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XVIII Abn Corps Drives Innovation With Its Own Version Of ‘Shark Tank’

Wednesday, November 18th, 2020

FORT BRAGG, N.C. — A panel comprised of military leaders and civilians is scheduled to place Soldiers in the hot seat as they evaluate their original ideas during a new competition later this month.

The XVIII Airborne Corps developed the competition, called the “Dragon’s Lair,” to encourage creative thinking across its ranks that may benefit units in the corps. Ideas presented to the five panelists could then help drive innovation throughout the Army, said the corps’ public affairs officer, Col. Joe Buccino.

Dragon’s Lair simulates the format of the TV show “Shark Tank.” But instead of business moguls looking to invest in the concepts of entrepreneurs, Army leaders will select ideas from Soldiers.

The next competition is slated to be held at Fort Bragg on Nov. 17. Over 180 entries have been narrowed to five finalists who will pitch their concepts to the panel.

P.W. Singer, an author and renowned defense strategist, joins four other panelists including Lt. Gen. Michael Kurilla, the corps commander, and Command Sgt. Maj. Phelicea Redd, senior enlisted advisor for the 3rd Expeditionary Sustainment Command.

The finalists’ ideas include a photo collection mobile app that lets corps alumni archive and organize photos from historical events; a policy change that helps Soldiers with master social worker licenses become Army social workers; and touch-activated pads for medical patients that record vital signs and maintain medical histories.

The Dragon’s Lair challenges innovators within the corps to present solutions to common work problems or simply to make the work environment better.

“[The goal] is to improve any aspect of life and service within the XVIII Airborne Corps,” Buccino said. “And that applies to technology, process, quality of life, procedure, the way we organize for combat and the way we prepare to do physical training.”

Only one winner will be selected and their idea will be distributed throughout the corps. “So it’s a truer competition in that way,” Buccino said. The winner will be announced Nov. 19 on the corps’ Twitter account and the competition will become a monthly event beginning in January.

Winners receive a four-day pass and the opportunity to attend an Army training school of their choice.

Ideas from within

Innovation has been pushed in part by the Army’s modernization efforts and Army Futures Command, which combines the work of civilian and military developers at its headquarters in downtown Austin, Texas.

The Dragon’s Lair challenge, however, encourages Soldiers of any career field or background within the corps to generate concepts.

One of this month’s finalists, Spc. Trevor Cross, assigned to 626th Brigade Support Battalion, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, developed a concept for technicians to curb maintenance time by cutting back hours spent transporting equipment with his forklift trailer attachment idea. This will allow for bobcats, forklifts, or skid-steers to replace Humvees as the prime mover of trailers and generators within repair bays.

Cross said that if Soldiers use his idea, where technicians use a tow attachment to move equipment for repairs, they could potentially save up to 15 work hours per week. The Alabama native said that he built his design from previous Soldiers’ ideas and made it applicable to motor pools throughout the Army.

“I think every motor pool in the Army should have one,” said Cross, who worked as a heating and air conditioning technician before enlisting at age 24. “Not only does it save time … it provides better maneuverability within the bay space, because you have more options to move the generator exactly where you want it to be.”

Cross said that regardless of the contest’s outcome, his concept could help improve productivity for about 30-40 Soldiers at Fort Campbell or at any Army motor pool.

Mobile planning

The winner of the first contest, Maj. Evan Adams, showed a penchant for creative design as a graphics design major at Sam Houston State University in Texas. Thirteen years later, Adams brainstormed an idea for Soldiers to manage appointments and training opportunities at ranges on Army installations.

Adams said Soldiers typically have to schedule time on the firing range through the Range Facility Management Support System or by making phone calls to range control. Using the app, known as the “RangeFinder,” Soldiers can schedule bookings with their smartphones.

“We use a lot of this technology to plan the range [appointments] anyway,” Adams said. “My biggest innovation is really just putting those sorts of tools together in one place so you don’t have to go searching for them or have to download additional apps.”

His idea took first place among 84 submissions last month. Buccino said Adams’ thorough planning from the development to the implementation stage impressed the panelists.

“It solved so many inefficiencies in one solution,” Buccino said. “He really had the most thoughtful presentation and thought through many of the elements of implementation and many of the hurdles that would come with that.”

