Hot on the heels of the ALARACT announcing the new Army Mountaineering badge, the design has leaked via LinkedIn and it features a Ram’s Head.
Here are a couple of points:
– Guidelines should be ‘official’ in 60 days, per the message.
– 120 days or so until they’re available for purchase.
– This should cover any Echo Qualified Soldier.
FORT DETRICK, Md. – The Congressionally Directed Medical Research Programs’ Traumatic Brain Injury and Psychological Health Research Program recently awarded a $3.4 million grant to a team of Cleveland Clinic researchers to develop an innovative augmented reality tool for assessing whether Warfighters recovering from concussion are ready to return to duty. The new tool, called Troop Readiness Evaluation with Augmented Reality Return-to-Duty, or Troop READY, promises to provide answers more quickly and reliably than existing methods.
Concussion, also referred to as mild traumatic brain injury or mTBI, is a relatively common injury in the military. According to the DOD Traumatic Brain Injury Center of Excellence, over 80% of the TBI injuries sustained by Service Members between 2000 and 2024 were classified as mTBI. Service Members can experience an mTBI while on deployment, during training, and even when participating in a sport. Most injured Service Members are able to return to duty within two weeks. Military doctors currently follow a six-step protocol called the Progressive Return to Activity for safely returning an injured Service Member to duty, but the PRA has some shortcomings.
“The PRA is not 100% objective,” explains Dr. Dwayne Taliaferro, CDMRP’s TBIPHRP program manager. “While a medical professional guides the Service Member through the protocol, progress is dependent on the Service Member’s self-assessment of the mildness or severity of their symptoms. Troop READY offers an opportunity to provide more objectivity in the PRA protocol.”
Troop READY uses a Microsoft HoloLens 2 augmented reality headset and simulated M4 carbine assault rifle to generate a series of realistic and increasingly intensive scenarios that a patient must complete in order to simultaneously assess their cognitive and physical readiness. The exercises involve marching, shooting while standing and kneeling, and breaching and clearing a room. The patient’s cognitive, motor, and task performance capabilities are then analyzed using specially trained machine learning algorithms to determine the severity of any detected symptoms.
Dr. Jay Alberts, director of Cleveland Clinic’s Concussion Center, is leading the three-year project to further refine Troop READY, which he originally developed and tested under a previous CDMRP grant. In partnership with Microsoft Federal, Alberts and his team will use the new grant to improve the tool’s ability to detect signs of mTBI and to recommend personalized treatment plans for patients that streamline their return to duty.
Under the TBIPHRP grant, Alberts and his team will conduct a usability study with volunteers to refine the simulation modules, which will then be tested on a larger cohort of volunteers to identify baseline performance levels. Those baseline data will be used to train the machine learning algorithms to ensure a high degree of accuracy when assessing a patient’s current condition and guiding their continued treatment.
Taliaferro says that Troop READY offers several potential advantages over existing methods for assessing mTBI recovery in Service Members. For example, doctors use a battery of neurocognitive tests called Automated Neuropsychological Assessment Metrics to assess a Service Member’s readiness to return to duty. The computer-based ANAM assesses changes to a Service Member’s attention, reaction time, memory, and decision-making abilities based on their answers to a series of survey questions. However, as a sit-down multiple-choice test, ANAM lacks the fidelity of an active 3D simulation.
“The Computer Assisted Rehabilitation Environment Laboratory at the National Intrepid Center of Excellence blends virtual reality with a treadmill, immersive video, surround sound, and even smells,” Taliaferro says. “It is very powerful, but it’s in a fixed location and not very portable. Whereas with Troop READY, you can deploy the goggle set and the mock weapon anywhere quickly.”
In addition to helping Warfighters return to duty, the Troop READY tool has the potential to be adapted for use in other fields where mTBI is a risk, such as professional sports, construction, and law enforcement, says Taliaferro.
