British Prime Minister David Cameron came to the House of Commons armed with an intelligence dossier from the Joint Intelligence Committee, as well as a legal opinion from the Attorney General. He narrowly grounded his case for military action against Assad’s regime on the need to deter further use of chemical weapons. Despite the Prime Minister’s attempts to preempt concerns of post-Iraq war weariness or fear of unintended consequences, his government’s motion was defeated 285 to 272.
While President Obama had not reached a decision yesterday about the way to proceed with Syria, 116 members of the US House of Representatives, most of them Republicans, signed a letter [PDF] urging him to consult Congress before launching strikes. Like many, House Armed Services Committee Ranking Member Adam Smith [D-WA] is circumspect about the effectiveness and ultimate consequences of such an intervention.
As the US is getting ready for a limited strike on Syrian military installations, the non sequitur of the day comes from Iran’s Fars news agency:
“[Parliament Speaker] Larijani said there is no need for Syria to respect the international regulations if they will be ignored by the West and certain regional states in the interest of the Zionist regime, implying that any foreign aggression against Syria would issue the needed permission for a strike on Israel.”
The 2004 National Landmine Policy directed the Pentagon to end the use of persistent landmines after 2010, and introduce self-destructing and self-deactivating alternatives. The XM-7 Spider is the successor to the Matrix system deployed in Iraq, and part of the USA’s Non-Self-Destructing Anti-Personnel Landmine Alternatives (NSD-A) program.
Spider is more of a “remote explosive device” than a typical lay-and-forget land mine. It’s detonated by soldier command, and that soldier can even load non-lethal canisters if the mission calls for it. Unlike conventional land mines, the XM-7 Spider always has a known location, so it can be safely and easily recovered and re-deployed. If that isn’t possible for some reason, XM-7 units deactivate after a set time period, so they won’t become a future threat. It sounds good, and its capabilities are badly needed in places like remote fire bases, and along Korea’s dangerous DMZ. Unfortunately, the program has run into difficulties and delays.
Sikorsky’s H-60 Hawk family has become the backbone of the US Army and Navy’s helicopter force, with a number of fielded variants. The USAF’s HH-60 is well known for its medical evacuation (MEDEVAC) role, as well as its combat search and rescue functions. The US Army also operates dedicated MEDEVAC models. The UH-60Qs include a 6 patient litter system, on-board oxygen generation, medical suction system, and other advanced medical capabilities. They are complemented by more recent HH-60Ls, and the entire fleet will eventually be recapitalized using new HH-60M MEDEVAC models.
The HH-60M’s higher power rating might make them somewhat more useful in hot and/or high altitude conditions like Afghanistan. In that theater, H-60 helicopters have taken a back seat to larger machines like Boeing’s H-47 Chinooks, the USMC’s CH-53E Super Stallions, and Eurocopter’s Super Puma/Cougar series. In the mountainous altitudes around Tora Bora, for instance, the California Army National Guard’s 126th Medical Co. (Air Ambulance) reportedly had to use its UH-60Ls stripped of their heavy litter carousels. One area where usefulness can receive quick improvements across the entire fleet, however, involves surveillance and visualization.
Pressure mounts for strikes on Syria over apparent use of poison gas. The US Administration is signaling that it will conduct a “punitive strike.” This would express moral outrage and convey a sense that President Obama’s threats mean something. But hopes of accomplishing meaningful progress towards putting an end to the civil war, let alone helping Syria reaching a state of balance aligned with Western interests, are very scant at best.
The National Polar-orbiting Observing Satellite System (NPOESS) was a joint program of the Department of Defense, Department of Commerce and NASA to replace less sophisticated weather satellites that are expected to fail over the next several years. It would help develop 3-7 day weather forecasts for civilian and military purposes, including weather like hurricanes, tornadoes, etc. Unfortunately, the program ended up billions over budget, and 6 or more years late. Some gaps in coverage are possible during that time, if enough older satellites fail.
In November 2005 testimony given at a House of Congress Science Committee hearing, the Administrator of NOAA and the Undersecretary of the Air Force promised new cost and schedule estimates and policy options, as well as fuller and more rapid information. NPOESS was openly described as “a program in crisis.” Just under 5 years later, that crisis came to an end with a program split into civilian (JPSS) and military (DWSS) systems, and a 5-year NPOESS Preparatory Project (NPP) satellite that will test key instruments and serve as a capability bridge.
The Obama administration appears to both think the Syrian government did use chemical weapons against civilians, and prepare a strike in response. This would possibly but not necessarily be done with UN backing, while the British Royal Navy is moving ships in preparation of possible missile launches. It’s hard for UN inspectors to do their job when snipers shoot at them. One question among several pressing matters: what was used? WSJ | NYT | WaPo | Christian Science Monitor | UK Telegraph.
General Dynamics won the Ground Mobility Vehicles 1.1 competition for US Special Operations Command (SOCOM), with a contract worth up to $562M over 7 years.
The US military has come to rely more and more on contractors to provide linguist services to function effectively in non-English speaking regions. The need for these services is particularly acute in the Middle East and Central Asia where US troops are actively engaged. Technically, there are 2 primary types of linguist services: interpreters and translators. Contractors usually offer both services as part of their contracts.
This DID FOCUS free sample covers US military linguist services contracts and key events.
