Jake's Army

British Military Budget Cuts -Picture Funny

2010-10-10T13:18:00.002+02:00

Presenting SWORDS - The World's First Weaponized Robot

2009-07-09T13:57:00.001+02:00

Try to imagine a soldier that doesn't sleep, doesn't eat, doesn't feel pain, and doesn't waste time on doing exactly what it was made to do; eliminate the enemy. This is SWORDS; the first-ever weaponized robot the world has seen. Time magazine even referred to it as, "One of the greatest inventions of the 21st century. ... It can be outfitted with everything from a machine gun to a rocket or grenade launcher, seriously violating Asimov's three laws of robotics."

What does it do?

Short for Special Weapons Observation Reconnaissance Detection Systems, SWORDS is developed by TALON Robotics at Foster-Miller, a company based in Massachusetts. This $200,000, three-foot 100-pound armed robot can go underwater, climb stairs, and navigate through sand, snow, rock and fire at an even faster pace than a typical running soldier. It has both night and infrared vision, and has four cameras strategically located at the front, back and both sides with extremely detailed zooming capabilities.

It will also carry multiple standard Squad Automatic Weapons, including the M249, which fires 5.56-millimeter rounds at 750 per minute and M240, which can fire 1,000 7.62-millimeter rounds per minute. Apart from the amazing ability of packing so much weapons and ammo, this robot is also extremely accurate when firing at enemies. It is said that while a typical soldier can hit a target the size of basketball from 300 meters away, SWORDS can hit a target the size of nickel from 500 meters away. This far better level of accuracy is due to the fact that its gun is mounted on a stable platform and fired electronically using cameras with multiple zoom, rather than by a soldier's hands and limited vision.

Running on lithium ion batteries, SWORDS can be operated using a 30-pound control unit from a distance of approximately 20 football fields.

Why do we need it?

Though the robot is roughly only three-feet high, it possesses all the necessary skills and traits of a great soldier, and completely lacks the insignificant details of a terrible one. It can execute missions that are too dangerous for regular soldiers, as it can withstand both extremely cold and hot temperatures. Further, it doesn't need to be trained, clothed or fed. It doesn't get injured easily but if it does, it never complains. Most importantly, there wouldn't be families and relatives left in total grief in the event it meets its demise in battle.

When will it be on active duty?

Three SWORDS were sent during the Iraq war mostly for experimentation purposes only. The results turned out greater than expected, but its creators believe there is so much room for improvement in the weapons and protection areas. Currently, the Army has been testing new models over the past year at Picatinny and the Aberdeen Proving Grounds in Maryland. It is predicted that in 2010, the SWORDS will get even more deadly, as there are plans of equipping the machine with the larger .50 caliber machine guns. Further, it will also pack grenade and rocket launchers with multiple rocket rounds into a single barrel, allowing much more rapid firing. GP

About the Author:
Ruhfus are specialists in hydraulic cylinders and recommends Emics, a privately owned laboratory specialising in calibration services.

The Future Fighting Force Must Forge Forward

2009-06-26T23:10:00.001+02:00

Due to the budget constraints of the US military, the United States Army is cutting back on its Future Fighting Force initiatives. This is a complete mistake and at least one economic philosopher has noted; "We Cannot Maintain a Military Preparing for Past Wars!" This is very wise and yet, this comment did not come from Carl von Clausewitz, rather it came from Ludwick von Mises. Of course, it's not like he had to say something in this regard, as it should be totally obvious and that is why we have the future fighting force initiatives in the first place.

We are making a huge mistake if we do not work to make ourselves better using the most advanced technologies known to man. The United States should be on the leading edges of his technologies and be ready for those future wars, fighting terrorists or preventing the smuggling of nukes. We must be prepared for future wars. Not because we wish to go start wars, but because we have a duty to our citizenry to protect the American people. Despite what most people think the federal government's number one responsibility is to protect the American people, and everything that comes after that is ancillary, it's an elective.

When we listen to the current administration talk about how we will spend money in the future, it amazes me that people do not understand the reality of life on earth, and how humans can actually behave. We too often assume that everyone around the world is going to be nice and reasonable. That's just not going to happen. Further, the amount of transfer technologies we get from our military are indeed astounding. The Internet, medical prosthesis, nuclear power, microwaves, etc. in fact, the list is so long that you'd almost need a dictionary to write it all down. Please consider all this.

