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Beez Combat Systems SPECTRALFLAGE Helmet Cover

Monday, November 20th, 2023

The Predator Ghillie™ SPECTRALFLAGE Helmet Cover reduces the VIS (physical visual), UV, NIR and thermal signatures (6µm ~ 15µm, high end of MWIR, LWIR, FIR) of the individual to help avoid being observed and/or targeted by ground-based detection, sUAS, and UAS near-peer threats.

The Predator Ghillie™ SPECTRALFLAGE Helmet Cover uses complex, next-generation engineering to accomplish the unimaginable: multispectral signature reduction for the individual war fighter against real world thermal and night vision technology, while simultaneously providing a 3D visual breakup.

The Predator Ghillie™ SPECTRALFLAGE Helmet Cover is another piece of the SPECTRALFLAGE camouflage system designed to reduce thermal signature around the head, face, and neck.This is the next evolution in advanced thermal mitigation for the end user. New threats on the battlefield require new solutions as advanced thermal detection and aiming devices rapidly evolve.

Made with the most advanced military grade A-TACS camouflage patterns the Predator Ghillie™ SPECTRALFLAGE Helmet Cover provides physical 3D visual breakup, granting the end user the most advanced concealment solution primarily designed for urban, desert, and open environments.

Fitting on Mid/High/Fast cut helmets, the Predator Ghillie™ SPECTRALFLAGE Helmet Cover is easy and fast to deploy, as well as small enough to fit into a pocket or small pouch.

The Predator Ghillie™ SPECTRALFLAGE Helmet Cover is the next advancement in concealment technology. On the battlefield of today, tomorrow, and the future; multispectral concealment is the way.

For additional information and availability – Beez Combat Systems

Posted in Camo, Guest Post, Helmets | 1 Comment »

US Army Soldiers and NATO partners earn highly coveted expert badges

Monday, November 20th, 2023

By SPC Jet Cortez

VILSECK, Germany — U.S. Soldiers and NATO partners participated in an event known as ‘E3B’ Nov. 6 to 10.

The 2nd Cavalry Regiment hosted and provided the opportunity, training, and evaluations necessary for candidates to receive the Expert Infantry Badge, Expert Soldier Badge, and Expert Field Medical Badge.

“Being in your own head can be one of the biggest challenges,” said U.S. Army Pfc. Simon Jack, an Infantryman assigned to Apache Troop, 1st Squadron, 2nd Cavalry Regiment. “Just remember to relax, you’ve done it before, and just go through the steps like you did in training.”

Prior to the start of testing for E3B, the candidates went through a training phase for two weeks, sharpening their technical and tactical knowledge to be successful in the numerous tasks ahead.

During evaluation week, Soldiers were required to pass the Expert Physical Fitness Assessment, land navigation, three evaluation lanes with 10 tasks each: the patrol lane, weapons lane, medical lane, and then a 12-mile ruck march.

The amount of candidates narrowed down gradually. Each lane had graders evaluating every candidate, testing their ability to complete tasks correctly with various “go” and “no-go” scenarios.

“You’ve got to put in the hours and the work to make sure that you learn all 30 of these tasks and are able to complete them in a proficient manner, because if you’re not, then this is one of those badges that is going to be very difficult for you to get,” said U.S. Army Capt. Ben Do, a field artillery officer assigned to 3rd Battalion, 27th Field Artillery Regiment.

“It’s definitely one of those things that you have to be fully dedicated to,” said Do.

Regardless of the outcome, Soldiers gained experience that they can use to teach others and become more reliable and capable leaders for their units.

“At the end of the day, we are getting a whole bunch of training that we can bring back to our troops and increase lethality,” said U.S. Army Sgt. Dylan Mecca, a horizontal construction engineer assigned to the 15th Engineer Battalion.

Out of the 1,700 candidates who participated in the E3B event, there were 548 candidates who earned their respective badges at the graduation ceremony.

