News

The Army is on schedule to meet its goals of achieving initial operational capability for the first two brigades of the interim force by the end of 2001 and of standing up the objective force by Chief of Staff General Eric K. Shinseki's target timeframe of 2008 to 2012.

According to Army officials, the Army should attain the technological innovations needed to create the objective force as projected. Key among these are the technologies required to produce the future combat system, which will be a replacement for the 70-ton M1 Abrams tank that will have the same lethality and survivability but will weigh only 20 tons. The Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Army for Research and Technology, Dr. Michael Andrews, predicts, "By the end of [20]05, early [20]06, we will have a future combat systems demonstration. We're not having to create new technologies out of thin air."

The first two initial brigade combat teams (IBCT's) of the interim force are being created at Fort Lewis, Washington, by reorganizing the 3d Brigade, 2d Infantry Division, and then the 1st Brigade, 25th Infantry Division (Light Infantry). At least six IBCT's will be established, including at least one in the reserve components. The interim force will not be an early-entry force. Instead, the IBCT's will fill the gap between early-entry forces and heavier follow-on forces; the brigades will be lethal, agile, and mobile enough to dominate combat during that interval.

Army Training and Doctrine Command schools are developing new doctrine and training techniques for the IBCT's. Some of the training will be provided in the form of simulations delivered through the Army's distance learning system. Tactical leader training for IBCT officers and noncommissioned officers is underway. Company training and brigade and battalion staff-level training was scheduled to begin at Fort Lewis in September.

While development of the future combat system proceeds, the IBCT will be equipped with an interim armored vehicle. Evaluation of candidate vehicles recently took place at Aberdeen Proving Ground, Maryland. In the meantime, the IBCT is working with armored vehicles borrowed from several other countries as surrogates for the interim armored vehicle.

Approximately 4,000 soldiers converged on Fort Polk, Louisiana, in September to test the use of the Army's new digital systems with light forces. In the Joint Contingency Force Advanced Warfighting Experiment, the soldiers, plus a company of marines, engaged in combat scenarios against the Joint Readiness Training Center's opposing force. They used many of the technological enablers the Army is developing for its armored forces to see how well they work for dismounted forces and how they can be improved to increase dismounted forces' lethality, survivability, and operating tempo.

The Army evaluated 47 technological and doctrinal initiatives during the experiment. Chief among these were an en route mission planning and rehearsal system, the Army Battle Command System, and the Land Warrior individual soldier system.

Soldiers participating in the experiment were from the 1st Brigade, 10th Mountain Division (Light Infantry), from Fort Drum, New York; the 3d Battalion, 325th Airborne Infantry Regiment, 82d Airborne Division, from Fort Bragg, North Carolina; and an armored company of the 4th Infantry Division from Fort Hood, Texas.

The Army's newest and largest pre-positioned stock (prepo) facility opened in Qatar in August. The facility falls under the forward command of Army Forces Central Command-Qatar, which is one of three forward commands in the region maintained by the Third U.S. Army and Army Forces Central Command, based in Atlanta, Georgia.

Colonel Kathleen Dennis, commander of the Army Materiel Command-Southwest Asia said, "The primary

reason for this installation was to contribute to the National Security Strategy that calls for the rapid deployment and forward presence . . .The Army prepo equipment in the Gulf allows for a much more rapid deployment of troops in the area." The mission of the 262-acre, climate-controlled facility is to store and maintain a brigade-sized equipment set that will facilitate the rapid movement of personnel, equipment, and supplies by land, sea, or air to other countries in the region.

Because of Qatar's location, the reception, staging, onward movement, and integration of vehicles and troops from Qatar will be different than from other countries in Southwest Asia. Troops will not be able to land in Qatar and drive the equipment from the site to the local area for combat. Instead, advance parties will fly to Qatar, draw the equipment, and use commercial heavy equipment transporters to move it to port to be loaded onto ships for transport to the combat zone.

Examples of the Army's logistics responsibilities include inland petroleum and water distribution. The equipment stored at the facility is intended for issue to Army forces but may be used to support joint forces if needed.

Defense Supply Center Columbus, Ohio, has awarded a virtual prime vendor contract to ProcureNet, Inc., headquartered in Great River, New York, to provide military units comprehensive logistics support for automotive and equipment parts and services.

