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Archive for the ‘Army’ Category

US Army Strykers Upgraded with Modernized Weapons System

Tuesday, March 1st, 2022

FORT CARSON, Colo. — The Warhorse Brigade at Fort Carson, Colorado began fielding and training on the Common Remotely Operated Weapon Station and the Common Remotely Operated Weapon Station-Javelin on Feb. 7, 2022.

The fielding of the new system, which replaces the Remote Weapon Station, is part of a larger effort to give Strykers more lethal capabilities.

“This modernization enhances our Soldiers’ ability to detect, identify and destroy targets and achieve overmatch against peer threats,” said Col. Andrew Kiser, commander of 2nd Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division.

The CROWS and CROWS-J system also allows for Soldiers to engage threats from inside the Stryker, providing a more lethal approach to eliminating threats from a distance.

“It improves crew safety and survivability,” said Sgt. Joshua Carroll, infantryman with Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 2SBCT, 4th Inf. Div. “We can engage farther than a dismounted javelin.”

The systems include improved visual capabilities, increasing the Stryker’s lethality.

“Including both optics and control of the primary vehicular weapon system, they allow operators to engage targets from inside the vehicle at extreme distance with an increased resolution in the camera feed,” Kiser said.

The Warhorse Brigade began its transition from a light infantry brigade to a Stryker brigade in the summer of 2020 and became fully mission capable as a Stryker brigade in late 2021. These latest upgrades to the brigade’s fleet make it the most modernized in the U.S. Army.

“It makes us the most lethal Stryker brigade in the Army,” Carroll said.

By SGT Gabrielle Pena

US Army’s 4th SFAB Joins the Fight at Allied Spirit

Saturday, February 26th, 2022

HOHENFELS, Germany – Advisors from the U.S. Army 4th Security Forces Assistance Brigade participated in their first multinational exercise in Europe as they worked alongside their Latvian counterparts during Allied Spirit 22 at the Joint Multinational Readiness Center Jan. 21- Feb. 5.

Approximately 5,000 soldiers from 15 nations including Germany, Hungary, Italy, Kosovo, Latvia, Lithuania, Netherlands, Moldova, Poland, Portugal, Slovenia, Spain, Turkey, the United Kingdom, and the United States took part at 7th Army Training Command’s JMRC in Allied Spirit 22.

Advisor teams from the 4th SFAB, which is stationed at Fort Carson, Colorado, arrived in Europe in September, 2021, and are currently advising land forces in Georgia, Latvia, North Macedonia, Poland and Romania. The SFAB concept was developed as special advisory teams to aid in training and advising armies in specific needs that are developed in close coordination with allies and partners. There are five active duty SFABs and one National Guard SFAB, each with a different geographic focus.

Twenty-one 4th SFAB Soldiers serve as team advisors in warfighting functions such as infantry, engineering, medical, logistics, and field artillery within the Latvian Mechanized Infantry Brigade while deployed to Camp Adazi, Latvia, and integrated into positions across the brigade during exercise Allied Spirit.

“Our main mission here is to improve interoperability between us and our NATO allies and partners, while doing whatever we can to gain understanding of how our allies and partners conduct large-scale combat operations,” said U.S. Army Cpt. Andrew Shanks, a logistics advisor team leader assigned to 4th SFAB, who served as a battle captain within the MIB’s Latvian Combat Service Support Battalion during the exercise.

Unlike the Saber Junction and Combined Resolve series at JMRC, which feature U.S. brigade combat teams in a lead role augmented by allies and partners, Allied Spirit places an allied unit as the main training audience. For the second time since 2017, the Latvian MIB served as the allied brigade headquarters for Allied Spirit.

“This is the first large exercise of its kind in which SFAB teams have integrated with a persistent partner as advisors months prior to the exercise, during the exercise and months after the exercise,” Shanks said.

Allied Spirit 22 was led by the German Army’s 1st Armored Division, whose staff provided command and control over a multinational brigade and other constructive elements. Based in Oldenburg, the division is part of NATO’s 1st German Netherlands Corps.

