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USAF to Allow Longer Braids, Ponytails, Bangs for Women

Friday, January 22nd, 2021

As an outcome of the 101st Air Force uniform board, Air Force women will be able to wear their hair in up to two braids or a single ponytail with bulk not exceeding the width of the head and length not extending below a horizontal line running between the top of each sleeve inseam at the under arm through the shoulder blades. In addition, women’s bangs may now touch their eyebrows, but not cover their eyes.

These new changes will be effective upon publication of the new standards in Air Force Instruction 36-2903 in February.

“As I outlined in Action Order A: Airmen, this decision is a commitment to supporting the Airmen We Need and sustaining the culture and environment of excellence that will continue to make the Air Force an attractive career choice for Airmen and families,” said Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Charles Q. Brown, Jr. “I’m thankful for the feedback and research conducted from a number of women leaders, the Women’s Initiative Team, the Air Force uniform board, and our joint teammates.”

The Air Force uniform board convened virtually in November 2020 to discuss ideas sourced from Airmen across the Air Force who participated in a dress and appearance crowdsourcing campaign. Participants on the board included 19 diverse Airmen of various ranks from across the major commands and headquarters directorates.

The board reviewed all ideas including a recommendation from the Air Force’s Women’s Initiative Team. Thousands of women across the Air Force provided feedback to the Women’s Initiative Team, stating constraints to hair grooming standards resulted in damage to hair, migraines and in some cases, hair loss. The detailed work done by the Women’s Initiative Team to research and support the recommendation was greatly appreciated by the uniform board.

“In addition to the health concerns we have for our Airmen, not all women have the same hair type, and our hair standards should reflect our diverse force,” said Chief Master Sergeant of the Air Force JoAnne S. Bass. “I am pleased we could make this important change for our women service members.”

In addition to addressing issues associated with personal health and hair loss, adjusting female hair standards supports ongoing efforts to address diversity and inclusion in the ranks. Earlier this year and in her role leading the Defense Department’s Diversity Board, then-Secretary of the Air Force Barbara M. Barrett played a prominent role in supporting these types of adjustments to ensure a more inclusive culture in the services.

The Air Force chief of staff approved the policy after considering feedback from the force, the uniform board recommendation, and the professional image and standards of the Air Force and U.S. military.

“We remain committed to removing barriers to service,” said Lt. Gen. Brian Kelly, Air Force deputy chief of staff for manpower, personnel and services. “In an all-volunteer force, we want fully qualified volunteers who are representative of the nation to see us as a great opportunity to maximize their talent and serve.”

Members must adhere to current occupational safety, fire and health guidance, and mishap prevention procedures emphasizing when and how to mitigate the potential for injury from hair of varying lengths around machinery, equipment, power transmission apparatus or moving parts. Airmen are encouraged to reach out to their safety office for assistance in analyzing any potential hazards, as applicable.

Another idea considered by the board related to beard wear for men. Unlike with women’s hair standards, there are no known health or hair loss issues associated with current male grooming standard compliance. As such, the Air Force plans to continue under the current male grooming standards without adjustments. Beards are currently permitted in conjunction with medical exceptions such as shaving waivers or for approved religious accommodations.

At this time, Guardians will adhere to the female grooming standards of the Air Force. Eventually, the U.S. Space Force will develop its own policy.

Numerous other ideas from the board are still under consideration for implementation and will be released in the future. For more information, consult AFI 36-2903 Dress and Appearance.

Secretary of the Air Force Public Affairs

Posted in Air Force, For the Ladies, Guest Post, Profession of Arms | 4 Comments »

Increasing Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance Coverage with Automated Wireless Recharging of Small Tactical UAVs

Wednesday, January 20th, 2021

The U.S. departments of Defense and Homeland Security will spend billions of dollars over the next few years on unmanned aerial and ground vehicles (UAVs) and sensor systems. The U.S. Army and U.S. Marine Corps will make greater use of Class I mini/micro vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL) UAVs to provide tactical intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) capabilities at the small unit level. Other branches of the Department of Defense and the Department of Homeland Security are also dramatically increasing the use of drones and sensors as crucial components of infrastructure, border, and base defense systems.

