What is Digg?88 Comments
- OBKenobi, on 10/12/2007, -2/+32Pvt. Winona Jones - cause of death: virus, unknown origin.
Cpl. Stanley Fodder - cause of death: BSOD.
Sgt. Rock Johnson - cause of death: failure to activate MS LAND WARRIOR within 30 days - Urusai, on 10/12/2007, -2/+22All that technology and you can still lose a war against untrained teenagers with 40-year-old AK-47s.
- C00001, on 10/12/2007, -2/+19The problem is the sloth at which the government (and the contractors that it hires to do all of this work) move. In the business world, they would probably be smart to scrap it and redesign with more current components, rather than go to market with a sure failure. But in the government contracting world, all that this would do is delay the amount of time before the soldiers get their gear for another 10-15 years, and they would still end up with outdated gear, circa 2005.
I'm new to this whole dynamic (recently started working on learning software for the government), but the amount of money that the government spends on absolutely terrible products consistently blows my mind. If these companies were competing in any other market, they'd be out of business in about 3 days. - wily6, on 10/12/2007, -2/+18They should have spent a half a billion dollars on ideas on ways to get out of war.
- gnawph2, on 10/12/2007, -8/+23@ mobbo
When are you guys going to get off the "freedom" line?
Since Iraq started I've only been losing them. Upload that into your battlelink thingy.
This isn't a soldier bash, just wish they would stop trying to protect my freedoms thousands of miles away ( Iraq ) from the people actually taking them ( Washington D.C. ). Also to prevent the typical knee jerk response: "Yes, I am a coward and will crawl into the fetal position the second I am threatened with violence" - Cyberen, on 10/12/2007, -2/+16All that technology and money and the Iraqi resistance can beat us with basic weapons and guerilla tactics. How about we just get the ***** out?
- SultanTravi, on 10/12/2007, -1/+12Also, I think that Iraq isn't necessarily the place for this. It's better suited to chaotic battlefields where knowing locations of fellow men is vital at all times. In a police action or occupation, it's just not as useful.
^ Just my conjecture. I could be way off. - Evoguy, on 10/12/2007, -3/+13I seriously doubt 15-year old technology forced on soliders is going to help anything. Maybe if this project was scrapped and redesigned with current tech, it'd be successful (and wayy cheaper). Think of all the power and functionality present these days in packages as small as a PSP for example.
- OBKenobi, on 10/12/2007, -0/+10[quote]give privates and corporals simple beacons that broadcast their positions to higher-ups.[/quote]
And to everyone else capable of tracking the signals. - sleepyness, on 10/12/2007, -0/+10For $30,000 a soldier, they'd be better off buying dragon skin..
- SultanTravi, on 10/12/2007, -6/+16Halp us V8, we r stuk in Irak
- glamdr1ng, on 10/12/2007, -4/+13I agree. Updated and smaller and these things would be awesome. 1 minute lag on the positional map just isn't kosher. Of course, I am sure a lot of the complaints come from those just too complacent to change. It happens though, can't stop change.
- mobbo, on 10/12/2007, -2/+10This thread is getting very anti-soldier. I suggest everyone put away your politics and not blame ***** on the soldiers who are doing their jobs. As one who has been in combat, this gear would be overwhealming if used all at once, but most of the features can be customized to the comfort-level of each platoon sergeant or squad leader. One thing I like is the ability to know WHERE my soldiers are in relation to me and being able to mark enemy fire. I hated when we were being fired upon and having 5 soldiers trying to say east, west, north, or south.
- mobbo, on 10/12/2007, -13/+20@ Veight: You better STFU. I'm a soldier in the Reserve (active a few tours) and I am a college student with a 4.0 GPA. Don't be jealous because we get all the chicks while you sit at home and jerk it to your Jessica Alba poster.
A battlefield is a complex system with soldiers, artillery, vehicles, medics (like me), civilians, enemies, and bad terrain (usually in Iraq). It would be hard for anyone, no matter how intelligent you are, to control all those things at once... hell, even GRASP what the ***** is going on at all times. Idiots like you think we just run around shooting randomly, but if you had any clue how a battle system works and how hard we train so that when it comes to it we don't freak out and get into the fetal position (like YOU would), you would think twice about what the ***** you just said.
BTW, you are WELCOME for your freedom to post that ***** you just spewed. - Nysul, on 10/12/2007, -1/+8So, all you have to do is capture or kill one soldier, take his helmet, then you have the positional layout of the US troops? I hope it has some type of password.