“The absolute best part of the exercise was working closely with our partners, and as much we could hope to teach, we also learned just as much,” said U.S. Army Sgt. First Class Joshua Kirby, a 4th SFAB advisor who worked with fire support officers in two command posts within the Latvian MIB.

In 2018 the first SFAB was activated in Fort Benning, Georgia. The vision was to take mature and experienced Army leaders and utilize them as small teams of select training advisors trained to deploy worldwide to liaise, support, assess and advise our international partners and allies.

The 4th SFAB initiatives include advising, support, liaising and assessments of military capabilities of allied and partner forces. Building trust through persistent presence aims to improve the security environment and to ensure continued interoperability, 4th SFAB will train with partners and allies to deter aggression and defeat adversaries. The 4th SFAB builds on enduring partnerships in multi-domain areas, extending cooperation throughout the European theater.

“Allied Spirit 22 proved a tremendous opportunity for 4th SFAB to enhance interoperability between allies while building readiness for large scale combat operations. Advisors from the 4th SFAB have established our reputation in Europe as a force multiplying asset since their arrival in October of 2012,” said Col. Robert Born, commander of the 4th SFAB. “The experience gained by our Advisors, in support of the Latvian Mechanized Infantry Brigade, will prove invaluable and dramatically increase the effectiveness of 4th SFAB.”

The U.S. Army’s only overseas training command and combat training center is located in Germany, to provide ready and capable theater assigned U.S. forces but also to facilitate testing and strengthening interoperability with allies and partners to support theater operations and drive readiness within the North Atlantic Treaty Organization.

“There’s only certain times we’re able to go through this Combat Training Center rotation at JMRC,” said Maj. Edward Gibbons, 4th SFAB Team Leader. “For us to do this rotation in a multinational context is significant for our own internal professional development. The lessons we learned, and seeing how other brigades and battalions performed, was a great experience for us.”

The 4th SFAB is scheduled to support multiple scheduled exercises in Albania, Bosnia, Germany, Kosovo, North Macedonia, Poland, and Turkey in spring, 2022.

For more photos, videos and news stories from exercise Allied Spirit, visit: www.dvidshub.net/feature/AlliedSpirit

Follow the 4th SFAB on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/4SFAB

Follow the 7th Army Training Command on Facebook: www.facebook.com/7thATC

Follow U.S. Army Europe and Africa on Facebook: www.facebook.com/USArmyEURAF

By SPC Nathaniel Gayle

Spartan Brigade showcases Armored Formation On-The-Move Network Pilot

Friday, February 25th, 2022

FORT STEWART, Ga. – The “Spartan Brigade,” 2nd Armored Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division, showcased the U.S. Army’s Armored Formation On-The-Move Network Pilot on Feb. 8-9 at Fort Stewart. The pilot was in its third and final week when the unit and Army stakeholders conducted a corresponding media day and distinguished visitors day, where they exhibited three equipment sets that leveraged satellite and line-of-sight commercial network prototypes from over 20 industry partners.

Each equipment set enabled different combinations of network communications, both on the move and at the quick halt, to enhance command and control for distributed and dispersed operations and survivability and lethality.

“We know on the future battlefield you have to fight dispersed and distributed,” emphasized Maj. Gen. Charles D. Costanza, Commanding General, 3rd Infantry Division and Fort Stewart. “Even the brigade tactical operations center set up out here [for this pilot], which is scaled way down, is still too big, and so this capability would enable us to fight more distributed and dispersed. And then with the future modernization efforts we are doing with vehicles, for example AMPV [Armored Multi-Purpose Vehicle], you put those two capabilities together, I think this is really going to improve our ability to fight and survive on the future battlefield.”

Each week of the pilot a different Spartan Brigade battalion stressed and assessed one of the equipment sets in realistic brigade-designed mission threads, during and after which the Army garnered Soldier feedback and assessment data.

“One of our primary modernization focus areas is really about the network and how we enable the future fight through speed, range and convergence,” said Maj. Gen. Robert M. Collins, Program Executive Officer for Command, Control, Communications-Tactical.

