Soldier Systems Daily Soldier Systems Daily

Blue Alpha Stock Sock

May 1st, 2022

Reportedly the Stock Sock was created via the proverbial drawing on a bar napkin at the Circle Bar one SHOT Show night.

Going off the premise of fighting what that you’ve got on you, the creators set out to develop a modular attachment which could easily be added or removed from an AR stock.

Oftentimes, you are just going to pick up your rifle to put it into action and it has to be a self contained unit. For example if something goes bump in the night, you aren’t going to grab your plate carrier and gun belt. Likewise if you need to quickly dismount from your vehicle and you have at hand is a carbine.

Thanks to the laser cut PALS the Stock Sock can accommodate multiple tourniquets, needle decomp, chem lights, wound packing material, or whatever else you want to keep on your stock. It can also be used to stow and manage a sling for storage or vehicular transport.

Made from laser cut Squadron fabric, the Stock Sock is available in a variety of colors and patterns.

www.bluealphabelts.com/product/stock-sock

Posted in Load Carrying, Weapon Accessories | 4 Comments »

SCUBAPRO Sunday – Sergeant Paul Yauwiga WW2

May 1st, 2022

New Guinean Police Sergeant Paul Yauwiga spent 1943 leading native guerilla bands on jungle reconnaissance missions and local psyops in Northern Bougainville. Recognizing his potential, he was re-deployed to Australia to train troops in Jungle Warfare in 1944. He had been advised in Bougainville not to engage with superior Japanese forces due to the value of the intel he provided, and his mission had always been “observe and report.” Yauwiga wasn’t a big fan of this and remarked, “Why do we run away the same as women do?”

The Australia gig quickly ended, as Allied forces needed Yauwiga to flush out the stubborn Japanese resistance still fighting in Bougainville in 1945. His first major contract was with a mixed band of 80 Japanese troops and tribal collaborations. He annihilated 25 of the enemy with two other guerillas after only 15 minutes.

He made sure to add some salt to the injury he caused to Japanese forces. Yauwiga killed a known tribal collaborator and spread false rumors that the now dead man had been an Allied agent. The Japanese responded with heavy-handed paranoia, executing 10 of their best spies. He followed this bit of genius psyops by arresting 30 other tribal collaborators and destroying the Japanese spy network in the process.

By June 1945, his small team had accounted for 57 confirmed kills over only 17 months in the jungle. Barefoot, bare-chested, and armed with a mixture of Allied provided rifles, and they punched well above their weight. Unfortunately, a white phosphorous grenade accidentally exploded in Yauwiga’s face in a freak accident as he attempted to signal Allied aircraft. He was evacuated to Australia, where his left arm was amputated and his left eye removed. A corneal transplant saved his right eye from the blue-eyed Australian donor, one of the earliest surgeries.

The first-ever blue-eyed Melanesian returned to New Guinea after only three months in hospital – too harsh for a long stint in bed. At his award ceremony, the local legend received a Distinguished Conduct Medal with 80,000 people. He remained a well-respected community leader until he died in 1982.

Posted in Advertiser, Guest Post, History | 3 Comments »

Chinese American Military Exhibition Debuts

May 1st, 2022

[San Francisco, CA, April 25, 2022] – To celebrate Chinese American military service from the Civil War to Afghanistan, the American Legion Cathay Post 384 and the Chinese Historical Society of America (CHSA), are sponsoring the national debut of the exhibition “Chinatown To Battleground”. The exhibition is designed and deployed by Montgomery Hom and Ron Chan, Co-Founders of the “Chinese American GI Project”. There will be over 200 personal military artifacts from Hom’s collection. Custom designed banners and multimedia elements will showcase how Chinese Americans fought in every theatre of war and proudly served in every branch of the armed forces.

The exhibition will debut in San Francisco at the Veterans Building, Veterans Gallery Room 102, at 401 Van Ness Avenue from May 4 – June 12, 2022.

Concurrently, the USS Hornet, Sea and Space Museum in Alameda, CA, features elements of the exhibition for AAPI month. This Chinese American Veterans exhibit joins programs from the Japanese and Filipino American Veterans community from May 1 – May 9, 2022.

This unique exhibition, will be deployed later in a nationwide roadshow as a source of pride for the Chinese American community and its veterans.

Commander Helen Wong, (LTC, USAR, Ret.) said, “the American Legion Cathay Post 384 is proud to be the first sponsor to initiate, fund and support this recognition for our Veterans. Our post has served Chinese American Veterans for over a century. This comprehensive exhibition is a long time coming to recognize that Chinese American history is American history!