Adams said he plans to work with civilian programmers on a prototype beginning December or January and hopes to release the mobile app by the summer.

By Joseph Lacdan, Army News Service

Posted in Army, Guest Post | Comments Off on XVIII Abn Corps Drives Innovation With Its Own Version Of ‘Shark Tank’

Army Uniform Board to Consider Changes for Expecting, New Mothers

Tuesday, November 17th, 2020

WASHINGTON — The 152nd Army Uniform Board will convene on Nov. 18 to consider multiple issues, including changes to maternity clothing articles for expecting and new mothers. Specifically, the board is scheduled to make decisions on the Army Green Service Uniform-Maternity and a lactation shirt for the Maternity Utility Uniform in the Operational Combat Pattern.

In 2018, the Army produced a maternity uniform for demonstrations associated with the unveiling of the AGSU. That maternity uniform resembled the style of uniform that has been issued since the 1980s and was first designed in 1979. The AUB will discuss whether to modernize the maternity uniform or continue with the current style.

The AUB will also consider developing a lactation shirt, which would later become part of the Maternity Utility Uniform issue for new mothers. As things stand, a lactation shirt is not provided with the standard issue, and Soldiers must purchase them through private, commercial vendors.

The Nov. 18 meeting will be held virtually, and discussion will be led by the AUB Chairman, Lt. Gen. Duane Gamble, Deputy Chief of Staff of G-4. Members of the AUB include male and female Soldiers at all levels, and representatives from the active component, Army Reserve and Army National Guard. Each member has an equal vote in deciding which recommendations go forth to Chief of Staff of the Army Gen. James C. McConville.

The AUB meeting, which takes place twice each year, is the Army’s only forum to address the changing requirements of Soldiers’ uniforms and accessory items. All Soldiers can contribute to the Uniform Board process by providing recommendations to their sergeant majors. Incorporating the feedback from Soldiers is a big part of the AUB process.

The last AUB took place on June 25th. To read about the outcomes of that meeting, click here.

Posted in Army, Clothing, For the Ladies, Guest Post | 9 Comments »

Machine Learning Algorithm Could Provide Soldiers Feedback

Saturday, November 14th, 2020

RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK, N.C. — A new machine learning algorithm, developed with Army funding, can isolate patterns in brain signals that relate to a specific behavior and then decode it, potentially providing Soldiers with behavioral-based feedback.

“The impact of this work is of great importance to Army and DOD in general, as it pursues a framework for decoding behaviors from brain signals that generate them,” said Dr. Hamid Krim, program manager, Army Research Office, an element of the U.S. Army Combat Capabilities Develop Command, now known as DEVCOM, Army Research Laboratory. “As an example future application, the algorithms could provide Soldiers with needed feedback to take corrective action as a result of fatigue or stress.”

Brain signals contain dynamic neural patterns that reflect a combination of activities simultaneously. For example, the brain can type a message on a keyboard and acknowledge if a person is thirsty at that same time. A standing challenge has been isolating those patterns in brain signals that relate to a specific behavior, such as finger movements.

Doing so, is the first step in developing brain-machine interfaces that help restore lost function for people with neurological and mental disorders, which requires the translation of brain signals into a specific behavior, called decoding.

As part of a Multidisciplinary University Research Initiative grant awarded by ARO and led by Maryam Shanechi, assistant professor at the University Of Southern California Viterbi School Of Engineering, researchers have developed a new machine learning algorithm to address the brain modeling and decoding challenge. The research is published in Nature Neuroscience.

“Our algorithm can, for the first time, dissociate the dynamic patterns in brain signals that relate to specific behaviors and is much better at decoding these behaviors,” said Shanechi, the lead senior author of the study.

The researchers tested the algorithm on standard brain datasets during the performance of various arm and eye movements. They showed that their algorithm discovered neural patterns in brain signals that directed these movements but were missed with standard algorithms.

They also showed that the decoding of these movements from brain signals – predicting what the movement kinematics are by just looking at brain signals that generate the movement – was much better with their algorithm.

