Tag: ARMY

We're not privy to the innermost thoughts of birds, but we imagine they must derive some sense of pleasure from hanging out on overhead power lines. In an existence characterized by dodging cars, dogs and tennis balls, the power line must be a much-needed respite for our feathered friends. Even that artificial oasis, though, may soon become an ornithological war zone, thanks to something called ...

In an effort to assist U.S. troops in Afghanistan, the Army has commissioned a company to develop a surveillance airship that's longer than a football field. According to Space.com, Northrop Grumman Corp. recently received a $517 million contract from the Army to build as many as three Long Endurance Multi-Intelligence Vehicles (LEMV), which can carry 2,500-pounds while hovering 20,000-feet above ...

A U.S. soldier stationed in Fairbanks, Alaska could be in hot water over a video posted on his Facebook page. According to the Associated Press, Specialist Robert A. Rodriguez is under investigation by the U.S. Army, and was recently ordered to remove the 30-second video, which featured an unidentified voice asking two Iraqi children if they were going to grow up to be terrorists, if they were gay ...

For the first time in U.S. history, the Pentagon has appointed a general to oversee the country's cyberwarfare operations. According to the Guardian, four-star general Keith Alexander was appointed Friday to head up the Cyber Command unit. The unit's job is to orchestrate virtual military operations across worldwide computer networks. In other words, Alexander will work to protect U.S. computer ...

We like to believe that the U.S. military knows a thing or two more than the rest of us. Your devoted Switched team, for example, would be hard pressed to dismantle an IED, no matter how many times we've seen 'The Hurt Locker.' But it turns out that the men and women in uniform are entangled in the simplifying software magic known as PowerPoint, no different from the soporific strategy meetings ...

According to Wired, a new U.S. Army aircraft takes the best elements of helicopters, drones and snipers, and wraps them into one package. Dubbed the Autonomous Rotorcraft Sniper System (ARSS), it's an unmanned Vigilante helicopter with a high-powered sniper rifle mounted onto a highly stabilized turret. Originally, the ARSS was designed for urban warfare, since it can hover down small streets ...

Share Remember that whole "birther" movement that sprung up during the 2008 campaign and somehow managed to hang around even after an outpouring of facts confirmed that President Obama was actually born in the U.S.? Yeah, we'd forgotten about it, too. One U.S. Army doctor, though, hasn't let it go, and now finds himself in hot water because of it. Lt. Col. Terrence Lakin refused to show up ...

Share In an effort to provide a faster turnaround, the U.S. Army could replace some human intelligence officers in war zones with a complex system of computers. According to Wired, the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA, or the freaky arm of the US Military) is hosting a workshop for a new project dubbed Graph Understanding and Analysis for Rapid Detection - Deployed on the ...

digg_url ='http://www.switched.com/2010/03/22/army-overhauls-basic-training-to-toughen-softer-gamer-generati/'; Share Though critics of video games are forever arguing that playing violent video games leads to violent behavior, the U.S. Army doesn't believe that these games are creating tougher soldiers. According to a report from NPR, the Army is overhauling its basic training program for the ...

Sensitive military information ranks pretty high on the list of things that should never be posted on Facebook. In fact, military operations pretty much define 'classified.' But, according to an AP report posted on Fox News, an Israeli soldier caused military officials to abort a raid on a West Bank village when he posted details about the operation on his Facebook Wall. The unnamed soldier wrote ...

It's not going to win any foot races, but a new robot being developed for the U.S. Army still has a leg (or two) up on its competition. The "Petman" prototype is a bipedal robot that simulates human walking (video after the break) more realistically than any other robot we've seen. According to Wired, the robot, which is being developed by Boston Dynamics, will be used to test how protective ...

What did your mom tell you about pointing lasers in other people's eyes? Apparently, U.S. troops in Iraq have recently suffered a rash of laser "friendly fire" incidents; since November, one unit has experienced 12 such incidents, resulting in the injuries of 14 soldiers. Of the 14, one soldier was permanently blinded in one eye and three more were forced to undergo medical evacuation, according ...

All that time spent gaming may not be time spent poorly after all, according to Joystiq's story of one young man. Last Friday, while being interviewed by Democracy Now! about his new book, 'Wired for War,' author P.W. Singer related the story of one young man who has found success in the military, thanks to the hours he'd logged in front of computer monitors and TV screens. According to Singer, ...

While used and refurb'd electronics have a long history of delivering more than the purchaser bargained for, like assembly-line photos, MI6 documents, or the phone number to Sarah Palin's hair stylist, New Zealand man Chris Ogle's surprise find is a little more troubling. He picked up the above unidentified MP3 player at a thrift shop in Oklahoma for $18 used. On it were 60 files, many of which ...

digg_url = 'http://digg.com/apple/Trully_the_amarican_dream'; We're trying... we're trying real hard to cling to our pacifist ways. But damn if the fusion of this US Army M110 Sniper Rifle and mounted iPod touch running the BulletFlight external ballistics calculator (available via the App Store) doesn't make us want to kill. Tap in the variables such as weather conditions, ammunition type, ...