Small, portable, VTOL, UAV systems provide a unique and flexible maneuverable airborne platform for close-to-mid-range intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) coverage. Class I drones of this type are rapidly becoming the must-have “eye in the sky” for military and security forces seeking crucial information-based tactical command and control capability.
Photo: FLIR Systems R80D SkyRaider Class I VTOL UAV system. Copyright: FLIR Systems.

Virtually all small UAV platforms, however, rely on batteries that provide only a short amount of flight time before they need to be recharged or replaced – manually. This need to manually replace and recharge batteries presents obvious tactical and logistical issues.

But what if there was a way for UAVs to be autonomously, automatically and wirelessly recharged whenever and wherever necessary? Well, now there is. WattUp® radio frequency (RF) wireless charging technology from Energous Corporation.

As WattUp is an embedded technology, there is no need for cables, ports or battery doors that reduce the physical integrity of devices and increase the complexity of product design and manufacturing. By eliminating these features, hardware can have greater physical integrity, including being dust- and waterproof – keeping internal circuitry fully protected. And as there is no need to manually disconnect and replace batteries or connect chargers – multiple cables, connectors and adapters can be eliminated.

Illustration by U.S. Army. U.S. ground troops patrol while unmanned ground vehicles carry their extra equipment and small UAVs provide aerial surveillance coverage.
Use of this image is for informational purposes only – the appearance of U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) visual information does not imply or constitute DoD endorsement.

WattUp uses RF signal technology similar to Wi-Fi or Bluetooth to establish a link between a Power Transmitter and a Power Receiver. Once a connection is established, the transmitter sends power to the receiver along the same signal path. This “conversation” happens 100x/second and sends power safely to devices or batteries at various distances.

WattUp does not use magnetic coils requiring precise alignment or physical contact with the device for charging to take place – power is transmitted through the air at near-field and mid-field ranges. This capability makes WattUp ideal for devices that have rounded or irregular shapes – like most UAVs. WattUp systems also can be set up to charge automatically as soon as the device is within range of a transmitter, with a single transmitter capable of charging several devices simultaneously.

A drone that is part of the 379th Expeditionary Security Forces Squadron (379th ESFS) counter-small unmanned aerial systems (C-UAS) program stands ready Nov. 5, 2020, at Al Udeid Air Base, Qatar. The 379th ESFS Defenders have established one of the most robust C-UAS programs in the U.S. Central Command area of responsibility to detect and defend against adversarial drones that pose a potential threat to the safety and security of AUAB.
Photo credit: U.S. Air National Guard photo by Tech. Sgt. Brigette Waltermire. Use of this image is for informational purposes only – the appearance of U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) visual information does not imply or constitute DoD endorsement.

Finally, WattUp’s secure, cloud-based, management software enables users to track a battery’s state of charge and determine when it will need recharging. It also enables users to monitor the health and status of batteries held in depots and storerooms so that batteries can be issued with full assurance.

WattUp® RF wireless charging technology can potentially bring many new benefits and capabilities to military and homeland security UAV operators. For example, when multiple UAVs are providing roving aerial surveillance for base and infrastructure defense, a WattUp-enabled drone could be set to automatically fly back to a landing / charging pad to recharge at the end of its flight time, while a fully charged UAV lifts off to take its place. With UAVs automatically rotating in and out of service and recharging autonomously, uninterrupted ISR coverage of areas of interest could be achieved.

WattUp also has a potential role in the unmanned aerial systems (UAS) rich operational scenarios envisioned in the U.S. Army and U.S. Marine Corps concepts for the squad of the future. Autonomous ground vehicles such as the MUTT military utility tactical truck could be utilized as automated mobile RF wireless charging stations, enabling tactical VTOL UAVs to recharge near the forward edge of the battle area.

