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It might have been easy to miss this detail in the report of the Hamas attack on an Israeli school bus on 7 April, in which a 13-year-old boy and the bus driver were injured (the boy severely). Hamas used a state-of-the-art Russian-design antitank missile, the 9M133 Kornet (NATO designation AT-14 SPRIGGAN), to attack the bus. Israeli officials confirmed that the hit on the school bus was achieved using laser guidance, and that the missile was launched from two miles away. The account of the attack indicates that the bus was stopped (and had just offloaded most of its 50...

CAMP TAJI – A 1st Air Cavalry Brigade-instructed Iraqi Strike Force culminated weeks of training with a joint demonstration of capabilities here, March 29. The 1st ACB spent several weeks training the Iraqis on how to plan and execute air assault missions and the importance of air to ground integration.Attending the demonstration, conducted by Soldiers of 3rd Battalion, 227th Aviation Regiment, 1st ACB, U.S. Division - Center, was Lt. Gen. Ali Hammadi Tahir, the Karkh Area commander for western Baghdad, and Brig. Gen. Kevin Mangum, deputy commanding general of USD - C, who were able to see the already-strong abilities...

8/24/2009 - NEW AL MUTHANA AIR BASE, Iraq (AFNS) -- Intelligence collection has become a valuable capability for the Iraqi air force in its push to provide security and stability. Unique to the Iraqi air force, the King Air Squadron 87 here boasts the intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance capabilities necessary for detecting and deterring insurgent activity. For one advisor assigned to the Iraq Training and Advisory Mission - Air Force, part of the Multi-National Security Transition Command - Iraq, this year-long deployment has presented the challenges of language and cultural barriers, as well as overcoming learning curves using certain technology....

NEWPORT, R.I., April 17, 2009 – Though the proposed fiscal 2010 defense budget reflects some shifts in emphasis, it is important for the United States to maintain its capabilities for conventional warfare dominance, Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates told members of the Naval War College here today. But America also must be ready to face enemies across a wide spectrum of conflict, the secretary said. Gates spoke at the Marine Corps War College on April 13, the Air War College on April 15 and the Army War College yesterday to present his rationale for budget-related decisions. In all three venues,...

AL HAMIEA, Iraq —The Iraqi Army’s 3rd Light Infantry Battalion, 33rd Brigade, 8th Division, began setting up operations on a new site here Dec. 17. The $17 million facility is one of four ongoing Government of Iraq-funded projects to establish permanent operational Iraqi Security Force bases across southern Iraq. The Director General of Infrastructure, Iraqi Ministry of Defense, assigned engineers to each project to assist in the management of the projects. These engineers report to the Director of Military Works and provide feedback to both the Multi-National Security Transition Command – Iraq’s J7 (Engineer) and site management on construction-related issues....

FORT DRUM, N.Y., Nov. 24, 2008 – Having non-lethal capabilities is a valuable asset to soldiers in combat, because even the most hostile situation can be resolved without lethal measures, Army Staff Sgt. Eric Johnson said during non-lethal capabilities training and equipment fielding here last week. Soldiers of the10th Mountain Division feel the effects of a Taser during non-lethal weapons training Nov. 19, 2008, at Fort Drum, N.Y. DoD photo by Army Staff Sgt. Michael J. Carden  (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. “We definitely could’ve used this equipment and training on my previous deployments,” said Johnson, an infantryman...

FORT DRUM, N.Y., Nov. 24, 2008 – U.S. soldiers are trained to use non-lethal force as much as possible. But until recently, not every soldier had “the right mix” of tools and capabilities to meet those goals, an officer said during exercises here last week. Tom Martins, non-lethal munitions specialist, teaches 10th Mountain Division soldiers uses and techniques of a spike-strip net during non-lethal capabilities training Nov. 20, 2008, at Fort Drum, N.Y. DoD photo by Army Staff Sgt. Michael J. Carden  (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. “The more capabilities we give the soldiers to operate in the...

WASHINGTON, July 25, 2008 – An Iraqi organization tasked with consolidating and coordinating that country’s counterterrorism effort is now capable of conducting unilateral missions, a U.S. military official said yesterday. “[The Iraqi National Counterterrorism Force’s] primary mission is to synchronize and focus all elements of Iraqi national power to defeat terrorism here in Iraq,” U.S. Army Brig. Gen. Simeon Trombitas, director of the Iraqi National Counterterrorism Force Transition Team, told online journalist and bloggers. The Iraqi unit was formed in 2003 and has since been trained by U.S. Special Forces soldiers, Trombitas said. While U.S. forces still train with the...