Melanie Chan, President of Chinese American Citizens Alliance said, “As the organization who successfully advocated for the Congressional Gold Medal for the Chinese American veterans of WWII, we are proud to support this exhibition which highlights the accomplishments and contributions of the Chinese Americans who proudly answer the call to duty and served with distinction and honor in the U.S. Armed Services from the Civil War to Afghanistan.

Justin Hoover, CHSA’s Executive Director, notes, “The Chinese American GI Project since its inception has been affiliated with CHSA, representing our acknowledgement and support of Chinese American men and women who served bravely, often in the face of discrimination.”

The “Chinatown to Battleground” exhibition will then make its Silicon Valley/ South Bay debut during summer 2022. The exhibit is sponsored by the Chinese Historical Cultural Project (CHCP) / Chinese American Historical Museum (CAHM). CHCP’s film and oral history project, “War and Remembrance” will also be a part of the exhibition. David Yick, board president says “We want to recognize Chinese Americans as part of the fabric of America and highlight our military service accomplishments and patriotism. This exhibition integrates well with our film project and provides great synergies in building a better museum experience for our members and visitors. It is a great addition to CHCP’s recognition of Chinese American contributions to medicine, science, engineering and business.”

Exhibition Open Hours

Veterans Building

401 Van Ness Avenue, Ste 102

San Francisco, CA

May 4 – June 12, 2022

Galley is open Wednesdays through Sunday, 1PM – 6PM

(Monday and Tue Closed)

For Gallery Contact: Janice Tong, honorourvets.janice@gmail.com ,San Francisco Veterans Building Gallery Manager

For Latest Event Information: facebook.com/groups/chineseamericangiproject

USS Hornet, Sea and Space Museum

707 West Hornet Ave

Alameda, CA

May 1, 2, 6, 7, 8, 9

(Tue, Wed, Thursday Closed)

Monday 10AM – 5PM

For Additional Information: uss-hornet.org/ or Russell Moore at russell.moore@uss-hornet.org

About the Chinese American GI Project

The Chinese American G.I. Project was created in 2019 by Montgomery Hom and Ron Chan to promote this unique portion of America’s untold history. Their mission is to ensure that Chinese American military service is not forgotten, ignored or silent.

Website: chsa.org/wwii-chinese-american-gi/

Facebook: facebook.com/groups/chineseamericangiproject

Posted in Guest Post, History | Comments Off on Chinese American Military Exhibition Debuts

801st EMXS Prepares to Defend as Multi-Capable Airmen

May 1st, 2022

332D AIR EXPEDITIONARY WING —

The 801st Expeditionary Maintenance Squadron conducted airfield security operations during a Multi-Capable Airmen training event, led by the 332d Expeditionary Security Forces Squadron, at an undisclosed location in Southwest Asia, April 5, 2022.

Tech. Sgt. Timothy Betz, 332d ESFS flight sergeant, and his team developed a tailored training program to prepare 801st EMXS Airmen for airfield defense support. The training focused on small team perimeter security, personnel placement for aircraft defense, and basic defense postures.

“The training provides discrete, low-visibility security force protection techniques to non-security force Airmen to aide in the protection of assets transiting within the Air Forces Central Command theatre of operations,” said Betz. “Through this training, each maintainer enhanced their Multi-Capable Airman skills and widened their perspective on the importance of establishing security for an aircraft in any location.”

Senior Master Sgt. Phillip Shroyer, 801st EMXS senior enlisted leader, explained how this training is more than beneficial; it is essential.

“Our Airmen walked away from the training with a critical new mindset for the Air Force’s future fight,” Shroyer said.

The 801st EMXS conducts maintenance on HC-130J Combat King II aircraft and HH-60G Pave Hawk helicopters in support of Combat Search and Rescue Operations.

By MSgt Christopher Parr, 332d Air Expeditionary Wing Public Affairs

Posted in Air Force, Guest Post | 8 Comments »

Innovation, Technology and Gaming Collide May 24-29 at FORCECON 2022

April 30th, 2022

SAN ANTONIO —

Airmen and Guardians from across the U.S. Air Force and U.S. Space Force are invited to take part in FORCECON 2022: Innovation – Technology – Gaming, an interactive industry and academia collider event and gaming competition being held at the Tech Port Center and Arena here May 24-29, 2022.

Air Education and Training Command and the Air Force Installation and Mission Support Center personnel, in partnership with and hosted by the University of Texas-San Antonio’s SBDC Center for Government Contracting, will participate in a two day event with industry May 24-25 to share the service’s current force development, innovation and installation management gaps and challenges in a concerted effort to change design processes to improve effectiveness and efficiency. The collider event is part of a deliberate action to align efforts with Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Charles Q. Brown, Jr.’s Action Order – Airmen, focused on developing the force, and Action Order – Bureaucracy, which outlines the need to speed up decision-making processes with a goal of allowing more space for innovation.

