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Marines Use Brain Scans to Spot PTSD Before the War

Katie Drummond — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 20:27:43 +0000

The military has launched a new program that’ll use genetic testing and brain scans to figure out whether troops are vulnerable to post-traumatic stress — before they head off to war and experience that stress.

The initiative is a cooperative venture between the Marine Corps, Department of Veterans Affairs and Navy Medicine. Testing on 1,000 Marines started last year, and another 673 were recently recruited: participants undergo a battery of exams to reveal underlying “triggers” that might predispose someone to post-traumatic stress disorder, or PTSD. Examinations include more typical sessions, like psych analysis and stress tests, but also involve brain imaging and genetic evaluation - recent evidence suggests that specific genes might increase risk.

Upon return from war zones, participants will be re-tested for early warning signs of post-traumatic stress. By comparing pre-deployment results with post-deployment symptoms, researchers hope to develop a metric that’ll be used to signal vulnerability among military men and women of the future.

Cmdr. Bryan Schumacher, the top doctor with the 1st Marine Division, says the tests won’t bar members from service - instead, they’ll be used to boost stress-prevention training for at-risk troops.

Initial test conclusions aren’t anticipated for another six months, but they might also be useful for other Pentagon research. Darpa, the DoD’s out-there research agency, wants a better understanding of stress reactions to come up with a quick-fix, PTSD-prevention pharmaceutical.

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Navy’s ‘Affordable’ Shoreline Ship: $477 Million Overbudget

Nathan Hodge — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 18:12:45 +0000

It only took an extra half billion dollars, but the Navy is now inching closer to having a fleet of stealthy, shore-hugging surface ships.

The future USS Independence, the Navy’s second Littoral Combat Ship (LCS), this week completed “acceptance trials,” a sort of test drive for the Navy’s Board of Inspection and Survey. During the two-day trials, the ship completed demonstrations of the combat systems suite, steering, anchoring, and propulsion.

Vice Admiral D.C. Curtis, the commander of Naval Surface Forces, said the successful trials brought the Navy “another step closer to having this important capability as part of the Surface Force.”

Once upon a time, the Navy wanted to build a large LCS fleet. The new vessels were originally supposed to be affordable — costing a relatively cheap quarter of a billion dollars a pop — and they would feature “plug-n-play” mission modules that could be swapped out, including the Non-Line of Sight Launch System (or “rockets in a box”). But the program experienced phenomenal cost growth, placing a question mark on future procurement.

Christopher Cavas of Defense News has the polite version of the story:

Construction of the Independence began in November 2005. The ship, like the Freedom from LCS competitor Lockheed Martin, was originally programmed to take two years to build at a cost of $223 million. But a series of miscalculations by the Navy and its contractors, design adjustments and other technical issues doubled the construction time, and the cost for the first-of-class ship has gone over the $700 million mark.

In a hearing earlier this year, Rep. Gene Taylor of Mississippi slammed the Navy’s management of the program, in which design and construction of the first four hulls was split between two shipyards. “I will not go into detail here and the list of mistakes made in this program because we would be here for most of the day if I did,” he said. “But this year is a ’take it or leave it ‘year for the LCS.”

Shipyards owned by Lockheed Martin and General Dynamics are both now at work on two more LCS hulls. Next year, the Navy plans to pick a single design; if all goes to plan, the winner would get to build dozens more of the ships. Note to the Navy: Keep an eye on the bottom line this time.

[PHOTO: Wikimedia]

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Military Video System Is Like YouTube With Artillery

David Hambling — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 17:25:44 +0000

Making footage shareable and searchable online has sparked a revolution in the cute animal, stupid human, and delicious tamale communities. New software just might mean a similar upgrade for military video intelligence: Think of it as a real-time YouTube with heavy artillery. The release of the new version has just been announced.

The U.S. military’s Task Force ODIN demonstrated the effectiveness of combining the video inputs from networked drones, aircraft and helicopters. When a roadside bomb went off, the team could wind back the video to see who planted it — and where they went. ODIN allegedly assisted in the takedown of thousands of insurgents in Iraq; their counterparts are starting work in Afghanistan.

