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Reflective Belts – Oh the Irony

Sunday, November 1st, 2009

Only the Air Force could over do common sense to the point it may well get someone killed. The Air Force has long ordered personnel serving in high traffic areas and on flight lines to wear reflective belts in order to increase their visibility and reduce accident related injuries. Ok, I might buy that one. But somewhere along the way, the intent of this altruistic order got twisted and the directive was extended to those serving in combat zones. Combat zones you say? Unfortunately, yes.

I wonder how long it will be until someone in the AF clothing office gets a load of Royal Australian Navy’s DPCU with integrated reflective stripes. It would kill two birds with one stone. The Air Force would have a uniform with inappropriate camo AND integrated reflective stripes. (Yeah, that’s a cheap shot. The clothing office is doing a pretty good job considering the institutional momentum they pitted against.)

Sure, this insanity has been going on for some time but finally, some are just plain fed up. It has gotten so out of hand that there is now a Facebook page dedicated to the cause. Decisions like this could get a guy killed.

I have a news flash for the Air Force. We are at war. There are bad people who want to kill our Airmen. Why would you do anything to make it easier? My answer to this whole conundrum? Find the Brainiac responsible and have him go for a walk outside the wire. That ought to sort this nonsense out.

Hey Congress, maybe this is something worth looking into. If the Army is going to face scrutiny over how effective its camo pattern is, maybe someone ought to take the Air Force to task for plain old bad judgment. Some of the comments make my skin crawl. One Airman on Facebook commented, â€œThere are confirmed snipers around the perimeter of the flight lineâ€¦here, put on your reflective belt so you donâ€™t get run over by a fire truck!â€

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Use a 3D Printer To Get Out Of Handcuffs

Monday, September 21st, 2009

Ok, sure. It sounds like something out of an action movie. Sport Enthusiasts of Lockpicking – Europe member Ray used a hi-res camera to image the Dutch Police Hand Cuff Key. He then used a 3D printer to make a copy.

According to the lock picking blog Black Bag:

At first the police officers at HAR (Hacking at Random 2009, an international technology & security conference) were a little reluctant to event try out the plastic key he printed. But he found another way to verify the key he printed was the correct one. I guess these officers never thought about wearing keys concealed, especially when talking with Mr. Handcuff himself. Given the megapixel camera’s on the market today it was not so difficult to verify the key he printed was the correct one. At the end of the day he talked the officers into trying the key on their handcuffs and … it did work! At least the Dutch Police now knows there is a plastic key on the market that will open their handcuffs. A plastic key undetectable by metal detectors….

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What’s the Frequency Kenneth?

Tuesday, September 15th, 2009

A funny thing happened the French on the way to fielding their new Future Soldier System FELIN (Fantassin Ã Ã‰quipement et Liaisons IntÃ©grÃ©s, English Integrated Equipment and Communications Infantryman). It seems that in 2013, the French Government is going to sell off the frequency spectrum used by FELIN. I Love it when a plan comes together. The FELIN information network sub-system operates in the 802 – 862 Mhz range which is scheduled for sale in 2013. Yes, that says “sale”, as in someone else will own it and the French Army will no longer be authorized to use it. This means that prime contractor Sagem will have to alter the software of the radio and no one has yet publicly disclosed how much this will cost. Sagem is currently filling orders for 5,045 FELIN systems to be delivered through the end of 2010.

Another issue beyond cost is performance. The current radio has a range of 1km in open terrain, 600m in urban areas, and only 100m indoors. Concerns have been expressed that a new, higher frequency range will be further inhibited in areas of high biomass such as jungles.

The RIF or information network sub-system consists of a radio with integrated global positioning system (GPS). This voice and data network connects the Soldier to others in the section and to the section commander, who is connected to the SITEL battle management system in a combat vehicle. SITEL, also developed by Sagem, is being fitted to all French Army vehicles. The RIF relies on the Thales Communications PR4G VS4 frequency-hopping radio for tactical internet connectivity and links to the vehicle’s SITEL.

Recent versions of FELIN have boasted a new Tenue Combat (combat uniform) that more resembles the loose “Guerilla” suits of the 50s and 60s than the current issue tight fitting uniform. Additionally, the camo pattern seen in the photo above was an affectation of Sagem and will not be a part of the FELIN which will retain the current issue CCE pattern. CCE is similar in coloration to the old US issue Woodland pattern.

Tags: FELIN
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This Gives First Person Shooter a Whole New Meaning

Sunday, September 13th, 2009

Waterloo Labs has finally invented every first person shooter fan’s wet dream; the ability to use a real gun to shoot onscreen targets. To make it happen, four accelerometers, which can be used to triangulate a point of impact based on vibrations, were mounted onto a large piece of drywall, which in turn had a flash game based on Half-Life projected onto it. The accelerometers were connected to a data acquisition device which posted the data on LabVIEW, a program that used the data from the accelerometers to determine the bullet’s point of impact. The computer then then simulated a mouse click on the point of impact. The result was that a real bullet killed a virtual enemy. Such mashups are fairly easy if you have access to a few pieces of specialized hardware and could be constructed given adequate time.

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Attention Gear Scout

Saturday, September 12th, 2009

When are you going to review those sweet-assed Wenger FBI SWAT Team boots you got at OR? We’re waiting. I bet Wenger is too.

Tags: Gear Scout
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Who Said Playing with Blocks Was for Kids?

Sunday, August 30th, 2009

Ratata, designed by Tomm Velthuis, might look like a standard box of building blocks, but when properly assembled they create a full size rifle. Imagine what Kindergarten would have been like with blocks like these. Unfortunately, Tomm’s web page for these baby’s is currently down.

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Chainsaw Bayonet

Monday, August 17th, 2009

Just when you think you’ve seen it all, something even better comes along. Obviously inspired by teh hit video game Gears of War, Aaron Thiel, an Army Infantryman, has invented an actual chainsaw bayonet. The 18-volt saw has been mounted on an AR-15, an AK-47, and even a semi-auto Saiga shotgun. Although it’s still a prototype, prospective buyers can purchase the bayonet by contacting Thiel via e-mail. It has a running price of around 300 dollars, “depending on options.”

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No Wonder They Lost

Friday, August 7th, 2009

Some of you may remember the Darth Vaderesque helmet worn by troops in Sadaam’s “elite” Fedayeen forces. Apparently manufactured from fiber glass it saw only limited issue. Perhaps the idea behind the helmet was to make the enemy pause to say, “WTF?” giving the wearer enough time to run away. A badge with the words “The Lord, The Homeland, The Leader” was affixed to the side of the helmet. They bring top dollar in the collector’s market.

A Spanish collector’s site has an excellent backgrounder on the helmet. Check it out here.

Posted in Foreign, Helmets, WTF? | Comments Off on No Wonder They Lost