Lance Winslow - Lance Winslow's Bio. Lance Winslow is also Founder of the Car Wash Guys, a cool little Franchise Company; http://www.carwashguys.com/history/founder.html/.

The Role of Soldier in the Defense of India

2009-06-25T22:50:00.001+02:00

Every country whether it is big or small must and should have defense forces. The defense forces are of three kinds - Army, Navy and Air force. The strength of each force depends upon the area of the country. The real guard and protector of the country and its citizens are the soldier and not the politician. Protecting and safe-guarding the borders of the country are very great indeed. The security and stability of the nation depends to a large extent on him. A soldier's life is a disciplined one and a week and feeble person cannot become a soldier.

A person after joining as a soldier has to undergo for rigorous training. This is very difficult and hard time for him. He has to obey the orders of his commander. He must act according to the order his superiors. When there is a war, he is face to face death. He takes it as a normal thing. He fights to the last in order to save his Mother-land. Away from home, away from his parents, wife and children, a Soldier's life is really of a great sacrifice. For him defence of the country is his utmost is duty.

When there is strike, communal conflicts, flood there comes our army to help the people. Each individual, whether he is a teacher, or a clerk, or a doctor, or a worker plays his own role in his own way. But a role which a soldier plays in safeguarding the borders of our Mother-land is unique paramount. In the Himalaya, Kashmir and Pakistan border our soldier has taken their position. These areas are very cold and everything will be frozen. He has to face so many hardships.

What the government pays is not a great for his service. The condition of our soldier's life is really a pathetic one. During china's attack on India 'the condition of our Army was miserable. They had no warm clothes; no modern weapons no proper food and other things. Therefore our Army suffered a lot. But now the government has taken some measures to improve their social, economic conditions.The Soldiers motto is- "Theirs' is not to make reply,

Theirs' is not to reason why,
Theirs' is but to do and die".

Does the Army Have Enough Soldiers?

2009-06-25T12:52:00.001+02:00

If you pay attention to the New York Times, the leadership of the Democratic Party, or the left wing pundits filling the airwaves, you get the impression that the U.S. Army is struggling to find men and women willing to volunteer in the service of their country. Recently released statistics, though, seem to contradict that assumption.

When the Army failed to meet its recruiting goals a couple of years ago, many saw it as a sign that young people in America were staying away from military service because of the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. Many complained that we did not have enough soldiers to meet our global commitments. Congress responded by raising the statutory limit on troop levels, as if changing the number on paper would somehow magically produce new soldiers to fight the war on terror.

The worry about a withering Army, however, seems to have been misplaced. According to the Washington Times, the Army is on track to meet its goal of 80,000 new recruits for the fiscal year that ends September 30. At this point in the recruiting cycle, the Army has surpassed its goal of 70,000 new recruits with 72,997 signing up so far. And the Associated Press has reported that the Army is having its best recruiting year since 1997, with similar success expected in 2007.

It is important to note that the Army is the branch of service suffering the largest number of killed and wounded in Iraq and Afghanistan. The recently released statistics seem to undermine the belief that the war on terror is driving young men and women away from uniformed service.

Still, there will be those who point out that the Army has raised its age limit for new recruits from 38 to 42. But these critics fail to understand that not every job in the Army requires someone under the age of 25. Not every soldier will fight in the infantry. And those new recruits who are older than the average enlistee are still required to meet the Army's physical fitness standards. It would be foolish for the Army to exclude Americans who want to serve their country based solely on their age.

Others will point out that the Army has increased benefits such as college tuition reimbursement and enlistment bonuses. But what private company doesn't sweeten the pot by offering incentives to potential employees? The Army is no different, and with an all-volunteer force must compete against the private sector for its employees.

And the Army is not alone when it comes to recruiting. The Navy and Air Force are also on target to meet their recruiting goals. So is the Marine Corps, which has responsibility for the deadly Al-Anbar province, including the cities of Ramadi and Fallujah, in western Iraq. The Washington Times reports that the Marine Corps will meet its goal of 32,701 new recruits without any increase in benefits or change in enlistment requirements.

