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SETAF-AF Welcomes New Civil Affairs Battalion

Saturday, September 2nd, 2023

VICENZA, Italy – The U.S. Army Southern European Task Force, Africa (SETAF-AF) Civil Affairs Battalion conducted a change of responsibility during a ceremony Aug. 25, 2023, at Caserma Del Din, Vicenza, Italy.

During the ceremony, the 489th Civil Affairs Battalion, from Knoxville, TN, assumed responsibility as the SETAF-AF CA Battalion from the outgoing 450th Civil Affairs Battalion.

“Our Civil Affairs Battalion provides us a critical capability,” said Maj. Gen. Todd Wasmund, SETAF-AF commanding general. “They help us understand the concerns and perspectives of the civilian populations in the countries in which we partner and help to meet their needs. They help our African partners build their own capacity to increase civil-military engagement and build trust between the military and those they protect.”

SETAF-AF coordinates all U.S. Army activities in Africa in support of U.S. Africa Command and U.S. Army Europe and Africa.

The U.S. Army Reserve, Maryland-based battalion worked hand-in-hand with several African partners including Côte d’Ivoire, The Gambia, Malawi, Liberia, Morocco, Djibouti, Kenya, Ghana, and Tunisia during their nine-month deployment to the U.S. Africa Command Area of Responsibility. Across the continent, the battalion played a vital role in fostering partnerships between the U.S. Army, host nation forces and their respective public.

Army Civil Affairs Soldiers work closely in partnership with other government agencies or the militaries of allied nations.

“I would like to thank all of our African Partners and the Soldiers of SETAF-AF for laying a solid foundation of operations for us,” said 540th Civil Affairs Battalion Commander Lt. Col. Kevin. Martin. “The past nine months has been an incredible experience, and we wouldn’t endeavor to continue forward with the mission, jointly with all partners for success.”

The incoming civil affairs battalion assumes responsibility for all Army civil affairs duties within the African continent supporting the SETAF-AF mission.

“I would like to thank the outgoing Civil Affairs Battalion for laying a solid foundation of operations for us and we will endeavor to continue forward with the mission, jointly with all partners for success,” said Lt. Col. James Favuzzi, the commander of 489th Civil Affairs Battalion.

Over the next nine months, the battalion will provide approximately 90 Soldiers, 10 civil affairs teams, and one medical functional specialist team to conduct engagements across Africa in support of SETAF-AF.

“We receive tremendous support to our mission from the U.S. Army Reserve, evidenced by the work and accomplishments of the 540th,” said Wasmund. “We’re confident that the new team from the 489th will build upon that important work in the months ahead.”

By Billy Lacroix

Posted in Army, Forces Focus, Guest Post, SOF | Comments Off on SETAF-AF Welcomes New Civil Affairs Battalion

TacJobs – 525 EMIB Seeks WOs, CPTs, MAJs

Friday, September 1st, 2023

If you want to serve at Fort’s Liberty, Stewart and Campbell in the 525th E-MIB, please review the flyer below for positions in the 24-02 AIM Marketplace!!

We are looking for Warrant Officers, Captains, and Majors that want to serve in the XVIII Airborne Corps and in the Army’s premiere Expeditionary Military Intelligence Brigade.

If interested, please contact our POCs below:

Deputy Commander: MAJ Chris Mitrevski (christopher.g.mitrevski.mil@army.mil)

Brigade S-1: MAJ Juliette Gula (juliette.e.gula.mil@army.mil),

Command Chief Warrant Officer: CW4 Chuck Damboise (chuck.s.damboise.mil@army.mil)

Posted in Army, Guest Post, TacJobs | Comments Off on TacJobs – 525 EMIB Seeks WOs, CPTs, MAJs

Cyber Quest 23 Informs Cyber and Electronic Warfare Program Managers

Friday, September 1st, 2023

FORT GORDON, Ga. — Environment matters when it comes to experimentation and analysis of capabilities for the Army. To determine how a piece of technology will perform on the battlefield, the right environment is needed that replicates many of the battlefield variables.

