- Joined
- Nov 2, 1999
- Messages
- 2,805
This was quickly cut and pasted from a plain text e-mail, just sent to me from one of our contacts at Combat Development.
Very cool!!!
> Jane's Defence Weekly
> November 5, 2003
> US Equipment Drive Gives Iraq-Bound Troops The Edge
> By Scott Gourley, JDW Correspondent, California
> The US is providing many of its army units on rotation to Iraq with a new
> generation of clothing and individual equipment.
> Under a programme known as the Rapid Fielding Initiative (RFI), the army's
> Program Executive Officer (PEO) Soldier is equipping today's warfighters
> with several new items designed to facilitate combat operations.
> The RFI programme originated in mid-2002 when representatives from the
> newly formed PEO Soldier visited elements of the 101st Airborne Division
> deployed in Afghanistan as part of Operation 'Enduring Freedom'. Supported
> by additional field input, planners identified a list of commonly desired
> items that would facilitate the safety, comfort, or operational
> capabilities of the individual soldier.
> Early RFI equipment examples included elbow and knee pads, a new long
> underwear set previously fielded to special operations forces, a fleece
> cap previously fielded to the US Marine Corps and the new Advanced Combat
> Helmet, manufactured by Mine Safety Appliances, also previously used by
> special operations forces.
> Planners note that the RFI project aimed to address the needs of soldiers
> as identified by their brigade commanders. "Every brigade is a little bit
> different from every other one," Maj Andy MacDonald, assistant programme
> manager for Soldier Equipment, PEO Soldier, told Jane's Defence Weekly.
> "A brigade in the 25th Infantry Division in Hawaii and a brigade in the
> 10th Mountain Division at Fort Drum - while both brigade combat teams -
> have completely different requirements. Depending on where they are going
> and what their mission is - again you have to ask them. The only people
> who really know are the brigade commanders."
> The first unit formally equipped under RFI was the 3rd Brigade, 82nd
> Airborne Division in August 2002. Based on the success of that fielding,
> senior army leaders directed that RFI be applied to four more brigades:
> the three brigades of the 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault) and
> another brigade of the 82nd Airborne Division.
> Tools of the trade
> Brigade commanders expanded the scope of RFI equipment. For example, units
> from the 101st Airborne Division identified a need for tools useful for
> military operations in urban terrain (MOUT). Examples of these breaching
> tools included a concrete- and steel-cutting saw, sledge hammer, bolt
> cutter and a traditional firefighter's tool known as a Halligan Bar.
> As these items were being fielded to the brigades within the 101st and
> 82nd Divisions, PEO Soldier representatives held planning discussions with
> members of the 3rd Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division (ID), the army's first
> Stryker Brigade Combat Team (SBCT). Those initial discussions led to the
> fielding of small quantities of experimental equipment during the SBCT
> certification exercise (JDW 16 July).
> Steve Pinter, deputy project manager for Soldier Equipment, PEO Soldier,
> explains that RFI items for the first SBCT were fielded in mid-October as
> the brigade was preparing to deploy to Iraq. He describes the SBCT RFI
> equipment as "primarily the same as the 101st list", although "there's one
> addition that's unique to the 3rd [Brigade] of the 2nd [ID]: what we call
> the Advanced Combat Uniform".
> The uniform is being issued in "three different camouflage patterns. There
> is some movement of the pockets. Pockets are primarily not used when
> soldiers put on body armour. Some pockets will be added to the sleeve.
> There are some inserts to hold the knee and elbow pads so they don't slip
> down. The 3rd [Brigade] of the 2nd [ID] will be the first operational unit
> to get those so we'll be looking for their feedback when they return
> home".
> As well as fielding equipment to units preparing for overseas deployment,
> RFI continues supporting soldiers after deployment to a theatre of
> operation. "We are forward-fielding body armour currently - both the outer
> tactical vest and the small-arms protective inserts - to units that are
> already deployed," says Pinter. "Additionally, as they become available,
> we'll be sending out the new Advanced Combat Helmet. It looks like [the
> in-service] Personal Armor System, Ground Troops [helmet] but it's got a
> little better suspension system, a better centre of gravity, and it's a
> little lighter."
> Tomahawk joins the US Army
> Another item entering RFI inventories beginning with the SBCT fielding is
> the Vietnam Tactical Tomahawk from the American Tomahawk Company.
> The Tomahawk will be added to the squad-level breaching kits, within which
> they will be used for non-explosive breaching operations, egress,
> excavation, extraction, obstacle removal and various standard and
> specialised combat-related tasks.
> "The 3rd Brigade, 2nd ID marks the commencement of the item's inclusion
> [in RFI]," says Andy Prisco, president of American Tomahawk Company. The
> company has recently been providing hand axes to specialised military
> forces operating worldwide. The 482g Vietnam Tactical Tomahawk now being
> incorporated under RFI has a head length of 22cm, a spike length of about
> 8cm, and five cutting edges.
> Prisco explains that the Tomahawk was developed in the 1960s to meet the
> needs of special operations forces and US Marine Corps units seeking a
> hand-to-hand weapon to replace the bayonet during the Vietnam War. "It was
> not in the context of breaching and the analysis of the item was not in
> terms of its merit as a tool. While it's certainly capable in its
> application as a weapon, the needs have changed today."