By focusing on statistics for new recruits, however, the left misses an important fact. Retention statistics, which account for the number of soldiers who agree to reenlist, are at an all-time high. More soldiers are choosing to stay in the Army, even after multiple tours in Afghanistan and Iraq. Even more remarkably, retention numbers are highest for units who are forward deployed in combat zones!

Could it be that the Army is an attractive option for young job seekers? Could it be that skill training (there are over 200 different jobs in the Army), college tuition benefits, health care coverage, and a regular paycheck are attracting young men and women to military service? Could it be that there are patriotic citizens in this country with a genuine desire to serve their nation in its time of need?

The truth is, recruiting and retention numbers can be explained by all of these factors. Raising the age limit for new recruits has opened the door to military service for a new segment of the population. College tuition benefits and skill training attract young people who might otherwise have difficulty marketing themselves to the private sector. And men and women with a sincere desire to serve their country are signing up in the face of renewed violence in Afghanistan and an unrelenting insurgency in Iraq.

In their effort to push as much negativity as possible about the war on terror, the liberal left has lost focus on the fact that the United States is locked in a life-and-death struggle for its very survival. And that loss of focus has obscured the truth that for more reasons than not, Americans are enlisting and staying in the service of their nation.

Comparison Of Army Tankers And Marine Tankers

2009-06-19T13:15:00.001+02:00

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The following is an expert opinion by a Military Tanker: "Being a Marine Corps tanker is the way to go. Can't go into a lot of detail about how Army Tankers and Marine Tankers are different, just that the entire culture of the Army is so much different than the Marines. Either way you'll go to Ft. Knox, Kentucky. I found it to be a drab and miserable place. I give all due respect to the Army. Anyone who risks their lives in a combat field deserves respect. But, I could never have served in an Army unit. There just isn't that same Spirit."

"Army tankers go to boot camp at Knox. You watch how they train and it was laughable. They'd be sitting around drinking beer on a saturday night talking about how hard boot camp is and how the Drill Sgt. was mean because he made them do 25 push ups. If I would have went to Army boot instead of the Marines I may have failed. Not because it is harder but because there just didn't seem to be that motivating."

"Tanks are a great MOS. I loved it. I consider it the absolute best job in the Corps. I signed up for three years 1984-1987. As much as I loved it I did not want to do it for 20 years. It seemed too hard to keep at it for so long. I had my fill, I loved it. Then it was time to move on. If you want a great adventure, a way to be a part of a front line combat force without some of the more extreme hardships of the infantry, I definitely recommend Marine Corps Tanks. Only join though if you can stand the very real possibility of getting sent into combat, killing and possibly dying."

"The army has some outstanding tankers. I would like to think our tanking skills are about equal, we are better off the tank and more disciplined as a hole just from what I saw. Yes, the army has new stuff and they will let you sign up for tanks where the Marine Corps will not. I like the armies' new crap but I don't think I could ever join the army. Tanking' is challenging but very rewarding."

"All of the combat MOS's have to deal with the same stuff though. When it is cold, you are cold. When it is very cold you are very cold. When it rains, you are wet. Being wet and cold can last for days. Wet, cold and deprived of sleep. Same when it's hot or when it's very hot. You get dirtier out in the field than you would believe. All of this stuff is awesome, I just said okay this stuff is great, but 20 years?"

"The daily schedule of a tanker isn't bad at all. The maintenance is no problem. PT is about what you would expect. It's just that darn winter I spent at Camp Fuji in 86. Mother Nature had no mercy on the mountain and the mountain had no mercy on us. We started off most days shoveling the snow off of our tanks before we worked on them all day. If we were out in the field for three days that meant that we were cold for three days."

"Like I said, I wouldn't trade that experience for the world. I don't have to sleep in the snow or the rain anymore. I was also never in combat but if you ever do go to Iraq or Iran or North Korea or some place and get into tank battles and stuff then you'll see that what I thought was a tiny bit hard is like a girl scout picnic. I'd say go for being a tanker. You will love most of it like I did. Then if you love it, stick with it for as long as you can. I don't think that you will want to make that career decision though until you have finished most of your first enlistment."

