BioFlow, a handheld biological threat detection system under development at The Mitre Corporation’s Bio-Nano Laboratory could one day help emergency response teams identify biological threats on site, saving time, money and possibly lives. Mitre engineers have demonstrated the concept for several government sponsors, including the Defense and Homeland Security departments. BioFlow combines existing technology and sampling techniques to identify a variety of threats, including bacterial agents that cause anthrax, viruses and clinical markers such as thyroid stimulating hormone. Furthermore, it could identify targets in a range of samples, including water, soil, blood or urine. The BioFlow process relies on anti-body-coated magnetic microspheres to extract and identify specific targets, such as bacteria, hormones or viruses.

Better networks mean more opportunities for cybermarauders—and greater difficulty for network defense experts, noted the deputy commander of the U.S. Cyber Command. Lt. Gen. Robert Schmidle, USMC, described many of the command’s security needs to the audience at AFCEA NOVA Naval IT Day on May 3.

Atop the command’s list is better situational awareness in cyberspace. The general cited knowledge about network health, adversary space and “the gray area in between” as the criteria for successful cybersituational awareness.

Saying that defense in depth begins out where the adversaries are, Gen. Schmidle noted that the command also is pursuing an active defense with network-hunting software that seeks out threats that have penetrated past perimeter defenses. He related that the Global Information Grid (GIG) has been hit with hundreds of thousands of spear-phishing attacks at a rate of about 10,000 per week. It is harder to differentiate between state and non-state actors among cybermarauders, as both are resorting to similar approaches, the general added.

The command’s efforts at cybersecurity are complicated by human resources issues. The command does not have enough people to do all that is needed in this realm, Gen. Schmidle said. It can be difficult to recruit the type of people who are expert in these fields, and even current training methods must be revamped. The general noted that cyber experts today are trained in either offensive or defensive information operations, and security clearance levels differ with the two disciplines. Future cyber experts must be trained in both offensive and defensive information operations, he stated.

The U.S. Navy will be using unmanned vehicles both in the air and underwater to a greater extent, according to Rear Adm. William Leigher, director of warfare integration for information dominance (N-2/N-6F). These vehicles will provide valuable intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) data and perform dangerous tasks such as mine clearance.

Speaking at AFCEA NOVA Naval IT Day on May 3, the admiral outlined a set of guiding principles that will help define naval ISR. In this architecture, every platform is a sensor and every sensor is networked. Data is discoverable and accessible by all; and systems feature common interfaces, data formats and standards.

Some sensors will be remoted and automated; and their payloads will be modular, plug-and-play and scalable. These sensors increasingly will be sea-based and unmanned. The greater use of unmanned systems will require common unmanned system control stations.

Unmanned underwater vehicles will increase in number and function, and the Navy must take a family approach to building these vehicles, Adm. Leigher said. Researchers already are making great progress toward increasing vehicle endurance, he added.

The three-day Horses for Veterans workshops help former troops cope with post-traumatic stress disorder, commonly referred to as PTSD, through interactions with horses. By establishing trusting relationships with the equines without a need to use force, veterans can gain skills for improving and moving forward with their lives. The free workshops take place periodically at Flag is Up Farms in Solvang, California. A video showing actual footage from a workshop last year demonstrates the types of activities participants will experience.

The next event is scheduled for May 18-20 and spots are still available. E-mail Maya Horsey at Maya@Join-Up.org to register. Future workshop dates are being finalized for
later in the year, so prepare to saddle up!

Homefront Help also has a Facebook page where visitors can gather and share information. If you know of a program that is helping service personnel, veterans or their families please submit that information to Rita Boland, SIGNAL’s news editor.

Marine Corps leadership is seeking to apply lessons learned from fighting two ground wars in the last 10 years and return to its core competencies: amphibious ops, sea-based forward presence and crisis response.

In his article, “Marines Go Back to the Amphibious Future,” Defense Editor Max Cacas outlines the Corps’ goals in this issue of SIGNAL Magazine.

Col. Vincent Goulding, USMC (Ret.), director, experiment division, Marine Corps Warfighting Laboratory, leads the program to modernize Marine Air-Ground Task Force (MAGTF) operations.

In the 1970s, MAGTF outlined goals for future amphibious forces. The mission changed in 2001 when Marines went to the Middle East and were, for the most part, removed from sea-based military. In 2010, a naval exercise in Oahu, Hawaii, tested Marine amphibious capabilities to identify gaps.

Following Oahu exercises, the Warfighting Lab and the 2nd Marine Expeditionary Brigade tested new equipment/capabilities during joint multinational amphibious exercise Bold Alligator 2012 (BA12).

Col. Goulding says the lab’s testing—Limited Objective Exercise 1 (LOE-1)—embedded mainly with the 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit, aimed to identify weaknesses during BA12. One obstacle in both Oahu and LOE-1 was water resupply to Marines ashore, according to Col. Goulding:

We wore out the Marines’ aviation combat element during the experiment in 2010 moving bottled water around the battlefield to keep those Marines hydrated.

During BA12, however, Marines were equipped with tactical water purification systems to produce their own water onshore. This freed up aircraft for other duties. To improve command and control (C²), the lab tested communications gear during LOE-1. Part of that suite included the Distributed Tactical Communications System.

Integrating with other special operations forces also would enable Marines to support them and other conventional forces. Solar panels developed for use in the Middle East also could eliminate the need to carry heavy batteries and other backup energy sources.