During the media day, a handful of Washington reporters from defense and technology news outlets and a regional news station visited on Tuesday, Feb. 8 to ask questions and talk to Soldiers and Army network acquisition and fielding leaders about the different equipment sets. The following day, modernization stakeholders from various U.S. Army program executive offices, cross-functional teams, training and doctrine commands, science and technology organizations, and additional Army senior leaders had a similar opportunity to talk to Soldiers as well as exchange ideas on the network modernization of armored formations.

The media and distinguished visitors first spoke to Soldiers at a static display that highlighted two of the equipment sets and then rode out to the training area to talk to Soldiers employing the third equipment set.

“They [the Soldiers] truly got to assess each of the equipment sets,” said Col. Terry R. Tillis, commander of the “Spartan Brigade,” 2nd ABCT, 3rd ID. “At the end of the day, if we can’t integrate with current capabilities, and it’s not simple enough for our end user, it is something we don’t want. But the general feedback we have received [is that] it’s easy to use, it is expeditionary, and allows us to keep a much smaller command post signature, which will help us increase our survivability.”

The Soldier feedback combined with qualitative and quantitative assessment data will inform the Army’s Capability Set 25 armored formation network design and concept from the division to the battalion level. The final armored formation OTM network solution set will enable more effective and less predictable offensive and defensive operations and will increase the lethality of the Army’s armored units.

By CPT Sean Minton

The Time Is Now For Next Generation Squad Weapons

Wednesday, February 23rd, 2022

Over four years ago, then Army Chief of Staff GEN Mark Milley told Congress that the US Army needed a new family of squad weapons which would provide overmatch for their small arms. The resulting program, Next Generation Squad Weapons is ready to deliver on that requirement. Base on events earlier this week in Ukraine, this program must move forward, with all speed.

Any day now, the US Army may announce the winner to provide replacements for up to 120,000 of the M4 carbines and M249 Squad automatic weapons currently wielded by close combat forces. The Marine Corps is monitoring the program to consider making similar changes. This program doesn’t just concern weapons, but also the ammunition a Soldier fires. The Army specified a performance spec based around a government provided 6.8mm projectile which is similar to 270 WSM.

The contest is now down to two very different candidates. One is a low risk option; SIG SAUER’s weapons consist of a rifle and belt-fed machine gun which fire a hybrid-cased cartridge. Alternatively, True Velocity’s option* is a bullpup design with box-fed rifle and automatic rifle firing a composite-cased cartridge.

Both SIG and TV are ready to move forward, having announced commercial variants of both their ammunition and weapons. At this point, we are approaching COTS.

It’s time to stop the delays and announce the winner. The Army has already selected a Fire Control solution from Vortex Optics as well as let a contract to Winchester which operates the Lake City Army Ammunition Plant and will produce whichever type of 6.8mm cartridge is selected. The pieces are falling into place.

Procured using an Other Transaction Agreement, there is a lot of flexibility on how this moves forward, but it must. At this point, the ball is truly in the Army’s court. Even after the award, there’s still a lot work to be done but the sooner it begins the better. Not only does moving forward with this program get us on the way to achieving small arms overmatch, but it sends a serious message to Russia that US forces are equipping themselves with weapons to defeat their ground forces in combat, regardless of their personal armor. This may give Russia pause in their stated goal to restore the former republics of the USSR to Russian control. It will assuredly weigh on the psyche of their troops. Either is a psychological win.

*The US Army novated General Dynmanics’ NGSW OTA to Lone Star Future Weapons which is owned by True Velocity in June.

10th SFG(A) Invites Warriors Heart to Discuss Matters Held Close to an Operator’s Chest

Wednesday, February 23rd, 2022

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – 10th Special Forces Group (Airborne) invited speakers from Warriors Heart to speak candidly about the effects of post-traumatic stress disorder and traumatic brain injury (TBI) at the Norris Penrose Event Center Dec. 9, 2021.

Warriors Heart is a treatment center in Bandera, Texas, which provides inpatient care to active-duty service members, veterans and first responders for chemical dependency, alcohol abuse and psychological disorders related to PTSD or mild TBI.

The event was put on by Trojan Legacy—a 10th SFG(A) program that promotes resiliency, recovery and respect within the unit—to help shed light on what undiagnosed PTSD and TBI can look like and lead afflicted Soldiers to medical treatment.

