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Quiet, pleaseDec 4th 2008 From The Economist print edition Military technology: Using rubber rather than steel tracks on military vehicles could reduce wear and tear on both soldiers and equipment Illustration by Belle Mellor RATTLING along in the “washing-machine environment” of an armoured personnel-carrier (APC) on steel tracks can shake the soldiers inside to the point of exhaustion, according to Dan Goure, a military analyst at the Lexington Institute, a think-tank in Arlington, Virginia. And J.G. Brunbech, an APC expert at the Danish Army Material Command in Oksboel, observes that the crew’s limbs are prone to becoming prickly and numb,...

BAGRAM AIRFIELD, Afghanistan, Nov. 13, 2008 – While many young men his age are just thinking about their next step in life, 19-year-old Army Pvt. Ryan Masterson is keeping an eye on the airspace in a combat zone. Army Pvt. Ryan Masterson, aviation operations specialist with the 1st Infantry Division’s 3rd Brigade Combat Team, responds to a call from an outlying unit. Masterson tracks the airspace for all the brigade’s units so they get supplies and air support when needed. U.S. Army photo  (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. Masterson, from McHenry, Ill., is an aviation operations specialist for...

Need help to identify this animal tracks - I believe it's a small timberwolf - and an extremely large coyote. Any help would be appreciated. see: http://lledgerock.com/tracks/ Then I need help to get rid of the damn thing - as it is eating my ducks/geese etc. at an alarming rate.

Los Angeles - A man trying to kill himself and his girlfriend by stopping a car on railroad tracks died on Monday when a commuter train crashed into the vehicle, police said. The girlfriend survived. The man drove the car in front of a group of other vehicles stopped at a railroad crossing in the San Fernando Valley neighbourhood of Sunland, said officer Mike Lopez. The driver, who was seen arguing with his girlfriend, parked the car on the tracks moments before a northbound Metrolink train crossed the road, Lopez said.

  Tactical Operations Center Tracks Troops Soldiers process countless pieces of information to ensure ‘boots on the ground’ units can accomplish mission. By U.S. Army Staff Sgt. Nikki Prodromos 133rd Mobile Public Affairs Detachment TIKRIT, Iraq, July 24, 2006 -- The tactical operations center, or “TOC,” is the “nerve center” in the anatomy of any successful military unit. Tactical operations centers, such as the one at the 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division, have a very big job tracking seven combat battalions and two support battalions, a total of approximately 3,700 boots on the ground, spread over miles...

NEW ORLEANS (Sept. 11, 2005) -- The empty silence of a decimated New Orleans street is broken by the call of an infantryman, "United States Marines. Is anyone in there?" For the past six days, Marines from B Company, 1st Battalion, 8th Marine Regiment, have been conducting search-and-rescue patrols with the help of Assault Amphibian Vehicles from 4th Assault Amphibian Battalion. Since their arrival here Sept. 5 as part of Special Purpose Marine Air-Ground Task Force St. Bernard, the Marines of 1/8 and 4th Tracks have rescued 78 residents of New Orleans' hardest-hit areas. "We provide a unique capability to...

Where was the Mayor of New Orleans and what was he doing Friday night while the storm threatened the city? The National Hurricane Center issues periodic forcast tracks for tropical storms and hurricanes. By Friday afternoon it became clear New Orleans was in harm's way. And by Friday night a direct hit was likely.Yet the Mayor did very little until Sunday, when he finally ordered a manditory evacuation. Of all the persons most interested in the safety of the people of New Orleans, the Mayor should have been the most interested. Yet Friday night, when he should have been planning...

Hello FReepers, I haven't been blogging long but something has been bothering me for months. You know, that strange, eerie feeling that you get with you think something bad might be going to happen. Well I got that feeling and I can't seem to get anything done about it so maybe, more experienced bloggers can run with this and get something done about it, if indeed, something needs to be done. A few months ago, I was waiting at an railroad crossing for a train that had stopped. This isn't uncommon at this intersection as I have been caught there...

Tracks Infectious Diseases WICHITA, Kan. (AP) - Programs that track health-related 911 calls and purchases of over-the-counter medication help health authorities in the state's largest city get a jump on tracking outbreaks of infectious disease. Officials say the 911 program, called FirstWatch, can do something else as well - even though they hope it will never have to. FirstWatch, which began tracking calls on Wednesday, is a "smoke detector for bioterrorism," said FirstWatch project director Matthew Ferguson. In the past, health officials have had to rely on reports from doctors and hospitals to track outbreaks. FirstWatch, however, is able to...

Bomb Scare Shuts Down Train Tracks POSTED: 5:54 p.m. PDT June 13, 2003 UPDATED: 6:10 p.m. PDT June 13, 2003 BURBANK, Calif. -- A bomb scare along the Metrolink tracks in Burbank forced the closure of the tracks on Friday afternoon. Police believe someone may have placed dynamite sticks near the tracks. Train service into and from Burbank has been shutdown. The device, described as possible dynamite sticks wrapped together with wires, was reportedly found at approximately 3:30 Friday afternoon. The device was found about 75 feet south of the tracks near the intersection of Vanowen and Buena Vista. The...

<p>Mexican migrants who tend fields around Fresno and work as day laborers in San Diego are the focus of a sweeping study that will investigate what public health officials fear is a rising incidence of HIV infection among one of California's poorest and most isolated communities.</p>