The Fleet Automotive Support Initiative, or FASI for short, is a revolutionary total systems approach to streamlining parts support of military automotive and equipment fleets. It is designed to reduce the total cost of weapon system and automotive fleet support by consolidating purchasing and reducing the number of suppliers.

FASI will decrease the response time needed to obtain spare parts and reduce both wholesale and retail inventories. Military customers will receive quick, uninterrupted parts delivery, even when their requirements change. Using its own supplier base as well as the Government's, FASI's virtual prime vendors will deliver parts to designated locations within 2 to 10 days (depending on the priority of the request).

Under the terms of the agreement, ProcureNet will use its innovative OneSourceä suite of products and serv-ices to provide Internet-based procurement and delivery of parts and services to a wide-ranging group of military sites, including Camp Pendleton and Fort Irwin, California; Camp Lejeune, North Carolina; Fort Stewart, Georgia; and Fort Hood, Texas. The initial term of the contract is 2 years, with three additional option periods. Annual sales are estimated at $60 million.

An enhanced information system that will improve soldier safety and communications has been installed in 70 high-mobility, multipurpose wheeled vehicles (HMMWV's) in Bosnia by technicians from Tobyhanna Army Depot, Pennsylvania. The Balkans Digitization Initiative (BDI) involved equipping the HMMWV's with information systems that allow the American command base in Tuzla, Bosnia, to keep in constant contact with soldiers on patrol through a satellite link.

"To adequately protect our soldiers and to ensure mission success, it's critical to track and know the whereabouts of patrol vehicles at all times," explained supervisory electronics engineer Ron Cappellini. "This system not only provides that, but also allows soldiers in those Humvees to track and communicate with each other and stay in communication with headquarters via e-mail."

The information system consists of a computer, omnidirectional antenna, keyboard, and monitor. The antenna is linked with a Global Positioning System satellite to give the location of the vehicle to headquarters and other BDI-equipped HMMWV's. A soldier in Tuzla can track some or all of the vehicles through a satellite terminal monitor and alert the drivers through the e-mail system if they are going to stray off course.

The system is similar to the commercial system used in tractor-trailers. One of the major differences is that the software customized for military use provides location updates every 5 minutes instead of every hour.

The Program Executive Office for Command, Control and Communications Systems, Fort Monmouth, New Jersey, led the initiative. Tobyhanna Army Depot; the TRW Corporation; QUALCOMM, Inc.; and the Army Communications-Electronics Command's Logistics Readiness Center at Fort Monmouth collaborated on the project.

To help stem a significant officer shortage, the Army's Branch Immaterial Officer Candidate Course, known Army-wide as officer candidate school (OCS), has expanded. A third company has been added to the 3d Battalion, OCS, 11th Infantry Regiment, at Fort Benning, Georgia. With the addition of the new company, approximately 1,050 officers will be able to attend OCS each year.

At one time there were as many as 13 OCS's, almost one for every military occupational specialty. In 1976, they all were incorporated into the 14-week school at Fort Benning. "One myth is that our school is all infantry, but it's not," said Lieutenant Colonel Dave Osborne, the OCS commander. "We train officers for the 16 branches."

The 4-week first phase of OCS focuses on troop-leading procedures and writing operations orders. This phase also includes a lot of physical training, road marches, and hand-to-hand combat training. The last week is devoted to land navigation training.

The 6-week intermediate phase stresses tactics and includes classes on offensive and defensive concepts, which are tested in computer-based exercises. The fifth week of this phase is spent entirely in the field.

During the last 4 weeks, the candidates live much as they will as lieutenants. They no longer have restrictions placed on them, and, if they live in the local area, they can go home at night.

Osborne said the attrition rate is around 10 percent, and most of that is due to injuries. He credits the low attrition rate to the selection process, which picks the most motivated and qualified people.

To apply for commissioning through OCS, enlisted soldiers and warrant officers must—

Following a test of their improved Worldwide Port System (WPS) last May, officials at the Military Traffic Management Command's (MTMC's) Deployment Support Command (DSC) are hopeful that the new system will enhance the readiness of deployment support teams and improve the overall usefulness of the WPS's communications capabilities to team operations. The WPS will provide deployment support teams with in-transit visibility of cargo via the Global Transportation Network and help ensure that the teams' cargoes are documented properly.