Before it can be deployed with the military or other users, Troop READY will need to be assessed by both the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and the DOD for its safety and readiness for use.
“CDMRP’s role is to accelerate the development of products like Troop READY so that they can be properly evaluated to determine how, when, and where they can be deployed,” explains Taliaferro. “We do not always put things directly in the hands of Warfighters at the end of a study, but we get them as close as we can. That is a great use of taxpayer dollars.”
By Paul Lagasse, USAMRDC Public Affairs Office
In ALARACT 06/2025 released on 13 March 2025, the US Army announces the Mountaineering Badge to recognize proficiency in mountaineering operations. However, as proficient as you might be in military mountaineering, its award is limited to graduates of the Army Mountaineering School which is run by the Vermont National Guard.
Currently, course graduates are awarded the famed Ram’s Head badge, which is only authorized for wear by National Guard Soldiers. When Sergeant Major of the Army Weimer announced that the Army would be introducing the badge to the total force during AUSA last fall, he stated that it would be a completely new badge and that the service would not adopt the Ram’s Head Device.
According to the message, the design of the badge has still not been determined but that the Army Institute of Heraldry will release the design within 60 days and it will be available for sale at Military Clothing Sales stores within 120 days.
The Army Contracting Command – New Jersey, in support of Project Manager Soldier Lethality (PMSL), intends to issue a request for proposal (RFP) W15QKN-25-R-0016. This solicitation is to procure M4 Carbines (NSN: 1005-01-231-0973/Part Number 9390000) and M4A1 Carbines (NSN: 1005-01-382-0953/Part Number 12972700) built to print using the Technical Data Package (TDP). Due to Colt’s Manufacturing Company, LLC’s sole ownership of the M4/M4A1 TDP and the license agreement between Colt and the United States Government, this procurement action will be a sole source award to Colt’s Manufacturing Company, LLC.
This action should come as no surprise as pointed out on the notice that Colt owns the Technical Data Package for the M16 rifle / M4 carbine and the Army has previously awarded similar sustainment contracts in the past. Colt was purchased by CZ Group in 2021.
What many don’t understand, with almost a million M4(A1) carbines in service, the Army must continue to procure new rifles to replace weapons as they wear out. I expect this process to continue until the last M4 is pulled from service sometime in the 2040/ or beyond. This will continue to be the case as long as the weapon remains in service, somewhere in the Total Force, regardless of procurement of Next Generation Squad Weapon. This is a reality of almost every program of record.
The M4/M4A1 Carbines provide the Department of Defense with compact, lightweight weapons that fire NATO 5.56mm ammunition from a 30-round magazine, mount the latest generation of fire control accessories and enablers, and provide increased protection and firepower in close quarters. The period of performance (POP) of the contract(s) will be for five (5) one-year ordering periods to cover FY25-FY30 Army and Department of Defense (DoD) M4/M4A1 Carbine requirements. The anticipated contract minimum guarantee of 90 M4/M4A1 Carbines will be met with the first delivery. The Army expects to issue task orders with up to a maximum quantity of 30,000 units of any combination of M4 or M4A1 Carbines.
ALEXANDRIA, VIRGINIA – During the Industry Stakeholder Engagement Forum here last week, the U.S. Army Chief of Infantry encouraged more than 400 representatives from across the military industrial enterprise to reconsider how they conceptualize the end user as they develop capabilities for front-line Soldiers.
Brig. Gen. Phil Kiniery, Chief of Infantry, Commandant of the U.S. Army Infantry School and the director of the Soldier Lethality Cross Functional Team at Fort Benning, Georgia, introduced the concept of Squad as a System, the Army’s new systematic and holistic approach to enabling and enhancing close combat squads.
“My goal this morning is to convey to you just how much we need you, what we need from you, and that the need is urgent,” said Kiniery, who spoke March 4 to an audience of representatives from traditional and non-traditional industries.