"Being a tanker or armored crewman in the army or marine corp. is a challenge in its own. Going through your army or tank training is challenging in its own right. No one means to judge, but it happens when you have so much pride or better words pride in your branch of service. We all strive in one thing to be a tanker. The goal of every tanker is ride into combat on your m1a1."

"Marine tanker or army tanker we all are tankers. The army guys around us were in the final stages of their OSUT training. We didn't have many if any at all recruits around us. And the only real difference between marine and army tankers are the pride in the Corps and the Army Units. The maintained is the same. The long hard hours are the same."

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Imperial Roman Army Reforms

2009-06-18T16:27:00.001+02:00

Probably the most well-known and biggest reform of the army was the total restructuring of the soldiers, command structure, battle formations, and equipping of the legionnaire. This only continued to advance the might of the army. By the time of Augustus, when the "classical" legion most associated with the Roman army came into full force, the Imperial Army of Rome became the most powerful military in the ancient world.

This can be attributed to the numerous upgrades the army underwent during the time of Marius into the reign of Augustus and beyond.Previously, the Velites, Hastati, Principes, and Triarii each served different purposes in battle and had to provide their own weapons, armor, and roman helmets which varied in quality and appearance. During the first century A.D. they were made into a unified fighting force by Marius and Augustus, with uniform weapons and armor equipped with the wealth provided by the state. After the reforms, the pre-Marius soldiers were restructured into two main groups: legionnaires and auxilia. Citizens of the Roman Empire were recruited into the legions (backbone heavy infantry), while non-citizens made up the auxilia (support and specialized troops such as archers, cavalry, and inferiorly equipped troops).

This had another impact on the Roman society, as all people who lived within the territories of the empire were now able to join the army, citizen and non-citizen alike. The allowing of a significant number of non-citizens to fight in the army would, however, have major implications to the Roman state during the late empire. The command structure was remodeled significantly also. After the reforms, not only was the roman armor and dress modified, it was even more prevalent how much the excellent organization and command of the army contributed to the success of the Legion. No one man found themselves lost in the army due to the fact that each soldier personally knew an officer and each other.

This also helped contribute to a more loyal and organized army. The smallest unit of the army was the tent group, or Contuberniun, which consisted of eight men. They shared and were in charge of their own tent, supplies, and gear. Next came the Century, which was made up of ten groups of Contuberniun making eighty men. A Centurion was in charge of each Century. A Maniple was made up of two Centuries, and a Cohort was made up of three Maniples, making a standard 480 men per Cohort.

As time went on, however, into the age of Augustus, it is believed that the Maniple was dropped all together and the Cohort remained the principle standard unit in the army and was subdivided into six Centuries instead of three Maniples. Finally, the Legion was made up of ten Cohorts along with 120 horsemen, putting the strength of a Legion around 5000 men, excluding non-combatants. A legate was in command of a legion, and a Consul or Praetor (as Marius became) was in charge of the whole army or a given campaign.

Clearing Land Mine Fields from the Air

2009-03-12T14:32:00.001+01:00

You know we have sent many, many army tanks with protruded devices used for minesweeping to the Middle East from the Logistics Base in our country. They are assigned to removing the left over land mines of past wars. Each year hundreds of thousands lose their lives and limbs to these past war buried relics. The army tanks which remove these devices have not really been redesigned since the second WW, hardly any real improvements in their designs. But it has occurred to me that you can sweep these mines from the air if you want. Here is how it might be done; first, a powerful helicopter drags flat plates of steel along the ground with skids, in front of that is heavy chains dragging approximately 20 yards connected to each other like the kind your used to level fields and scrap away dirt clods and then the chains of smaller size actually in the air attached to cables attached to the helicopter about 50ft AGL.

Now the second idea is to have the company out of CA which is making the large air barges for Fed Ex prototype use the air barges to tow the drag chains and metal skids, each crane is able to hold up to 180,000 lbs. There is an article in Popular Mechanics last year, which will confirm the tests. Ten of these units dragging the skids and chains of 50-80 feet in length can de-mine and are of 800 feet in width by ten miles in less than three hours. It would also give monies necessary to use in R and D for this progressive company with leading edge aerospace engineers and perhaps a future solution to the moving of large amounts of freight over bodies of water and terrain in the future, thus helping the shipping industries after the war. Not to mention the possibility of moving troops, cargo, armament or victims of disasters such as flooding to safety. Think of it this way instead of towing a banner on a vertical plane you are towing a steel sled along a horizontal plane. Most mines are set off by as little three pounds per square inch.