- xedd, on 10/12/2007, -0/+7Maybe they should spend half a billion dollars investigating Bush and Cheney, and hopefully putting them in jail for election tampering and fraud etc; along with Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz for war crimes while they're at it...
- atticus8, on 10/12/2007, -3/+10"Soldiers are pretty stupid"
Eisenhower was a soldier. Kennedy was a soldier. Churchill was a soldier. Pershing, Patton, Nobel Prize winner George Marshall were soldiers. General Eric Shinseki, who accurately foretold exactly what needed to be done in Iraq way back in 2002, was a soldier. Everytime you heard a voice in the halls of Congress against the war in Iraq (at least pre-Nov. 7, 2006), calling it the disaster that it is/was, it was a soldier doing it. I remember Col. Lawrence Wilkerson going ***** at some Senate hearing in 2005 about the cooked pre-Iraqi War intelligence, he was mad as hell but it was still an eloquent indictment. However, George W., Cheney, Wolfowitz, Richard Perle, Bill Kristol, Karl Rove: not soldiers (and I don't want to hear any nonsense about Texas Air National Guard regarding W.: that man is not a soldier). If soldiers are stupid, let me be that stupid.
And speaking as a true-blue liberal, you, Veight, are exactly the type of brainless ***** that gives us liberals bad names. You ***** on soldiers for things that are so obviously not their fault. Were you born that stupid or did you have to work on it, Pvt. Pyle? - inactive, on 10/12/2007, -0/+6They fired the weapon against their own satellite, dumb-ass.
- Agret, on 10/12/2007, -1/+6Yeah it sucks how long the testing process is for military hardware, this is a great example of how something cutting edge 15 years ago is laughable by todays standards.
- Tychosis, on 10/12/2007, -0/+5I'm a former submariner now working in the "military-industrial" sector and agree with a lot of the comments here. Unfortunately, it's very true that getting new tech through testing and deployed is often a grueling endeavor. That's changing, though. For years now, a lot of military programs have been shifting toward utilizing commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) technology, saving a vast amount of time and money between conceptualization and deployment. Getting a program into service is still incredibly painful, but once it's been approved and it's live, it's much easier to maintain support for it and keep it current.
I think it could ultimately be a useful tool for soldiers, but I honestly feel it's still a long way off. The COTS model doesn't really work unless there's a healthy base to draw upon, and I don't really think wearable computing has been embraced by. . .well, anyone. Until that happens, we won't see the advancements in this field that make a program like this viable.
There's also the training issue, which is touched on below in a thread that unfortunately turned into an ugly pissing contest, so I'll comment up here. Giving a system like this to people who have already been in combat and saying "Hey, here are your new toys. Now go and change the way you've kept yourself alive" simply isn't going to work. If they want soldiers to benefit from something like this, they need to use it from day one of AIT.
Of course, this is all just my opinion, and I was never in combat and never had anyone shooting at me. - wvdavis, on 10/12/2007, -0/+5The only thing it did not answer for me was the question.... What happens when this equipment falls into enemy hands? Now they have *your* situational awareness.
- eggo, on 10/12/2007, -2/+7You don't honestly think we are going to go to war with China, do you? China--where all the manufacturing plants for all the lovely things Americans love, are located? Where we can get cheap labor from the enormous impoverished population to support our debt-based economy? What makes you think that?
- droversoul, on 10/12/2007, -0/+5Let me tell you somethin' brotherrr!
- OBKenobi, on 10/12/2007, -12/+17[quote]BTW, you are WELCOME for your freedom to post that ***** you just spewed[/quote]
You're WELCOME for your salary, *****. - uceboyx, on 10/12/2007, -0/+4at least they used Linux....
- gossipninja, on 10/12/2007, -1/+5I have discussed followed land warriors development for awhile. I see a few things that needs to be worked on.
One: Information overload, Max Brooks in World War Z ( a fictional zombie apocalypse) discusses a battle where land warrior was deployed and one soldier got panicked and it spread through the ranks like wildfire, and then a soldier get mutilated and the blood was splashed in hi-def on every soldiers viewscreen. These types of happenings will instantly demoralize even the toughest of soldiers. Couple that with hearing all kinds of chatter from squad mates, leaders, commanders, hq and so on and it would be chaotic at best. A good solution would be to prioritize access, squad leaders get intel from higher up, grunts only get what the squad leaders allows them access to.
