Aquaterro

Forces Focus – Raven’s Challenge 2017

September 5th, 2017

The 2017 Ravens Challenge EOD exercises were funded by the Army and led by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, with support from the FBI, the Defense Department, the Transportation Security Administration and state and local public safety agencies throughout the country.

This year’s exercises took place at Camp Pendleton in August, Pinal Airpark in Marana, Arizona, in March; Muscatatuck Urban Training Center, North Vernon, Indiana, in April; Camp Dawson, Kingwood, West Virginia, in May; and Camp Shelby, Mississippi, in June.

A DoD News article by Shannon Collins describes the event:

Throughout the week, the combined teams went through training scenarios, or lanes. One such scenario was a hostage situation, where a hostage in a stairwell had a bomb strapped to his body while other hostages were upstairs and there was a body booby-trapped on the ground floor. Teams also dealt with locating hidden devices, an aircraft with a device in the cabin or baggage area, improvised mortars located on rooftops and in vehicles, a cabin with booby traps and a suspicious package in a hospital.

Training was under realistic conditions, and included a no-light and low-light environment, where technicians had to use night-vision goggles while entering a village and disarming devices through the goggles or with the naked eye.

“The no-light, low-light was my favorite. because it’s the most challenging thing an EOD tech can do — walk through something you can barely see,” said Army Spc. Seth Hamilton, an EOD technician from Fort Bliss, Texas. “You’re hot, you’re tired, they’ve booby-trapped an entire warehouse; so you’re going through in the middle of the dark, just trying to get through without dying. It had the best training value.”

Lanes were also focused on responding to the developing tactics of terrorists, such as the use of booby-trapped unmanned aerial systems.

“The UAS seems to be the emerging threat, … because of the widespread availability of unmanned systems. It’s exciting for us to say, ‘Hey, this is a new emerging threat.’ We’re going to be the people figuring out how to address it and come up with the [tactics, techniques and procedures] to become more proactive,” said Marine Corps Gunnery Sgt. Brian Murphy, an EOD technician here.

Intelligence analyst B. Joshua Bauer discusses terrorists’ use of commercially available unmanned aircraft with U.S. and Belgian explosive ordnance disposal teams during the Raven’s Challenge exercise at Camp Pendleton, Calif., Aug. 1, 2017. DoD photo by EJ Hersom
Intelligence analyst B. Joshua Bauer discusses terrorists’ use of commercially available unmanned aircraft with U.S. and Belgian explosive ordnance disposal teams during the Raven’s Challenge exercise at Camp Pendleton, Calif., Aug. 1, 2017. DoD photo by EJ Hersom
“The new [unmanned aerial vehicle] threat, we’re the first people in our company to get that knowledge and run that lane, and we can’t do that at our home station,” said Army Staff Sgt. Sean Mattes, an EOD bomb technician from Fort Bliss. “So now we can go back and help educate those guys and tell them what we’ve learned but until they come to something like this, they’ll never get that training. You really broaden your skills with the site layout and coordination. You’ve got to get every tool out and use it, and that’s what I like doing.”

“The teams who went up against the UAVs for the first time had no procedures to use,” said Col. David Schmitt, chief of the Army’s adaptive counter-IED/EOD solutions division. “There was no logic tree to follow to get to the right solution, so they were working that out inside their heads, but if we do it right, then the issues will be captured in the after-action report, the review will go back into the process, so next year, they will have a logic train for this scenario.”

Schmitt said Raven’s Challenge is one of the largest DoD EOD counter-IED interoperability training exercises in the world. “Continuing to do this kind of training provides incredible benefits for the individual participants, but also for the services and the bigger institutions that sends the participants, because it feeds into the after-action reviews,” he said. “These feed into the institutional processes that drive what equipment we buy, what training we do in our institutions. It drives a lot of change in the Army, and, I would imagine, elsewhere.”

You Never Know Where They’ll Show Up

September 5th, 2017

My friend LH took this over the weekend at the Polish Memorial to the Unknown Soldier in central Warsaw.

Task Force Dagger Foundation And East Carolina University Team Up To Explore Underwater WWII Sites

September 4th, 2017

Task Force Dagger Foundation partners with East Carolina University’s Maritime Studies Program to explore and research WWII sites in the western Pacific.

Dallas, Texas (PRWEB) August 01, 2017

Task Force Dagger, a nonprofit organization that supports all U.S. Special Operations Command service members and their families, is joining forces with the East Carolina University Department of History’s maritime studies program to explore and research WWII underwater archaeological sites in the western Pacific.

