Prepare to heave... heave!

ST. THOMAS, Ontario - Recently, troops from three Ontario-based Reserve engineer regiments, 31, 32 and 33 Combat Engineer Regiments (CER), gathered at the armoury in the City of St. Thomas, not only to build steel bridges, but also ties of friendship and comradeship.

For the younger engineers, the presence of more than 100 troops was a great opportunity to tap a wealth of experience and it gave them the opportunity to experience the technically and physically demanding rigors of building a medium girder bridge (MGB) and an Acrow bridge.

Building started early on an unusually warm autumn morning once the engineers were divided into two main groups. One group was responsible for assembling the Acrow Bridge while the second group was tasked with building the MGB. The Acrow Bridge will rest in front of the armoury as a monument to the engineers, right next to the Sherman tank, a reminder of the Elgin Regiment’s armoured past.

For many of the engineers, this was their first hands-on exposure to assembling bridges. Private Miro Mostovac of 33 CER was very excited about the opportunity, as well as the opportunity to work with members of the other two brigades. “So far, it seems pretty good, everything seems to be working really nice,” he stated.

Sergeant Jayme Querry, 33 CER, is an old hand at building bridges.“The main concept is for the younger soldiers to get acquainted with the bridges,” he declared. “I’m hoping the troops will actually go home, essentially understand the bridge and how it gets put together.”

In the back of the armoury, another crew of engineers was busy assembling the MGB, which is a modern functional equivalent of the Bailey bridge of Second World War fame. The pallets of interconnecting pieces can be very intimidating to those who are not familiar with the MGB. No need to apply if you have a bad back as there does not seem to be anything small about this piece of equipment.

Bridge assembly is a daunting task. “When it’s done, it’s going to look like this bridge appeared from nowhere,” commented Sgt Anderson Thomas, 32 CER. He felt that the weekend was an excellent chance to get together and involve the newer troops into the business of building bridges. “It’s rewarding for them, it’s what engineers do, build bridges.”

Source: The Maple Leaf, Vol 10, #37

MRAP news

Two quick items have come up today.

According to the Army News Service soldiers from 1st Battalion, 30th Infantry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division, recently became the first in Task Force Marne to receive the Army's new mine-resistant, ambush-protected vehicles, known as MRAP.

The Associated Press says that the Marine Corps' requirement for MRAPs will drop from 3,700 to about 2,400, Stay tuned ...

Sources: ANS and the Kansas City Star

MRAPs, MRAPS everywhere

In defence tech and procurement circles 2007 will probably be remembered as the Year of the MRAP, mine-resistant, ambush-protected vehicle.

High casualties in Iraq related to IEDs and landmines and the 1151 (Humvee) demanded a response and industry was quick to answer. If you subscribed to our newsletter you've heard a lot about the many different variants and the enthusiasm of American lawmakers for the program - up to $24.5 billion by FY 09. MRAPs fall into two main categories.

Category 1 vehicles are often referred to a MRUVs (Mine Resistant Utility Vehicle). These are the lighter variant designed for urban operations. Typically they are 4x4s and can hold 6 soldiers. Category 1 examples include: Armor Holdings Caiman; BAE RG-31 Nyala; International MaxxPro; and the Force Protection Cougar.

Category 2 MRAPS are 6x6 platforms that hold 10 men. They have become popular as EOD team transport and include: the BAE RG-33 Nyala; Rafael Golan;and the Force Protection Cougar HE.


DoD photo by: LCPL CHARLES HOWARD

Talks of interest in NYC

In or around NYC? The following talks may be of interest to you. They are sponsored by the New York Military Affairs Society.

Nov. 30

Was the Nineteenth-Century Army Isolated from American Society?

Samuel Watson, United States Military Academy

Dec. 7

Japan Under the Bombs: The Air War from Target Level

Theodore F. Cook, Jr., William Paterson University of New Jersey

Dec. 14

Command in the Continental Army

Major Jason "Dutch" Palmer, USMA

Dec. 21

Al Qaeda's Doctrine for Waging an Insurgency

Norman Cigar, Marine Corps University

NYMAS talks are free and open to the public. They are held on Friday evenings at the City University of New York Graduate Center, at 365 Fifth Avenue between 34th and 35th Streets from 7:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. These Friday lectures are usually held on the 6th floor in Room 6-495, but confirmation of the room number should be obtained from the guard at the street-level entrance.

These talks are sponsored by the New York Military Affairs Symposium in conjunction with CUNY's Conference on History and Politics, Dr. George D. Schwab, Director. NYMAS is associated with the Society for Military History, Region 2.