Specific titles were given to candidates who earned their respective badges without receiving a single no-go in their particular lane, acknowledging the candidates’ efforts to execute every task of each event. These titles include “True Blue” for EIB, “No Blood” for EFMB, and “Perfect Edge” for ESB.

“Once you wear the badge, it doesn’t mean that you can just brain dump it,” said Do. “People are gonna look to you to be the subject matter expert on any of the 30 tasks that you completed.”

With the conclusion of E3B 2023, U.S. Soldiers and NATO partners successfully engaged in the given opportunity to develop lethality, interoperability, and test their skills, which are vital assets for maximizing mission success in real-world environments to deter enemy forces.

To view more photos and videos of this event visit this website.

Posted in Army, Guest Post, Profession of Arms | Comments Off on US Army Soldiers and NATO partners earn highly coveted expert badges

FirstSpear Friday Focus – Fight Panel Sneak Peek

Friday, November 17th, 2023

A search for panels, placards and chest rigs these days will reveal linear products that function well in one or two of these realms. What if a chest rig could go beyond the shoulder straps? What if a placard could go beyond the hook and loop? What if all of these could be wrapped into a modular and functional kit… with Tubes?

FirstSpear didn’t have to ask what if, those at the Tip of The Spear asked this of us… we answered the call. Coming December 2023.

Visit FirstSpear to find American Made kit and accessories, Built For The X.

Posted in Advertiser, FS Friday Focus, Guest Post, Load Carrying | Comments Off on FirstSpear Friday Focus – Fight Panel Sneak Peek

Army Test and Evaluation Command Hosts Multi-domain Operations Test Demonstration

Friday, November 17th, 2023

ABERDEEN PROVING GROUND, Md. — The U.S. Army Test and Evaluation Command executed its first Multi-Domain Operations Distributed Live, Virtual, Constructive Initial Operational Capability Demonstration across ATEC’s geographically diverse sites on Oct. 19.

This demonstration was the culmination of an ATEC enterprise modernization project, comprised of eight ATEC subordinate organizations on a distributed network, to establish an MDO scale distributed LVC test environment.

“The key focus of this event was to tie the ATEC subordinate organizations across the country on a distributed test network,” said Dr. Ken LeSueur, lead technical coordinator of the event supporting the U.S. Army Redstone Test Center. “We wanted to exercise a mixture of live, virtual and constructive elements operating on an MDO scale test scenario across that environment, collect data in that environment and push toward real-time visualization and analysis of that data.”

The event executed seven MDO land, air, space and cyberspace scenarios, that consisted of more than 60 live military systems, virtual assets and constructive simulations. Transformative data collection, real-time display and cloud-based data analytics on the representative tactical and simulated systems were executed in the event.

Mason Rowe, who served as the data collection, reduction, analysis and visualization lead for the event with the U.S. Army Evaluation Center, provided insight on the importance of near real-time analytics. “The significance of what we demonstrated today with our near real-time data analytics is proving that by embedding analysts and evaluators into the test itself, we can provide in-stride, data-driven insights using data dashboards and visualizations throughout test execution. Rather than waiting weeks after a test to have analysis ready datasets on-hand, we were able to shorten the data collection-reduction-analysis timeline to less than 60 seconds using automated, cloud-based processes.”

“This is beneficial for everyone,” said Rowe. “The testers will know what’s going on during the test allowing gaps to be identified so they can be immediately addressed rather than needing to schedule a follow-on test. The system owners will know what’s going on with their system allowing deep dives into the data to troubleshoot any errors or problems that can be fixed on the spot. And leadership will be provided the up-to-date insights and the health status of how a test is running through ongoing assessment of the data that was collected … ‘Is it the right data, does it answer your learning demands that you have for this test and is it going to be worthy for use in evaluation after the fact.’”

Paul Weimer, division chief for the cyber and electromagnetic affects division with ATC, explained that given where the Army is headed with MDO, the only way to get there is by learning how systems interoperate at scale, and that capability was highlighted in this demonstration. “This occurred in an environment where you’ve got live systems interacting with virtual systems cooperatively at scale. Innovative networks, constructive simulations and a talented workforce made that possible. If you embrace and invest in modeling and simulation early in the acquisition process, it will pay dividends throughout the life cycle of a system.”