BAGHDAD, July 9, 2008 – U.S. forces transferred ownership of 11 aircraft to the Iraqi air force today during a ceremony at New Al Muthana Air Base here. Army Lt. Gen. Frank Helmick (left), commander of Multinational Security Transition Command Iraq, and Iraqi Defense Minister Abd al-Qadir al-Mufriji sign documents transferring ownership of 11 Cessnas from U.S. forces to the Iraqi air force during a ceremony July 9, 2008, at New Al Muthana Air Base in Baghdad. Defense Dept. photo by Army Staff Sgt. Michael J. Carden  (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. Army Lt. Gen. Frank Helmick, commander...

Great Apes Think Ahead: Conclusive Evidence Of Advanced Planning CapacitiesIn a series of four experiments, Mathias and Helena Osvath investigated whether chimpanzees and orangutans could override immediate drives in favor of future needs, and therefore demonstrate both self-control and the ability to plan ahead, rather than simply fulfill immediate needs through impulsive behavior. (Credit: iStockphoto/Michael Steden) ScienceDaily (Jun. 19, 2008) — Apes can plan for their future needs just as we humans can – by using self-control and imagining future events. Mathias and Helena Osvath’s research, from Lunds University Cognitive Science in Sweden, is the first to provide conclusive evidence...

WASHINGTON, March 6, 2008 – Various enabling capabilities for Iraq’s security forces must mature before the country is capable of handling internal and external threats without help, a senior military official said yesterday. The Iraqi government does not expect to be prepared to counter internal threats without coalition assistance before 2012, U.S. Air Force Col. Dean Clemons, military advisor to Iraqi Defense Minister Adul Kader, said in a teleconference with online journalists and “bloggers.” Clemons noted that in Capitol Hill testimony in January, Kader also said he believes Iraq won’t be ready to independently defend against external threats until sometime...

WASHINGTON, Nov. 16, 2007 – As Iraqi security forces become increasingly capable in the counterinsurgency fight, their leaders are looking to the future, too, and striving to build long-term institutional capabilities, a U.S. military officer supporting that effort told online journalists today. Navy Capt. David Pine, chief of staff for the Joint Headquarters Transition Team, said Iraq’s defense and military leaders recognize the importance of developing institutional capacity so their forces can sustain themselves in accordance with their national military strategy. The Joint Headquarters Transition Team, part of Multinational Security Transition Command Iraq, is providing advice, support and mentorship to...

Polish Capt. Sylvester Kanadys discusses logistical matters with U.S. Army Chief Warrant Officer William Studivant, and ensures exact number of enhanced vehicle security attachment are being picked up from Logistic Support Area Adder, Iraq. Photo by Sgt. 1st Class Felix Figueroa. LOGISTIC SUPPORT AREA ADDER — Polish soldiers and 82nd Sustainment Brigade troops stationed in Camp Echo, flew down to Logistic Support Area Adder recently in a former Soviet Mi-8 (HIP) helicopter to pick up tactical enhancement devices for Polish ground vehicles. According to Maj. Richard A. Hall, 82nd Sustainment Brigade liaison officer, the Rhino I system is going to...

WASHINGTON, Sept. 30, 2007 – The Iraqi security forces are standing up and coalition forces are redeploying, but security challenges remain, U.S. officials in Baghdad said today. Some 2,200 Marines and sailors have left Iraq as part of the regular rotation, and Iraqi soldiers have replaced them. Marine Brig. Gen. Charles M. Gurganus, ground element commander in Iraq’s Anbar province, and coalition spokesman Navy Rear Adm. Mark I. Fox spoke at a Baghdad news conference. The 2,200-member 13th Marine Amphibious Unit has left the country. The unit was part of the surge forces and held the area north of Fallujah...

WASHINGTON, Aug. 29, 2007 – Iraqi forces are stepping forward to shoulder the security burden in the country, a Multinational Force Iraq spokesman said today. Army Brig. Gen. Kevin Bergner made the assertion in a conference call with military analysts. In Karbala yesterday, hundreds of thousands of Shiia pilgrims celebrating the birth of Muhammad al-Mahdi, a ninth-century imam revered by the sect, were placed in danger from two militias vying for power. The Mahdi Army and the Badr Organization faced off, disrupting the celebrations. “Iraqi security forces responded rapidly to maintain control of the city,” Bergner said. Iraqi security forces...

WASHINGTON, Jan. 19, 2007 – An increase in the active-duty military and changes to the policies for reserve forces announced this month by Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates are aimed to increase the military’s overall capabilities, a senior defense official said here today. “This build is about the whole range of capabilities that makes American military forces effective,” David S. C. Chu, undersecretary of defense for personnel and readiness, said at a Pentagon news conference. “Particularly, it is designed to relieve the pressure on units that are described as ‘high-demand, low-density,’ meaning in plain English, there aren’t enough.” Gates...