Topics and speakers may be subject to change without notice. A current updated schedule is always available at this website.

Reported malfunction in PayPal Security Key

"When eBay rolled out the PayPal Security Key earlier this year, its executives hailed it as an important measure that would make users more secure. And it was. By generating a random, six-digit number every 30 seconds that users needed to authenticate themselves online, the small electronic token provided an additional layer of protection against phishers and other online criminals."

Source: The Register

Guard and Reserve structure come under review

The contributions of the Reserve and National Guard since 9/11 have been both substantial and critical to the support of American foreign policy. This has not come without several costs.

The Defense Science Board has come out with some clear warnings to the DoD and anyone else who'll listen. There are serious training and equipment issues. There are also worries about capability deficiencies in responding to domestic emergencies.

Source: Defense Science Board Report (52 pg pdf)
Photo: National Guard

U.S. Hopes to Use Pakistani Tribes Against Al Qaeda

Pakistan is a bundle of issues when it comes to a "war on terror". It is obviously a key strategic issue in regards to Afghanistan. Recently The New York Times got their hands on some counterinsurgency plans.

"... the broader strategic move toward more local support is being accelerated because of concern about instability in Pakistan and the weakness of the Pakistani government, as well as fears that extremists with havens in the tribal areas could escalate their attacks on allied troops in Afghanistan."

Check out the complete Times article here.

Offsets in Europe: A matter for debate

A defence contract offset is, most often, a contract stipulation that insists on local content. The idea is to inject some of that money back into the local economy. Here is an update on offsets in Europe.

"While the European Defence Agency (EDA) has recognised the benefits of some offset agreements, it has also said that "offset should ideally be phased out eventually and that it is "generally difficult to justify any type of offset on the basis of Article 296 [of the Treaty on European Union]".

Source and more details: Janes

Thinking ahead, the Apophis asteroid ...

"The future for Apophis on Friday, April 13 of 2029 includes an approach to Earth no closer than 29,470 km (18,300 miles, or 5.6 Earth radii from the center, or 4.6 Earth-radii from the surface) over the mid-Atlantic, appearing to the naked eye as a moderately bright point of light moving rapidly across the sky. Depending on its mechanical nature, it could experience shape or spin-state alteration due to tidal forces caused by Earth's gravity field."

Source: NASA

OMB consolidating agency Internet connectivity

" The Office of Management and Budget is calling on agencies to reconfigure their connection points to the Internet, in hopes of reducing the federal government's exposure to malicious hackers accessing agency networks.

OMB's newly announced Trusted Internet Connections requires agencies to develop a plan of action and a set of milestones by Jan. 8 on how they will reduce the number of connection points they maintain to the Internet."

Source: Jason Miller at GCN

MRAP parts order

General Dynamics Land Systems has received a $47.2 million order for spare parts from Force Protection Inc. for the U.S. Mine Resistant Ambush Protected (MRAP) vehicle program.

Force Protection and General Dynamics have a partnership to share in the production and program management of MRAP vehicle contacts. The latest delivery order purchases spare parts for Force Protection’s category I 4X4 and category II 6X6 Cougar vehicles. Work will be performed by existing General Dynamics’ employees in Sterling Heights, Michigan.

Source: From Press Release

How Technology Almost Lost the War: In Iraq, the Critical Networks Are Social — Not Electronic

Noah Shachtman has got to be one of the best writers out there covering technology and the military. In his most recent article for Wired magazine he takes a critical look at Network Centric Ops vs "boots on the ground". While an understanding of the "human terrain" has been slow in coming he points to this knowledge being critical to success in Iraq.

It makes me think of you know who ...

Qinetiq Shares Climb as Military Robots Boost Profit

Qinetiq has been in the news lots these days. Was the British taxpayer ripped off when it was created? Are Qinetiq execs just too highly compensated?

That's the press. The market has seen large increases in North American sales of their Foster-Miller Talon Robot. The result has helped push up share prices.

Source: Bloomberg

NAMSA Signs MOU with Israel

"On 21 November, in a ceremony held at NAMSA, the Agency signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) on Logistic Support Cooperation with Israel.

The MOU is of particular importance to many NATO nations currently operating equipment of Israeli origin as it facilitates access to Israeli industry for the acquisition of unique spares and services. Currently NAMSA has to go through a lengthy authorisation process to acquire these. It is expected that the MOU will permit to simplify and expedite this process, for the benefit of NATO members."

Source: NATO / NAMSA

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