“This exercise brought a lot of firsts for ATEC. Even though the concept of doing distributed testing isn’t new, it really hasn’t been done at the scale and complexity that we touched on today. This is a significant step in the right direction, but we are not at the end goal. We were able show the test and evaluation community what is in the realm of possible, but this effort also helped us identify our strengths, weaknesses, and gaps so we can take the right steps to achieve full operational capability to support the Army experimentation and testing.”

Although all the ATEC subordinate organizations were involved in the demonstration, ATC and RTC were the backbone behind this effort. According to LeSueur, RTC has had an extensive history of LVC distributed testing and ATC has the chamber, resources and infrastructure. “Each organization was essential in bringing this together. I think we moved all ATEC up a significant notch being able to perform this type of testing and methodology. We accomplished a lot of training across the command doing this.”

The Test Resource Management Center’s Joint Mission Environment Test Capability Multiple Independent Levels of Security Network served as the foundation for the demonstration. It was managed and supported by TRMC’s National Cyber Range Complex, and the network was tailored for this event. “From project initiation through execution, TRMC’s NCRC project planners and network designers worked closely with ATEC to establish new network nodes at several ATEC sites as well as configure, test and tune the network for the application,” said Weimer.

James Amato, ATEC’s executive technical director/deputy to the commander, stated that leveraging TRMC’s capabilities will enable us to link our capability with other services and allies so we can literally test like we fight, as a joint and combined force.

ATEC Commanding General, Maj. Gen. James J. Gallivan, concluded the demonstration by stating, “this capability gives the Army an environment to support distributed user involved developmental and operational system-of-systems experimentation and testing at scale.”

The MDO Distributed LVC IOC falls under the digital transformation line of effort within the ATEC Next Campaign Plan, with an end goal to have systems and processes in place to perpetually modernize the people, equipment and infrastructure to remain trusted by senior leaders for decisions.

Brian Kelly, ATEC’s chief data officer, said that ATEC is leading test and evaluation for the Army through an enterprise-wide digital transformation that leverages a hybrid cloud environment to develop a data mesh. The ATEC data mesh leverages various Army enterprise cloud services to expose and control access to data for DoD and its partners. “ATEC’s digital transformation is well underway and will serve as a shining example of an Army Business Mission Area organization meeting the intent of HQDA CIO and G6 data and cloud strategies.”

By Lindsey Grubb

Posted in Army, Guest Post | Comments Off on Army Test and Evaluation Command Hosts Multi-domain Operations Test Demonstration

Regional Cyber Centers Help Secure, Operate, Maintain Army Networks

Thursday, November 16th, 2023

FORT HUACHUCA, Ariz. — Everything the U.S. Army Network Enterprise Technology Command does supports an Army Unified Network based on zero-trust principles.

NETCOM is a global organization, and it’s a 24/7/365 team effort incorporating continuous improvement strategies to support the Army’s digital modernization efforts. Regional Cyber Centers are game-changers around the command and hold the key to helping NETCOM and its customers, attain mission success.

During the inaugural Regional Cyber Center Summit held Oct. 23-27, 2023, RCC leadership from around the globe gathered at Greely Hall to collaborate with NETCOM senior leaders and subject matter experts. Leaders discussed the importance of streamlining future RCC operations and the organizational structure changes needed to enable better AUN operations and services, orchestrated under a Global Cyber Center.

Since their inception roughly ten years ago, Regional Cyber Centers have been crucial for the Army, NETCOM and the warfighter.

“Regional Cyber Centers are our most important asset in NETCOM,” said Patrick Dedham, NETCOM deputy to the commanding general. “Because they are securing, operating and maintaining the network day to day, and also improving it.”

RCCs are a critical part of the NETCOM enterprise and are key enablers to current operations, as well as continuous improvement of the Army Department of Defense Information Networks activities.