LOE-2 is planned to include cyber operations, and LOE-3 is on the drawing board to include experimental joint tactical communications equipment. In 2014, MAGTF will “invade the entire Hawaiian Island chain,” Col. Goulding says. This exercise will take place in conjunction with the joint Rim of the Pacific Exercise 2014.

The Corps has made great strides to regain its sea legs. But is the time frame reasonable, and will current and future capabilities enable it to reach its goals successfully? Share your opinions here. We look forward to your input.

A new social language app for the iPhone takes learning out of the classroom. The free PlaySay app connects English and Spanish speaking players in a game setting where the goal is to practice real phrases and improve pronunciation.

To play, simple take on a series of missions within the app that revolve around real-life scenarios such as introducing yourself or ordering food. PlaySay uses speech-recognition technology to evaluate your pronunciation and provide feedback. The app then tracks the phrases and keeps score of which items you’ve mastered.

See PlaySay in action in this video.

Download the free app from the iTunes App Store.

These sites are not affiliated with AFCEA or SIGNAL Magazine, and we are not responsible for the content or quality of the products offered. When visiting new websites, please use proper Internet security procedures.

The U.S. Army is working to compress large amounts of geospatial data into an amount that is manageable on a handheld device. Imagery from the GeoGlobe database currently seeing use in Afghanistan soon may become available in PDF format, placing crucial imagery and information directly into the warfighter’s hands.

In his article “U.S. Army Expands Combat-Proven GeoGlobe” in this issue of SIGNAL Magazine, Technology Editor George I. Seffers discusses how 3-D terrain visualization imagery will go compact for handheld applications.

Todd Blyler is a team leader within the Warfighter Geospatial Production and Support Directorate, Army Geospatial Center (AGC), Corps of Engineers facility. He explains that the individual soldier has no need to access the full-scale information stored in the GeoGlobe database. Instead, Blyler says of the warfighter:

He just needs his area of operations. So, he connects to the server, figures out his area of interest, chips out a little piece of the database onto a PDF, maybe stores it on a handheld, and then runs disconnected from the network on a low-end device, so that he has a visualization capability that will help him to complete that mission.

GeoGlobe currently isn’t available at lower levels or on handheld devices simply because abundance of data it contains, and because handhelds don’t have “quite the horsepower” to run real-time 3-D visualization, Blyler notes. They are not quite there yet, he says, and explains that he doesn’t think a tablet could do it just yet either.

The GeoGlobe system is installed on major command and control systems, such as the Distributed Common Ground System–Army and others. Users can easily integrate intel data from a variety of sources, providing layers of tailored information on top of the terrain imagery. Using the systems, warfighters can view the entire planet or can focus on a particular area down to a 10-centimeter resolution.

Until the capability has actually been developed to place GeoGlobe or the Army’s BuckEye airborne sensor package onto smaller platforms, AGC officials now are integrating GeoGlobe with a product known as GeoPDF, so that individual soldiers can download smaller chunks of GeoGlobe data prior to a mission and take it with them for greater situational awareness.

Geolocation software is evolving, but do other similar systems exist, either in the military or in industry? And if so, have they accomplished the goal of developing data to fit smaller platforms? Share your insights and suggestions with us; we look forward to your input.

The TAPS tragedy assistance organization is seeking current military members or recent veterans to serve as mentors for children and teens attending the Good Grief Camp. During the event, young persons who have lost a parent, stepparent or sibling in combat will gather to form peer support networks and to learn to cope with their heartache. They also will discover how America honors its warfighters and take breaks from the grief focus to have some fun. The camp will be held Friday to Sunday over Memorial Day weekend (May 25 to 27) in Arlington, Virginia, with an optional Monday activity.

Mentors must be available for all of the required three days and to attend a mandatory training session. More information including how to volunteer is available on the website. Caregivers who would like to register someone 19 or younger to attend the camp have until May 7 or until 450 children have signed up.

Homefront Help also has a Facebook page where visitors can gather and share information. If you know of a program that is helping service personnel, veterans or their families please submit that information to Rita Boland, SIGNAL’s news editor.

Have you ever stood in the aisle of a store contemplating whether or not you could find a better price somewhere else? The Smoopa app for iPhone and Android takes away the guesswork. Simply scan the barcode on the packaging of any item and enter in the price. The program then compares it to other prices in its database from Amazon, Best Buy, Target, Drugstore.com and more.

The more prices you enter, the more money you can save. The app rewards frequent users with a random chance to receive credits for each item scanned. These credits can be put toward gift cards, rebate checks or charitable donations.

The scanner works on nearly any items, including: books, movies, toys, clothes, shoes, home goods and video games.

Download the free app from the iTunes App Store or Google Play.

These sites are not affiliated with AFCEA or SIGNAL Magazine, and we are not responsible for the content or quality of the products offered. When visiting new websites, please use proper Internet security procedures.

The U.S. Defense Department has revamped its Telework Program for the civilian work force. Leaders at each Defense Department component now are required to promote telework within their organizations and to take all possible steps to overcome artificial barriers to program implementation. In addition, they must authorize telework for the maximum number of positions without compromising mission readiness and integrate telework into continuity-of-operations activities.

These alterations to the former telework policy evolved out of the Telework Enhancement Act of 2010. Officials expect the changes will help the military achieve greater flexibility in its management of the work force, given their belief that telework improves recruiting, retention and quality of work life and is an integral readiness strategy for continuity of operations during an emergency.