Without the need for manual interaction, power transmission could also be done safely at higher levels (to achieve shorter charging times) than is possible when human operators are present. WattUp systems are also scalable, so power transmission levels can be adjusted as necessary for the application and operating environment. For example, a 15W Base Station system could be scaled up to 30W or 45W, while charging distance can scale from 5mm for high power devices, up to few meters for lower power applications.

Soldiers deploy a small ‘quadcopter’ style UAV system on a tactical reconnaissance mission.
Photo: InstantEye Robotics Mk-3 GEN4-D1 small unmanned aerial system. Copyright: InstantEye Robotics.

Unmanned aerial systems, and the sensor packages they carry, have become a must-have facet of military and security forces today – and their importance will only continue to grow. Short flight times and manual battery changing and charging, however, limit how much critical ISR capability they can deliver.

Implementing WattUp RF wireless charging technology could help small UAS operators overcome the issues associated with current battery charging options, and thus be a force multiplier for critical tactical ISR capabilities.

For further information about employing WattUp® RF wireless charging technology in military applications, visit energous.com/military.
—
By Lawrence Holsworth and James Pope

Posted in Guest Post, Power, UAS | Comments Off on Increasing Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance Coverage with Automated Wireless Recharging of Small Tactical UAVs

Brigantes Presents – The Loki 2 Drone from Sky Hero

Wednesday, January 20th, 2021

The Sky Hero Loki MK 2 allows military personnel and police officers to gather crucial intelligence of immediate threats before entering complex terrain such as dense urban areas, confined spaces and underground passages.

The Loki Mk2 is an operational support tool offering dependable methods of analysis and diffusion of videos. With extreme performance in most light conditions the camera allows users to track and anticipate target movements enabling reliable and rapid situational awareness for precise decision making. The zero latency and guaranteed no frozen images enables reliable and rapid situational awareness for precise, immediate decision making.

The encryption of both video signals and the flight commands is a crucial feature that ensures maximum security in all use cases and the new autopilot has been developed to ease the control without the need for training. The precise position holding of the drone in GPS denied and low light environments allows the operator to perform his mission with complete peace of mind.

For more information contact warrior@brigantes.com

Or visit brigantes.com/products/loki-mk2 and register for more information.

Posted in Guest Post, International, UAS | Comments Off on Brigantes Presents – The Loki 2 Drone from Sky Hero

Silencer Shop Presents: Behind The Scenes Look at SureFire Suppressors

Tuesday, January 19th, 2021

“A SENSE OF URGENCY AND A BIAS FOR ACTION.”

That is the SureFire motto, and we put it to the test by going behind the scenes at SureFire’s headquarters. In our first ever documentary-style video, Silencer Shop gets the privilege of showing you never before seen footage of how a SureFire suppressor is made.

You’ll see in this video that SureFire goes above and beyond to ensure their products are not only reliable, but also incredibly consistent. Whether they’re building for military or civilians, SureFire makes sure that every single silencer meets their expectations. By making all of their suppressors in-house and testing every single one before it leaves their shop, you’ll be able to witness SureFire’s efficiency and dedication to high-quality suppressors.

Join us as we walk through the life of SureFire suppressors. From raw materials to taking the silencers out to the range, you will get to see the intricacies that give SureFire the name and dependability we all know and love.

Posted in Advertiser, Guest Post, Suppressors | Comments Off on Silencer Shop Presents: Behind The Scenes Look at SureFire Suppressors

Air Force Establishes Significant Evolution in Foreign Area Officer Career Field

Tuesday, January 19th, 2021

ARLINGTON, Va. (AFNS) —

The Department of the Air Force announced Jan. 15, the opportunity for U.S. Air Force officers to voluntarily transfer into an internationally-focused core career field beginning spring 2021.

Since 2005, the Foreign Area Officer program has organized and trained select Air Force officers to be language-enabled, culturally astute, and operationally relevant regional experts.