Decades of “kitting and equipping” Soldiers piecemeal and through various traditional “stovepipes” has resulted in redundancies, excessive weight, and cognitive overload, Kiniery said.
“Squad as a System is the way forward, a new approach,” he said. “It is a formation-based approach, because we fight formations.”
His message to those interested in partnering with the Army to facilitate Squad as a System: We need to rapidly deliver reliable technology and reduce redundancies.
“Going forward, we must focus on a common architecture to optimize the performance of the squad, not just the individual,” he said. “How can we effectively maximize combat power with packaged capabilities that are better designed, developed, and integrated to provide stable and predictable modernization?”
How do we reduce redundancy and increase combat power?
How do we reduce weight and increase combat power?
How do we reduce cognitive load and increase combat power?
How do we improve efficiency and increase combat power?
Currently, Kiniery said, the individual Soldier carries or wears more than 80 items with redundant power sources and cables. The goal is to reduce the fighting load to no more than 30 percent of the Soldier’s body weight, or about 55 pounds.
“Excessive load will degrade the Soldier’s cognitive and physical performance if we don’t do something about it,” he said.
Presently, as each capability is developed individually, the process lacks an integration architecture, and there’s no synchronizing function for information flow in and out of the squad.
“I believe the application of Squad as a System is going to change all that,” said Kiniery, who invited his audience to “join us as we seek solutions to redundancies, weight, tactical power burden, cognitive overload, and lifecycle costs.”
To do that, he said, industry leaders will make sure individual items – wearable, non-wearable and weapons – are compatible and synergistic.
“Through Squad as a System, we will establish a sustainable, adaptable architecture with validated metrics and structural standards. This will facilitate an expectation, a standard, of what the future force will look like.”
By Bridgett Siter
You might be surprised by the number of things you use or rely on in work and play can be traced back to Army ingenuity or investment.
Check out this list to discover some of the many things created for or by the Army.
Food preservation – The Army is renowned for food preparation research. The U.S. Army Natick Soldier Systems Center in Massachusetts specializes in, among other things, sustaining the military’s food.
Anastacia Marx de Salcedo, author of “Combat-Ready Kitchen: How the U.S. Military Shapes the Way We Eat,” says much of the processed food we eat today originated through experiments in an Army laboratory.
The Army’s Quartermaster Corps funded research at the USDA early in World War II to resolve a problem that had stymied Army food scientists – they couldn’t dehydrate cheese to feed soldiers.
USDA scientist George Sanders came up with the solution, and after the war his method of powdered cheese was used to flavor Cheetos.
The Army also expanded research into high-pressure processing, which de Salcedo says is the application of high pressure to eliminate bacteria in food. Once the food industry adopted the Army’s techniques, it began using them on foods that are produced for public consumption.
One popular product that relies on the pressure process is ready-to-eat guacamole.
In a 2015 interview with National Public Radio, de Salcedo said she realized “that everything in my kids’ lunchboxes had military origins or influence – the bread, the sandwich meat, juice pouches, cheesy crackers, Goldfish Crackers and energy bars,” she said. “In a large sense, l estimate that 50 percent of items in today’s markets were influenced by the military.”
Pringles – The USDA and the Army Quartermaster Corps worked to develop dehydrated potato flakes, which led directly to the production of Pringles potato crisps.
Super Glue – Cyanoacrylate adhesives were initially discovered during World War Il by a scientist at Eastman Kodak Company when the Army was urging American industry to make things to help win the war.
Dr. Harry Coover initially created the new compound in 1942, while striving to create a clear plastic gun sight for Soldiers.
Believing the substance was too sticky, Coover shelved the idea for a decade, but later revisited it while researching material to make jet canopies. This time he realized he had created a super glue, and he filed for a patent.
During the Vietnam War, medical teams caring for severely injured Soldiers realized the material, marketed as Super Glue, was helpful for sealing bloody wounds and to stop bleeding until the patient could be transported to a medical unit for more advanced treatment. Cooper said he took great pride in the fact that his glue saved the lives of many Soldiers injured in combat.