“I almost killed myself,” said Tom Spooner, Warriors Heart co-founder and retired Delta Force Operator. “‘How do I get this noise to stop?’ I was getting lost all the time; I wouldn’t know where I was when I was driving down the road. I just kept going…I had damage to the decision-making part of my brain that I didn’t know of.”

In 2006, Spooner experienced his third mass-casualty event and suffered a traumatic brain injury from an exploded mortar round while deployed which ultimately resulted in an incident where he used the military decision making process (MDMP) to plan his suicide.

“What’s going to stop this noise?,” he continued. “I started going through MDMP on utilizing my Glock and putting a bullet in my brain to stop the noise as a valid course of action. I was doing constraints, limitations, other courses of action, second and third order effects.”

Throughout Spooner’s 21 years of service, he volunteered for Airborne duty, Special Forces and Delta Force.

“Volunteers can’t complain,” he said. “The [Special Forces] selection process guarantees a lot of things. Up front, selection guarantees I will never quit…and I have never asked for help. The selection process guarantees I will not ask for help, and I only do it when I’m off the road.”

Nevertheless, Spooner had a buddy whom he confided in about what was going on in his mind as he veered off course.

“He was my everything guy,” Spooner said. “I would always tell him the truth. He stayed on me, stayed on me and stayed on me. He told me to get help. I had undiagnosed TBI, unprocessed trauma, PTSD and grief going on.”

Spooner finally sought treatment and received cognitive, psychological and vestibular therapy in conjunction with medication. Through medical testing, Spooner found that he was operating at a processing speed of 50 percent and had verbal memory of 50 percent.

“How could I honor the guys who sacrificed their lives,” he said. “Me wrecking my family and my military career is dishonoring them.”
Along with a keen sense of honor, Spooner has a keen sense of regret which, in fact, prompted him to volunteer for Delta Force assessment and selection after serving with 7th Special Forces Group (Airborne) for six years.

“There are things in life worse than death, and that’s regret,” he said. “Not having those hard conversations with people I care about. I could’ve said something but I didn’t because I thought it’d jam up my relationship. I don’t know if it would’ve changed the circumstances…but it’s one of my greatest regrets in life.”

Spooner’s own experiences acted as a looking glass as to how TBI and PTSD can manifest.

“If you have a buddy and you’re seeing these same things going on, you can talk to them and refer them to treatment,” said Sgt. Maj. Doug Lane, 10th SFG(A) Trojan Legacy senior enlisted adviser. “We want to create that peer-to-peer network and have candid conversations with our friends to ensure that if there are these issues, we steer them to the right resources.”

Story by SSGAnthony Bryant, 10th Special Forces Group (Airborne)

Army Partners with Small Businesses to Develop Innovations for Aviation Systems

Monday, February 21st, 2022

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Army just announced over $5M in new funding contracts with three small businesses to transition their innovative solutions in wind measurement systems, which have the potential to change the future of Army aviation weapon systems.

The companies will each receive up to $1.7M for an 18-month period through the Army Applied Small Business Innovation Research Program, which releases contract opportunities on an ad-hoc, rolling basis for U.S.-based small companies to tackle some of the Army’s most critical priorities.

“We are excited to see small businesses advancing target engagement capabilities in the complex, dynamic environment of tactical Army aviation,” said Charles San Filippo, test and evaluation advisor for the Army’s Future Vertical Lift Cross Functional Team. “As part of an effective, mature, and affordable fire control solution for Future Attack Reconnaissance Aircraft, or FARA, and Future Long-Range Assault Aircraft, or FLRAA, this holistic wind measurement capability will enhance Soldier survivability and lethality against near-peer threats.”