In the electronic warfare and cyberspace — shortened as EW and cyber — communities, Cyber Quest is that environment. Developed with purpose, Cyber Quest is the perfect place for EW and cyber to experiment and analyze potential technologies that may make their way onto the battlefield one day. It’s where Soldiers, industry and government partners come together for a common purpose — inform capability development in various portfolios including EW and cyber, areas not only critical to the Army but critical to the Program Executive Office, Intelligence, Electronic Warfare & Sensors — known as PEO IEW&S.

This annual prototype assessment, now in its eighth year, explores industry innovations and captures Soldier feedback through a series of rigorous and objective experimentations to provide evidence-based results. Soldiers from the U.S., Australia and Canada took part in evaluating technologies this year.

“Cyber Quest is about making sure the interaction between the science and the practitioners is at the right level,” Maj. Gen. Paul Stanton, commanding general, U.S. Army Cyber Center of Excellence said during his opening remarks. “We take the state-of-the-art capabilities that industry and the scientific community have been working on and we refine them in accordance with what Soldiers tell us they need.”

Anyone within the EW and cyber communities will agree, things move incredibly fast and change constantly. To keep pace, events like Cyber Quest help inform the requirements documents and ultimately increase the rapid acquisition of EW and cyber capabilities.

Members from the EW and cyber requirements and acquisition communities, as well as Soldiers, attend Cyber Quest to see what industry has developed and how those capabilities performed in the experimentations during a culminating distinguished visitors day event.

Due to its focus, Cyber Quest has become the premier prototyping event for the Army, and feeds into larger Army technology assessments like Project Convergence.

From a product manager perspective, “Cyber Quest allows us to see a broader perspective of what’s going on in the [EW] community,” Liz Bledsoe, Product Manager, Electronic Warfare Integration, explained. “There may be technology here we can use in some capacity in the future.”

Beyond the technology results, networking with the community adds even more value to Cyber Quest. “Stakeholder relationships is important at our level,” Bledsoe said. “I met with our Canadian and Australian allies in attendance to catch up and talk shop. We operate alongside both countries often so it’s important we keep those relations up.”

Bledsoe’s work focuses on the Electronic Warfare Planning and Management Tool, or EWPMT, a commander’s tool to remotely control and manage electromagnetic spectrum assets to execute offensive and defensive EW operations. At Cyber Quest, EWPMT was set up to receive data from the participating vendor products and was able to receive data as a result. “Experimentations are great. Any of the data we get from Cyber Quest helps with the future of EWPMT,” Bledsoe explained.

The experimentation aspect of Cyber Quest is fairly unique and can provide the acquisition community a look ahead. “If there’s something really important, we see in the final results, could be positive or negative, it gives us insight on changes we need to make and where can we build the capability up to,” Bledsoe explained. “We may identify aspects the Combat Capabilities Development Command, Command, Control, Communication, Computers, Cyber, Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance Center or other science and technology organization could work through first and then we can pick up and implement it in two to three years.”

The experimentation component of Cyber Quest 23 also drives home an increasingly important aspect of software development — Soldier feedback matters.

“If you want good Soldier feedback, you have to show you value it in the first place by quickly integrating feedback into the next iteration of a product,” Bledsoe said.

She hopes to be able to take data from the experimentations and Soldier feedback back to her team to help them further develop and improve EWPMT.

“This community is at the nexus of the science and the practitioners, new protocols, new kit, new antennas, new algorithms — aligning with our Signal, EW and Cyber Soldiers – this is our time at Cyber Quest to make sure things work,” Stanton explained. “What we’ve done here at Cyber Quest informs future requirements and capability drops that we hand off to our Acquisition community to buy and build the equipment that’s going to work the way we need it to. It does us no good to give Soldiers a piece of kit that is not going to function under the extreme circumstances of the operating environment.”

By Shawn Nesaw

Posted in Army, Cyber, EW, Guest Post | Comments Off on Cyber Quest 23 Informs Cyber and Electronic Warfare Program Managers

Signal Course Aims to ‘Transform the Army One NCO at a Time’

Thursday, August 31st, 2023

FORT GORDON, Ga. — When a Signaleer graduates from initial military training their learning has all but ended; rather, it is only beginning.

As members of a career field that is ever evolving, it is imperative to seek out — and take advantage of — opportunities for professional development.

One such opportunity is the Signal Digital Master Gunner, or S-DMG, Course. Offered exclusively at Fort Gordon, Georgia, it is the only S-DMG course in the Army that is approved by U.S. Army Training Command.