The new system consists of a notebook computer that functions as a file server, an improved international maritime satellite (INMARSAT) portable satellite dish, a router and hub, a bar-code printer, a laser printer, scanners with accessories, a jazz drive, and two notebook computers for user access. All system components fit inside padded custom-made cases that protect them during shipment. All the cases have wheels and weigh less than 70 pounds each when loaded, which makes them easier for one person to lift in and out of vehicles.

The system was updated to improve communications via the INMARSAT system. "But the real importance [of the updated system] is in its ability to communicate reliably with the satellites," said Robert Shepard, DSC's Assistant Deputy Chief of Staff for Information Management.

The system was tested in Belize in Central America. Belize was chosen as the site of the test because the 832d Transportation Battalion, a DSC unit, was deployed there.

"[In Belize], we hooked up, got the information transmitted over an INMARSAT phone line, and were finished 2 hours after the last cargo was loaded," said Major David Cintron, former battalion executive officer for the 832d. "This is opposed to the normal 6- to 8-hour time lag we experienced many times before."

Plans are underway to purchase a number of the new systems to support MTMC units that have needs similar to those of the 832d. The current WPS system will continue to be used at stateside locations where satellite communications are not needed.

The Army has selected a new commercial-off-the-shelf vest that will keep soldiers afloat when they wear full body gear. The flotation vest previously available could not keep solders afloat with all of the equipment they now carry.

The Soldier Enhancement Program (SEP), which is managed by the Product Manager for Enhanced Soldier Systems at the Army Soldier Systems Center in Natick, Massachusetts, is responsible for finding commercial-off-the-shelf items to fit the needs of soldiers in the field. SEP purchased a number of commercially available flotation vests and tested them in Natick's hydro-environmental simulator. The test subjects—one small female and one large male—wore the vests over the maximum allowable amount of body gear and protection. Vests that provided the proper amount of buoyancy and automatically rotated the subject's face out of the water then were tested in real-world situations at Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri. Soldiers were asked to rate the vests for comfort, ease of mobility, compatibility with equipment and clothing, and how well they performed in water. They unanimously selected a vest produced by Stearns Manufacturing Company.

The only change needed was to cover the vest with the Army's standard woodland camouflage pattern. The vest is now available for procurement in two sizes.

The Department of Defense representative on the Association of American Railroads (ARR) Open-Top Loading Rules Committee cautions Army users of commercial railroads of the danger posed by unsecured turrets or gun barrels on tanks and other tracked armored vehicles being transported on flatcars. In such cases, the turrets can strike passing trains, crossing gates, or other trackside structures. The impact from a turret or gun is substantial enough to collapse a truss bridge, which could destroy a number of the cars following the tank.

Union Pacific Railroad (UP) reports that a recent incident was caused by inadequately tightened rope clamps on the wire rope loops intended to keep the turret from turning and the gun barrel from elevating. Also, the turret rotation lock was disengaged or had vibrated off. As a result of a number of such occurrences, UP now requires the gun barrels on tanks and other armored vehicles to be in the trailing position for all shipments originating on the UP.

Guidance for securing turrets is contained in the AAR Open-Top Loading Rules Manual, Section 6, Rules for Loading Military Equipment and Materiel. Similar guidance also is available in Military Traffic Management Command Transportation Engineering Agency (MTMCTEA) Pamphlet 55-19, which is on the MTMCTEA website at http://www.tea.army.mil. For more information, call (757) 599-1645 or DSN 927-4646, or send an e-mail to KerrR@tea-emh1.army.mil.

Secretary of the Army Louis Caldera has announced a $600 million distance-learning initiative that will help soldiers obtain college degrees or technical certifications through Internet-based courses. The program, called Army University Access Online (AUAO), should be available next year to all Active Army, Army Reserve, and Army National Guard members.

Caldera called on colleges and universities, Internet companies, hardware and software companies, and others to submit bids to the Army for an extensive curriculum and the technology required to support it. Officials hope to award a contract in December.