The computer – The Army funded research by John Mauchly and J. Presper Eckert at the University of Pennsylvania into the Electronic Numerical Integrator and Computer. This was the first electronic computer used for general purposes. The Army wanted to calculate artillery firing tables for its Ballistic Research Laboratory. Construction began in 1943. Six women, recruited in 1942 for their math skills, programmed ENIAC.
Electric Razors – A retired Army colonel invented the first electric razor that could be easily manufactured. Jacob Schick patented his invention in 1928.
Duct Tape – In 1943, an Illinois woman with two sons in the military during World War II first visualized how to make a waterproof cloth tape to seal boxes of ammunition.
Vesta Stoudt worked at the Green River Ordinance Plant near Amboy, Illinois. According to Margaret Gurowitz, the chief historian with Johnson & Johnson, workers at the plant saw that the paper tape used to seal boxes of rifle ammo was inferior and hampered how Soldiers in combat opened the boxes, often while under fire.
Stoudt told others how the tape could be improved but didn’t get help from her supervisors. So, she wrote a letter to President Franklin D. Roosevelt, explaining the problem and detailing her idea to solve it with a better tape. According to Johnson & Johnson company history, the president passed her letter on to the War Production Board.
The board approved of the change and asked a Johnson & Johnson operating company to make the product based on its experience in making tape.
The Jeep – The brainstorm for a quarter-ton, four-wheel drive truck designed as a cross-country tactical vehicle originated just before World War II for the infantry. The military considered numerous prototypes from America’s automakers, and during the war, Willys-Overland and Ford Motor Company produced 643,000 Jeeps for Allied forces.
Two-way portable radio – The Army asked Galvin Manufacturing Corporation, (now Motorola) to make a radio that would allow World War II Soldiers on the move to communicate with each other.
The EpiPen – The roots of a self-directed auto injector go back to 1973, when the Army asked a researcher to create an easy-to-use device to treat chemical warfare exposure for troops in the field. Soon after, experts in the medical industry realized that the auto injector device filled with epinephrine could be carried by civilians who suffer severe allergic reactions.
By Jonathan Austin , Army News Service
ROCK ISLAND ARSENAL, Ill.—The U.S. Army’s Rock Island Arsenal-Joint Manufacturing and Technology Center is embracing additive manufacturing to revolutionize machine repair, lower costs and enhance military readiness, showcasing the ingenuity and dedication found within the Department of Defense, the U.S. Army and its organic industrial base.
“The process of creating these temporary parts first requires reverse engineering the original part,” Edward Flinn, the director of the Advanced Manufacturing Center of Excellence at RIA-JMTC said. “We then printed the part, and fortunately minimal machining was required, so we were able to get the equipment operational soon after the prints were complete.”
The AM CoE, staffed by some of the brightest minds in the field, is creating temporary replacement parts for critical manufacturing equipment, significantly reducing downtime and extending the lifespan of aging machinery.
“In this factory, we have machines from the early 1950s that performed tasks that some newer technology just can’t do in the specifications and the tolerances that we require,” RIA-JMTC Logistics Director John Shappell explained. “The machines today are not as simple to adjust electronically, and the older machines are manually adjusted by a tradesman.”
This initiative builds on the success of the Battle-Damaged Repair and Fabrication program developed with Tank-automotive and Armaments Command. It allows rapid on-demand 3D printing of temporary repair parts for Army units in the field, directly contributing to the readiness and operational capability throughout formations.
“We make a lot of things that are hard to come by,” explains Robert Branch, AM CoE engineer. “By the time a part gets to the AM CoE, everyone has been given an opportunity to provide this part to the government. We’re sort of a last resort because traditional manufacturing methods are more appropriate for large-scale production. When you need a small quantity quickly, that’s when additive manufacturing comes into play.”
