PEO-Soldier | Soldier Systems Daily Soldier Systems Daily

Archive for the ‘PEO-Soldier’ Category

Soldier Center’s New Capability Streamlines Munition Fragmentation Data Collection

Wednesday, February 17th, 2021

NATICK, Mass. – The U.S. Army Combat Capabilities Development Command, or DEVCOM, Soldier Center, working in conjunction with academia and industry, has developed the Fragmentation Rapid Analysis Generator using Computed Tomography, or FRAG-CT.

“FRAG-CT supports the Army Chief of Staff’s priority to better protect the warfighter in current and future combat situations,” said Lisa King-Schiappa, the Protection Technology Development team lead in the Protection Systems Division, Soldier Protection Directorate, at the DEVCOM Soldier Center.

King-Schiappa explained that the “FRAG-CT analysis tool has matured into a stand-alone Graphical User Interface, or GUI, that streamlines the gathering of valuable munition fragmentation data from indirect fire arena tests.”

The method produces a data file of the munition fragmentation characteristics along with a data file used for armor design and also distinct 3D files of each individually scanned fragments for follow-on future analysis. FRAG-CT makes it possible to process arena test bundles up to 200 times faster than current hand-count methods. This new methodology can decrease bundle analysis time from months to hours.

“Timely, accurate and repeatable evaluation of indirect fire threats are critical for developing new armor designs and expeditionary protection systems,” said King-Schiappa. “FRAG-CT is the solution to time-consuming and unreliable fragment hand-count data.”

“The FRAG-CT analysis tool streamlines the gathering of munition data,” said Tom Reynolds, Protection Systems Division leader, Soldier Protection Directorate, DEVCOM Soldier Center. “This tool is less time-consuming and more reliable than other methods and will aid in the development of improved armor design.”

To develop FRAG-CT, the Soldier Center collaborated with a number of agencies, along with its development partner Compotech, headquartered in Brewer, Maine, and a CT scanning expert at the University of Maine.

“The collaboration with the National Ground Intelligence Agency, DEVCOM Army Research Lab, DEVCOM Data Analysis Center, DEVCOM Armament Center, Naval Surface Warfare Center, Compotech and UMaine was significant in the development of FRAG-CT,” said King-Schiappa. “The team was comprised of subject matter experts in the fields of threat assessment, munition exploitation, armor design, CT scanning and expeditionary ballistics – these critical aspects support the rapid development of an improved methodology for armor design.”

In addition to protective equipment, FRAG-CT may also aid in munition development.

“Warhead development is an iterative process from design to prototype to testing and back to design,” said Henry Hsieh, mechanical engineer, DEVCOM Armament Center. “This process is often cost prohibitive due to the time and labor required to collect and analyze vast amounts of data after a destructive warhead event. The FRAG-CT technology has the potential to minimize or even eliminate the laborious process of manually picking, cleaning, weighing and sorting tens of thousands of fragments after each warhead test, drastically reducing labor cost as well as data turn-around time. With this technology in place, warhead developers can rapidly and confidently design munitions adapted for our next generation of warfighters.”

Data collection and analysis play an all-important role in DEVCOM Soldier Center’s commitment to advancing capabilities and technologies for the Soldier.

King-Schiappa noted that software technology and analysis capabilities associated with FRAG-CT will also help address mission priorities that emphasize increased maneuver and lightweight expeditionary ballistic protection — thus, delivering protective expeditionary maneuver systems and Mission Command Technologies into Soldiers’ hands more quickly to increase warfighter readiness.

“Threats of interest are ever changing,” said King-Schiappa. “The Army is working diligently to narrow the capability gaps that affect Soldiers and enable the rapid delivery of capabilities to the warfighter. FRAG-CT enforces the aspect of rapid delivery for ongoing threat characterization work.”

The DEVCOM Soldier Center is transferring the software technology and the analysis capability to both the DEVCOM Army Research Laboratory and DEVCOM Armament Center.

DEVCOM SC, DEVCOM ARL, and DEVCOM AC have signed a software use agreement, or SUA, that is emplaced for work to support both arena-test methodologies and water-test methodologies using FRAG-CT. This GUI and upgraded test methodology will enable DEVCOM AC and DEVCOM ARL to process arena- and water-test data with greater accuracy, speed and repeatability.

“FRAG-CT is a state-of-the-art software package that allows the user to quickly and accurately process large amounts of fragment data under one platform,” said Justin Pritchett, a mechanical engineer at the DEVCOM Army Research Laboratory. “It has a multiple-input, multiple-output capability that supports data input from different types of fragmenting munition experiments and outputs various data formats for modeling and simulation codes. This technology advancement will drive how we process and collect large data sets in the future.”