“The algorithm has significant implications for basic science discoveries,” Krim said. “The algorithm can discover shared dynamic patterns between any signals beyond brain signals, which is widely applicable for the military and many other medical and commercial applications.”

Shanechi said the reason for the new algorithm’s success was its ability to consider both brain signals and behavioral signals such as movement kinematics together, and then find the dynamic patterns that were common to these signals.

This decoding also depends on our ability to isolate neural patterns related to the specific behavior. These neural patterns can be masked by patterns related to other activities and can be missed by standard algorithms.

In the future, the new algorithm could also enhance future brain-machine interfaces by decoding behaviors better. For example, the algorithm could help allow paralyzed patients to directly control prosthetics by thinking about the movement.

By U.S. Army DEVCOM Army Research Laboratory Public Affairs

Posted in Army, Digitization, Guest Post | Comments Off on Machine Learning Algorithm Could Provide Soldiers Feedback

Army Conducts Major Milestone Tests in Development of Integrated Visual Augmentation System

Monday, November 9th, 2020

FORT BENNING, Ga. – The Army-led team of developers creating the Integrated Visual Augmentation System is wrapping up the third major milestone testing and demonstration event this week at Fort Pickett, Va., where Soldiers and Marines have been putting the system, known as IVAS, through a number of field exercises since Oct. 18.

IVAS is designed to enhance the lethality and survivability of the Army’s Close Combat Force through a combination of technologies and augmented reality capabilities delivered in the form of a Heads-Up Display device, much like the famed HoloLens developed by Microsoft, which is, in fact, partnering with the Army to develop and produce the system.

IVAS is one of the Army Future Command’s 31 original signature modernization efforts, headed by the Soldier Lethality Cross Functional Team (SL CFT) at Fort Benning, Ga., under the leadership of Brig. Gen. David Hodne, who also serves as the Chief of Infantry. It’s a single platform that allows the Soldier to fight, rehearse, and train, because it leverages networked information sharing and mixed and augmented reality technologies. IVAS is one of the SL CFT’s efforts to help resolve an erosion in combat superiority between

U.S. and near peer competitors around the world as identified in the 2018 National Defense Strategy.

Whereas U.S. forces once “owned the night” in respect to combat overmatch in conditions of limited visibility, Hodne said, two decades of consistent and concentrated conflict across the Middle East has resulted in a parity among the world’s most capable combatants.

“Overmatch has always been defined in terms of two things; our lethality and our protection must exceed the lethality and protection of our adversaries,” Hodne said Oct. 30, as he addressed a group of Army senior leaders and Congressional representatives who attended the IVAS demonstration at Pickett. “In order to restore overmatch, we must restore lethality, and lethality means we can see, designate and move quickly through hours of limited visibility.

“In an environment where we share the night, the folks who can move faster, decide faster and think faster are the ones who have the advantage on today and tomorrow’s battlefield,” he said, citing the IVAS next generation situational awareness tools, high resolution operational and training simulations capabilities the Soldiers are testing at Pickett.

The event is the third in a series of four comprehensive large-scale tests, formally known as Soldier Touch Points, or STPs, scheduled at pivotal junctures in the 28-month program to bring together stakeholders from across the Army’s modernization enterprise with industry partners to assess technologies added or upgraded since the previous STP and test the latest system prototype in the field. This time around, participants from the 82nd Airborne Division and a contingent of Marines conducted company-size training events using the first militarized prototype of the IVAS. Events included land navigation, live fire, mission planning, rapid target acquisition, trench clearing, after action review using augmented reality, and more.

By the end of this event, Team IVAS, which includes the CFT, PEO Soldier, Microsoft, Combat Capabilities Development Command, and a number of labs and directorates within the modernization enterprise, will have collected more than 40,000 hours of Soldier data, said Brig. Gen. Tony Potts, the director of PEO Soldier.

The team employs a Soldier Centered Design methodology that involves Soldiers at every step of the process, from design to development, thereby reducing the traditional 10-year acquisitions timeline to roughly 28 months and eliminating the historical probability of fielding a system Soldiers reject. Soldier Centered Design means IVAS is designed and built by the Soldiers who give the constructive, candid feedback developers use to turn over new prototypes and upgrade systems constantly.