More than 800 officers are currently certified as FAOs, filling a critical role in providing essential support to the National Defense Strategy by engaging foreign military leaders and government officials to build partner capability and capacity.

The restructuring of the FAO program is part of the Air Force’s broader reorientation toward great power competition. The recommendation that emerged from an Air Force cross-functional team’s year-long study was to establish the FAO career field as a strategic core career field while retaining operational relevance.

Until now, the Air Force FAO program operated as a secondary career field, alternating assignments between FAO and the officer’s core Air Force specialty code, or AFSC. This presented a key challenge in managing FAOs as strategic assets.

“Focusing FAO development on International Airmen skills and experiences, rather than challenging officers to hit milestones in two career fields, is more important than ever to increase awareness in our current strategic context with both our allies and partners and in the joint community,” said Kelli Seybolt, deputy under secretary of the Air Force, international affairs.

This strategic core career field will now be a Secretary of the Air Force International Affairs-managed AFSC, 16F or 16Z, to better cultivate professional development with a strategic international perspective. Within this new core AFSC, FAOs will be poised for more efficient utilization to meet Air Force strategic needs and will compete for promotion advancement within a single developmental category of professional FAO peers.

Continued operational relevance will be achieved through “FAO-minded” Intervening Operational Tours in each FAO’s original AFSC that sustains the various operational skillsets of each specialty and enhances Air Force strategic international engagement interests within those fields. It presents an increased return on FAO investment to provide deepened regional expertise and requires less in terms of training, sustainment, and manpower to support FAO development. Restructure of the FAO program, and increased primary emphasis in FAO development, will reduce the required inventory for FAOs from other AFSCs by approximately 30%.

“The United States Air Force FAO career field has been improving tremendously over the past decade,” stated Col. Lawrence E. Pravecek, FAO career field manager. “With the changes in the officer promotion system, now is the perfect time to take the next step in managing the development of our international experts. The choice to request transfer into the FAO Core AFSC will be a personal decision. All of us volunteered to serve, and now we ask for volunteers to help build a new AFSC that is tailor-made to provide the internationally-minded officers that our nation needs.”

For those already certified as FAOs or in the FAO training pipeline, applications for transfer to 16F or 16Z as their new core AFSC will begin early 2021. At that time, all eligible personnel will receive a direct email from the Air Force Personnel Center announcing the opening of the application window and providing directions to submit their applications online. FAOs who do not volunteer to transfer will remain in their current AFSC, while maintaining 16F as a secondary AFSC.

Air Force Reserve Component members will be notified by the AF Reserve or Air National Guard regarding ARC-specific processes. For questions/feedback, send email to the FAO Program Workflow Box at SAF.IAPA.IAS.Program.Workflow@us.af.mil.

For FAO resources, visit www.milsuite.mil/book.groups/air-force-ias.

For ARC programs, visit www.milsuite.mil/book/groups/arc-international-affairs-specialist-program.

By Jill Marie Diem, Secretary of the Air Force, International Affairs

Posted in Air Force, Guest Post, Profession of Arms | Comments Off on Air Force Establishes Significant Evolution in Foreign Area Officer Career Field

New PenCott Camouflage Patterns from Hyde Definition and 0241Tactical

Monday, January 18th, 2021

If you follow PenCott Camouflage on social media, then you will have recently seen pictures of two new patterns that were developed with North American environments primarily in mind.

The patterns are DevilDog™ and LeatherNeck™, and are both 4-color variations of the standard PenCott pattern geometry. They were named after popular nicknames for US Marine Corps members, due to the fact that the founder and CEO of 0241Tactical is a USMC veteran.

DevilDog™ is specifically oriented towards high plains, scrub desert, dry bush land, and similar types of terrain with light, sandy soil and sparse vegetation.

LeatherNeck™ on the other hand is designed for more temperate terrain that has a significant amount of brown tones – such as pine forests, mixed woodland with reddish soil, and so on.