Dr. Jennifer McKinnon investigates a Kawanishi H8K Japanese seaplane. (Photo by Jon Carpenter)

Dr. Jennifer McKinnon investigates a Kawanishi H8K Japanese seaplane. (Photo by Jon Carpenter)

Task Force Dagger, a nonprofit organization that supports all U.S. Special Operations Command service members and their families, is joining forces with the East Carolina University Department of History’s maritime studies program to explore and research WWII underwater archaeological sites in the western Pacific.

The maritime studies program has several faculty and staff that work on military-related and WWII archaeological sites all over the world.

Associate professor Dr. Jennifer McKinnon has been working on military sites in the Pacific for nearly 10 years. In partnership with Ships of Exploration and Discovery and the local community of Saipan, McKinnon developed the WWII Maritime Heritage Trail: Battle of Saipan in 2009. The heritage trail consists of nine underwater U.S. and Japanese sites in Saipan’s crystal-clear, tropical lagoons. The sites include amphibious vehicles such as landing vehicles and tanks, aircraft, and shipwrecks, all lost in the 1944 Battle of Saipan.

McKinnon said that the partnership with Task Force Dagger is a boon for continuing to research these sites. “Active military and veterans have an incredible firsthand knowledge of warfare, tactics and military material,” she said. “Their knowledge and experience has the potential to contribute so much to the research we are conducting in the Pacific. It really is a reciprocal relationship.”

Charles “Keith” David, managing director of Task Force Dagger and retired U.S. Army Special Forces, said the organization is looking forward to solidifying the collaboration through a memorandum of agreement and seeking grant funding for the project.

The Task Force Dagger Foundation will join McKinnon and the maritime studies program next summer in a special recreational therapy adaptive event that trains special operations command service members in scuba diving and underwater archaeology. The team will then travel to Saipan to continue locating and recording WWII underwater archaeological sites.

TFD is looking forward to the relationship with ECU and building a program through which veterans and active service members can train in archaeological methods and assist in future efforts to recover lost service members whose remains are still lost at sea

For more information about Task Force Dagger visit www.taskforcedagger.org. For more information about the WWII Maritime Heritage Trail visit www.pacificmaritimeheritagetrail.com.

Contact: Dr. Jennifer McKinnon, mckinnonje(at)ecu.edu, 252-328-6788

BE Meyers to Attend MSPO Expo In Kielce, Poland

September 4th, 2017

B.E. Meyers & Co. Inc. will be attending the 2017 MSPO EXPOSITION in Kielce Poland at the Targi Kielce Exhibition and Congress Centre on September 04 – 07.

Visit us and CENREX at MSPO booth ZC-9 to learn more about the IZLID, GLARE, and MAWL series of lasers, as well as some new and exciting products that are scheduled for release soon.

To connect with the B.E. Meyers & Co. team to schedule a meeting, please contact us at: sales@bemeyers.com.

The International Defense Industry Exhibition (MSPO) is one of the largest military equipment showcase events in Eastern and Central Europe. It features appearances from over 400 exhibitors spanning a wide range of defense sectors, and is attended by representatives from across the globe. Since 1993, the MSPO has promoted innovation in the defense industry, and is a hub for featuring new technology and applications.

US Navy Announces NWU Type III Wear Rules and Distribution Plan

September 4th, 2017

Late last week, US Navy personnel received a welcome Labor Day gift with the publication of NAVADMIN 214/17, which updates the wear rules as well as the Fleet distribution plan for the Navy Working Uniform (NWU) Type III. The NAVADMIN also offers a list of approved boots Sailors can wear with the uniform.

VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. (Aug. 25, 2017) Lt. Cmdr. Jason Shell, left, executive officer of Explosive Ordnance Disposal Mobile Unit (EODMU) 2, discusses operational procedures with Lt. j.g. Mike Peribonio as part of the Navywide operational pause at EODMU 2 headquarters on Joint Expeditionary Base Little Creek. EODMU 2 provides credible, combat-ready EOD forces capable of deploying anywhere, anytime in support of national interests. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Charles Oki/Released) VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. (Aug. 25, 2017) Lt. Cmdr. Jason Shell, left, executive officer of Explosive Ordnance Disposal Mobile Unit (EODMU) 2, discusses operational procedures with Lt. j.g. Mike Peribonio as part of the Navywide operational pause at EODMU 2 headquarters on Joint Expeditionary Base Little Creek. EODMU 2 provides credible, combat-ready EOD forces capable of deploying anywhere, anytime in support of national interests. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Charles Oki/Released)