“If we want to develop systems at the speed of relevance, and systems that our Soldier want to use, this is the way we have to do it,” Potts said. “We have learned so much through Soldier Centered Design. Our real desire is to let Soldiers design it, and then our engineers build what they design. It’s about listening to our Soldiers.”

The STP was Staff Sgt Kaleb Kester’s first experience with IVAS and with the concept of Soldier Centered Design. After 12 years in the Army, the combat veteran said he sees “incredible potential” for the system and had no trouble learning to use it. “If you can use a smart phone, you can use IVAS,” he said, but there was one thing he didn’t understand.

“Why haven’t we always been doing it this way? I hate getting issued things I don’t even want or don’t need or can’t really use,” Kester said. “This is the way it should always be.”

The program, which remains on track to deliver the first IVAS in the fourth quarter of FY21, is funded through Other Transaction Authorities (OTA) and Middle Tier Acquisition Rapid Prototyping authorities to accelerate the development process by more than four years as compared to the DoD 5000 process.

Last month, Undersecretary of Defense for Acquisition and Sustainment Ellen Lord hailed IVAS as an example of success, having launched the program under an interim policy she implemented to circumvent problems inherent to traditional military acquisitions methodologies aimed at layered governance and risk aversion. In September, Deputy Secretary Norquist signed a directive that completes a comprehensive redesign of the DoD 5000 series acquisitions policies.

“So using this (interim) policy, we have 74 programs today using the middle tier acquisition pathway, including (IVAS),” Lord said Oct. 7 during a Pentagon briefing. “As a result, IVAS intends to rapidly field the capability in fiscal year 21 after conducting dozens of hardware prototypes and thousands of software builds through continuous iterations with Soldiers … the MTA pathway incentivizes powerful behaviors across the acquisition enterprise to quickly restore the Army’s advantage in individual situational awareness, navigation, communications, and target acquisition.”

Army Chief of Staff Gen. James McConville said virtually the same last week after participating in the IVAS STP 3 demonstration, where he donned the IVAS to see firsthand how the system pairs to the Family of Weapons Sight – Individual to give the warfighter the ability to acquire a target from behind the relative security of a corner or an obstacle using the aided target acquisition capability.

Twenty years ago, McConville said, such capabilities would have been considered futuristic, “something you see in a movie,” and the acquisition timeline would have impeded progress.

“Historically, our acquisition cycle has taken a long time, ten to fifteen years,” he said. “(IVAS) was just an idea two or three years ago, and we were able to bring it to fruition quickly to what we saw today working together with industry, with our operators, and also our Soldiers with touch points along the way using the authorities that Congress has given us to rapidly, bring this capability to our Soldiers in the field. It’s safe to say that the future is here – now – and this is no longer in the realm of science fiction.”

Lt. Nicholas Christopher was one of the Soldiers from the 501st Parachute Infantry Regiment who put the system to the test in hinterlands of Fort Pickett’s operationally relevant environments. Christopher described the IVAS suite of capabilities just as the Chief of Staff.

“There are a lot of features on it that are futuristic, I guess you could say, including things like advanced battle tracking,” he said. “I can see where my entire platoon is projected on a map, and for me as a platoon leader, that’s amazing, because there’s a lot of guesswork that goes out the window. There’s a lot of verbal communication over radios that I don’t have to do anymore. It’s very solid I can see how this is going to make a great impact on the way we fight.”

By Bridgett Siter

Posted in Army, Guest Post, Optics | 13 Comments »

SIG SAUER TANGO6T Riflescope Selected by U.S. Department of Defense for Direct View Optic (DVO)

Monday, November 9th, 2020

NEWINGTON, N.H., (November 9, 2020) – SIG SAUER, Inc. is proud to announce the TANGO6T has been selected by the U.S. Department of Defense for the Direct View Optic (DVO) in response to a solicitation to enhance squad performance with a variable powered riflescope. Unlike older generation non-magnified or fixed-magnification optics, the TANGO6T is a 1-6X variable-magnification riflescope that enables the soldier to engage both close quarter targets and targets at extended ranges.