Under the current Army Continuing Education Service, soldiers pay for their books and for 25 percent of a school's tuition. Caldera hopes to provide 100-percent funding for the distance learning program. The Army has budgeted nearly $50 million for AUAO and its website, http://www.eARMYU.com, in fiscal year 2001, with another $550 million over the next 5 years.

The website is not designed to eliminate the traditional classroom but to complement the current system. Caldera expects an increase in retention by improving in-service education opportunities. "Soldiers can better achieve their personal educational goals and do not have to leave the Army to get an education or use their GI Bill," he said.

The following first-place winners of the 2000 Army Supply Excellence Award were announced on 31 August by Army Chief of Staff General Eric K. Shinseki—

Table of Distribution and Allowances (TDA) (Small). Aviation Technical Test Center, Fort Rucker, Alabama.

Modification Table of Organization and Equipment (MTOE) Company Without Property Book. Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 25th Infantry Division (Light), Schofield Barracks, Hawaii.

MTOE Battalion With Property Book. 532d Military Intelligence Battalion, Korea.

MTOE Battalion Without Property Book. 205th Military Intelligence Battalion, Fort Shafter, Hawaii.

SSA (Large). Company B, 782d Main Support Battalion, 82d Airborne Division, Fort Bragg, North Carolina.

MTOE Company With Property Book. Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 30th Engineer Brigade, Gainesville, Georgia.

MTOE Company Without Property Book. Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 682d Engineer Battalion, Willmar, Minnesota.

MTOE Battalion With Property Book. 527th Engineer Battalion, Ruston, Louisiana.

MTOE Battalion Without Property Book. 67th Forward Support Battalion, Lincoln, Nebraska.

SSA (Medium). U.S. Property and Fiscal Office-North Carolina, Raleigh, North Carolina.

MTOE Company Without Property Book. 1932d Medical Team, Independence, Missouri.

MTOE Battalion With Property Book. 844th Engineer Battalion, Knoxville, Tennessee.

MTOE Battalion Without Property Book. 317th Quartermaster Battalion, Lawrence, Kansas.

The U.S. Transportation Command (USTRANSCOM) Handbook 24-2, Understanding the Defense Transportation System, was published 1 September. It is available in hard copy and in electronic format.

The handbook covers airlift, sealift, and traffic management capabilities; Defense Transportation System operation; statutory and regulatory guidance; elements of the Transportation Working Capital Fund; and future initiatives and technologies.

Hard copies of the handbook can be obtained by major commands through the USTRANSCOM Public Affairs Office and by organizational military units through their respective transportation component command public affairs offices. Electronic copies can be accessed on the Internet at http://public.transcom.mil/J6/j6o/j6_oi/handbook.html.

A landing craft mechanized 8 (LCM 8) modification 2 and a landing craft utility (LCU 2000) provide logistics over the shore (LOTS) support at Browndown Beach, England.

An LCU 2000 offloads British army trucks at Marchwood Military Port, England.

Troops from the 7th Transportation Group at Fort Eustis, Virginia, participated in the British Reserve training exercise Strong Virginian this past summer. After they were offloaded from the MV Strong Virginian (a vessel in the U.S. Pre-positioned Stocks Afloat Program) for biennial maintenance, four landing craft utility and one landing craft mechanized provided amphibious support to the British training exercise. Above, a landing craft mechanized 8 (LCM 8) modification 2 and a landing craft utility (LCU 2000) provide logistics over the shore (LOTS) support at Browndown Beach, England. In the photo to the right, an LCU 2000 offloads British army trucks at Marchwood Military Port, England.

The Army began issuing the improved physical fitness (PT) uniform to basic trainees in August. At the same time, the new shorts, shirts and warm-up uniform became available for purchase at clothing sales stores on most Army posts.

The new PT uniform consists of a gray and black jacket with a reflective stripe; black, moisture-wicking trunks with reflective letters; a gray, moisture-wicking, short-sleeved T-shirt with reflective letters; and a gray, moisture-wicking, long-sleeved T-shirt with reflective letters. The cost of the entire uniform is $108.75.

The mandatory possession date for the improved physical fitness uniform is 1 October 2003. Soldiers may wear the old items until the wear-out date or purchase the new one. However, they cannot mix and match the old and new.