The process of handling, archiving and then searching through a large number of video feeds is a challenging one. That’s one of the reasons why something like YouTube can be so helpful: Instead of having to search through a pile of videotapes, you can just type in a few keywords. Even better, you can search all your friends’ video collections and they can search yours. And this is where a system like adLib produced by EchoStorm Worldwide LLC comes in. It does the same sort of thing for the military by automatically archiving video feeds along with the associated telemetry data.

For example, suppose you want to find out what happened at point X at 8:30 yesterday. You don’t even have to know which platforms were in the area at the time.

“You can ask for video that matches a specific location using latitude and longitude or the MGRS (Military Grid Reference System) or by clicking and dragging on a map,” David Barton of EchoStorm told Danger Room. “You can even define a specific point and specify a radius to search from that point.”

Barton says that the system can take video feeds from all sorts of drones. It even works right down to the individual soldier level: FLIR Recon III binoculars have built-in video, GPS and a laser range finder which can feed straight into adLib.

The system requires some rack-mounted hardware, but once the data has been archived, it’s freely available to everyone: Like YouTube, users can access it on the internet without any special software. EchoStorm’s Multiplayer allows users to look at what’s happening right now. Looking into the past is one thing, but you might also want to look at how things are right now. It even allows for “Artillery Correction support,” so a fire support officer can redirect an barrage of shells from a video feed on his PC. Try doing that with your ninja cat videos.

Image: Echostorm

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Gates: Expect a Slow-Mo ‘Surge’ to Afghanistan

Nathan Hodge — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 16:29:08 +0000

In early 2007, the U.S. military was able to “surge” five additional brigades to Iraq in relatively short order. But in Afghanistan, any major troop increase won’t happen overnight.

Speaking yesterday to reporters at the Pentagon, Defense Secretary Robert Gates tamped down expectations of a rapid, across-the-board troop increase — although he suggested that the first reinforcements could arrive there soon.

“First of all, the situation in Afghanistan is very different than the situation we faced in Iraq in the sense that we do not have the same kind of transportation access to Afghanistan that we did in Iraq, where we were able, over a five-month period or so, to bring in five brigade combat teams,” he said. “So almost everything of consequence has to go in by air.”

Further complicating matters is the withdrawal from Iraq. Around 115,000 troops remain in Iraq right now, and a sizeable contingent will need to stick around to support elections — which may be delayed until spring. And there needs to be enough infrastructure to support the influx of troops, along with equipment to protect them from roadside bombs and other key gear.

Gates said all the so-called “critical enablers” that would pave the way for a surge (think medical assets, route clearance equipment, bomb-fighting gear, drones) were expected to be on the ground by the end of the year. “I anticipate that as soon as the president makes his decision, we can probably begin flowing some forces pretty quickly after that,” he said. “But it is a bigger challenge than certainly was the — was the case in Iraq.”

That’s an understatement. Earlier this week, Spencer Ackerman crunched the numbers on possible Army deployments. “If President Obama orders an additional 30,000 to 40,000 troops to Afghanistan, he will be deploying practically every available U.S. Army brigade to war, leaving few units in reserve in case of an unforeseen emergency and further stressing a force that has seen repeated combat deployments since 2002,” he wrote.

But the main issue, however, is when the administration will get off the pot. As Josh Rogin reported yesterday at The Cable, the White House is punting on an Afghanistan announcement until after Thanksgiving.

[PHOTO: U.S. Department of Defense]

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Caption This: The Governator in Baghdad

Nathan Hodge — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 18:01:08 +0000

Caption contest! Here’s California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger visiting the gym at Camp Victory, Iraq. Tell us what’s really going on…

[PHOTO: U.S. Department of Defense]

Afghan Prez Pinky-Swears: No More Corruption

Nathan Hodge — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 15:43:23 +0000

Months after the country’s tainted national elections, foreign dignitaries flocked to the locked-down capital of Afghanistan to see Afghan President Hamid Karzai sworn in today for a second term. And Karzai gave his visitors what they wanted: A pledge to stamp out corruption.

The BBC has this key excerpt from his inauguration speech (full version is here):

Those who spread corruption should be tried and prosecuted. Corruption is a very dangerous enemy of the state. We will soon organize a conference in Kabul to organize new and effective ways to combat this problem. Afghan ministers should be professional and servants of the people. The government officials should register their earnings.