This award from the U.S. DoD is the third award for the SIG SAUER TANGO6T; previously selections for the TANGO6T include the Squad Designated Marksman Rifle (SDMR) and the USSOCOM Squad-Variable Powered Scope (S-VPS). The TANGO6T riflescope is currently in use with the U.S. Army Squad Designated Marksman and U.S. Military Special Forces.

“After rigorous and stringent testing, where the best of the industry competed, we are proud to confirm the SIG SAUER TANGO6T riflescope has been selected by the U.S. Army as the Direct View Optic,” began Ron Cohen, President and CEO, SIG SAUER, Inc. “This is a three-peat for the TANGO6T as the riflescope continues to prove it will withstand the rigors of U.S. military testing making it the choice for use with our soldiers. The further proliferation of the riflescope into the U.S. Military’s M4A1 operating system is an exciting achievement for SIG SAUER Electro-Optics and further proof that the TANGO6T is the direction of the future.”

The TANGO6T 1-6×24 DVO riflescope will be used on M4A1 carbines and is a first focal plane ruggedized riflescope with a Flat Dark Earth (FDE) anodized aircraft grade aluminum main tube. The riflescope features the DWLR6 reticle capable of providing range estimation and wind holds at extreme distances, the advanced HELLFIRE illumination system for fast target acquisition, a locking illumination dial, Power Selector Ring (PSR) Throw Lever, the ALPHA4 ultralight mount, and a laser-marked scope level indicator for intuitive installation.

“The TANGO6T riflescope platform has been ruggedized and battle-hardened over the course of both the SDMR and S-VPS programs,” added Andy York, President, SIG SAUER Electro-Optics. “We are proud to assemble the TANGO6T here in the USA to support our warfighters with a variable powered riflescope that was developed to match the engagement requirements of today’s battlefield.”

The SIG SAUER TANGO6T 1-6x24MM riflescope is available commercially at local retailers and at sigsauer.com, in first and second plane, and varying reticles including 5.56/7.62 Horseshoe Dot, HELLFIRE MOA Milling, HELLFIRE FL-6 and the new DWLR6.

“This award solidifies the TANGO6T as the premier riflescope of the U.S. military as it continues to exceed the highest standards for ruggedization, range, and accuracy throughout testing protocols, and in the field with our soldiers. We are honored to partner with the U.S. Department of Defense as they continue to modernize their weapons systems and look forward to the continued proliferation of the TANGO6T amongst our fighting forces,” concluded Cohen.

All SIG SAUER TANGO6 riflescopes are designed and assembled in the USA at the state-of-the-art, ISO-certified, SIG SAUER Electro-Optics facility in Wilsonville, Oregon.

Posted in Advertiser, Army, Contracts, Optics, Press Release | 9 Comments »

First Look – US Army’s New Direct View Optic by SIG SAUER

Wednesday, November 4th, 2020

Just as Fiscal Year 2020 was closing out, the US Army awarded SIG SAUER an Other Transaction Agreements contract valued at $77,168,400.00 for the Direct View Optic program. SIG put up their TANGO6T which continues to rack up contract wins.

The Army envisioned DVO of being capable of variable power magnification with minimum magnification of 1.0x with no rounding and maximum magnification greater than or equal to 6.0 power.

Their rationale was that variable power magnification optics combine the capabilities of the non-magnified optic’s ability to engage close quarter targets with a fixed-magnification optic’s ability to detect, recognize, identify, and precisely engage targets at extended ranges. This allows the Soldier to have both critical capabilities without the limitations of either non magnified or fixed magnification optics.

The Army announced the program in June of 2019. It seemed to move rapidly at first, but then stalled as COVID-19 sidetracked many programs. The Army also used the time to consider prioritization of its Next Generation Squad Weapon program, intended to replace the 5.56mm M4A1 and M249 with new weapons firing a 6.8 x 51 mm round with increased range and penetration for use by close combat forces. These include Infantry, Cavalry Scouts, and Combat Engineers as well as those who provide them embedded support, such as Combat Medics. The Army has included its Special Operations Forces as well in the NGSW program.

Just when many expected the Army to cancel the program, they announced the contract award.

This is a TANGO6T mounted to the SIG SAUER SLSR in 6.8mm, their NGSW Rifle candidate, nicknamed the Spear.