King-Schiappa explained that the methodology and GUI may also feed modeling and analysis efforts tied to software such as the Advanced Joint Effectiveness Model, or AJEM. AJEM is a survivability, lethality, and vulnerability computer simulation code that is capable of analyzing one or more threats attacking one or more rotary-wing or fixed-wing aircraft, small watercraft, ground-mobile system, and mounted or dismounted personnel.

Mike Maffeo, a senior engineer on the Ballistic and Blast Protection Team, Protection Materials Division, Soldier Protection Directorate at the Soldier Center, explained that there are other models in addition to the AJEM model that can also use this data, including a casualty software called the Integrated Casualty Estimation Methodology, or ICEM, model.

Maffeo, who serves as the model manager for ICEM, explained that ICEM was developed specifically to model dismounted soldiers and the body armor they are wearing.

Maffeo believes that FRAG-CT is an important innovation in fragmentation data collection and analysis.

“FRAG?CT looks to be a real game changer in getting new fragment files quickly for armor assessment and vulnerability analysis,” said Maffeo. “With all the data that is being collected by FRAG?CT, it opens opportunities to increase the fidelity of the modeling and analysis. Some of these newer munitions have asymmetric (non?symmetric) burst patterns that are difficult to model without the right data. FRAG?CT should allow us to get this type of data quickly.”

In the future, FRAG-CT may also have applications for Elastic Plastic Impact Computation, or EPIC, and beyond.

By Jane Benson, DEVCOM Soldier Center Public Affairs

Posted in Ammo, Armor, Guest Post, PEO-Soldier | Comments Off on Soldier Center’s New Capability Streamlines Munition Fragmentation Data Collection

Thank You Mr David Geringer for Your Years of Service to the Soldier!

Monday, February 1st, 2021

Congratulations to Mr. David Geringer on his retirement after decades of service to the Army.

Mr. Geringer served 22 years as a Soldier, then began his civilian career as Assistant Product Manager, Soldier Clothing and Individual Equipment (SCIE), then served as Deputy Product Manager, SCIE and Supervisory Logistics Management Specialist for Headquarters, PEO Soldier.

Thanks for all of your hard work! Good luck on your second retirement.

Posted in Army, PEO-Soldier | 1 Comment »

Soldier Integration Facility in Action

Friday, December 18th, 2020

Sergeant Major of the Army Michael Grinston and other senior enlisted leaders run through a synthetic training environment at PEO Soldier’s Soldier Integration Facility (SIF) at Fort Belvoir.

Posted in Digitization, PEO-Soldier | Comments Off on Soldier Integration Facility in Action

Congratulations to PM IVAS

Friday, December 11th, 2020

Congratulations to Program Executive Office (PEO) Soldier’s Project Manager Integrated Visual Augmentation System (PM IVAS) for being recognized as Assistant Secretary of the Army – Acquisition, Logistics & Technology’s O6 Project Manager of the Year.

Posted in Army, PEO-Soldier | Comments Off on Congratulations to PM IVAS

PEO Soldier, Project Manager, Soldier Survivability Hails COL Bird and Bids Farewell to COL Thomas

Thursday, August 27th, 2020

COL Derek Bird assumed responsibility as Project Manager, Soldier Survivability (PM SSV) during a change of charter ceremony last Friday at Fort Belvoir. COL Bird previously served as Product Manager, Ground Soldier Systems (PdM GSS) earlier in his career.

PEO Soldier thanks COL Stephen Thomas for his outstanding leadership and tireless efforts as Project Manager, Soldier Survivability (PM SSV). During his tenure, COL Thomas oversaw the development and fielding of systems, equipment and clothing that improved Soldier protection and enhanced mission capabilities throughout the Army.

Good luck!

Posted in PEO-Soldier | 1 Comment »

Army Greens Slated to Reach All Installations by Mid-2021

Friday, July 24th, 2020

WASHINGTON — Recruiters, drill sergeants, and initial entry trainees will be among the first to receive the new Army Green Service Uniform, as program officials look to distribute it to all installations by the middle of next fiscal year.

The uniform harkens back to the “greatest generation” of Soldiers who fought during World War II.

“For the past year, I’ve been wearing the Army Greens. Wherever I go, people tell me that they love the uniform,” said Army Vice Chief Of Staff Gen. Joseph M. Martin.

“As we transition to the next phase of the rollout, I’m excited for the Soldiers who are about to receive the uniform,” he added. “I think that when they see themselves in the mirror they’ll feel connected to the Soldiers of the past and realize that they’re writing the next chapter of what people feel about our Army.”