Very cool!!!
> Jane's Defence Weekly
> November 5, 2003
> US Equipment Drive Gives Iraq-Bound Troops The Edge
> By Scott Gourley, JDW Correspondent, California
> The US is providing many of its army units on rotation to Iraq with a new
> generation of clothing and individual equipment.
> Under a programme known as the Rapid Fielding Initiative (RFI), the army's
> Program Executive Officer (PEO) Soldier is equipping today's warfighters
> with several new items designed to facilitate combat operations.
> The RFI programme originated in mid-2002 when representatives from the
> newly formed PEO Soldier visited elements of the 101st Airborne Division
> deployed in Afghanistan as part of Operation 'Enduring Freedom'. Supported
> by additional field input, planners identified a list of commonly desired
> items that would facilitate the safety, comfort, or operational
> capabilities of the individual soldier.
> Early RFI equipment examples included elbow and knee pads, a new long
> underwear set previously fielded to special operations forces, a fleece
> cap previously fielded to the US Marine Corps and the new Advanced Combat
> Helmet, manufactured by Mine Safety Appliances, also previously used by
> special operations forces.
> Planners note that the RFI project aimed to address the needs of soldiers
> as identified by their brigade commanders. "Every brigade is a little bit
> different from every other one," Maj Andy MacDonald, assistant programme
> manager for Soldier Equipment, PEO Soldier, told Jane's Defence Weekly.
> "A brigade in the 25th Infantry Division in Hawaii and a brigade in the
> 10th Mountain Division at Fort Drum - while both brigade combat teams -
> have completely different requirements. Depending on where they are going
> and what their mission is - again you have to ask them. The only people
> who really know are the brigade commanders."
> The first unit formally equipped under RFI was the 3rd Brigade, 82nd
> Airborne Division in August 2002. Based on the success of that fielding,
> senior army leaders directed that RFI be applied to four more brigades:
> the three brigades of the 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault) and
> another brigade of the 82nd Airborne Division.
> Tools of the trade
> Brigade commanders expanded the scope of RFI equipment. For example, units
> from the 101st Airborne Division identified a need for tools useful for
> military operations in urban terrain (MOUT). Examples of these breaching
> tools included a concrete- and steel-cutting saw, sledge hammer, bolt
> cutter and a traditional firefighter's tool known as a Halligan Bar.
> As these items were being fielded to the brigades within the 101st and
> 82nd Divisions, PEO Soldier representatives held planning discussions with
> members of the 3rd Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division (ID), the army's first
> Stryker Brigade Combat Team (SBCT). Those initial discussions led to the
> fielding of small quantities of experimental equipment during the SBCT
> certification exercise (JDW 16 July).
> Steve Pinter, deputy project manager for Soldier Equipment, PEO Soldier,
> explains that RFI items for the first SBCT were fielded in mid-October as
> the brigade was preparing to deploy to Iraq. He describes the SBCT RFI
> equipment as "primarily the same as the 101st list", although "there's one
> addition that's unique to the 3rd [Brigade] of the 2nd [ID]: what we call
> the Advanced Combat Uniform".
> The uniform is being issued in "three different camouflage patterns. There
> is some movement of the pockets. Pockets are primarily not used when
> soldiers put on body armour. Some pockets will be added to the sleeve.
> There are some inserts to hold the knee and elbow pads so they don't slip
> down. The 3rd [Brigade] of the 2nd [ID] will be the first operational unit
> to get those so we'll be looking for their feedback when they return
> home".
> As well as fielding equipment to units preparing for overseas deployment,
> RFI continues supporting soldiers after deployment to a theatre of
> operation. "We are forward-fielding body armour currently - both the outer
> tactical vest and the small-arms protective inserts - to units that are
> already deployed," says Pinter. "Additionally, as they become available,
> we'll be sending out the new Advanced Combat Helmet. It looks like [the
> in-service] Personal Armor System, Ground Troops [helmet] but it's got a
> little better suspension system, a better centre of gravity, and it's a
> little lighter."
> Tomahawk joins the US Army
> Another item entering RFI inventories beginning with the SBCT fielding is
> the Vietnam Tactical Tomahawk from the American Tomahawk Company.
> The Tomahawk will be added to the squad-level breaching kits, within which
> they will be used for non-explosive breaching operations, egress,
> excavation, extraction, obstacle removal and various standard and
> specialised combat-related tasks.
> "The 3rd Brigade, 2nd ID marks the commencement of the item's inclusion
> [in RFI]," says Andy Prisco, president of American Tomahawk Company. The
> company has recently been providing hand axes to specialised military
> forces operating worldwide. The 482g Vietnam Tactical Tomahawk now being
> incorporated under RFI has a head length of 22cm, a spike length of about
> 8cm, and five cutting edges.
> Prisco explains that the Tomahawk was developed in the 1960s to meet the
> needs of special operations forces and US Marine Corps units seeking a
> hand-to-hand weapon to replace the bayonet during the Vietnam War. "It was
> not in the context of breaching and the analysis of the item was not in
> terms of its merit as a tool. While it's certainly capable in its
> application as a weapon, the needs have changed today."