The TANGO6T is a 1-6×24 riflescope featuring a Flat Dark Earth (FDE) anodized aircraft grade aluminum maintube, illuminated front focal plane reticle, an ultra-bright red horseshoe dot for fast daylight target acquisition, locking illumination dial, Power Selector Ring (PSR) Throw Lever, and a laser-marked scope level indicator for mount installation. All of the variants I have used so far have featured the red horseshoe dot.

The DVO version of the TANGO6T differs slightly from both the version already adopted by the Army for the Squad Designated Marksman Rifle and the version selected by US Special Operations Command for the Squad – Variable Power Scope program.

The SDMR optic procurement is complete and the S-VPS procurement is ongoing, with a new reticle, despite a lot of rumors to the contrary.

We’ll dispel another rumor as well. These are assembled in the US. No, the optical prescription doesn’t come from the US, no one’s does, at least not for any optic you’d want to use. But everything else is made here, and the whole thing is assembled here as well.

An initial version of the USSOCOM S-VPS.

There will be a new reticle for DVO. From what I understand it will be a BDC reticle for the M855A1 ammunition. It is also slightly shorter in length than the other versions. I’d expect a few other changes as well before it begins fielding, as this always happens. We’ll update you once we hear more.

The optic below was built for the DVO program. It’s the one mounted to the Spear above. The color variations in the photos are due to lighting.

Expect this procurement to move out quickly. Test and evaluation should proceed rapidly as the TANGO6T is already a known quantity. Conversely, this new optic will also have significant impacts on marksmanship training in how to properly use a variable power optic, beyond snipers and designated marksmen. That could mean the training base will have to adapt the SDMR new equipment training for a new caliber, and wider audience. The optics will likely be ready before the force is ready to receive them.

The first tranche of around 45,000 DVO are supposed to go to the US Air Force for use by Security Forces, which is the largest enlisted careerfield in the AF. This will satisfy a requirement we’ve been reporting on since 2018.

However, the US Army will assuredly buy off this contract as well. They awarded it after all. To be sure, the Army is committed to the Next Generation Squad Weapon – Fire Control solution currently being evaluated alongside the NGSW candidates. However, there are two issues afoot. First off, FC will be very expensive and likely only used with the next gen guns once they come online. The second issue is that the Army has almost one million M4/16 rifles in their inventory. Even if NGSW is completely fielded it’s well short of the inventory of rifles and machine guns it will replace. I estimate the M4 will remain in service well into the 2040s in very large numbers, as in hundreds of thousands. While the M4 won’t be the main battle rifle used by close combat forces, there is no reason to not replace the current fixed magnification (1x magnification) M4 COMP from Aimpoint with a variable power optic.

Consequently, there is already talk of a procurement of tens of thousands of DVO for use by close combat forces awaiting NGSW since DVO was written specifically for use with the M4A1. Yes, you read that right, the Army will buy this scope. Remember, the Army initially talked about purchasing 120,000 optics (to include other agency buys) when the requirement dropped.

There’s a lot of room in the contract to buy optics and they can modify it to buy even more if the need arises. Considering it’s an OTA, modifying the ceiling isn’t difficult. The Army just needs to be careful about how long they use the section 804 authority to purchase this piece of equipment (up to five years according to the award data).

However, once it is assigned an NSN, they can transition procurement into sustainment and have the Defense Logistics Agency manage procurement. Along with that move is generally a new contract opportunity and a chance for other vendors to compete to build it. This usually occurs once the initial contract runs out, which is around five years.

This program kicks off soon.

Posted in Advertiser, Air Force, Army, Contracts, Optics | 8 Comments »

US Army at Work on High-Tech Gear, New Rifle, to Give Soldiers Winning Edge in Close Combat

Wednesday, November 4th, 2020

FORT BENNING, Ga. – The Army is on track to equip its Soldiers with state-of-the-art gear that will give them a decisive edge in close-quarters combat, items that include a high-tech goggle, a more lethal rifle, and binoculars that see in the dark, a senior Army leader says in an official video.

The items are among those the Army is working with industry to develop for Soldiers to use on future battlefields in close combat against “near-peer” adversaries, Brig. Gen. David Hodne, the Army’s Chief of Infantry, says in the video.