Military and political experts on both sides of the Atlantic assert that the widening military capabilities gap between the United States and Europe creates a more challenging environment for transatlantic cooperation. From the American perspective, arguments tend to suggest that the growing gap limits interoperability, dictates contradictory strategies between the United States and Europe, generates domestic burden-sharing accusations, and ultimately obliges the United States to pursue a more unilateralist foreign and security policy. On the other hand, from the European perspective, the capabilities gap may indeed seem to be somewhat irrelevant given today's perceived low-threat security environment. Furthermore, to many...

CENTRAL COMMAND THEATER OF OPERATION (July 11, 2006) -- Marines serving with Battalion Landing Team 1st Battalion, 8th Marine Regiment, 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit (Special Operations Capable), trained with the X-63 “Dragon-Eye� unmanned aerial vehicle June 11, as part of a training exercise in the Central Command theater of operation. The bungee-cord-launched “Dragon-Eye� provides organic aerial reconnaissance and surveillance at the small-unit level, giving Marine units the opportunity to observe real-time enemy movements beyond their traditional capacity. Whisper-quiet and weighing less than five pounds, the “Dragon-Eye� is able to navigate pre-assigned waypoints via a global positioning system while transmitting data...

MARINE CORPS AIR GROUND COMBAT CENTER TWENTYNINE PALMS, Calif. (June 2, 2006) -- Marines fighting the ongoing war on terrorism face enemies that are adaptive, decentralized and elusive. According to Headquarters Marine Corps, the enemy will continue to develop new tactics designed to exploit perceived seams in Marine Corps capabilities, having recognized the overwhelming conventional superiority of U.S. forces. In order to maintain dominance on the battlefield, it is essential to the Corps that the methods of war-fighting change continuously, and Marines continue to adapt to new methods while remaining a flexible, combined-arms force. The Marine Corps Warfighting Laboratory in...

CENTRAL PERSIAN GULF, April 28, 2006 – Civilian opinion leaders who visited the USS Ronald Reagan today got a taste of what it's like to be the biggest, toughest guy on the block - one whose presence brings comfort to his friends but fear in his enemies. Participants in the Joint Civilian Orientation Conference watch stand on the USS Ronald Reagan's flight deck and watch F-18 Hornets take off for missions supporting ground troops in Iraq. Photo by Donna Miles  (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. The business, civic, organizational and academic leaders, all participants in the Joint Civilian...

The bomb’s small size increases the number of weapons an aircraft can carry, therefore raising the amount of targets it can kill in one sortie. By Staff Sgt. Ryan Hansen / Air Armament Center Public Affairs EGLIN AIR FORCE BASE, Fla., March 24, 2006 – There's an old saying that goes, "good things come in small packages." That saying rings true for the warfighter when looking at the capabilities of the small diameter bomb, the Air Force's newest precision guided munition.At just 5.9 feet long and 285 pounds, the bomb’s small size increases the number of weapons an aircraft...

WASHINGTON, March 21, 2006 – The commander of the Army unit that played a key role in routing terrorists from Tal Afar, Iraq, last fall agreed today with President Bush's assertion that headway in the city represents a concrete example of progress taking place in Iraq. Army Col. H.R. McMaster, commander of the 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment and senior U.S. officer during "Operation Restoring Rights," said during television news interviews today the effort helped win over Iraqis who might have doubted the coalition's intentions. It also demonstrated that Iraqi security forces are gaining in capabilities and proving themselves as partners...

WASHINGTON, March 15, 2006 – The first Quadrennial Defense Review undertaken during a time of war provides the military more options and more capabilities, a senior defense official said here today. A large portion of those options and capabilities come in the form of special operations forces, Ryan Henry, principal deputy undersecretary of defense for policy, told the audience assembled for the 17th Annual National Defense Industrial Association Special Operations/Low-intensity Conflict Symposium and Exhibition. "QDR, I think, represents not something new in a shift toward the emphasis of special operations, but a continued realization of how that has to be...

WASHINGTON, March 9, 2006 – The conventional "Trident" missile program the Pentagon will ask Congress to fund is part of a larger strategy to better address diverse threats facing the United States and will further the country's defense goals, a Defense Department spokesman said here today. The Conventional Trident Modification program, which will cost about $503 million, was developed based on a 2001 comprehensive review of America's deterrence policy, the spokesman said, speaking on background. The study, he said, recognized that a deterrence strategy that relies primarily on nuclear weapons does not address the diverse threats the United States faces,...

WASHINGTON, Jan. 27, 2006 – The Defense Department is taking more steps to address the threat that terrorists are seeking weapons of mass destruction to use against U.S. forces and the homeland, a senior DoD official told reporters here today. "If you look at what we've done to date, we've nearly doubled our investments in chemical and biological defenses," Pentagon spokesman Bryan Whitman said. "We've implemented any number of important organizational changes to address the challenges that are posed by WMD more effectively." The U.S. military must have the capability to protect itself against chemical, nuclear and biological weapons, as...

