May 2023 | Soldier Systems Daily Soldier Systems Daily

Archive for May, 2023

Purdue Receives $5 million Lilly Endowment grant to support Military Family Research Institute

Sunday, May 28th, 2023

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – A $5 million grant from Lilly Endowment Inc. will provide continued support during the next three years for the work Purdue University’s Military Family Research Institute (MFRI) does to improve the lives of military families and veterans.

This grant, which includes $3.5 million in outright funding and $1.5 million in matching funds, will help MFRI enhance its robust support networks. The grant period is from March 1, 2023, to June 30, 2026.

“We at MFRI are honored and humbled by this funding,” said Shelley MacDermid Wadsworth, MFRI director and Distinguished Professor in the Department of Human Development and Family Science in Purdue’s College of Health and Human Sciences. “Over the past 16 years, support from Lilly Endowment has made it possible for MFRI to deeply understand the vulnerabilities – and the resilience – of military and veteran families and to quickly develop and test new ways to help them confront the challenges and barriers placed in their way. We are excited about the opportunities ahead and look forward to expanding our work with partners at Purdue, across Indiana and around the country.”

Specifically, the grant will assist military and veteran families by:

• Supporting their military communities by cultivating continuity between military and civilian organizations, building and sustaining linkages among the systems surrounding military families, and promoting synergy in their efforts.

• Strengthening the motivation and capacity of their civilian communities to support military and veteran families through improved preparedness and coordination.

• Generating important new knowledge about their needs and circumstances.

• Assisting veterans as they transition to civilian life.

• Influencing pertinent programs, policies and practices by initiating, building and sustaining productive working relationships with existing and potential partners, while also raising awareness and shaping the thoughts and actions of the broader community.

• Growing and sustaining vibrant learning across all focus areas, with the goal of enhancing professional opportunities for veterans and military families.

“MFRI has demonstrated scholarly excellence for more than two decades, conducting groundbreaking studies that influence programs, practices and policies,” said Mung Chiang, Purdue University president. “Shelley MacDermid Wadsworth has earned an international reputation as a scholar who has led MFRI in developing innovative research and programs that have received numerous awards at Purdue and nationally. We are proud to serve as such an important resource for supporting the quality of life for military and veteran families.”

With guidance from MacDermid Wadsworth, MFRI was created at Purdue in 2000. The organization works to expand opportunities for military members, veterans and their families by providing research to help mental health providers, public policymakers, employers and leaders in higher education better understand the issues affecting the military community. This includes helping civilian leaders see the value of bringing military and veteran families into community leadership roles.

MFRI uses support from Lilly Endowment and other funders to strengthen the capacity of community organizations and systems to promote and build the resilience of military and veteran families. Innovations created by MFRI and its partners are operating across the country in several key areas:

• Policy: The Measuring Communities program provides stakeholders in cities, towns and rural areas across the U.S. with data that supports good decision-making about how best to support military and veteran families.

• Behavioral health: The Star Behavioral Health Providers program makes it easier for military and veteran families to connect with well-trained therapists in their local communities. The Reaching Rural Veterans program brings community organizations together to address food and housing insecurity among high-need veterans in rural areas.

• Higher education: The Focus Forward Fellowship program promotes academic and career achievements among female student veterans nationwide. MFRI collaborates with faculty and provides learning opportunities for students in diverse disciplines ranging from computer graphics technology and data science to counseling and human development and family science.

• Programming: In communities across Indiana, MFRI brings together clinicians, community leaders and legal experts at the annual Battlemind to Home Summit to educate them about the newest scientific evidence, programs and policies that will help them address needs in the military and veteran communities. Through the annual Barbara Thompson Excellence Award competition, MFRI brings researchers and practitioners together to “narrow the gap between the laboratory and the living room.”

• Collaboration: MFRI partners extensively with military and government organizations as well as national, state and local nonprofits to help them do their work better through improved preparedness and coordination, with strong attention to relevant scientific evidence and data.

“Veterans and military families have done so much for the benefit of our country,” said N. Clay Robbins, Lilly Endowment’s chairman and CEO. “Their challenges and aspirations are much better understood because of MFRI’s outstanding research and analysis, which helps government and military leaders and concerned citizens know how to help veterans and their families lead more satisfying lives. Lilly Endowment is pleased that its support will help MFRI continue and enhance its important research efforts as well as the programs it has developed for the benefit of veterans and military families.”