Developing new pattern colorways during a period of lockdowns and restrictions due to the COVID-19 pandemic situation required some flexibility and creativity in the approach we took – not the least because all the work had to be done virtually between team members in the UK and US.

Our starting point was to analyze existing military patterns that have proven effective in North American environments – such as AOR-Universal, MARPAT-Temperate Woodland, CADPAT-Intermediate, Scorpion W2, etc. – comparatively analyzed within the specific types of environments we wanted to address. With this data in hand, we worked up a palette of potential colors, plugged them into the PenCott geometry, and then worked through numerous color combinations to down-select to a shortlist of pattern variations. Using extensive picture-in-picture analysis we ended up with a pattern colorway for each that seemed to be the best option – and also worthy of the names.

With the colors and names established, artwork was sent to 0241Tactical’s digital printing partner in the US and a small trial run of each pattern was printed on ripstop polyester material. The results can now be seen in the form of anoraks, neck gaiters, and beanie hats being offered through 0241Tactical.

With these garments now going out into the real world for field evaluations, we will be able to validate if the colorways are correct or need tweaking before being released for licensing and/or full production with other partners as well. 0241Tactical will also be able to provide various digitally-printed fabrics, such as 500D Cordura® nylon, in the DevilDog and LeatherNeck patterns to other makers as well.

Beyond these new patterns, look out for an expanded offering of GreenZone® fabrics and partners to come in the first half of 2021. We will also be expanding the MetroPolis® offering with webbing and 500D nylon, as well as additional product partners too. And lastly, Helikon-Tex and Direct Action will continue to expand their WildWood® product offerings this year as well.

www.pencottcamo.com

www.0241tactical.com

Posted in Camo, Guest Post, Materials | Comments Off on New PenCott Camouflage Patterns from Hyde Definition and 0241Tactical

US Army Micro-Atomizer Contributes to COVID-19 Research

Monday, January 18th, 2021

Aberdeen Proving Ground, MD – A device patented by researchers at the U.S. Army Combat Capabilities Development Command Chemical Biological Center (DEVCOM CBC) is being commercialized as a tool in the study of COVID-19.

The micro-atomizer, U.S. Patent 8,882,085, is a device that produces an aerosol spray on a very small scale for studying aerosolized particles inhaled by humans. The micro-atomizer has a .005 in diameter sample pass through — slightly larger than a human hair. This invention allows scientists to scale things down into a much smaller space to model what would happen on a larger scale.

DEVCOM CBC biologist Michael Horsmon, senior engineering technician Richard Kreis, and retired Army scientist Charles Crouse are the inventors behind the micro-atomizer. This product was developed to enable detection, protection and decontamination technology development geared toward protecting the warfighter from toxic chemical agents by simulating those agents on a micro level using aerosol spray.

While the micro-atomizer was developed as a research tool in chemical agent protection, it can also be used to simulate human sneezing, hacking or coughing. This will enable researchers to model the COVID-19 flow that would be expelled by someone who already has it. According to Kreis, “by allowing the molecules to get down to the same size as you would with COVID-19, it is easy to replicate continuously, repeatedly and accurately.”

Techlink, the DoD’s national partnership intermediary for technology transfer typically reviews all government patents and publicizes technologies that are ripe for commercialization. “We were notified by our partner, Techlink who’s in Montana, that there was interest in this patent. Our office investigates the status of patents and if there are existing prototypes. When we investigated, we learned that there were no more prototypes, so we went to the Research and Technology Directorate and asked them if they were willing to fund a few more prototypes because of the commercial interest and they agreed,” said Matt Jones of the Center’s Technology Transfer Office.

The test was a success and the company signed a patent license agreement this year. The inventors are currently focusing on reproducing the micro-atomizer and building the product consistently. The goal is to commercialize it so that it is available worldwide. “Universities, industry and other government agencies can use the micro-atomizer and it can be used in fields ranging from aerobiology, toxicology, and maybe even generating aerosols of coding materials for protection of surfaces. It has a wide range of uses,” Horsmon said.