This five-week functional course supports the training of noncommissioned officers to install, operate, and maintain the local area network integration with the tactical server infrastructure and various mission command information systems.

Instruction encompasses the installation and configuration of hardware and software including: routers, switches and networking devices, Warfighter Information Network-Tactical operations, signal flow, troubleshooting, Exchange server, Active Directory, Structured Query Language server, domain controller, tactical messaging solutions, Extensible Messaging Presence Protocol, Cisco Unified Call Manager, Tactical Local Area Network Encryptor, Tactical Operations Center Intercommunication System and virtual machine software. Additionally, students are taught how to integrate data using the Data Dissemination Services, Joint Battle Command Platform and Command Post Computing Environment.

Students are initially trained in a classroom environment then required to conduct performance-based tasks on unit-fielded equipment.

Claudius Blanding, S-DMG course manager, said the course’s primary objective is integration, noting that students do not become experts on any one particular system but instead become well-versed in several.

“We teach them as integrators, so they know what questions to ask so that they know where to go to get the information,” Blanding said.

Each learning position in the classroom represents a brigade’s worth of servers, and each student, from beginning to end, builds those assets.

“They are utilizing that same network from day one in order for them to move on to the next block,” Blanding said.

The course is designed primarily for information technology specialists and signal support systems specialists, military occupational specialties 25B and 25U respectively, in the rank of sergeant or above. However, all other enlisted signal military occupational specialties — specialist and below — are eligible to attend with a waiver signed by their battalion commander. The training students receive is intended to complement the training that signal warrant officers and chief information officers receive at the battalion and brigade level.

Blanding said that there are many benefits to Signaleers taking the S-DMG Course.

“What this does is … when you have your warrant [officers] and S6 up at either brigade or division, they can call down at the battalion level and talk to somebody like one of these trained NCOs, and they understand the lingo,” Blanding explained. “It really benefits the battalion and below having a S-DMG graduate, because it helps out the signal warrant officers on that side.”

Ultimately, the intent is to develop signal noncommissioned officers as signal-digital master gunners and the commander’s subject matter expert providing critical and near real-time situational awareness in the unit’s integrated common operational picture.

Furthermore, Soldiers who complete the course are offered a resource of lifetime tech support.

“We encourage them to reach back to us if they have any questions … and we constantly get emails and phone calls from [graduates] giving us new updates on stuff or things that are changing out in the force, so we learn from them as well and pass that information along,” Blanding said.

Soldiers who are interested in enrolling must pass a pre-entrance exam. Enrollment is on a first-come, first-serve basis by registering in the Army Training Requirements and Resources System.

There is no pre-entrance exam study material available, as Soldiers are expected to have networking fundamentals experience and knowledge of the various Mission Command Information Systems.

Classes fill up quickly, so Soldiers should begin the process to enroll as soon as they know they want to attend.

For more information about the course, click here.

By Laura Levering

Posted in Army, Comms, Guest Post, Profession of Arms | Comments Off on Signal Course Aims to ‘Transform the Army One NCO at a Time’

US Army Precision Grenadier System Update

Wednesday, August 30th, 2023

The US Army’s Precision Grenadier System effort we told you about last September is underway to handle counter defilade and counter UAS at the squad level.

The PGS shall be a Soldier portable, flat trajectory, semi-automatic, magazine fed, integrated armament system that enables precision engagements to destroy personnel targets in defilade and in the open with increased lethality and precision compared to legacy grenade launchers. The PGS is anticipated to be deployed as a Soldier’s primary weapon system and provide organic close-quarters combat and counter-defilade capabilities through a family of ammunition, providing overmatch to comparable threat grenade launchers in near-peer formations in future operating environments to include urban, woodland, subterranean, and desert, in day, night, or obscured conditions.

The Army is seeking a multi-shot grande launcher which integrates a sophisticated Fire Control System capable of programming rounds along with a family of programmable ammunition.

Family of Ammunition:

a. Counter Defilade Round: Round to precisely and quickly defeat personnel targets in defilade positions.

b. Training Round: Non-pyrotechnic round ballistically similar to the counter defilade round to train the PGS capability.

c. Close Quarters Battle Round: Round to precisely and quickly defeat personnel targets at ranges less than 35 meters.

d. Expanded Capabilities: Ability to expand capabilities is desired with different types of ammo such as:

i. Counter Unmanned Aerial System (UAS) Round

ii. Armor-Piercing Round

Naturally, this will also require a power supply.