For the next 3 years, approximately $30 of each soldier's annual clothing replacement allowance will be based on the increased cost of the new PT uniform. Soldiers receive this allowance on the anniversary of their enlistment. The clothing replacement allowance is adjusted every year based on cost for uniform items and the projected wear life, so soldiers can replace uniforms as they wear out.

Army National Guard and Army Reserve soldiers do not receive an annual clothing allowance, so reserve component units will begin an issue-in-kind replacement of the old PT uniform in October.

Drill sergeants at Fort Jackson, South Carolina; Fort Benning, Georgia; Fort Knox, Kentucky; Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri; and Fort Sill, Oklahoma, were the first to receive the new PT uniform. By October 2003, all soldiers will be required to have one jacket, one pair of pants, two pairs of trunks, two short-sleeved T-shirts, and one long-sleeved T-shirt.

The PT uniform is authorized for wear in transit between home and duty station. Commanders also may authorize soldiers to wear the uniform off-duty and off the installation.

The 2d Annual Aviation Ground Support Equipment (AGSE) Users Conference will be held 5 and 6 December 2000 at the Fort Rucker, Alabama, Officers' Club. The theme for this year's conference is "Focus on the Future." Brigade, battalion, and company-level maintenance officers and noncommissioned officers are invited to attend to provide valuable input from the user's perspective on AGSE requirements and priorities for future systems development.

For more information, send an e-mail to WegnerR@rucker.army.mil. or call (334) 255-1580 or DSN 558-1580.

The Army Soldier and Biological Chemical Command, Natick, Massachusetts, has developed a modular sleeping bag system (MSBS) that can be adapted to different climates. The MSBS, which has a nylon cover and polyester insulation, replaces the down-filled mummy bag.

The MSBS is made up of a water resistant, breathable, Gore-Tex bivouac cover, a lightweight patrol sleeping bag, an intermediate cold-weather sleeping bag, and a stuff sack. The intermediate-weight bag fits into the patrol bag for very cold weather conditions, and there is room in the sleeping bag for a soldier to wear arctic clothing for additional warmth in extremely cold weather. The patrol bag provides protection in temperatures down to 35 degrees Fahrenheit; the intermediate weight bag protects a soldier in temperatures down to minus 5 degrees Fahrenheit; when the patrol bag and intermediate bag are combined and arctic clothing is worn, the bag provides protection in temperatures as low as minus 50 degrees Fahrenheit. The bivouac cover breathes, allowing body moisture to pass out while keeping water from coming in and can be used with any bag configuration.

The entire MSBS system weighs only 8.75 pounds and can be carried in, or strapped underneath, a rucksack. It is being fielded to all services.

Product Manager-Soldier Equipment at the Army Soldier Systems Center at Natick, Massachusetts, is developing a concealable body armor to be used by Military Police units, Protective Services, and the Army Criminal Investigation Command. The armor will provide 9-millimeter (mm) bullet protection over the entire vest and will have front and back contoured ceramic plates that can be inserted to protect vital organs against 5.56 mm, 7.6 x 39 mm, and 7.62 x 51 mm rifle rounds. Each vest will be custom-fitted to the wearer, making it more easily concealed, and will weigh 6 to 13 pounds. Fielding of the commercially available armor to Protective Services could begin as early as this fall. Fielding of the concealable body armor "plus" with customer-approved modifications is expected by the fall of 2001.

TRANSLOTS JOINS ROVING SANDS

For the first time, the annual TRANSLOTS (a transportation logistics over the shore exercise) held last June at Fort Story, Virginia, ran in conjunction with Exercise Roving Sands, a joint-theater air and missile defense exercise that involved more than 18,000 troops from several nations. The association with Roving Sands helped make TRANSLOTS a larger joint exercise and involved the Navy. More than 2,000 soldiers from 46 units participated in the exercise.

The soldiers used landing craft to unload one of the Navy�s newest cargo ships, the USNS Fisher (at left), and then truck supplies to the front lines. The Fisher was loaded with equipment from Fort Eustis, Virginia, and offloaded by Army landing craft and other vessels while anchored in Chesapeake Bay near Fort Story.