“We must widen our network of collaborators to accelerate the ways we develop the force,” said Col. Thomas Wegner, AETC’s Director of Analysis and Innovation. “We know that, for the Air Force to outpace an adversary’s decision cycles, we have to increase the speed and efficiency with which we work with industry. The private sector is an integral partner to meet some of our most pressing talent development and operational priorities.”

During the AETC Innovation Day and the Force Development and Installation & Mission Support Industry Day, Airmen will have the chance to learn how to connect with industry and small business advisors, as well as learn from both the AFWERX and Defense Innovation Unit teams. Additionally, the winners of the AETC iChallenge will be announced May 24 and AETC’s Detachment 23 will host a special presentation outlining how they support and assist with force development initiatives across the Air Force enterprise.

FORCECON 2022 will also feature the Air Force Gaming team hosting the Armed Forces E-Sports championships May 28 (featuring Halo Infinite) and the Air Force Gaming Minor League Worlds Championship May 29.

The goal for AETC is to modernize force development with commercially available solutions, strengthen military, industry, and academia relations in order to accelerate change, foster successful teaming with Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR), and synchronize efforts across major commands and service innovation entities.

During the event, AFIMSC looks to collaborate on technologies in the following focus areas that support augmented reality/virtual reality/extended reality; artificial intelligence/machine learning; data transformation; operationalizing small unmanned aerial systems for installations; and robotic process automation.

The United States Air Force Gaming League is an inclusive organization of Air Force and Space Force for all ages, ranks, and backgrounds. USAFGL has established a unified hub for community and competition, to allow Airmen and Guardians to build resiliency through competitive leagues while promoting retention, teamwork, and mental well-being for service members around the world.

By Dan Hawkins, Air Education and Training Command Public Affairs

Posted in Air Force, Guest Post | Comments Off on Innovation, Technology and Gaming Collide May 24-29 at FORCECON 2022

Cold War Capabilities – Special Atomic Demolition Munitions

April 30th, 2022

Special Atomic Demolition Munitions, or SADM were a class of man portable nuclear weapons developed during the Cold War. They were intended to be hand emplaced and used to deny, block, and canalize the enemy. Deployed primarily in Western Europe, the thinking was that they could be used to cut off high speed avenues of approach for Warsaw Pact forces. The US Army created a Military Occupational Specialty, 12E (SADM Specialist) that’s sole function was to employ those devices along with an associated MOS 55G to maintain them. They were expected to hand emplace the XM129 and XM159 Atomic Demolition Charges with yields ranging from 10 to 1,000 tons of TNT. Although the devices could be left unattended after it was set via a timer, there was also a Field Wire Remote Control System (FWRCS) to send safe/arm and firing signals to the weapon via a wire for safe remote detonation of the weapon. But as you can imagine, thats an awful lot of wire.

12E which was an Engineer MOS was eliminated in 1986 and the Soldiers reclassified into new MOSs as the devices were removed from service. I attended DLI with quite a few of these NCOs.

Additionally, both Navy SEAL and Army Special Forces teams were trained in their emplacement in denied areas although particulars of these mission sets remain sensitive. For example, the SFOD-As were known as Green Light Teams with many of the members having the so-called “dual cool” qualification of MFF and SCUBA. Interestingly this declassified film featuring NSW personnel features Para-SCUBA operations.

Posted in Cold War, History, weapons | 7 Comments »

Soldiers Trained on Inflatable Satellite Antenna

April 30th, 2022

U.S. ARMY GARRISON HUMPHREYS, Republic of Korea — The Ready First Brigade will be prepared to order vital parts and supplies thanks to training received on the Combat Service Support Very Small Aperture Terminal, or CSS VSAT, an inflatable satellite antenna this past week.

Soldiers of 1st Armored Brigade Combat Team, 1st Armored Division, from Fort Bliss, Texas, were taught how to set up and operate the Army’s new inflatable satellite antenna, or ISA.

For Army logisticians who sustain their units with critical supplies, repair resources and parts, one of their most important tools is the CSS VSAT, a mobile satellite terminal found at every MSC within Eighth Army.

Eighth Army was the first unit to receive ISA systems. It is a lightweight, versatile satellite terminal, which Soldiers can set up and connect to a satellite to conduct logistics operations in the field. Soldiers can order anything from vehicle parts to medical supplies.