WASHINGTON, Jan. 12, 2006 – Building military capabilities is the heart of countering threats, Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld said during a Pentagon news conference today. Rumsfeld and Marine Gen. Peter Pace, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, reported on the senior defense leaders meeting held here this week in which senior Pentagon civilian and military leaders met with unified and combatant commanders. The leaders discussed the upcoming Quadrennial Defense Review. Rumsfeld used the example of the Higgins boat as an example of why capabilities are so important. The Navy and Marine Corps began looking at the problems of...

WASHINGTON, Aug. 29, 2005 – The 3rd Iraqi Army Battalion working with U.S. troops from 1st Brigade Combat Team of Multinational Division Central South carried out a raid one kilometer south of Mashru, Iraq, Aug. 28. Twelve suspects were detained during the cordon-and-search operation. Iraqi soldiers also confiscated eight AK-47 assault rifles and 10 hand grenades. The raid was conducted in response to a small-arms attack earlier in the day against an Iraqi Army patrol. There were no injuries from the attack. This success demonstrates the Iraqi Army's growing capability to quickly respond to insurgent violence, according to officials, and...

WASHINGTON, Aug. 29, 2005 – The National Guard's solid response to Hurricane Katrina demonstrates that the Guard is still fully capable of responding to stateside emergencies while supporting the war in terror overseas, the chief of the National Guard Bureau told the American Forces Press Service today. Army Lt. Gen. H. Steven Blum described the thousands of Army and Air National Guard troops called to active duty in Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Florida and other states to support hurricane operations as a testament to the Guard's ability to carry out its federal and state missions simultaneously. Guard members along the Gulf...

WASHINGTON, Aug. 17, 2005 – Once used only for remote reconnaissance, unmanned aircraft technology has rapidly evolved in recent years. Such systems now feature strike capabilities and are being used for force-protection and signals-collection missions in Iraq and Afghanistan. Unmanned aerial systems "have helped reduce the complexity and time lag in the 'sensor-to-shooter chain' for acting on 'actionable intelligence,'" according to a document released earlier this month. The Unmanned Aircraft Systems Roadmap 2005-2030, released Aug. 4 with more than 200 pages, explains these diverse systems range from "micro air vehicles, weighing less than a pound, to massive aircraft weighing more...

On March 29, 2005 the London Arab daily Al-Hayat published a report on Iran’s current preparedness for an American or Israeli attack. The report was translated by www.memri.org (Middle East Media Research Institute). MEMRI introduced the report as follows: “In recent months, commanders of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards and armed forces have announced their complete preparedness for a possible military attack on Iran’s nuclear installations and other sensitive sites. Iranian spokesmen have declared that Iran’s response would be formidable.” The interview indicates the hostility, confidence, determination and intractability of the Iranian leadership. Following are excerpts from that article: “Iranian military sources...

The purpose of FreeRepublic.com's multiple message boards is to limit the topics for each board to particular topics. Posting the same message on all the boards defeats the purpose of multiple-boards for special topics. It is very annoying to see the same message on every bulletin board. PLEASE! DO THE READERS A FAVOR. STOP CROSS-POSTING YOUR MESSAGES!

Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld warned March 9 here that progress toward democracy in Iraq should not be interpreted as a sign that the terrorist threat is under control and that the military can now endure budget cuts. Rumsfeld told reporters at a Pentagon briefing that despite this week's signing of an interim constitution in Iraq, the terrorist threat in that country and elsewhere continues, and America must ensure its military is capable of responding to that threat. "The violence in Iraq last week is another reminder that even as the Iraqis take hold of their country, the war on...

TEL AVIV, Israel -- Israel’s Ministry of Defense (MoD) is overseeing development and production of four separate satellites, all of which are planned for completion by 2008, along with technologies and subsystems for a constellation of small, modular spacecraft capable of working as a team to satisfy multiple mission requirements. According to the MoD roadmap, an unclassified portion of which was provided to Space News, Israel will complete its Ofeq-6 imaging satellite -- a follow-on to the Ofeq-5 electro-optical system launched in May 2002 -- in late 2004 or early 2005. By 2008, MoD expects to complete the Ofeq-7 satellite,...

Note: 4GW = Fourth Generation Warfare Every operation tells us something. This operation tells us a lot, or at least enables us to draw some useful conclusions. For starters, Al-Qaeda truly does not appear to have prepared for a series of attacks post 9/11. Muhajir was in Pakistan and the Mideast since 1998, and could easily have been slipped back into the US ahead of September 11, 2001. Instead, he is arrested coming into the country on May 8, 2002. From Ashcroft's own statement: "Subsequent to his release from prison, he traveled to Afghanistan and Pakistan. On several occasions in...