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Are You Tough Enough For JTF 2?

Saturday, March 26th, 2016

Although Canada’s Department of National Defence won’t say much about the secretive JTF 2, they do admit that it exists. I mean, they do have to recruit after all.

Created on April 1, 1993, when the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) accepted responsibility for federal counter-terrorism operations from the RCMP, JTF 2 is admittedly at “highest readiness and most precise combat unit in the country.” Consequently, they are looking for fit candidates to undertake their selection course. They provide this handy guide to potential applicants so that they know the minimum level of fitness they are looking for. Are you tough enough?

JTF2 Pre-Selection Physical Fitness Evaluation

Posted in Forces Focus, International | 6 Comments »

Diplomatic Security Training

Tuesday, March 22nd, 2016

This video by the Foreign Policy Association depicts Diplomatic Security Service training. For those unfamiliar, DSS is the part of the Department of State, charged with protecting our Diplomats.

Thanks Wren!

Tags: Foreign Policy Association
Posted in Forces Focus | 18 Comments »

Identify The Kit

Sunday, February 28th, 2016

Identify the gear used on this McKinley summit team from the U.S. Army’s NWTC.

Posted in Forces Focus, History, Mountaineering | 20 Comments »

Dog Faced Soldier

Tuesday, December 29th, 2015

I served in the US Army’s 3rd Infantry Division from 1988-1990. The Marne Division has a song, “Dog Faced Soldier” dating from WWII l, as well as a mascot named Rocky, created in 1965 by none other than Walt Disney, for just $1. Rocky’s name hails from WWI, where 3ID held like a rock during the second Battle of the Marne River. This distinguished service also earned the Division its motto, the French “Nous Resterons La” (English – We Shall Remain Here).

I find it rather unfortunate that the song “Dog Faced Soldier” written by two Infantrymen, was altered after the Division moved to Ft Stewart to make it gender neutral. Here is the version we sang. If you attended PLDC at the 3ID NCO Academy in Kitzengen, you had to learn and sing it as well, regardless of which unit you served with. This often led to altered lyrics that weren’t so flattering for us ‘Dog Faced Soldiers.’

I wouldn’t give a bean,
to be a fancy-pants Marine
I’d rather be a dog-faced soldier like I am.
I wouldn’t trade my old O.D.’s
for all the Navy’s dungarees
for I’m the marching pride of Uncle Sam.
All the posters you see say the Army builds men,
Well, they’re tearing me down to build me over again.
I’m just a dog-faced soldier
with a rifle on my shoulder
and I eat raw meat for breakfast every day.
So feed me ammunition, and keep me in the 3rd Division
For your dog-faced soldier boy’s O.K.

Posted in Forces Focus, History | 9 Comments »

BG Thomas H Todd III Assumes Command of the Natick Soldier Systems Center

Thursday, December 3rd, 2015

During a ceremony on 24 November, 2015, officated by MG John Wharton, BG Thomas H Todd III assumed command of the Natick Soldier Systems Center from BG William Cole. BG Todd also serves as deputy commanding general of the US Army Research, Development and Engineering Command, or RDECOM, at Aberdeen Proving Ground, MD.

BG William Cole, MG John Wharton and BG Thomas Todd participated in the Arrival and Departure ceremony at the Natick Soldier Systems Center. Todd assumed responsibility as senior mission commander of the Natick Soldier Systems Center. Photo: Mr. David Kamm (RDECOM)

BG Todd comes to Natick from Redstone Arsenal, Alabama, where he was project manager, Utility Helicopters, Program Executive Office, Aviation. There, he led the UH-60M Black Hawk Program into a five-year multi-year contract, achieved program initiation approval for the Improved Turbine Engine Program and the H-60V Black Hawk Program, and fielded more than 500 UH/HH-60M and UH-72A aircraft to the Army, Navy, Air Force, Homeland Security and 35 international partners.

Congratulations to BG Todd on this assignment and best wishes to BG Cole as he departs Natick.

Tags: Natick Soldier Systems Center
Posted in Forces Focus | 13 Comments »

Project Diane

Tuesday, November 24th, 2015

Project Diane is a United States Army Special Operations Command initiative which looks at ways to expand women’s roles within the command. It takes its name from Office of Strategic Services member Virginia Hall, codename ‘Diane.’

Tags: USASOC
Posted in Forces Focus, History | 1 Comment »

Milipol – Gendarmerie Nationale Systeme de Cartographie de Crisis SC2

Thursday, November 19th, 2015

In the US, our military has long been able to produce custom Gridded Reference Graphics from overhead imagery. They make the job much easier by taking recent images, which we know depict up-to-fate ground conditions, and combing geospatial data such as elevation, grid lines and road as well as place names to create maps. They can then be shared digitally or printed out on Tyvek or similar material to make them water resistant.

At Milipol, the French Gendarmerie, their national paramilitary police force, also has that capability. But, they can attach the box you see on the table to a helicopter and fly their own aerial photography collection missions. The system combines high res imagery with GPS data to produce mensurated images that can be easily manipulated to make GRGs.