Two: It could become a crutch. Look at vietnam, we had superior tech, air superiority, supplies, all kinds of advantages but due to the nature of that war old style guerilla hit and run was what worked. If modern soldiers expect battlefield updates, sat images beamed to their goggles, RTS style tactical overviews, and all other types of info, what happens when they dont have it? when their batteries die? when the kit breaks? Im not saying do without but just cuz we got GPS doesnt mean we stop using maps.
Three: I think instead of a basic computer interface it should incorporate alot of emerging augmented reality ideas. Imagine if in real life you say objective markers like in Battlefield 2. That type of tech would greatly enhance cohesion and lessen uncertainly during fire fights. again you have to be mindful of the first two points on this one.
Like anything, it takes getting used to, my parents have had tivo for 3 years and still forget they can stop,pause, rewind tv when the phone rings. - inactive, on 10/12/2007, -0/+4The soldiers didn't decide to start a war, you worthless dumb *****. Why the ***** would you hassle soldiers about whether it was warranted?
That said, it's a little disappointing to hear soldiers regurgitate the "freedom" line. Everything the administration has said connecting this war to "freedom" is a lie, and most intelligent people in this country hope that soldiers are smart enough to realize that as well. War apologists attack anti-war people by idiotically shouting them down with "Support the troops! Support the troops!" as if attacking the war equals attacking the soldiers. Obviously they believe that if we discuss the TRUTH and it gets back to the soldiers, they'll be devastated.
So are the soldiers here telling is that this is true? That they still cling to the lies about "freedom" and can't handle the truth? - Sturmur, on 10/12/2007, -8/+12Oh shi~!
We soldiers are stupid?! Help us civilian! Help us! - tokyopimp, on 10/12/2007, -0/+4Veight your the very first person I've ever blocked on Digg, you're a mother ***** moron. You despise poor people? Karma is a bitch by the way.
Actually I take that back, your going to be the second... but I think it was an accident blocking the first one. - Sturmur, on 10/12/2007, -3/+6lol chair force. pew pew!
- tacroy, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3@orangemarmalade
Right....just like the radicals (a minority) in Palestine did? Oh wait...
Seriously instead of saying random crap like "They will just leave us alone" how about we look at current events or history to see exactly how situations like this played out. We have plenty of examples. - mobbo, on 10/12/2007, -8/+11You people have got to be ***** kidding me. In no way am I defending the war. I am trying to relate to you that it is NOT our job to support or defend the war. It is our job to do what our commanders tell us to do. Veight, you started off by saying that soldiers are stupid... which is astonishing that you would actually insult the very people who give their lives without hesitation for YOU.
How you people sleep at night after calling soldiers stupid and "*****" is beyond me. You people are the very definition of scum. - atticus8, on 10/12/2007, -1/+4 Farewell Address to the Nation given by President and General Dwight D. Eisenhower on January 17, 1961:
A vital element in keeping the peace is our military establishment. Our arms must be mighty, ready for instant action, so that no potential aggressor may be tempted to risk his own destruction.
This conjunction of an immense military establishment and a large arms industry is new in the American experience. The total influence — economic, political, even spiritual — is felt in every city, every statehouse, every office of the federal government. We recognize the imperative need for this development. Yet we must not fail to comprehend its grave implications. Our toil, resources and livelihood are all involved; so is the very structure of our society.
In the councils of government, we must guard against the acquisition of unwarranted influence, whether sought or unsought, by the military-industrial complex. The potential for the disastrous rise of misplaced power exists and will persist.
We must never let the weight of this combination endanger our liberties or democratic processes. We should take nothing for granted. Only an alert and knowledgeable citizenry can compel the proper meshing of the huge industrial and military machinery of defense with our peaceful methods and goals so that security and liberty may prosper together.
Watch "Why We Fight" if you agree with this - the whole movie is built around it. - jm9206755, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3No, if we stay we are going to continue to drive our economy into the ground and produce more anti-American sentiment in the middle east creating a better environment for terrorist recruitment.
- ShepherdBook, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3Taking this into an augmented reality direction would greatly increase its utility.