NETCOM must ensure RCCs are properly resourced and synchronized to support the Army’s priorities.

“Our number one priority when it comes to transformation is the network,” said Army Chief of Staff Gen. Randy George at this year’s annual meeting of the Association of the United States Army.

Modernizing the network has been one of the Army’s top modernization priorities, and the RCC’s continuous improvement efforts will be crucial in shaping the Army of 2030.

The summit presented leaders with the opportunity to look at past practices to help shape future operations.

“I don’t think the mission set we gave you almost ten years ago is the same mission set you do today,” explained NETCOM Commanding General, Maj. Gen. Christopher Eubank.

With the role RCCs play in securing, operating and maintaining the network, having global representatives from all six unique centers in one place helped gain a shared understanding of how a Global Cyber Center concept can help better synchronize and streamline RCC operations and efforts.

“Every RCC is different across theaters,” said RCC-Continental United States Director, Lt. Col. Victor Yinh. “Getting all the directors together to talk RCC specifics helped us understand our differences to help standardize how we operate.”

Through leader breakout sessions, question and answer engagements with subject matter experts and engaging dialogues, those present were able to collectively set the conditions for increased efficiencies and effectiveness for 2023 and beyond.

“We got a shared understanding of where we want efforts to move to get us to our end state faster,” said RCC-C Sergeant Major, Sgt. Maj. Jonathan Davis. “This was great because the RCCs needed their own forum for securing, operating and maintaining the network on behalf of NETCOM.”

NETCOM is a two-star operational command with global responsibilities that is in competition, crisis, and conflict 24/7/365. The collective RCC missions are no-fail in nature. As they continue building off the success of the inaugural summit, their continued collaborations and collective efforts will be needed on a grand scale.

“The Army is relying on us,” Eubank said. “Let’s not let them down.”

Story by SFC Kelvin Ringold

U.S. Army graphic by Amanda Pearson

Posted in Army, Comms, Cyber, Guest Post | Comments Off on Regional Cyber Centers Help Secure, Operate, Maintain Army Networks

AXL Advanced Releases MPU5 CommSled

Wednesday, November 15th, 2023

The CommSled mounts the PTT offset to the carrier and flexibly allows clearance of ATAK and similar systems, lower profile mounting, and improved access to PTT controls. Using shockcord, the CommSled pulls the PTT’s outer edge into the plate carrier’s intercostal space and keeps it spaced so that EUD devices can be used without interference by larger PTTs.

www.AXLadvanced.com

Posted in Comms, Guest Post, Load Carrying | Comments Off on AXL Advanced Releases MPU5 CommSled

MARSOC Multi-Purpose Canine Handlers Conduct Desert Training

Wednesday, November 15th, 2023

CAMP LEJEUNE, N.C. – Instructors with Marine Forces Special Operations Command recently hosted the final phase of training for prospective Marines working toward becoming multi-purpose canine handlers for the command, Oct. 1-20, 2023.

The course, which is also used as continuing education training for senior MPCs and handlers, encompasses all aspects of requisite skills that a special operations capability specialist needs to be successful while attached to a Marine Special Operations Company. Everything from tactical movements to engaging enemy combatants is done with the canines right by the side of their handlers.

The portion of the course known as the desert package culminates all of the training the handlers and canines had been through while also shifting the environment to one that is unfamiliar.

“We have individually done all of the things we are being asked to do here,” said a student handler. “The change in environment, to something you just won’t see in North Carolina, challenges us to put it all together and really make sure we understand our dog and their personality.”

MPCs and handlers within MARSOC have a high bar to achieve. In addition to being the only special operations component that uses subject matter experts in canine handling to work on the teams, the canines themselves have more asked of them than normal.

“MARSOC really sets itself apart because we train to proficiency in all three facets of canine work,” said a senior MPC handler. “all of our dogs are capable of apprehension, or bites, explosive detection, and tracking, requiring a higher level of training”

To be able to accommodate the heightened requirements for the MPCs, the handlers are trained differently as well.