The adoption of additive manufacturing offers significant cost savings for the Army by reducing reliance on expensive traditional manufacturing methods, especially for small production runs. RIA-JMTC is at the forefront of this innovation, demonstrating the potential of 3D printing to revolutionize military manufacturing and readiness. While 3D printed parts can sometimes be more expensive, the speed and flexibility they offer prove invaluable.
“Customers understand that readiness solutions might come with a premium, and some are willing to invest in that assurance,” Randl Besse, AM CoE project manager said. “We can provide those parts in days compared to weeks, demonstrating the value of that investment in times of urgent need.”
This commitment to innovation within the defense industrial base ensures that facilities like RIA-JMTC are capable of not only sustaining fielded systems but also maintaining pace with Army modernization efforts. The AM CoE’s work is a testament to the talent present throughout the total workforce, ensuring the RIA-JMTC facility remains postured to surge in support of large-scale combat operations.
“I’m not a real big fan of recreating failure modes just because that’s the way it was,” Branch said. “If someone’s coming to the AM CoE and saying, ‘hey, we need these parts,’ I’m going to ask them why do you need these parts? Is it because they break in a certain area, or they wear out? Do they have one failure mode over another? Because I’m already there adjusting the part. So, let’s see how it interfaces with the other parts around it and if we can make it better.”
One example highlighting the factory replacement part program’s effectiveness is the replacement of a water pump for a critical plating system. With traditional procurement, the lead time for this pump was four to six weeks. The AM CoE was able to print, machine and test a replacement part in less than a week.
“As customers, we’re competing with the rest of the private industry to get this pump that we need to continue producing parts that build on military readiness,” Shappell said. “This replacement part program drastically improves operational availability and readiness.”
Beyond simply replicating existing parts, the AM CoE team actively analyzes and improves designs. For example, a redesigned burner cone, previously a two-piece component prone to failure, was 3D printed as a single, more robust piece, eliminating the previous failure points.
“There are many aspects where we’re getting material performance on printed items that are very close to forged or cast materials,” Branch explains. “When you factor in the safety margins of the original designs, the difference between the materials is often negligible.”
As the technology continues to evolve, additive manufacturing will likely have an even greater impact on Army operations and the wider military manufacturing industry. By embracing this emerging technology, RIA-JMTC is enhancing readiness and operational capabilities, ensuring Army formations are prepared for large-scale combat operations in contested environments.
By Kendall Swank
PRESIDIO OF MONTEREY, Calif. (Mar. 4, 2025) – Soldiers assigned to the Presidio of Monterey recently marked the transition from the U.S. Army Materiel Command to the U.S. Army Intelligence Center of Excellence during a traditional patching ceremony in the PoM headquarters building. The five soldiers exchanged their AMC shoulder sleeve insignia patches for the ICoE patch, signifying their integration into the ICoE command.
The re-patching was prompted by the January 2025 EXORD 123-25 by the Secretary of the Army, “Update to U.S. Army Installation Management Structure.” This alignment reduces bureaucracy, clarifies responsibilities, and unifies efforts under a single command.
Maj. Gen. Richard Appelhans, commanding general of ICoE and Fort Huachuca, addressed soldiers at both locations via video teleconference from Arizona. “More than just symbolic, this patching is about creating unity of command and unity of effort,” Appelhans said. “Despite the many challenges, you accomplish the mission daily, delivering first-class service and support to your communities.”
Col. Dan Artino, Presidio of Monterey garrison commander, said the ceremony marks a significant milestone. “This transition reaffirms our commitment to the warfighters, families, and civilians who train, work, and live on our installation,” Artino said.
The alignment, Artino said, will integrate ICoE’s mission priorities with PoM’s service integration. “This move strengthens our relationship with our senior commander, Maj. Gen. Appelhans, and allows for even greater collaboration and support,” he said.
With the transition complete, the Presidio of Monterey stands ready to support the broader transformation, modernization and readiness of the U.S. Army.
By Jennifer Leggett