To which we say: Better late than never. During his first full term, Karzai presided over a country that slipped to second place on Transparency International’s roster of the world’s most corrupt places. And if Karzai really intends to crack down on graft and abuse of power, he won’t have to look very far.

Counterinsurgency guru David Kilcullen has been sounding off about a “cycle of corruption” that is destroying the country from within. We here at Danger Room are not fond of simplistic historical analogies, especially ones that invoke helicopters on the roof of the U.S. Embassy Saigon, but it’s hard not to think of the possible outcomes when the host government is hopelessly inept and kleptocratic.

And the clock in Kabul is ticking. In his inaugural address, Karzai suggested that foreign troops could be out within five years.”As they already have in Kabul, our own security forces should be able to take control of security of other provinces as well, and thus the role of the international troops will be gradually reduced and limited to support and training of Afghan forces,” he said. “We are determined that by the next five years, the Afghan forces are capable of taking the lead in ensuring security and stability across the country.

While that, perhaps, is not as fast as the Washington clock, it at least points the way to an eventual exit.

[PHOTO: President.gov.af]

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Five for Fighting 11/19/09

Noah Shachtman — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 05:36:05 +0000

# U.S. turns to local guns-for-hire to secure three more bases in Afghanistan

# CIA “black site” prison found at fancy riding academy

# Los Alamos shuts down plutonium facility after fire safety concerns

# DNI vs. CIA over drone strikes

# G.I.s vs. space invaders in Afghanistan

[High five: @boingboing, @marcambinder, @stripesbaron]

In Nod to Global Warming, Navy Preps for ‘Ice Free’ Arctic

Katie Drummond — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 22:37:35 +0000

The dwindling Arctic ice cap has launched an international race for control of northern waters: Russia, Canada, Denmark, and even China are hustling to expand their military presence, plant flags and eye those 90 billion barrels of natural gas under the cap. Now the U.S. Navy’s getting ready for the thaw, with a strategic plan to maximize the U.S. stake up north.

The Navy’s Arctic Roadmap (.pdf), written by the recently launched Navy Task Force Climate Change (TFCC), opens with an acknowledgment that worldwide temperatures are on the rise — especially up north. “The Arctic is warming twice as fast as the rest of the globe. While significant uncertainty exists in projections for Arctic ice extent, the current scientific consensus indicates the Arctic may experience nearly ice-free summers sometime in the 2030s,” the document notes.

Then the Arctic Roadmap sets out a three-phase plan to secure U.S. interests in the Arctic. Because there’s a lot at stake under that melting cap: energy reserves, transport lanes and potential territory disputes.

It’s the latest in a series of efforts by the sea service to cope with climate change. Just last month, the Navy announced its intention to deploy “an energy-efficient ‘Great Green Fleet’ carrier strike group consisting of ships powered either by nuclear energy or biofuels with an attached air wing of fighter jets fueled entirely by biofuels,” Military.com’s Greg Grant reported.

One of the Navy’s main goals in the warmed-up Arctic is international diplomacy and “cooperative partnerships.” But amid rising military competition, the document also reflects preparation for potential discord. The plan includes an assessment of Arctic stakeholders and their motivations, to “determine the most dangerous and the most likely threats” and “provide opportunities for cooperative solutions.” That data will be used in strategic analysis, by applying game theory “to consider the interdependencies between actors and actions.” Then the Navy wants to strengthen key international military and business partnerships, to improve “operations, training and common investments.”

The TFCC also hopes to catch up with countries that already have a heavy Arctic presence, and get more U.S. personnel up north. That starts with a fleet readiness assessment, to “identify current capabilities and limitations” and create a list of research and tech projects that will improve everything from underwater warfare to oil spill cleanup. Then there’s expanding the Navy’s participation in Arctic training, and their observation of foreign programs like Canada’s Nanook, a disaster-prep program that the Navy sat in on last August.

Finally, the Navy’s got to put out the right spin to civilian media outlets, so that Americans and the international community “believe the Navy is contributing to a safe, secure and stable Arctic region.” Included in the PR targets: major U.S. newspapers, the Weather Network — and Facebook.

Of course, we may not see many tangible results of the Arctic Roadmap until the cap melts. Which is why the plan includes a thorough environmental monitoring section, so that the Navy can accurately predict “specifically when, and to what extent ice caps will recede, allowing for increased maritime access to the Arctic.”