So think of this you have a sled that is strong enough to withstand many, many blasts. The last half of the sled is magnetized and therefore picks up the shrapnel, and the last two feet is a plow with rolling disks that plows the ground to farm it later. HAH. You get all the technology, free roto-tilling and possible farmland in some spots. Where they can grow things like lima beans, soybeans, instead of poppies or babies breath for flower shops in the West. Think in advance and kill multiple birds with one stone. If this works as well as it does in my physics mathematical equations, other countries can use this too, there are many countries with mines everywhere and we could clean them all up.

That would be a humanitarian gesture of epic proportions. I also figure that if Cargill, John Deere and the Gates Foundation, along with NASA and HP foundation and scientists testing genetically altered seeds, they could feed the entire region indefinitely once it was over with. And I bet you could figure a way to plant the seed on the initial sweep and put the seeds far enough down to not freeze. And if you did this during the winter then the snow and ice broken up by the exercise would be enough to get the water into the soil to start the process, just like planting of Winter Wheat in ID. All that you would need after that is to drill for water in selected places to supply what little is needed for those crops which do not need much to start with. If the seeds were resistant to frost then it will work. As far as the Air Barges, which are shaped like the shuttlecraft from Star Trek, but are really huge blimps, they have adequate control and autopilots so at 100 feet AGL they could easily do the job with stability and control, check it out and get back to me on that one. The technology we could get form this endeavor would be incredible and may prove to be the answer to many countries farming problems. We are looking for ideas to rid the world of landmines; got any your self? Think about it please.

"Lance Winslow" - Online Think Tank forum board. If you have innovative thoughts and unique perspectives, come think with Lance; http://www.WorldThinkTank.net/. Lance is a guest writer for Our Spokane Magazine in Spokane, Washington

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Mercenaries 2: World In Flames

2008-09-03T21:13:00.001+02:00

With Mercenaries 2, you'll blow up more stuff before noon than most people do all week

Mercenaries 2: World In Flames feels a lot like the original, but packs more explosions, missions and a new locale to destroy. It suffers from a few nagging issues, but if all you want to blow things up, this intense third person action game delivers.

First, you choose from three mercenary types and then jump into the game, forming a partnership with Venezuelan drug dealer Ramon Solano. After completing a crucial job for him, he double crosses you and you barely survive. Being a gruff mercenary, you swear revenge by taking back his empire, one little step at a time. This means working with such unlikely allies as Universal Petroleum and People's Liberation Army of Venezuela, gathering enough intel and tools to get the job done.

This is done through various missions like taking out high-profile targets, stealing necessities for your team (including fuel and cash) and making new allies, such as a helpful mechanic and a pilot. As you dig deeper, you'll find that your items become more elaborate, and you'll eventually exchange guns for nukes. Granted, this will cost you, but the heavy supply of work, along with side bets from members of your own team, keeps the cash flowing.

The key word here is "BOOM." Click to see more images from the game...

Driving around the open world of Venezuela offers a lot of terrain. Whether you're on foot or riding around in a vehicle (ranging from a mini-tank to a helicopter), the controls handle just like they should. You'll have no problem targeting bad guys and putting them in their place. In addition, hijacking these vehicles is part of the fun, as you engage in push-button minigames and then take control.

There are a couple of minor hitches, however. First off, most of the computer soldiers are dimwits. They'll spend a good deal of time shooting blindly, even when you're right next to them. The only soldiers that stand a chance of taking you down are the heavily armed ones, carrying RPGs and launching mortars at you in a tank.

Secondly, the push-button segments occur too often, especially with the concluding battle with Solano. What should be an epic showdown instead feels like a quick wrap-up.

Mercenaries' presentation gets the job done for the most part. Developer Pandemic did a great job with making everything destructible. Being able to bring down buildings with C4 and other explosives is surprisingly satisfying. There are occasional glitches that needed some clean up, however, especially on certain textures and soldier movements. Overall, it's a step up from the original.