Essentially duplicate the HUD in Tribes in the Landwarrior visor. Icons overlayed for all the nearby friendlies and known foes. Beacons for rally points, targets of interest etc. Perhaps an indicator showing those friendlies under fire. Eliminate the lag. Also some way to transmit live video of you performing the pwners dance over you're fallen enemies. - orangemarmalade, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3bob:
No, they don't. They stay in Iraq and are happy about their enemies leaving their home. - atticus8, on 10/12/2007, -1/+4@gnawph2
"This isn't a soldier bash, just wish they would stop trying to protect my freedoms thousands of miles away". I'm glad you're not soldier-bashing first of all, and your post is more reasonable because of it. In fact, you make many reasonable points (ALERT THE INTERTUBES!!). However, you, and millions of others, are perhaps exhibiting what Marx called "false consciousness" (see told you guys I was a liberal). The soldiers are the guys with the guns, and they do the killing if there's killing to be done, but does that make soldiers your enemy? The people in DC, where I live, might take (read: are taking) your rights, but how is that the soldiers fault? Our soldiers in Iraq are fighting the wrong war at the wrong time, but how is that the soldiers fault? Do our soldiers, who are basically average Americans, chomp at the bit to be stationed far from their families for months/years in a hot sandy deathtrap? They answer is clearly no. I'm originally from Nicaragua, but am a political exile due to the communist takeover of the military and its use against actual Nicaraguans in Nicaragua. I wish you could see this perspective and notice how relatively harmless the American military is to Americans. Our leaders, on the other hand.......
@OBKenobi
"You're welcome for the freedom"
"You're welcome for your salary"
These are both limp, ineffective claims, good for a bumper sticker and nothing more. The problem with this "you're welcome for your freedom" is that this war is, so clearly, not a Germany-in-WWII situation, where if we don't fight Iraq, it will spread all over the world like a slave-taking virus. It is beyond credibility to say that the fight there is preserving our freedom. Gnaphw2 is right to mention that our freedoms have been getting smaller since Iraq began (because of POLITICIANS, not soldiers). "You're welcome for your salary" is an old chestnut already used for hundreds of years against cops and its still just as ineffective and silly. - dougle, on 10/12/2007, -1/+3If only it had a PAUSE button.
- unusualbob, on 10/12/2007, -1/+3most of the tech on them is much newer than 15 years, they have just spent that much time developing it. The biggest weight issue is batteries that do not last very long. They are experimenting with hydrogen fuel cells. As the technology gets smaller, so will the load. I think this test was mainly for a check of features, the weight issue has always been around.
- Insanitation, on 10/12/2007, -1/+3Wait till the enemy hacks it and tells all the troops to walk into a land mine field.
- Junkyarddawg, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2Wrong comment in the wrong place. Burify!
- mobbo, on 10/12/2007, -3/+5@OBKenobi - Uh, ya... that's what people in the military do. We follow orders because that's what we swore to do in our Oath of Enlistment. I follow orders from my commanders and the soldiers below me follow my orders... just like it's been for hundreds of years. As a person who obviously has never been in the military, you would have no clue how it is. Why we are in Iraq is not up to me... it's up to YOU, the voter. So don't blame us, blame yourself.
As far as Veight goes, that's another very common misconception. I am not a poor kid and I never was before I enlisted. When I do get rich, and I will, I will have the discipline and knowledge to handle it far better than you ever will. I'm glad that people reading this know that you two are just trying to be *****, which is fine, because you can do this on the internet, but if you ever confronted any soldier like that on the street, you'd hqve many more reasons to hate us. And if you can live with yourself being a dick on the internet but a coward in the real world, you are not a man. - MrVW, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2All this so that the Americans won't team kill themselves, it will never work they are destined to do
- ram2246, on 10/12/2007, -2/+4Didn't Nintendo already come out with the VirtualBoy? And is it really that hard to tell where your fellow soldiers are? Maybe the Army could have just spent $100 bucks telling the soldiers not to shoot the guys wearing the camo. I mean christ, for $1.5 billion that thing should tell the where all the Iraqis are.
- danjal, on 10/12/2007, -2/+3i'm sorry mobo.. but your lost all respect with your 14year old "You better STFU. I'm a soldier in the Reserve (active a few tours) and I am a college student with a 4.0 GPA. Don't be jealous because we get all the chicks while you sit at home and jerk it to your Jessica Alba poster." comment
- maleki, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1Hell no..Chuck Norris Clones
- unusualbob, on 10/12/2007, -1/+2no, the last thing we want to happen is us leave and a radical group take control. A group such as the taliban will use scare tactics to gain power and use it as a recruiting ground. They can then send people with their funds to the US or embassys.
- mobbo, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1All of them use "frequency hopping" which selects a combination of frequencies to spread the transmissions over. It would be like trying to watch a single TV show feed transmitted randomly over tens of thousands of channels. You would never be able to get a coherent message from it.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frequency_hopping - Shad0wSP, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1the guy in the picture: "his power level is over NINE THOUSAND!!!"
- sekhui, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1We are already weighed down by good ideas. There's just too much to carry.
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