As you’ll recall, the Navy announced plans to transition from the NWU Type I, commonly known as Blueberries due to its distinct blue camouflage pattern said to be designed to hide stains common to shipboard life. Instead, the Navy is adopting the Type III which utilizes a Woodland camouflage pattern originally developed for use by USSOCOM and adopted by Naval Special Warfare as the AOR 2 pattern. The Navy also has an NWU Type II for desert use (below, left), which features the AOR 1 pattern. The NWU Type II is only used for deployments to the CENTCOM Area of Operations.

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The 24-month Fleet fielding plan for the NWU Type III begins Oct. 1, 2017, and ends Sept. 30, 2019. However, the uniform is now available for purchase in Navy Exchange Uniform Centers at Newport, Rhode Island; Pearl Harbor, Hawaii; and at Navy installations in Europe, Africa and Southwest Asia.

Below is the Fleet distribution schedule for the NWU Type III:
* October 2017 – New accessions and Sailors assigned to commands at Recruit Training Command, Navy Officer Training Command and Navy Region Southwest
* January 2018 – Navy Region Southeast
* July 2018 – Navy Region Mid-Atlantic and Naval District Washington Region
* January 2019 – Navy Region Japan and Guam
* March 2019 – Navy Region Northwest
* June 2019 – NEXCOM uniform website and call center
* July 2019 – Other service exchange stores (i.e., Army and Air Force Exchange Service stores)

Naturally, manufacturing production rates could accelerate or delay uniform availability and would mean some adjustment to the implementation schedule. As it is, the Navy plans a relatively short transition period when both the NWU Type I and III will be authorized, with the Type III becoming the primary shore working uniform Oct. 1, 2019.

GULFPORT, Miss. (Aug. 13, 2013) Students fire M-4 carbines during a live-fire training exercise at the Center for Security Forces Learning Site. The course is designed to provide personnel with basic expeditionary combat skills training necessary to professionally and safely perform high-risk security operations when assigned to Navy Expeditionary Combat Commands. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Paul Coover/Released) GULFPORT, Miss. (Aug. 13, 2013) Students fire M-4 carbines during a live-fire training exercise at the Center for Security Forces Learning Site. The course is designed to provide personnel with basic expeditionary combat skills training necessary to professionally and safely perform high-risk security operations when assigned to Navy Expeditionary Combat Commands. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Paul Coover/Released)

An interesting stipulation during the transition period is that Sailors can wear either the NWU Type I or NWU Type III until September 30, 2019, at the discretion of the unit commander or commanding officer (CO). The problem with this idea is that new Sailors won’t have the Blueberries after October of this year. It’s going to be difficult to tell Sailors to wear a uniform they weren’t issued and may not be able to purchase from the NEX due to limited availability of sizes.

Like the NWU Type I, the Type III is intended for wear ashore, in port and in environments that do not require special clothing (e.g., at sea, forward deployed during combat operations, areas requiring flame resistant uniforms) and when authorized as the uniform of the day. The NWU Type III may also be worn at sea for special events at the discretion of the CO.

While the NWU Type III will be issued to new recruits in Boot Camp, Enlisted Sailors already in the fleet will be required to purchase their own with their annual clothing replacement allowance which will increase beginning Oct. 1, 2017, and continue to expand in fiscal years 2018 and 2019. By law, commissioned officers are entitled to a one-time uniform stipend ($400) paid at the beginning of their careers. They’ll be buying their own as well.

The Navy also offers a Coyote fleece jacket as well as Type III pattern APECS Parka and Trousers for wear in inclement weather. However, according to the NAVADMIN, the older Black fleece jacket will remain the standard for this evening in the fleet.

NORFOLK (July 25, 2017) Electronics Technician 1st Class Gary Holton inspects an M2HB machine gun before Coastal Riverine Squadron 4 goes on an evening training patrol. CRS-4 is currently conducting a training cycle in preparation for a future deployment. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class Patrick Enright/Released) NORFOLK (July 25, 2017) Electronics Technician 1st Class Gary Holton inspects an M2HB machine gun before Coastal Riverine Squadron 4 goes on an evening training patrol. CRS-4 is currently conducting a training cycle in preparation for a future deployment. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class Patrick Enright/Released)

Additionally, Commands currently wearing the NWU Type III are authorized to issue a Coyote Command Ballcap which can be worn in lieu of the eight-point cover.