Congratulations to the following companies on their Direct to Phase II awards:

Vadum (Raleigh, North Carolina) for the Wind Measurement and Correction for Aviation Targeting

XeroWind LLC (Falls Church, Virginia) for the Twi Dimensional Path-Integrated Laser Wind Measurement System

Arete Associates (Northridge, California) for the Aviation Targeting Wind Sensor

“If a company is already established with direct customers and commercial sales, and they have a product that’s useful for the U.S. Soldier, they can skip Phase I and submit a Direct to Phase II proposal,” said Dr. Matt Willis, Director, Army Prize Competitions and Army Applied SBIR Program, Office of the Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Army for Research and Technology (DASA (R&T)). “This puts them even closer toward turning over a new technology to the Army that has the potential to be game-changing.”

The Army Applied SBIR Program aims to help small businesses overcome the inherent challenges they face when engaging in government research and development compared to their larger counterparts. The awards offer a unique opportunity for small businesses to interact with the Army and technical subject matter experts, as well as receive feedback on their technology maturation.

“This effort will show that small business innovation, combined with the efforts of proven industry partners, can provide the concentration of resources needed for state-of-the-art development to meet the Army’s mission and make innovative advances for multi-domain operations,” San Filippo said.

The Army Applied SBIR Program recently announced three new contract opportunities in artificial intelligence and machine learning and autonomy. Qualified small businesses can submit proposals through March 3 at noon EST. Full proposal packages must be submitted through the DSIP Portal. Additional information, including eligibility information and how to apply, can be found on the Army SBIR|STTR website.

By Stephanie Price

Sergeant Major of the Army Announces Inaugural Best Squad Competition

Saturday, February 19th, 2022

The Army’s Best Warrior Competition is getting an upgrade.

FORT BENNING, Ga. — During his remarks Tuesday to the Maneuver Warfighter Conference at Fort Benning, Georgia, Sgt. Maj. of the Army Michael Grinston announced that groups of Soldiers will compete together in the inaugural U.S. Army Best Squad Competition.

“For over two years I’ve talked about the importance of building a cohesive team that is highly trained, disciplined, and fit,” Grinston said. “Now it’s time to measure ourselves against that standard.”

For purposes of the competition, a “squad” will consist of five Soldiers:

One Squad Leader – Sergeant First Class or Staff Sergeant

One Team Leader – Sergeant or Corporal

Three Squad Members – Specialist and below

The inclusion of a sergeant first class was authorized to account for staff sections not typically led by a staff sergeant.

Specific details on how the squads will be assembled have not been finalized; the Army execution order is expected to be published before the end of the month. Grinston said his intent is for the teams to come from the lowest echelons of command possible.

“We don’t want divisions assembling super-squads,” he said. “But we have to figure out how that looks because each competing command is operated a little differently.”

For example, he said he would be open to allowing Soldiers from across a garrison headquarters and headquarters battalion to compete together even if those Soldiers aren’t in an organic squad.

“I want units to really think about what makes up a squad,” Grinston explained. “’This is My Squad’ isn’t just about the traditional infantry squad. It’s about those small groups of Soldiers who really know and care about each other and hold each other to a high standard of proficiency, discipline, and fitness.”

As the Army continues to modernize and train for large-scale combat operations in a multi-domain environment, Chief of Staff of the Army Gen. James C. McConville said that begins with the squad.

“The foundation of readiness is the individual Soldier and the small unit – from the team and squad levels,” he said. “The best units in the world ensure their individuals and small units are masters of their craft. If you don’t have a solid foundation of readiness, you won’t have agility. You’ll never be able to execute graduate-level operations.”

Grinston said his goal is to assess squads not just on their technical and tactical proficiency, but also on their cohesiveness and ability to work together as a team.

“By the time the squads get to the Army level, we know they’re tactically sound,” Grinston said. “So we’re going to challenge them in ways maybe they haven’t been challenged before, see how they respond when they’re stressed in other ways.”

The Army-level competition doesn’t begin until the end of September, but units will begin assembling and assessing squads now to earn the right to represent their assigned competing commands. In all, 12 teams, including one each from the Army National Guard and Army Reserve, will compete.

Sgt. Maj. of the Army Grinston also plans to select the NCO and Soldier of the Year from among the 60 competitors, but said they won’t necessarily come from the winning squad.

They, along with the best squad, will be announced at the AUSA Annual Convention in October.