“In the [supply support activities], we support the requisition process of parts for customers, so in order for us to do that we have to put the order in the system of record, GCSS-Army, we depend on this internet connectivity that the ISA provides,” said Cpl. Faustina Fetalaiga, 501st Brigade Support Battalion, 1st ABCT, 1st AD. “This week we learned how to set up and operate the ISA and how to get the right azimuth to get the correct signal, so we are able to use the internet to order parts when we go to the field.”

For a week, the students from various 1st ABCT units from Camp Humphreys and Camp Casey took classroom lessons and later set up their ISA systems, which then connected to a satellite above Earth. The goal is to have each Ready First Brigade Soldier able to return to their units and set up and employ the ISA.

The class was taught by instructors from the 19th Expeditionary Sustainment Command Logistics Training Team.

The ISA system looks different than the legacy version; its dish sits inside a 1.2-meter inflatable ball. The ISA is more expeditionary than the legacy version because it only weighs approximately 150 pounds and packs into just two cases. It is designed so two Soldiers can set up the ISA in less than 30 minutes, compared to more than 45 minutes for the previous system, according to U.S. Army Communications-Electronics Command.

“The ISA is more compact, you can pack it up very quickly and bring it to another location if you need to move,” said Sgt. Tony Harrington, Sustainment Automation Support Management Office noncommissioned officer in-charge for 501st Brigade Support Battalion, 1st ABCT, 1st AD.

Harrington is an information technology specialist team leader who will help fix any issues Soldiers have with the ISA in the field.

“The legacy VSATs back in the states come in big boxes that you have to carry around to different places,” Harrington said. “We learned the setup and tear down process for the ISAs and my team and I have a lot of experience with the legacy VSATs so we’ll be able to troubleshoot any connectivity problems with the ISA if needed; it’s almost the same process.”

Harrington added the training is good for the Soldiers because it will help them set up the ISA properly and limit the amount of trouble calls his team gets so he’ll be available to help other Soldiers with troubleshooting issues.

Despite its appearance, the ISA will not pop like a balloon if punctured. The new system is also designed to withstand interference because wind tends to travel around its round shape as opposed to an exposed satellite dish. The ISA also can operate in additional spectrum bands, according to U.S. Army Communications-Electronics Command.

According to David Moody, 19th ESC, Logistics Management Specialist instructor, Eighth Army and U.S. Army Pacific are the only U.S. Army units to use the ISA right now. He and his team have been conducting continuous training on the ISA since it arrived and are fulfilling Eighth Army G4’s request to have rotational brigade Soldiers trained to set them up for success.

“I was asked back at Fort Bliss if I wanted to attend this class before we deployed,” said Fetalaiga. “This class has been great and I appreciate the civilian instructors. I’m glad I told them I wanted to attend.”

By Kenji Thuloweit

Photos by PVT Lee, Hee-won

Posted in Army, Comms, Guest Post | 1 Comment »

DroneShield Releases a Ground-breaking Firmware Release for its C-UAS Devices

April 29th, 2022

Virginia and Sydney (April 26, 2022) – DroneShield, an Australian/US global leader in Artificial Intelligence based platforms for protection against advanced threats such as drones and autonomous systems, has commenced a release of a ground-breaking software update across the global fleet of its C-UAS portable, vehicle/ship based and fixed site devices, deployed with military, intelligence community, Homeland Security, law enforcement, critical infrastructure and other users.

Enrolled devices receive quarterly firmware updates of the proprietary DroneShield RFAI Artificial Intelligence engine, with periodic quarters being major enhancements, such as this 2Q22 release.

Major upgrades include:

• Site Install Wizard – the new ‘Spectrum Viewer’ mode, in which C-UAS detection devices scan the deployment area for optimal sensor placement, and

• the “Machine Learning in the loop” option to enhance the RFAI engine from the data received by the user. These features were added in response to the end-user requirements.

DroneShield RfPatrol body-worn C-UAS device with enrolled firmware upgrades

Angus Bean, DroneShield Chief Technology Officer, commented, “DroneShield offers unparalleled C-UAS performance as the original pioneer in this sector. Ongoing R&D programs sustain the cutting-edge nature of our products, protecting and serving our user community. We are excited about the enhancements to the performance of our deployed fleet of devices, developed, field-tested, and rolled out in a highly expedient manner.”

The updates will be rolling out across DroneShield devices globally in the next week, with heightened urgency given the continuous widespread use of drones in Ukrainian and Middle Eastern conflicts. The technology upgrade is validated by deployments with the US Air Force and Australian Army.

Additional information about the system can be found at www.droneshield.com.

Posted in Press Release, UAS | Comments Off on DroneShield Releases a Ground-breaking Firmware Release for its C-UAS Devices