By Richard M Arndt

Posted in Army, COVID-19 Pandemic, Guest Post | 1 Comment »

SCUBAPRO SUNDAY – Dive Gloves

Sunday, January 17th, 2021

Having the right pair of gloves will make your life so much better when working in the water, whether you are doing a two-hour dive in Norway or driving a zodiac for a long-range OTB. The right pair of gloves will depend on what you are doing and how long you are doing it. One of the other factors is the water temperature/ weather. Suppose you need to use your hands a lot during a dive, like pushing a button on a Navigation board, or be able to use your hand right after the dive, like climbing a ladder, shooting a gun. Lastly, how is your tolerance to the cold?

These will be the main factors to take into account when choosing the thickness of the gloves. The colder the water, the thicker you might need to go.

1-3mm: water between 60- 75 ° F (16-24 ° C)

5-7mm: water between 45-60° F (8-16 ° C)

Here are the two main things you might want to think about when choosing a pair of gloves for military use.

• Freedom of movement with a minimum amount of thickness that allows you the thermal comfort and protection you will need.

• What is material is on the palm and fingers? Can the gloves be used to grab and hold metal or plastic?

Make sure when you are trying them out to grab different things to make sure they will work. If I am in a store, I will always grab the medal racks to see how they work. They need to be suitable for everything for climbing, shooting, and holding onto different things.

Dive gloves come in a variety of thickness levels between 0.5mm to 7mm. A pair of 1.5mm Tropical gloves that have a leather palm is an excellent place to start. Gloves are like booties because even in warm water, you can have a thicker bootie on, and your feed will not get hot. Always have a warmer glove on without is being that much of a pain. Some tactical gear companies are making gloves designed for being in a wet environment that are also good for diving. The WETWORX gloves from S&S Precision come in two styles. One is thinner for warmer water, and one is a little thinker (2mm) for colder. I know they have put a lot of work into them, and they are nice gloves as more units get back into the water.

That said, S&S makes all their stuff to be used in the water as the owners come from a water background. I like gloves that can hold onto something medal, like if you have to climb a caving ladder or hold onto a gun—also holding plastic like a navigation board or working plastic buckles. Many dive gloves have small plastic beads on them that are not the best for working in the water. It is hard to find a good pair of thick dive gloves that meet the above requirements. If you have to be on a boat or mostly about the water, you can get a pair of dive gloves that are a couple sizes bigger than you usually would wear and put wool gloves on as a base layer. Even when wet, Wool will still hold heat in, and the dive gloves will help keep your hands warm and dry. The same trick works with gloves you will see fisherman use. You can also bring a thinner set of gloves like 1.5mm with you and change them out a couple of minutes before hitting the target. You can try with a thinker pair of gloves to put a set of work gloves on over them. That way, you always have the right grip.

When choosing the right glove, they should fit well enough to avoid water circulation inside as much as possible this will help keep the heat. They should not be so tight because that will cut off circulation to your hands. The thicker the gloves, the more insulated you have, but the tradeoff is this might give you less mobility. So, it will be difficult to manipulate the equipment and also to done and doff them. Choose the gloves that you think will protect you enough for the type of water you will perform most dives. You will want gloves to fit your wrist close to reducing the bulge that can happen if there is too much material between your sleeves and gloves. If you don’t do this right, just moving your hands will let water in, and it will make your hands and you cold.

Dive Gloves Maintenance Tips

Treat dive gloves like you treat anything you want to last. It would help if you cared for gloves like you treat your wetsuit. They should be soaked in freshwater after each dive and not just rinsed. You want to force the salt out. Please do not put them in the washing machine or use detergents to clean your wetsuits or gloves. Allow them to dry in a ventilated place until completely dry. Textile gloves take longer to dry. Do not dry them in the sun, as with all neoprene, it will cause them to age faster.

Posted in Advertiser, Guest Post, Handwear, Maritime | 3 Comments »