“Our handlers are not just handlers, they are trained to be trainers,” an MPC handler added. “There is a level of knowledge that goes beyond just working with the dog. Our handlers are capable of going to a partner nation and training their dogs and handlers to proficiency as well.”

Upon successful completion of the training pipeline, both students and canines are fully certified to be a working MPC team. Those teams then continue preparations to join a company and eventually deploy alongside critical skills operators and special operations officers on a team.

The multi-purpose canine handler pipeline is open to those within the 5800 military police occupational field. Interested Marines should reach out to a MARSOC recruiter to learn more about the opportunity.

Story by Cpl Henry Rodriguez II

Marine Forces, Special Operations Command

Posted in Guest Post, K9, SOF, USMC | Comments Off on MARSOC Multi-Purpose Canine Handlers Conduct Desert Training

PEO Soldier Gets to Ground Truth on Soldier Equipment

Tuesday, November 14th, 2023

FORT BELVOIR, Va. – The Army is continuing its efforts to modernize the force and build towards the Army of 2030 and beyond. To support that effort, Program Executive Officer (PEO) Soldier is engaging with Soldiers at the ground level to get to the fundamental truth of how Soldiers are equipped in the operational environment and what gear they have modified or purchased for mission, environment, comfort and personal effect.

PEO Soldier’s Assistant Program Executive Officer (APEO) Soldier has been conducting Operational Kit (O.K.) Analysis with the operational force to collect this data.

O.K. Analysis seeks to address a multitude of objectives to help shape the Army of 2030 and the future Soldier. The effort looks to proactively identify opportunities utilizing the Soldier Enhancement Program (SEP), influence materiel change proposals, identify equipment training challenges and address installation Soldier equipment logistics challenges.

“The idea behind O.K. Analysis was hatched by APEO Soldier’s Senior Enlisted Advisor, MSG Josh Kaplan,” said COL Douglas Copeland, Assistant Program Executive Officer, PEO Soldier. “He identified the need to bridge the gap between what we think Soldiers and Squads carry as materiel developers and what is actually used out in the field.”

In launching the initiative, MSG Kaplan took a couple of key steps: First, he created a community of interest across various stakeholders. Second, he worked with SGM Daniel Rose, PEO Soldier Sergeant Major, to combine the O.K. Analysis event with the PEO Soldier Capabilities Demonstration, which informs the force of our current and emerging capabilities in the PEO Soldier portfolio. This strategy allows PEO Soldier to gain Soldier feedback about on operational needs and determine exactly how PEO capabilities are impacting the Force.

The goal is to provide operational context to the acquisition force, said SGM Rose. “We’re trying to explain to the acquisition professionals here at PEO Soldier and stakeholders in the Army enterprise how Soldiers are using the equipment that they are designing, procuring and fielding in the operational environment. What we found is that sometimes they won’t be using the equipment the way it was designed to be used. We try to bring that kind of context back to the acquisition force to help them as they’re designing and procuring new pieces of equipment.”

The O.K. Analysis team kicked off the program at USARCENT in Kuwait in March 2023 and has since engaged with the 11th Airborne and 25th Infantry Divisions. As a result, PEO Soldier has, to date, collected data from eight Squads and worked with senior leadership to establish an equipment baseline across the Army’s operational units.

The effort goes beyond simply questioning Soldiers about their thoughts and experience with PEO Soldier capabilities. MSG Kaplan explained, “We deploy a team of senior NCOs with extensive operational experience and extremely smart government contractors who carry out an array of responsibilities, such as data collection, statistics, logistics and photography. We collect several thousand lines of data, hundreds of photos and several hours of interviews that are analyzed as a part of an out-brief to communities of interest, then added to our holistic database for further analysis.”