Individuals or organizations interested in doubling the impact of their gifts in support of MFRI’s efforts to assist veterans and military families should contact Jim Priest, director of foundation relations at Purdue for Life Foundation, at jcpriest@purdueforlife.org to learn about matching opportunities through Lilly Endowment’s grant.

Posted in Guest Post, Press Release | Comments Off on Purdue Receives $5 million Lilly Endowment grant to support Military Family Research Institute

509th Weapons Squadron Supports SOF exercise, Prepares for WSINT

Sunday, May 28th, 2023

Airmen from the 509th Weapons Squadron integrated with the 14th Weapons Squadron providing air refueling for a special operations forces exercise at Hurlburt Field, Florida, May 7-10.

The purpose of the training for the 509th WPS was to expose its students to the Special Operations mission set and to prepare its students for their large-scale Weapons School Integration capstone exercise where all weapons schools come together and perform peer-to-peer combat to perfect their skills.

“The tanker’s mission means that it’s always an asset that is integrated with other operations,” said Lt. Col. Ian Shelley, 509 WPS commander. “This exercise allows our students to integrate with the special operations mission set. They develop tanker tactics to best support air players who are providing air support to ground units. They integrate not only with air players, but with Army and Navy ground units.”

The exercise also provided the 509th WPS Airmen a chance to integrate with other weapons squadrons and their weapons systems to execute the mission. Some units that also participated in the training include the 14th WPS AC-130J Ghostriders, MC-130J Commando IIs, U-28 Dracos, and CV-22 Ospreys.

“SOF operates in a unique manner, one that most of our students haven’t experienced before,” Shelley said. “The integration opportunity provides tanker and SOF units with a broader set of tools preparing them for future combat operations.”

One of the key points of the training included the students having to work together to create an effective mission plan in order to meet the objective of the exercise.

“Not only did the students plan air refueling and fly the KC-135, we also had students who planned and witness tilt rotor air refueling on board an MC-130 and we had others who were heavily integrated in forward arming and refueling point operations whereby the lessons learned can be applied to future agile combat employment operations,” Shelly said.

The 509th WPS is one of 21 weapons squadrons and is the only weapons school for the KC-135 Stratotanker, with a mission of providing the world’s most advanced training and tactics to pilots, navigators and inflight refueling specialists.

“We develop aviators who are steeped not only in peer threats and tanker tactics, but also critical thought and problem solving,” Shelley said. “Their expertise in other platforms and mission sets makes them experts in employment operations.”

Training for the 509th WPS is designed to prepare Airmen to analyze and apply appropriate tactics to possible pacing threats, and ensure they are ready for tomorrow’s fight anytime, anywhere.

Story by SSgt Lawrence Sena, 92nd Air Refueling Wing Public Affairs

Posted in Air Force, Aviation, Guest Post, SOF | Comments Off on 509th Weapons Squadron Supports SOF exercise, Prepares for WSINT

Become an American Suppressor Association Dealer Member Today

Saturday, May 27th, 2023

ATLANTA, GA: For $85 a year, your business can join the fight for pro-suppressor reform by becoming an American Suppressor Association (ASA) dealer member. By joining the ASA team, you can do your part to help protect and expand your right to buy and sell suppressors.

When ASA was formed, suppressors were legal to own in 39 states, and legal to hunt with in 22. As a direct result of our work, suppressors are now legal to own in 42 states, 41 of which allow their use while hunting. Our work doesn’t stop there.

When ATF tried to extend the CLEO signoff requirement to all applicants (which would have effectively banned all NFA items in most major cities), ASA beat their proposal and helped get rid of CLEO signoffs entirely. When Virginia and New Mexico tried to ban suppressors as recently as 2023, ASA was there to stop their legislative attacks. When UPS stopped shipping suppressors and when YouTube changed its policies and deleted suppressor industry accounts and videos, who do you think intervened?

At the Federal level, suppressors are once again under attack. Senator Bob Menendez Rep. Bonnie Watson Coleman continue to push legislation that would ban the sale, manufacturing, transfer, and possession of suppressors nationwide. We will fight this tooth and nail to ensure their tyrannical legislation never becomes law, but we need your help!