Finally, the Navy announced that 350 Sailors assigned to afloat units and shore installations are taking part in a three-month boot wear test to identify a replacement for the current NWU boot that is issued to Sailors. The completion of the boot study is expected by the end of this year. Be sure to review the NAVADMIN for a full list of alternative boots, authorized for wear with the NWU Type III.

US Army Paratroopers Testing Airborne Tactical Assault Panel 

September 4th, 2017
The Airborne Tactical Assault Panel (ABN-TAP) rigging configurations. (Photo Credit: Photo courtesy of PEO Soldier)

The Airborne Tactical Assault Panel (ABN-TAP) rigging configurations. (Photo Credit: Photo courtesy of PEO Soldier)

Fort Bragg, North Carolina — For the first time since their inception, Army Airborne forces will soon be fielding a new fighting load system tailored to the paratrooper’s unique requirements.

“The Airborne Tactical Assault Panel (ABN-TAP) was developed with the paratrooper in mind and will allow the paratrooper a greater degree of comfort, mobility and safety during static line airborne infiltration operations,” said Rich Landry of the U.S. Army Soldier Systems Center laboratories in Natick, Massachusetts.

Rich Landry of the U.S. Army Soldier Systems Center laboratories in Natick, Massachusetts, demonstrates key design features included in the Airborne Tactical Assault Panel (ABN-TAP) based on Soldier input. (Photo Credit: Photo courtesy of Natick Research laboratories)

Rich Landry of the U.S. Army Soldier Systems Center laboratories in Natick, Massachusetts, demonstrates key design features included in the Airborne Tactical Assault Panel (ABN-TAP) based on Soldier input. (Photo Credit: Photo courtesy of Natick Research laboratories)

Typical Airborne troops say the legacy load carrier systems have some drawbacks.

Previous designs must be worn under the T-11 parachute harness, which is less than optimal because it does not allow for a proper fit of the main parachute harness, and moves the T-11 reserve activation handle further away from the paratrooper’s grasp.

ABN-TAP enables Soldiers to rig the fighting load under the parachute harness but below the reserve parachute.

Soldiers from the 57th Sapper Company, 27th Engineer Battalion, 20th Engineer Brigade, assemble the Airborne Tactical Assault Panel (ABN-TAP) during New Equipment Training at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, before putting it through operational testing. (Photo Credit: Jim Finney, Combined Technical Services, Airborne and Special Operations Test Directorate, U.S. Army Operational Test Command)

Soldiers from the 57th Sapper Company, 27th Engineer Battalion, 20th Engineer Brigade, assemble the Airborne Tactical Assault Panel (ABN-TAP) during New Equipment Training at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, before putting it through operational testing. (Photo Credit: Jim Finney, Combined Technical Services, Airborne and Special Operations Test Directorate, U.S. Army Operational Test Command)

“This will allow paratroopers to properly adjust the T-11 parachute harness to their specific sizing requirements and keep the T-11 reserve parachute handle well within reach,” said Sgt. 1st Class Ian Seymour, Test NCO from the Airborne and Special Operations Test Directorate (ABNSOTD) here.

The ABN-TAP design actually draws its lineage from the older Load Bearing System (LBE) used with the T-10 and MC1-1 parachute systems by paratroopers for decades.

Soon after the Global War on Terror began, all branches of the armed services rushed to modernize field equipment to meet the rigors of modern combat and allow for the constant presence of body armor, according to Mike Tracy, deputy test division chief at ABNSOTD.

“With the vest/plate carrier systems seeing overwhelming Soldier acceptance, the task of providing the paratrooper with a modern design compatible with current parachute systems is challenging to say the least,” Tracy said.

Paratroopers assigned to the 57th Sapper Company, 27th Engineer Battalion, 20th Engineer Brigade, Fort Bragg, N.C., practice "buddy rigging" the Airborne Tactical Assault Panel (ABN-TAP) at the 82nd Airborne Division Advanced Airborne School during New Equipment Training. (Photo Credit: Michael Zigmond, Audio Visual Production Specialist, Airborne and Special Operations Test Directorate, U.S. Army Operational Test Command)

Paratroopers assigned to the 57th Sapper Company, 27th Engineer Battalion, 20th Engineer Brigade, Fort Bragg, N.C., practice “buddy rigging” the Airborne Tactical Assault Panel (ABN-TAP) at the 82nd Airborne Division Advanced Airborne School during New Equipment Training. (Photo Credit: Michael Zigmond, Audio Visual Production Specialist, Airborne and Special Operations Test Directorate, U.S. Army Operational Test Command)

The ABN-TAP bridges this gap by providing both new and old capabilities to the paratrooper.