Additionally, PGS must be lethal from distances of 35m to 500M or longer against unprotected soldiers in both the open and in cover and with a time of flight no greater than 3 seconds out to 500 meters.

It is important to note that the Army has not specified caliber, but rather effect, and has left it open to the various vendors to create the complete system.

Program Executive Office (PEO) Soldier partnered with the Assistant Secretary of the Army (Acquisition, Logistics, and Technology) (ASA(ALT)), to use the xTechSoldier Lethality competition as a platform to interact with industry.

The xTechSoldier Lethality competition consists of three-rounds:

1 Call for concept white papers;

2 Technology Pitch; and

3 Final Proof-of-Concept Demonstration

So far, we’ve seen round 1 which selected five companies based upon their white paper submissions. Each of these small businesses will receive a cash prize of $15,000 and an invitation to advance to Part 2: Technology Pitches where the teams will showcase their innovative concepts for a Precision Grenadier System (PGS):

• American Rheinmetall Munitions, “Squad Support Weapon Achieving Precision Grenadier System Objectives”

• FN America, LLC, “PGS-001”

• Knight Technical Solutions, LLC, “Multipurpose Intelligent Grenade System ‘MIGS’”

• MARS, Inc., “MARS, Inc. 30mm Support Rifle System (SRS)”

• Plumb Precision Products, LLC, “P3 M110 Precision Grenade Launcher”

Up to three companies will be selected from the virtual technology pitch round (round 2) and receive an additional $300,000 each in cash prizes and the opportunity to come back in 6 to 18 months to conduct a final proof-of-concept demonstration (round 3).

Those technology pitches are set to begin today, Aug 29, 2023 and last until Sep 1st.

One final winner may be selected and awarded up to $2M in a follow-on contract or agreement. The target for this phase is Mar 1, 2024 – Mar 31, 2025.

SSD readers may be familiar with the Rheinmetall and Plumb Precision Products system which we have covered in the past.

Posted in Army, weapons | 8 Comments »

USASOC Study Outlines Measures to Optimize Female Soldiers

Tuesday, August 29th, 2023

WASHINGTON — To better address obstacles facing female Soldiers serving in special operations units and to retain its top talent, Army Special Operations Command outlined 42 recommendations in a study released Monday.

The research’s findings will guide USASOC in optimizing female warfighters while noting their physical and anatomical differences.

“It is not about providing accommodations for women,” said USASOC Command Sgt. Maj. JoAnn Naumann. “It’s providing tools that allow women to maximize their performance and continue to serve at all levels and across time.”

During the yearlong study, researchers found that 44% of the female Soldiers surveyed said they experienced equipment-fitting challenges relating to body armor, helmets and ruck systems. The problem can impact women’s abilities to perform basic Soldier maneuvers and skills.

Female Soldiers also reported that the time they spent planning pregnancies negatively impacted their careers, leading to Soldiers scheduling childbearing around career milestones or avoiding pregnancy entirely, according to the 106-page report, titled, “Breaking Barriers: Women in Army Special Operations Forces.”

Researchers held more than 40 focus groups and interviews with women and men from across the force. The study focused on the areas of equipment fitting, childcare, gender bias, social support, sexual harassment, pregnancy and postpartum, and morale and wellbeing. Retired Lt. Gen. Francis Beaudette, former USASOC commander, initiated the 2021 study, which had more than 5,000 respondents. Additionally, the survey addressed other concerns including challenges of small-statured Soldiers and access to healthcare.

The study also explored attitudes towards females serving in combat and special operations units. The survey results showed Soldiers had a favorable view of women serving in special operations units with no reported decline in morale. About 72% of women and 64% of men surveyed said they would support their daughter joining Army special operations units.

According to findings, 80% of men reported that gender-related concerns had no impact on their decision to remain in special operations forces. Researchers found most gender-biased comments and attitudes during the study came from senior NCOs, indicating a difference in generational views, Naumann said.

“Although disappointed by some of the findings and comments in the study, we are committed to addressing these issues with candor and transparency,” Lt. Gen. Jonathan Braga, USASOC commander wrote in the report’s introduction.