Hodne also heads the Army’s Soldier Lethality Cross-Functional Team, which is working to develop the three items. Three other officers from the team also appear in the video.

What Hodne calls the “signature modernization efforts” are: the Integrated Visual Augmentation System, known as IVAS; Next Generation Squad Weapons, or NGSW, and the Enhanced Night Vision Goggle-Binocular, or the ENVG-B.

The National Defense Strategy drafted under former Secretary of Defense James Mattis and published in 2018 “identified a worrisome erosion in overmatch between U.S. Forces and our near-peer competitors around the world,” says Hodne.

“Nearly two decades of sustained combat operations continues to yield seasoned leaders and combat veterans skilled in small-unit action,” he says. “However, near-peer competitors studied how we project power, how we fight, and what we fight with.”

Also informing the effort was the “Russian New Generation Warfare Study” that was led by retired Brig. Gen. Pete Jones, a former Chief of Infantry.

“This study,” says Hodne, “combined with the Close Combat Strategic Portfolio Review, and the 2018 National Defense Strategy revealed gaps that warranted serious consideration.”

“Near-peer threats have capabilities that match and in some cases exceed our capabilities,” he says. “In some cases, our adversaries can detect before they’re detected, and that means they can target, and engage, before we do.

“Our current capabilities are not sufficient for battlefields distributed in urban and subterranean environments,” says Hodne. “And we have to anticipate the implications of new technologies on the battlefield and foster a culture of experimentation and calculated risk-taking.”

A major focus of the effort, says Hodne, is the Close Combat Force, or CCF, those who close with and destroy the enemy in close combat.

That force is made up of Soldiers in five military job categories: Infantry, Cavalry scouts, combat engineers, and their accompanying forward observers and medics.

Together they account for 4% of the overall force, Hodne says, and the major percentage of battlefield casualties.

“Historically, 90 percent of battlefield casualties generally occur among four percent of the force,” he says.

“It’s for these specialties, those Soldiers with the purpose of closing with and destroying the enemy in close combat, where we’ve focused our efforts,” he says.

“It’s worth noting this particular cohort of close-combat Soldiers generally receives a small fraction of the budget portfolio intended for modernization,” says Hodne.

Integrated Visual Augmentation System

The first project highlighted in the video is the Integrated Visual Augmentation System, or IVAS. It’s a head-mounted digital goggle that connects to a small computer and a radio. A Soldier can see through it both in daylight and in the dark.

“IVAS takes night vision to a new level with leap-ahead digital technologies,” Lt. Col. Brad Winn says in the video. Winn is the Soldier Lethality CFT’s lead action officer for the IVAS.

“Department of Defense leaders wanted a single device Soldiers could use to fight, rehearse and train,” Winn says. “IVAS is that device. It improves Soldier sensing, decision-making, target acquisition, target engagement and situational awareness.”

According to the video, IVAS can show the Soldier battlefield information about where the enemy is and where others in the Soldier’s unit are; helps Soldiers see a target they need to shoot at, uses facial recognition software that can tell the Soldier who a person is; can translate various languages into English; and allows Soldiers to send one another various kinds of digital information, including map coordinates and imagery of what’s happening on the battlefield.

“IVAS has incorporated Intra-Soldier Wireless Connectivity and the ability to pass data among squad, platoon and company formations,” Winn says. “They can talk to each other and share images on and off the objective.”

That could include, for example, what a certain building or other objective looks like.

“The Soldiers following behind, or the next one on the objective, will know exactly what that objective looks like, whether it’s the inside of a building, wooded terrain – anywhere,” Winn says.

“IVAS enhances every aspect of Soldier lethality,” he says. “It improves and increases the Soldier’s situational awareness and enhances his or her ability to maneuver and outmaneuver our adversaries. IVAS will make a smarter, better-informed, more agile and lethal Soldier. It will save American lives on the battlefield.”

The Army has gathered more than 20,000 hours of testing involving nearly 1,000 Soldiers, Marines, and members of special operations forces, and expects to field the first unit in the latter part of 2021, Winn says.

The Army plans to field it to the entire Close Combat Force in the Army’s 58 brigade combat teams, in the Army’s Active and National Guard components, he says.