Tracy explained that ABN-TAP allows not only for rigging under the parachute harness and reserve, but can be rapidly adjusted to serve as a “chest rig” design upon landing.

“Ground troops consider this to be the most efficient design under current operational conditions,” said Tracy.

“Operational testing using Airborne paratroopers, collects data which truly allows the Army to evaluate the suitability and safety of the ABN-TAP when worn during static line Airborne operations and follow-on missions,” Tracy said.

Before testing Soldiers participated in New Equipment Training (NET), which included familiarization with the system, fitting and proper rigging of the ABN-TAP with the T-11 parachute system.

Following NET, Soldiers conducted live parachute jumps from a C-17 high performance aircraft at 1,250 feet above ground level over Sicily Drop Zone here.

More senior Soldiers participating in testing were optimistic about the proposed rigging procedures.

“Having jumped the LBE system earlier in their careers, this proven rigging method signals a simple approach to a complex problem,” said Leon Price, senior ABNSOTD test officer.

“I think I benefitted personally by being a part of this,” said Spec. Aaron Adams, a Combat Engineer with the 57th Sapper Company, 27th Engineer Battalion, 20th Engineer Brigade. “I enjoyed participating in the testing because it allowed me to provide direct input into the test and I will get to see it once it is fielded to the Airborne force.”

“Any time Soldiers and their leaders get involved in operational testing, they have the opportunity to use, work with, and offer up their own suggestions on pieces of equipment that can impact development of systems that future Soldiers will use in combat,” said Col. Brad Mock, the director of all the Army’s Airborne testing.

Upon completion of testing, the ABN-TAP could potentially be issued to Army Airborne forces worldwide, signaling the first steps in modernizing the combat loads of thousands of paratroopers.

~~

The U.S. Army Operational Test Command is based at West Fort Hood, Texas, and its mission is about making sure that systems developed are effective in a Soldier’s hands and suitable for the environments in which Soldiers train and fight. Test units and their Soldiers provide feedback, by offering input to improve upon existing and future systems with which Soldiers will ultimately use to train and fight.

The Fort Bragg, North Carolina-based ABNSOTD plans, executes, and reports on operational tests and field experiments of Airborne and Special Operations Forces equipment, procedures, aerial delivery and air transportation systems in order to provide key operational data for the continued development and fielding of doctrine, systems or equipment to the Warfighter.

Fire Control Unit – X01 for the SIG P320

September 4th, 2017

The EXO ONE (X01) is pretty slick. It takes advantage of the SIG P320 Fire Control Unit (FCU) as a plug-and-play component. This multi-caliber exoskeleton accepts the FCU, barrel, slide assembly, and magazine release and can be configured in 9x19mm Parabellum, .357 SIG, and .40 S&W by transplanting the corresponding P320 components (.45 ACP is in development, as the changes in magazine well dimensions require a specialized lower receiver).

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It features a non-reciprocating charging handle locks the action open (the slide to the rear) with an upward motion when fully retracted. The action can then be released with a downward motion (akin to HK-style weapon systems). In addition, if the charging handle is in the forward position, the slide can be released via the FCU slide release during reload procedures. The X01 features three M-Lok slots near the muzzle for accessory and grip attachments. The upper receiver features a 19-slot milspec M1913 picatinny rail.

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Like the SIG MCX and MPX, the rear of the lower receiver features a vertical M1913 Picatinny rail to accept SIG MPX/MCX buttstocks and arm braces.

firecontrolunit.com

MAPA Camo Clothing Equipment To Be Displayed At MSPO

September 4th, 2017

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These are components of the “DROMADER” equipment system designed for Polish Territorial Army (Wojska Obrony Terytorialnej) that will be presented during MSPO trade show, this week in Kielce.

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MAPA camo has also been applied to ballistic plates and holsters.

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PGZ is Polska Grupa Zbrojeniowa, the largest Polish defence company, which is state owned and sponsors this project with the Territorials.

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