Join now and you will receive:

• A profile on the ASA Dealer locator map

• ASA Dealer window decal

• Educational poster for your store

• Permission to use ASA’s logo on your website • Invitation to select ASA sponsored events

To join as a dealer member today, click here.

Posted in Industry, Press Release, Suppressors | Comments Off on Become an American Suppressor Association Dealer Member Today

Dynamis Alliance – Neptune Dive Blade

Saturday, May 27th, 2023

The long anticipated Neptune Dive Blade is now available from Dynamis Alliance. Created by former Navy SEAL Dom Raso and manufactured in the USA, the Neptune is the culmination of over 11 years of meticulous research, development, and invaluable real-world operational experience. It features a CPM-S110V full tang blade which is coated with their proprietary NEPT-X a durable, corrosion-resistant finish capable of withstanding the harshest aquatic conditions.

With several sheath options, the retention system features triple retention, whether you are on land or sea and is designed to be attached directly to your BC or a MOLLE platform.

Not your average dive tool, the Neptune features a spear point with serrations down one edge and a line cutter notch on the other.

Additionally, the scale grip system can be removed for maintenance and incorporates a lanyard loop.

crusheverything.com/introducing-the-neptune-blade

Posted in Knives, Made In USA!, Maritime | 12 Comments »

How Agile is Changing the Way PEO EIS Develops Software

Saturday, May 27th, 2023

Combining 28 disparate Soldier and civilian training systems into one cohesive system requires more than extensive planning. It demands collaboration, prioritizing people over processes, and a willingness to respond to change in increments over time — otherwise known as an iterative approach.

PEO EIS’ Army Training Information System (ATIS), managed by Army Data and Analytics Platforms (ARDAP), is being developed with two priorities in mind: getting all the Army’s training data in compliance with the Army Data Plan; and building a system around the user’s experience through human-centered design. For ATIS, the users are Soldiers and civilians seeking training and educational opportunities, anywhere they are in the world. For Army leaders, ATIS’ biggest return on investment is time. ATIS will consolidate multiple cumbersome and outdated legacy systems, and will automate all training management, development, scheduling and resourcing. This will allow leaders to focus on training execution and readiness assessment throughout the Army.

The ATIS team has implemented a Scaled Agile Framework® (SAFe) workflow across all aspects of the development process by leaning into SAFe’s 10 Agile principles. As part of the process, the ATIS team incorporates Soldier, civilian and Army leaders’ feedback at every step along the way.

“Agile allows programs to pivot,” said Capt. James Oliver, ATIS’ assistant project manager. “Agile programs emphasize collaboration and communication between team members, customers and all stakeholders.”

With this Agile framework in place, the ATIS team has worked in program increments (PI) by breaking up the development work into smaller, manageable chunks, each 10 weeks long. Within each PI are a set of two-week sprints, which serve as short-term goals where the team plans, develops, tests and delivers a working set of features. Each sprint builds on the next, and each PI does the same — with iterations along the way as needed, when goals and objectives change. This process allows for flexibility, which is key to adapting to changes in priorities and user needs during the development process.

“The sprints are synchronized across all the teams working on the PI, and they are designed to ensure that the teams are aligned and working toward a common goal,” Oliver said.

Working in increments makes it easier and more efficient to change plans. For example, if the ATIS team spent 10 weeks working toward an objective — an entire PI — only then to find out a feature needed modification, it would require a significant effort to undo the last 10 weeks of development work. With shorter, two-week sprints, making feature or program modifications is significantly quicker and more efficient.

Unlike in a waterfall approach, where all requirements are established up front, Agile goes about software development differently by using a process called progressive elaboration. In progressive elaboration, each sprint and PI serve as building blocks for the next phase of development by further refining project requirements during the process — progressively.

“The hard part about this process when you’re dealing with software is that everything changes so fast,” said Melissa Lee, ATIS’ release train engineer. “That’s one of the reasons why Agile is really good for software.”

Tim Hale, ATIS’ product manager, echoed Lee’s thoughts. “When you’re building software, you need flexibility,” he said. “You also need to create an environment that allows for incremental deployments while iteratively getting finished software into capability support and a Continuous Improvement/Continuous Development pipeline. This [Agile] process allows that.”