“To change culture takes time,” Braga added. “We have to be better — we must be better.”

The Women in ARSOF Initiative outlined three lines of effort to address the hurdles: mentorship and sponsorship, health and readiness, and modernization.

For mentorship and sponsorship, units can create a “culture of excellence” through education and accountability, said Lt. Col. Rachel Cepis, the director of the Women in ARSOF Initiative. For example, the Army can host more educational forums where Soldiers can learn how to schedule duties around breastfeeding or deal with postpartum related issues, as well as women’s health and nutrition.

Survey participants that have had children listed the top five postpartum challenges: (1) depression, stress, and anxiety, (2) inability to perform to the same level as the unit, (3) lactation, (4) maternity leave, and (5) diastasis recti abdominus.

Focus group participants said they experienced hardship finding adequate care during and after pregnancy. Soldiers also voiced concerns about pregnancy hindering career progression and having adequate breastfeeding locations, as well as convalescent leave following miscarriages.

The 10th Special Forces Group at Fort Carson, Colorado began a female mentorship program, while the 3rd Special Forces Group and 528th Sustainment Brigade at Fort Liberty, North Carolina, plan to establish a similar initiative at each battalion headquarters. The 528th Sustainment Brigade also hosts monthly engagements with female Soldiers.

“We’re looking at it holistically. I’m excited to see the growth of women in our formation in all positions,” Cepis said. “And I’m thrilled that we’re looking at ways to help them perform at their maximum potential.”

“This is about driving change and making ultimately, ARSOF and the [Defense Department] better,” she added.

In the second line of effort, health and readiness, USASOC partnered with Army Research Institute of Environmental Medicine in Natick, Massachusetts to study physiological, metabolic and psychological responses during and after completion of extreme and prolonged training. USASOC has also submitted four topics to the Defense Advisory Committee on Women in the Services 2024 research solicitation: (1) women’s physical and physiological characteristics of elite female warfighters, (2) pregnancy and postpartum impacts on readiness, (3) long and short-term impacts of intentional dehydration, and (4) endocrine adaptations of female warfighters.

Cepis said USASOC is working with the Army, SOCOM, and academic partners to study the effects of menstrual cycles on female warfighters and ways to maximize performance. USASOC plans to examine sicknesses and illnesses that females suffer in the field and explore how to avoid musculoskeletal injuries related to female anatomy differences, she added.

Finally in modernization, the study recognizes the anatomical and anthropometric differences between men and women and Army Combat Capabilities Development Command [DEVCOM] at Aberdeen Proving Ground, Maryland will be modernizing dress and duty uniforms as well as body armor that better fits the varying body types and sizes.

USASOC has done limited user assessments with the Army Modular Scalable Body Armor, a lightweight, adjustable bulletproof vest, and the Army Integrated Helmet Protection System, a multi-faceted head gear, which consists of protection and retention systems, a helmet cover and hearing protection.

The Women in ARSOF Director has partnered with DEVCOM to better develop items ranging from pregnant female service uniforms to female urinary devices.

USASOC founded the Women in ARSOF Initiative to specifically study female-modernization challenges while advising Army and SOF senior leaders. ARSOF also began publishing a newsletter series, created an online platform and developed a portal site to keep Soldiers updated on the study findings and ongoing efforts.

“I have never felt so heard and understood in my career until [the newsletter] started being published,” wrote a 25-year-old Soldier who has spent five years in special operations forces.

USASOC, headquartered at Fort Liberty, North Carolina, trains, equips and educates special operations units in support of the joint force.

By Joe Lacdan, Army News Service

Posted in Army, For the Ladies, Guest Post, SOF | 22 Comments »

Now Available – ATP 3-01.81 Counter-Unmanned Aircraft System (C-UAS)

Monday, August 28th, 2023

The Army has published ATP 3-01.81 Counter-Unmanned Aircraft System (C-UAS), which provides brigades and below actions and considerations for conducting local security and counterreconnaissance to deny enemy unmanned aircraft systems from accomplishing their mission. This includes a description of threat unmanned aircraft systems, how to plan for them at brigade and below, defensive and offensive actions for Soldiers and units to take, resources for additional training, and example counter-unmanned aircraft system equipment a unit may be issued or can request.

