward passage of lines. The second day was an air interdiction. The exercise culminated in a search and destroy mission against a vehicle convoy.

The opposing force consisted of Bundeswehr Soldiers from the 4th Company, JägerBattalion 291, Deutsch-Französische Brigade out of Illkirch-Graffenstaden, Germany.

The 4th Company is organized as a reconnaissance company and operates as an independent reconnaissance unit. Their primary electronic monitoring system is the RASIT radar system mounted on a German Fox transport vehicle.

The RASIT radar is a ground surveillance pulse doppler system used to detect personnel, vehicles, and aircraft.

“Seeing the reconnaissance company shooting flares to simulate a surface-to-air missile strike was revealing,” said Capt. James Freeman, an AH-64 Apache pilot from HHC, 12th CAB. “You just can’t replicate that feeling of vulnerability from a simulator.”

This multinational exercise met several training objectives for Kampfhubschrauberregiment 36 who are building readiness as part of the European Battle group, and also 1st Bn., 3rd Avn. Regt. who are members of NATO’s Very High Readiness Joint Task Force (VJTF).

The lessons learned in Strong Punch will further prepare the Vipers of 1st Battalion, 3rd Aviation Regiment, for Anakonda 16.

Exercise Anakonda 2016 is an upcoming Polish national exercise that seeks to train, exercise and integrate Polish national command and force structures into an allied, joint, multinational environment.

http://defence-blog.com/news/tiger-and-apache-pilots-partner-for-electronic-warfare-training.html

Citation :: Army To Brief Industry on Future of Network Modernization
Jen Judson, Defense News 10:42 a.m. EDT May 26, 2016

WASHINGTON — The Army is holding an industry forum next month to brief industry on its future network modernization plans and priorities, according to a service statement.

The Program Executive Office for Command, Control and Communications-Tactical (PEO C3T) at Aberdeen Proving Ground, Maryland, is hosting the forum June 22. According to the statement, the event is “designed to provide industry a status update on the Army’s network modernization plans and current status of PEO C3T portfolio efforts."

But the Army is also hoping to receive valuable feedback from industry such as input on acquisition improvements and existing opportunities within the tactical network portfolio.

“It is our hope that this session will enhance communication between the government and our industry partners, enabling them to forge partnerships and respond quicker to critical emerging requirements,” said Gary Martin, program executive officer for C3T.

http://www.defensenews.com/story/defense/land/army/2016/05/26/army-brief-industry-way-ahead-network-modernization/84968394/

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