Military

Vice Adm. Anne E. Rondeau, USN (Ret.), has become president of the Naval Postgraduate School, Monterey, California.

Innovative pioneers looking to bring their ideas and concepts to reality are pushing the edge of aerospace capabilities. In some cases, the technologies are the result of university research, while others come from markets outside of defense. The entrepreneurs purport that their technologies will be, if not groundbreaking, useful and more efficient. The entrepreneurs presented their nascent products and discoveries at a pitch meeting hosted by The MITRE Corporation in McLean, Virginia on October 11 as part of Starburst Aerospace Accelerator’s annual East Coast Selection Committee event.

Show your military pride with a series of free Android apps that provide smart phone wallpaper for the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines and Coast Guard. Each app includes 10 images taken by U.S. Defense Department photographers. Individual programs exist for each branch of service, and they can all be downloaded for free courtesy of MilitaryAirfare.us with developer BaxBox Innovative Products. Download the Navy Wallpaper app for photos of aircraft carriers and other scenes from naval life.

A new iPhone app has been designed to help troops stay up to speed on the Patriot anti-missile system, but users won't find this program in the iTunes App Store-it's by invitation only. Made strictly for the military and containing detailed information on the major defense system, the Raytheon Company-developed Patriot Crew Drill app is a multiple-choice game aimed at helping troops on the front lines of Iraq and Afghanistan who, in peacetime, would be dedicated to operating the Patriot anti-missile system. Many soldiers go for months or even a year without operating the system, and the game serves as a refresher and a way to stay sharp.

Two weeks ago, I listened to a U.S. Marine Corps brigadier general plead for a lightweight personal computer that shooters could use at the squad level. All of the talk he heard about net-centric networks was meaningless because network centricity did not reach where it was needed. If the civilians could walk around with BlackBerrys, why couldn't the U.S. Defense Department provide comparable services?

Some people live and breathe the Army 24/7. Now anyone can be all Army, all the time with the U.S. Army iPhone app. Army soldiers and fans can get the latest news about the military branch thanks to the new application. The free tool lets users access the news sections available on www.army.mil, including full-length articles with photos. In addition to news, users can view Flickr photos, videos, the Army's social networking sites like Facebook and Twitter, the Army Live blog and much more. Soldiers can make sure they stay on top of their Army game by accessing Army fact files, uniforms, ranks, recruiter locations--even the Army song.

Lt. Gen. Jeffrey A. Sorenson, USA, chief information officer (CIO)/G-6 policy, and Maj. Gen. Nickolas Justice, USA, program executive officer, Command, Control and Communications-Tactical (PEO C3T), had a lot to say about innovation in the U.S. Army at the Gov 2.0 Summit last week.

The U.S. Army is enhancing its mobile ground-based radars designed to detect incoming enemy artillery rounds. The AN/TPQ-37 Firefinder weapon-locating radar is a long-range system that is being deployed across the service to locate the sources of enemy mortar, artillery and rocket fire, and to relay that data for counterfire by friendly units. As part of the Army's Reliability Maintainability Improvement (RMI) program, the entire inventory of AN/TPQ-37 and AN/TPQ-36 Firefinder systems will be modified with a modular, air-cooled transmitter and new common radar processors.

A U.S. Navy Broad Area Maritime Surveillance (BAMS) unmanned aircraft system (UAS) is part of the joint mission of the U.S. Air Force 380th Air Expeditionary Wing in Southwest Asia. The new role marks the first operational mission for the BAMS UAS-a maritime derivative of the RQ-4 Global Hawk-although the aircraft has been used in noncombat roles. BAMS' arrival in Southwest Asia is the culmination of more than five months of a joint effort to stand up a maritime surveillance presence in the region. The move came when Navy officials responded to a Defense Department request for more intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance assets in the area.

Warfighters on the battlefield soon will enjoy the ease of use that touchscreen computer display technology affords. A U.S. firm and a Korean firm are joining forces to manufacture and supply the U.S. Defense Department with proprietary military-grade touchscreen systems that are designed and tailored for use in harsh environments, including extreme temperatures, barometric pressure and humidity.

Satellite network provides over-the-horizon voice, data nets to warfighters on the move.

Ask any small unit deployed in theater, and troops will say their number one communications challenge is obtaining ready access to reliable, real-time voice and data connectivity. An innovative satellite-based tactical communications system featuring a unique multicast one-to-many architecture is helping warfighters solve that problem, and it works virtually anywhere, including the challenging terrain of Afghanistan.