On the audio side, the music is good, but the voice work gets out of hand. You'll constantly hear non-playable soldiers shouting out the same things repeatedly, such as "The enemy is here!", even though you've clearly indicated you're not the enemy.

Thanks to all the missions, you can complete the game and then head back through it again, going a different way and blowing stuff up. Best of all, you don't have to go it alone. It supports online play through Xbox Live and the PlayStation Network, letting you destroy things alongside a friend. There is no offline co-op, nor any competitive multiplayer. Furthermore, the co-op mode forces you to work closely together, so you can't explore two opposite ends of the city. Regardless, it still clicks.

In some respects, Mercenaries 2: World In Flames isn't perfect and it isn't entirely pretty, but when it comes to blowing up stuff alone or with a friend, it gets the job done. If you need to relieve stress, spend some time in this fictitious Venezuela.

Immigrants stow away in Army trucks

2008-07-25T19:56:00.000+02:00

18 july 2008

A group of illegal immigrants have arrived in Britain after stowing away on Army vehicles.

The five men were discovered on Tuesday by soldiers at the Duke of Gloucester Barracks, in South Cerney, and are now being held in a detention centre, Gloucestershire police said.

They are believed to have climbed aboard the convoy returning from Kosovo at Calais.

The men included two Indians, aged 24 and 26, two Afghans aged 16 and 18, and a 15-year-old Iranian, police confirmed.

Officers used sniffer dogs to search for a number of the men within the army barracks.

The men smuggled themselves on board lorries driven by civilian contractors - not soldiers, police said.

A spokeswoman for the Ministry of Defence could only confirm five individuals had been detained at South Cerney and were arrested by police.

T-72 battle tank

2008-02-03T15:56:00.000+01:00

The T-72 is a Soviet-designed main battle tank that entered production in 1971. It is a further development of T-62[4] with some features of T-64A (to which it was a parallel design) and has been further developed as the T-90. Chronologically and in design terms it belongs to the same generation of tanks as the US M60, German Leopard 1 and British Chieftain tank. More recently, the T-72's reputation has suffered following poor combat performance of export models against Western tanks such as the M1 Abrams, M60 Patton, Merkava and Challenger 1 during the first and second Persian Gulf wars and the 1982 Lebanon war. Its losses in the Persian Gulf wars, however, may have been more a consequence of the fact that most Iraqi T-72 tanks were export models (T-72, T-72M and T-72M1) using low quality ammunition and manned by poorly trained Iraqi tankers.

The T-64 was one of the world's most advanced battle tanks when introduced, but early problems with its L60-derived engine, the roadwheels and inaccuracy of its main gun prompted Soviet leadership to seek a low-tech alternative with similar performance, especially after the high unit costs and labour intensive manufacture process of T-64 became obvious. The tank was too expensive to equip all Soviet tank armies, let alone Warsaw Pact (WARPAC) allies.

An "economy" tank with the old design V-46 powerplant was developed from 1967 at the Uralvagonzavod Factory located in Nizhny Tagil. Chief engineer Leonid Karchev created "Object 172", the initial design, but the prototype, marked "Object 172M", was refined and finished by Valeri Venidikov. Field trials lasted from 1971 to 1973 and upon acceptance the Chelyabinsk Tank factory immediately ceased T-55 and T-62 production to retool for the new T-72 tank.

Russian T-72 Tank demonstration

Seventy-seven tanks and four tank-recovery vehicles donated to the Iraqi Armed Forces by Hungary arrived in Iraq and are now stationed at Taji, north of Baghdad, which is the headquarters of the Iraqi 9th Division (Mechanized). The tanks were transferred from Hungary by a combination of land and sea transport. They are expected to be operational by mid-December. This donation of more modern, newly refurbished tanks will enable the 9th Division to play an important role in providing security to Iraqi citizens.

At the end of 2004, the Government of Hungary pledged to contribute to the new Iraqi army seventy-seven T-72 tanks, especially outfitted for the Iraqi forces. The tanks were transported to the Taji Military Base in a joint effort by several NATO allies.

The Iraqi Armed Forces took possession of the tanks on November 12, 2005.