By SFC Will Reinier

Simplified Human/Machine Interfaces Top List of Critical DOD Technologies

Thursday, February 17th, 2022

WASHINGTON — A modern-day cell phone packs quite a wallop when it comes to computing technology and capability. But most cell phones barely come with a “quick start guide,” let alone an instruction manual that spells out how to use all the features.

Cell phone companies have mastered the interface between humans and technology, making their use entirely intuitive and rendering thick instruction manuals a thing of the past.

The same thing should be happening for weapons systems used by servicemembers, Heidi Shyu, who serves as the undersecretary of defense for research and engineering, said. During a virtual discussion today with the Potomac Officers Club near Washington, D.C., she said intuitive, easy-to-use human/machine interfaces is something that’s a priority for her and the Defense Department.

“When I [served as an executive for the] Army before, one of the experiences I learned is with a lot of our weapons system, you really have to have a manual and go through weeks of training, if not months and years to be proficient, which is ridiculous,” she said. “[Weapons systems] ought to be designed with the appropriate ease-of-use human/machine interface, so it will become much more intuitive.”

As the Defense Department’s chief technology officer, Shyu said she’s interested in developing better ways to simplify the way service members use the technology they are given in order to reduce the training burden and learning curve.

“I really would like to see how we can change our weapons systems’ human/machine interface to be a lot more intuitive, to ease the amount of training that’s required,” she said.

For most service members, combat means use of a weapon such as a rifle, an aircraft that can drop a bomb or launch a missile, or a ship or tank that fires a large gun that requires a round to be loaded. All of these kinetic weapons systems fire solid projectiles which need to be carried along with warfighters, and which may eventually run out. But a new generation of weapons systems, which uses directed energy rather than expendable ammunition or ordnance, is on the horizon, Shyu said.

“In the area of directed energy, we’re … finally at the cusp of developing laser technology,” she said. “After 30 years, we’re finally getting to the point of fielding the prototypes. So I’m thrilled. Army and Navy are [both] fielding laser systems. I’m really happy to see that. We’re also developing high-power microwave systems as well.”

The Optical Dazzling Interdictor, Navy program, or ODIN for short, is a nonlethal weapons system used to confuse and perhaps render harmless an enemy drone — rather than shooting it down.

The ODIN system is already installed on multiple Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyers within the Navy’s fleet, and there are plans to install additional systems as well.

The Army is also developing several directed energy systems. One of those is the Directed Energy Maneuver-Short Range Air Defense, or DE M-SHORAD system, which involves a 50kW-class laser to protect divisions and brigade combat teams from unmanned aerial systems, rotary-wing aircraft, and threats from rockets, artillery and mortars.

The department is also interested in the development of advanced materials, Shyu said.

“I’m certainly interested in materials that can handle higher heat, higher temperature, next-generation hypersonic materials,” she said. “I’m interested in material that’s stronger, but lighter weight. It certainly can help us reduce the logistics burden; and also materials that can have higher efficiency — materials that can potentially change properties. [There are] a lot of different areas within advanced materials we need to continue to push the research in.”

The department is also doing its part to bring the manufacture of microelectronics back to the U.S. to improve supply chain reliability, Shyu said.

“You guys have all heard about the situation that we’re in with the supply chain, where 70% of our chips are coming from Asia,” she said. “That poses a supply chain risk. You can see there’s a lot of interest on the Hill in terms of helping out the microelectronics foundries to try to onshore some of the capabilities.”

Shyu said the Defense Department is working closely with the Department of Commerce and with foundry companies to make that happen.

“We also work very closely with intelligence communities to make sure we understand all the needs and figure out how we can leverage commercial processes which can evolve at a much faster rate than just the defense-unique foundry,” she said.

Finally, Shyu said, the department is interested in having the U.S. take the lead on the development of 5G technologies — and the advancement of the next-generation of radio communications as well.

“I call it the ‘next G’,” she said. “Namely, beyond 5G. What I don’t want to happen is for us to take our eyes off the ball and play catch-up. I’m interested in making sure we’re developing technologies on 6G and 7G, so we, the U.S., can shape the standards, as opposed to some other country shaping the standard and us playing catch-up.”

By C. Todd Lopez