Staying on track in an ever-changing environment is a challenge for the ATIS team — which is where a 15-minute daily stand-up meeting helps. The purpose of the stand-up is to ensure each team member is moving forward with their objectives and to work out any issues that may arise. It is one of the ways the ATIS team continues to improve as PEO EIS progresses toward becoming a fully Agile organization.

“It’s a very big deal in the Army in this digital transformation,” said Aric Sherwood of PEO EIS’ journey to becoming an Agile organization. Sherwood is the director of PEO EIS’ Acquisition Innovation Directorate. “Specifically for PEO EIS, which does a lot of the Army’s heavy lifting when it comes to software development.”

Adopting Agile across the Defense Acquisition System in its entirety poses its own challenges, which makes PEO EIS’ efforts especially innovative.

“I find that the Defense Acquisition System and Agile aren’t always compatible,” Hale said to this point. “Further regulatory changes would help with future digital adaption.”

As of May 2023, the ATIS team has entered the fourth PI in the development process. It is still early, but the team is thriving in its adoption of Agile.

“We’re doing great,” Lee said of the ATIS team’s progress. “People are starting to understand Agile and how it works. We’re building momentum.”

For PEO EIS, the success on ATIS is just the beginning in the organization’s Agile transformation journey.

By Dan Lawton

Posted in Army, Guest Post | Comments Off on How Agile is Changing the Way PEO EIS Develops Software

Sneak Peek – Blackwater Edition Becker Patrol Pack

Friday, May 26th, 2023

The first week of June, Blackwater will be launching a revised and modernized version of the famous Becker Patrol Pack. This limited edition Blackwater edition pack is manufactured by Bongo Gear with assistance from Ethan Becker who designed the pack over 30 years ago. Please make sure you are signed up to their email list.

Posted in Packs | 2 Comments »

Spex•Lite Shooting Bag Fill – A Lightweight Alternative

Friday, May 26th, 2023

Made in America, Spex•Lite Shooting Bag Fill is purpose-built alternative to many materials being used. This video explains the various options.

spexlite.com/shooting-bag-fill-1

Posted in Materials, Shooting Sports | 1 Comment »

5D Tactical Pistol Jig Pro Set for Launch: World’s First Multi-Platform Jig for 80% Polymer Pistols

Friday, May 26th, 2023

May 25th, 2023 — We are excited to announce the official launch of our latest product, the Pistol Jig Pro. This innovative tool is the world’s first reusable multi-platform jig, specifically created for 80% polymer pistols. Notably, it has been developed and tested rigorously to achieve an industry-first ability to accept frames from multiple manufacturers.

The Pistol Jig Pro is more than a mere tool—it represents our collective freedom. This product embodies our dedication to upholding the Second Amendment. Regardless of the liberties that may be threatened, the Pistol Jig Pro equips you with the ability to build for years to come.

The Pistol Jig Pro truly stands by the promise of “one jig does it all,” offering unparalleled versatility and durability. This innovative platform is designed to work with the leading 80% pistols on the market. Our patent-pending hardened steel drill guides and inserts can be quickly repositioned to change from one platform to another.

Currently, the 5D Pistol Jig Pro is compatible with the following models from Polymer80: PF940v2: Full-Size. PF940C: Compact, PF940SC: Sub-Compact.

Additionally, the Pistol Jig Pro can accommodate these models from 80% Arms: GST-9 MOD1 and GST-9 V1 frames.

Crafted from billet aluminum, the Pistol Jig Pro features durable hardened steel drill bushings, ensuring that it can endure a lifetime of use. This characteristic empowers firearm enthusiasts to create and maintain their crafts over time, regardless of potential challenges that may surface.

The Pistol Jig Pro will be available for order starting this week. As a token of our appreciation for the early supporters of this product, we are pleased to pass on savings by offering an introductory price of $149.99, notably lower than the regular price of $199.99. Orders will ship in June 2023.

For more details about the Pistol Jig Pro, please visit our site at: www.5dtactical.com/products/5d-tactical-pistol-jig-pro-multiplatform

Posted in DIY, Press Release, Weapon Accessories | Comments Off on 5D Tactical Pistol Jig Pro Set for Launch: World’s First Multi-Platform Jig for 80% Polymer Pistols