Chapter 1 provides an overview of threat unmanned aviation systems.

Chapter 2 provides C-UAS planning considerations for brigades and below.

Chapter 3 provides defensive measures for units to take.

Chapter 4 provides offensive measures for units to take.

Appendix A provides C-UAS training resources that can be used while at home station. Appendix B describes current counter unmanned aircraft systems equipment.

Posted in Army, Profession of Arms, UAS | Comments Off on Now Available – ATP 3-01.81 Counter-Unmanned Aircraft System (C-UAS)

Iowa Guard Tests Innovative Technology during Northern Strike

Monday, August 28th, 2023

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich.– The 294th Medical Company Area Support from the Iowa National Guard tested a groundbreaking technology by integrating drones in a training environment on August 7. Medical squads were able to experience a cutting-edge drone system that can detect casualties from the sky and assess their vital signs, making it a game-changer in disaster response scenarios. The drones utilize VISTA (Vision and Intelligence Systems for Medical Teaming Applications), which has been in the works for four years, with two dedicated years of intense development for unmanned aerial systems for casualty protection.

“At Northern Strike, we had the perfect place to test the technology. Working with medical personnel is what we want to take to the next level,” said Jay Rouse, the director of business development for Aerete, who played a crucial role in integrating the remote triage capability into the VISTA system’s medical ability.

Northern Strike was the ideal training location for the technology to be tested, emphasizing training to advance the technology. The 294th Medical Company Area Support (MCAS) includes the Medical Treatment Squad, which operates on the field, performing lifesaving measures for those wounded in combat. Utilizing medical drones in the field comes from Aerete’s pioneering use of photoplethysmography to monitor heart and respiration rates through the skin, enabling early detection of casualties from a distance. The system has been successfully tested with body armor, demonstrating its capability to scan from 10 to 50 meters, enhancing casualty detection.

SGT Brady Overstreet from the 294th MCAS out of Iowa, who is among the medics utilizing the medical drones, expressed his optimism, stating, “I have high hopes for the potential usage of this. This is the first time our squad is using this technology. I think this training is great; there are so many moving parts to being a medic,” Overstreet said. “This will be better for our patients, units, and Army.”

The Iowa Medical Company’s collaboration with the Army Medical Research and Development Command’s Telemedicine and Advanced Technology Research Center (TATRC) has been instrumental in advancing Project VISTA. This joint effort aims to enhance human detection signals from casualties, with future expansion plans to include wound classification and broader medic capabilities.

The Northern Strike exercise provided the ideal platform for demonstrating the medical capability, showcasing the potential for broader use in disaster response scenarios. Ethan Quest, the Deputy Chief of the Medical Robotics and Automatic Systems Division at TATRC, highlighted the importance of Northern Strike as a platform for demonstrating their solution.

“We are here to support Project VISTA for casualty detection and standoff assessment of casualty through a US solution,” Quest said. “This was a very good opportunity for us to demonstrate our capabilities of showing our solution. The specific goal is to get feedback from the Medics. We are looking to improve the system for their capabilities. We were happy to be here at Northern Strike and work with the medics to see the capability to keep our Soldiers and medics safe.”

The collaboration between the Iowa Medical Company and TATRC leads to advancements in medical training and real-world application. The innovative medical drone represents a significant step forward in improving medical practices.

As the eyes and ears of first responders in mass casualty and emergency events, the medical drone is a valuable asset for ensuring prompt and efficient medical assistance. As the medical field looks to the future, exploring the potential for broader adoption of innovative medical technologies like VISTA will undoubtedly shape a brighter future for medical care in challenging environments.

“With the medical drones, we can find casualties and wounded quicker and further away. We can identify the triage before we even get to the site and monitor the patients as they get evacuated to the next level of care,” said Jay Rouse, business director at Aerete, emphasizing the system’s capability to revolutionize medical response.

The drone project VISTA at Northern Strike showcases the power of collaboration and innovation in advancing medical capabilities. The medical field continues to evolve and improve through the dedication and passion of individuals like Jay Rouse, SGT Brady Overstreet, and Ethan Quest, promising a future where advanced tools enhance patient care and save lives in the most challenging situations.

By 2LT Paige Bodine

Posted in Army, Guest Post | Comments Off on Iowa Guard Tests Innovative Technology during Northern Strike