Photo: U.S. Navy

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U.S. Ship Repels Pirates With Sonic Blaster, Bullets (Updated)

Nathan Hodge — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 18:48:55 +0000

Months after its skipper was rescued at sea by the Navy, the U.S.-flagged container ship Maersk Alabama repelled an attack by suspected pirates today off the northeast coast of Somalia.

Back in April, the Maersk Alabama was boarded by pirates, who took ship captain Richard Phillips hostage. Phillips was freed after Navy snipers shot and killed three of the pirates who were holding him prisoner in a lifeboat.

This time, the pirates didn’t get that far. According to a statement released by the U.S. 5th Fleet in Manama, Bahrain, when a pirate skiff approached the ship this morning, the security team on board responded with evasive maneuvers, and blasted them with Long Range Acoustic Devices (LRADs) and small-arms fire. The pirates then broke off the attack.

April’s Maersk Alabama incident forced a rethink of counter-piracy measures, including embarking armed security teams. Shipping companies and their insurers had in the past been reluctant to have armed security teams on board, but as recent incidents have shown, sometimes the combination of the LRAD, firehoses and evasive maneuvers is not enough.

Take, for instance, the case of the cruise ship MSC Melody: An Israeli security team used guns and firehoses to repel the attackers.

And while the LRAD was famously used to repel pirates in a 2005 attack on a cruise ship, a team of three security operatives was unable to outgun pirates with a sonic blaster in a separate incident. They were forced to jump ship.

Vice Adm. Bill Gortney, the commander of U.S. Naval Forces Central Command, praised the operators of the Maersk Alabama for their willingness to take on more-robust defenses. “This is a great example of how merchant mariners can take proactive action to prevent being attacked, and why we recommend that ships follow industry best practices if they’re in high-risk areas.”

The Maersk Alabama is now underway to its initial destination of Mombasa, Kenya.

UPDATE: The chief mate of the Maersk Alabama is now using the incident to advocate for putting armed mercenaries on all U.S. ships. “We cannot play roulette with the lives of the U.S. Merchant Marines, choosing to arm some and not others with various levels of expertise,” Captain Shane Murphy says in a statement. “It is imperative that we utilize private armed security consisting of American, former military special operatives that can consistently make the necessary shot to mitigate the RPG on each and every U.S. flagged vessel traversing the High Threat Waters. Anything less is not enough.”

Photo: Wikimedia

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Air Force Zaps Drones in Laser Test

Nathan Hodge — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 16:59:14 +0000

In a recent series of tests at the Naval Air Warfare Center, China Lake, Calif., a trailer-mounted laser was able to knock five unmanned aircraft out of the sky.

The demo, sponsored by the Air Force Research Laboratory, was a test of the Mobile Active Targeting Resource for Integrated eXperiments (MATRIX), an experimental system developed by Boeing Directed Energy Systems. According to a company news release, the test showed the ability to take down a hostile unmanned aircraft with a “relatively low laser power” weapon. According to AFRL, MATRIX uses a two and a half kilowatt-class high energy laser.

While ballistic missile defense may get all of the press, some homeland-security experts worry about a more low-tech threat: drone technology. Bill Baker, chief scientist of the Air Force Research Laboratory’s Directed Energy Directorate, said in a statement that the shootdowns “validate the use of directed energy to negate potential hostile threats against the homeland.”

It’s not clear, exactly, how the lasers shot down the drones: Whether they disrupted the aircraft controls, or burned a big hole in them. (An AFRL news release said the drones were “acquired, tracked and negated at significant ranges” but offered few additional details.)

As part of the counter-drone tests, Boeing also shot down an unmanned aircraft with its Laser Avenger system, a Humvee-mounted directed-energy air defense system the company is developing. They also test-fired a lightweight 25mm machine gun integrated on the Laser Avenger platform (the machine gun fired at a static target board, not a drone). The idea behind this is to use good ol’ kinetic energy — i.e., a stream of hot lead — as a backup if the directed energy system fails to down the target.

Boeing has been developing a range of directed-energy weapons for the military, including the Airborne Laser (a Boeing 747 reconfigured as a ballistic-missile shooter), the Advanced Tactical Laser (a laser gunship), and the High Energy Laser Technology Demonstrator (a mobile laser cannon that can shoot down rockets and mortars).

[PHOTO: AFRL]

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