Rollout schedule

Personnel in basic combat training and one-station unit training should receive the AGSU beginning in the first quarter of fiscal year 2021, said Lt. Col. Naim Lee, product manager of Soldier Clothing and Individual Equipment at Program Executive Office Soldier.

Fort Sill, Oklahoma, will be the first training location to issue the uniform, shortly followed by Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri; Fort Benning, Georgia; and Fort Jackson, South Carolina, he added.

The Army had originally planned to begin issuing the uniforms at IET locations before the end of this fiscal year. However, Lee said, setbacks during production related to COVID-19 forced a short delay in the rollout process.

Soldiers attending the Army’s Recruiting and Retention College at Fort Knox, Kentucky, started to receive their AGSUs earlier this month, he said.

The Army is continuing to work through its distribution and production channels to ensure all recruiters are issued the uniform starting in November through April 2021.

“The Army prioritized recruiters and drill sergeants, because they serve as the face of the Army,” Lee said.

After a select group of recruiters were able to wear the uniform as part of a pilot, they indicated that the new uniform may help attract quality applicants. The uniform may also help inspire the next generation of leaders by connecting the “all-volunteer force” to its historical lineage, Lee said

Moving forward, the Army and Air Force Exchange Service will supply the new uniform through a wave-based rollout approach, Lee said. The AGSU is currently available for purchase at the Fort Knox AAFES location.

The majority of AAFES locations within the U.S. are scheduled to have the new uniform by December. Stores in Alaska, Europe, Japan, and South Korea, along with National Guard and Reserve military clothing locations, should have a supply of uniforms by February 2021.

The mandatory wear date for all Soldiers is Oct. 1, 2027.

Active-duty enlisted Soldiers, including Active Guard and Reserve Soldiers, will continue to receive their annual clothing-replacement allowance to offset the new uniform’s cost, Lee said. Other Guard and Reserve Soldiers will begin receiving uniforms no later than the fourth quarter of fiscal year 2021.

Everyday service uniform

The Army is currently the only service without an everyday business uniform, Lee said.

The current Army Service Uniform, commonly known as dress blues, was previously considered an optional purchase uniform prior to 2008, PEO Soldier officials said. Over time, leaders realized that the dress blues were too formal for everyday business use.

With the launch of the AGSU, Soldiers will now have an everyday service uniform, which will set an appropriate standard for professionalism within an office setting, Lee added.

Eventually, the Army will stop issuing the dress blues to all Soldiers. The uniform will continue to be optional and serve as a dress uniform for all Soldiers requiring a formal attire.

Limited user test, evaluation

As the Army delivers its new uniform, PEO Soldier will continue to conduct limited user testing and evaluations through May 2021, Lee said.

Early in the development process, the Army held an all-female uniform board that determined the design, components, features and fit of the female uniform. While both the male and female uniforms are similar, PEO Soldier officials said the female version allows for an elective skirt and shoe wear option.

In January, leaders held an additional uniform board to solidify minor changes to the uniform that were identified during ongoing user evaluations.

“Soldiers shared how the uniform is a better fit to their body,” when compared to the Army Service Uniform, Lee said. “In terms of comfort — we made changes through the limited user evaluation feedback process” to improve the Army Greens.

Feedback will continue to be solicited from a larger Army population, specifically from Soldiers who wear the uniform often. Through this process, program leads will shape future iterations of the ensemble to accommodate different body types or make improvements to the product’s longevity.

“We have teams that will receive feedback through Soldier touchpoints,” Lee said. “And given the current environment [with COVID-19], we will have to incorporate” other forms of communication.

“Soldiers are enjoying this new uniform and they are eager to go out and get it,” he added. “We can’t get it to them fast enough.”

By Devon Suits, Army News Service

Posted in Army, Clothing, Guest Post, PEO-Soldier | 20 Comments »

US Army Releases Photos of Latest Next Generation Squad Weapons and Fire Control Prototypes

Tuesday, July 7th, 2020

PEO Soldier’s Program Manager Next Generation Squad Weapons has released photos of the latest versions of the three candidate systems for Rifle and Automatic Rifle as well as the two proposed Fire Control Systems.

NGSW

Three industry teams were selected to provide Next Generation Rifle and Automatic Rifle systems to the US Army which will eventually replace the M4 Carbine and M249 Squad Automatic Weapon in the Army’s and potentially other the services’ close combat forces.

These new weapons fire a 6.8mm cartridge unlike anything else in our or other nations’ inventories. It performs in a similar fashion to the commercial 270 Win Short Mag round and will provide our troops with overmatch of threat small arms.

The teams include Textron System, General Dynamics-OTS and SIG SAUER. Each vendor brings a unique perspective to satisfying the Army’s requirement which includes not only weapons but also ammunition which weigh-in at 20% lower than current ammo.