Next Generation Squad Weapons

A second item highlighted in the video are Next Generation Squad Weapons, or NGSW.

“Near-peer adversaries continue to acquire and develop capabilities that counter Army squad weapons and ammunition, reducing, and in some cases negating, our combat overmatch,” Maj. Wyatt Ottmar, the Soldier Lethality CFT’s project officer for the NGSW, says in the video.

The NGSW fires a 6.8 mm round. It would replace in the Close Combat Force the M249 and M4A1, both of which fire 5.56 mm rounds, says Ottmar.

Development of the NGSW is an outgrowth of the Army’s 2017 Small Arms Ammunition Configuration Study, which showed the need for a new weapon, Ottmar says.

The Army will test several rifle prototypes produced by various companies and expects to field a new squad weapon in the latter part of 2022.

Enhanced Night Vision Goggle-Binocular

The third project outlined in the video is the Enhanced Night Vision Goggle-Binocular, or ENVG-B.

Night Vision Goggles are far from new, but the ENVG-B gives Soldiers a clearer view and are easier to use, Maj. James Siebert says in the video. Siebert is the Soldier Lethality CFT’s action officer for the ENVG-B project.

“The ENVG-B enables superior combat overmatch by providing Soldiers a binocular system that delivers unparalleled vision day and night in low light, no light, fog, smoke or inclement weather,” says Siebert.

“It offers greater clarity and better depth perception,” he says.

“Rather than looking down at a 2D map or smartphone device, Soldiers see virtual icons overlaid on their real-world view in real time,” says Siebert.

The video was one of several warfighting-related “Warrior Corner” videos produced for viewing by participants in the 2020 Virtual Maneuver Warfighter Conference, held online Sept. 9-10 by Fort Benning’s U.S. Army Maneuver Center of Excellence. The MCoE has since made them available to the public on YouTube.

By Franklin Fisher

Posted in Army, Guest Post, Optics, weapons | 2 Comments »

Construction of New Army Mountain Warfare School Facility Begins

Tuesday, November 3rd, 2020

Jericho, Vt. – The Vermont National Guard will break ground on a new $27 million facility for the Army Mountain Warfare School on Thursday, Nov. 5 at Ethan Allen Firing Range in Jericho.

The socially-distanced ground-breaking ceremony is scheduled for 10:00 a.m.

“In my many conversations with the Secretary and the Chief of Staff of the Army, the Chief of the National Guard Bureau, and the Director of the Army National Guard, it was clear to me that replacing the facilities of the Army Mountain Warfare School allowed the Army to greatly expand and improve its capabilities,” said Vermont Senator Patrick Leahy. “As Appropriations Vice Chairman I was glad to be in a position to be able to ensure that it was funded, when the Army told me that despite the need it had not been included in the budget submission. I’m proud of the opportunity ahead of us for Vermonters to expand our ability to teach Soldiers and other members of our Armed Services how to not only survive, but to master and make the most of difficult terrain and cold climates.”

The 82,668 square foot facility will include educational space, billeting for 174 personnel, and a dining facility. The new schoolhouse will also offer students a unique four-story indoor climbing wall and will use a geothermal ground source system to provide heating and cooling. Space for the installation of photovoltaic panels will also be incorporated. Project completion is expected near April 2022.

“The Army Mountain Warfare School cadre are among the best and brightest in the field; this school is where students learn to become competent mountaineering professionals,” said Maj. Gen. Greg Knight, Vermont adjutant general. “This new facility is a testament to those Soldiers, and the thousands of graduates and cadre that have come through the school for nearly four decades.”

The Vermont National Guard has operated the only Army Mountain Warfare School in the country since 1983. They now instruct courses in basic, advanced, and specialty mountain warfare. They also provide additional mission specific training to United States and foreign military forces in a variety of countries.

“This new facility ensures the continuation of excellence in mountain warfare operations, and the lasting value this school brings to Vermont and the U.S. Army. Sincere thanks to Senator Leahy for his efforts in making this a reality,” said Knight.

Joint Force Headquarters, Vermont National Guard Public Affairs

Posted in Army, Guest Post, Mountaineering, Training | 12 Comments »