After taking part in PEO Soldier’s O.K. Analysis engagement, SGM Brian Disque, G-3, 5 and 7 Sergeant Major, USARCENT, stated that he was very impressed with its effectiveness and potential benefits. He explained, “It is a very ambitious effort to answer an important question: What gear are Soldiers actually using and why? PEO Soldier took the idea of unit outreach and feedback to the next level with a meticulous approach to data collection to better understand the perspectives of Soldiers across the Army. The wealth of data collected will be very useful when informing future efforts to outfit our Soldiers. All of the Army should be grateful that this team was willing to roll up their sleeves and get out to all corners of our Army to answer these questions.”

This effort has already returned positive outcomes. Through the O.K. Analysis initiative, PEO Soldier has been able to strengthen critical partnerships with the Maneuver Center of Excellence, DEVCOM and several Army Corps. PEO Soldier has also been able to facilitate the establishment of Environmental Working Groups with these communities of interest, which include items discovered through the O.K. Analysis effort.

“The most important benefit of O.K. Analysis is to ensure that the Soldier’s voice is heard, including senior leaders in operational units who have important Soldier equipment insights,” Kaplan said. “We do this in the form of detailed equipment inventories, pictures and candid interviews that are shared with the enterprise. If someone asks, ‘Why is Soldier equipment getting heavier?’, our team can say, ‘Let me show you.’ There is a lot of power in that.”

Disque agreed, noting, “For USARCENT and our deployed force, the opportunity to provide our candid feedback to the professional data collection team is of immediate benefit. Innovation is one of our top priorities, and we are always searching for ways to bring innovative concepts to our Area of Responsibility (AOR). Soldier kit is one of those topics for which there is no shortage of great ideas out there, often based on real-world feedback from operating environments across the CENTCOM AOR – you just have to ask the right questions, which I am confident the PEO Soldier team executed to perfection.”

Through this effort, PEO Soldier began an Army-wide innovation synchronization effort that encompasses 18th Airborne Corps’ Eagle Works, I Corps’ Lightning Lab, USARCENT and PEO Soldier’s Soldier Integration Facility. This will allow stakeholders to collaborate and share data and integration solutions across the Close Combat Integration Enterprise (CCIE).

“Any opportunity to connect our modernization efforts to deployed Soldiers on a mission is valuable,” said Disque. “Some of the most innovative ideas come from operating in a deployed environment, and for the PEO team to have access to Soldiers that served recently in Syria and other areas is tremendous.”

Kaplan and his team have proactively submitted proposals for the Soldier Enhancement Program (SEP) on behalf of Soldiers through the O.K. Analysis. The SEP is a process designed to help the Army enhance Soldiers’ ability to execute their combat mission by evaluating prototypes and commercially available items submitted by Soldiers and industry. Since its inception six months ago, PEO Soldier has identified 23 potential SEP opportunities, which is an exponential increase relative to recent years. Soldiers, senior leaders and industry are also able to submit their own proposals utilizing PEO Soldier’s website.

“Soldiers are very innovative,” said Kaplan. “There is always that one Soldier in the Squad who can create ways for his unit to become more lethal. This initiative highlights innovative solutions so communities of interest can stay on pace with the operational force.”

CSM Joseph Gaskin, Command Sergeant Major, 1/11 Airborne Division, added to that assessment by stating, “Any effort the Army uses to better inform equipment requirements from the Soldier on the ground is value added to our formation. The O.K Analysis comprehensive program captured data that will assist leaders to better understand what risk the Soldier’s load presents as we operate in the extreme cold of our operational environment.”

PEO Soldier will continue its O.K. Analysis effort by visiting Soldiers with the 3rd Infantry Division in October and engaging with U.S. Army Europe in the second quarter of 2024. This ongoing effort will collect and share data amongst the CCIE to help shape the Army’s modernization efforts moving into 2030 and beyond.

PEO Soldier is now encouraging other interested U.S. Army operational divisions to reach out and schedule an O.K. Analysis of their area of responsibility.

“We look forward to expanding our O.K. Analysis across the Army’s operational units to further collaboration, leverage creative innovation and enable proactive capability development for Soldier equipment,” said Copeland.

By David Jordan

Posted in Army, Guest Post, PEO-Soldier | 5 Comments »