For instance, Textron proposes a Case, Telescoped ammunition and weapons with an entirely new operation system to accommodate their cartridge design. Meanwhile, GD proposes a polymer cased ammo and bullpup weapons. SIG seems to take the low risk approach with weapons most Soldiers will be able to pick up and put right into operation along with a hybrid cased ammo which combines steel and brass in the cartridge case to lighten the load.

NGSW-FC

Designed specifically to pair with NSGW’s novel caliber, the two Fire Control System prototypes are provided by Vortex and L3 teamed with Leupold.

Specifically, NGSW-FC is intended to increase the Soldier’s ability to rapidly engage man sized targets out to 600m or greater while maintaining the ability to conduct Close Quarters Battle. This objective is achieved by leveraging technologies to calculate and display a disturbed reticle to the User.

Despite the COVID-19 pandemic, the program office continues to forge ahead on this priority effort with ongoing technical testing at Aberdeen Proving Ground and Soldier Touch Points at Fort Drum, through the end of August. The Army hopes to make a source selection decision by FY 2022.

Posted in Army, PEO-Soldier, weapons | 21 Comments »

FT Polk’s 3rd Squadron, 89th Cavalry Regiment Trains and Fields Enhanced Night Vision Goggles-Binoculars

Wednesday, July 1st, 2020

FORT POLK, La. — Throughout June, C Troop, 3rd Squadron, 89th Cavalry Regiment is conducting in-class and field training with the latest in night-vision goggle (NVG) technology. The new equipment, the enhanced night vision goggles-binoculars (ENVG-B), not only provides an all-around upgrade in clarity, but also comes with thermal vision capabilities, augmented reality with heads-up display and integrates with weapon optics.

As with all training efforts, the unit is keeping COVID-19 precautions in mind by using the “same social-distancing guidelines that they use at Ranger School and here at the Joint Readiness Training Center. This includes limiting the number of Soldiers and new equipment trainers allowed in the classroom at a given time,” said Capt. William Hess, commander, C Troop 3rd Sqdn, 89th Cav Reg.

During the first week of June, 30 Soldiers received the new equipment training in a classroom environment. Twenty-eight Soldiers, with two on stand-by, completed a range density week beginning June 8, “logging hours with the equipment, executing training according to the Army’s standard qualification tables,” said Hess.

The last two weeks of June are dedicated to situational training exercises. The STX lanes will “use the tactical environment to allow the unit to integrate the newly learned capabilities into our troop leader procedures,” said Hess.

“These Soldiers will be getting a lot of training with the ENVG-Bs.”

Program Executive Office Soldier (PEO Soldier) members from Fort Belvoir, Virginia prompted and supported the ENVG-B training for C troop. Maj. John Nikiforakis, assistant program manager, ENVG-B, PEO Soldier said, “We need to test our night vision technology in a simulated combat environment, so that, by the time it gets to combat, the equipment is refined and ready.”

“As PEO, we are the material developers for technology for the warfighter. Everything we do is geared toward making our Soldiers more lethal, more survivable, and more capable on the battlefield.”

Throughout their training, within and outside of the classroom, Soldiers will gain direct insight into equipment functionality. According to Hess, the Soldiers will also run through the training with the monocular night vision device (PVS-14) — the older NVG model — and then with the ENVG-Bs. Their performance and experiences will be logged, creating a dataset for analysis.

“What we rely on is ‘Soldiers in the loop,’ and that is the Soldier feedback, which ensures the equipment that they are going to fight with is something they actually want to use,” said Nikiforakis.

C Troop Soldiers are excited about the ENVG-B’s and the opportunity to train with the equipment.

Pfc. Hunter Shor, C Troop, 3rd Sqdn, 89th Cav Reg, said, “Compared to the PVS-14s, I just feel the ENVG-B’s are exponentially ahead of their time with thermal technology and integrated systems.”

Similarly, Spc. Simon Ly, C Troop, 3rd Sqdn, 89th Cav Reg said, “It’s been really interesting. I’ve never used equipment with these capabilities before. There are things we can do with the ENVG-Bs that I didn’t think we could do before. For example, the augmented reality that allows us to see checkpoints in the NVGs: I just didn’t know the technology had reached that point.”

With the Soldiers’ feedback and training data, PEO Soldier is able to further ready the device for combat, exceed expectations and meet the needs of Soldiers on the battlefield.

“We go beyond ‘own the night’. We want to be able to identify all threats, under all conditions and be able to shoot first,” said Nikiforakis.

By Christy Graham

Posted in Army, Guest Post, Optics, PEO-Soldier | 4 Comments »