Free Republic

KABUL, Dec. 14, 2009 – U.S. troops need to be prepared to operate in a “complex human terrain” when they arrive in Afghanistan, the commander of International Security Assistance Force Joint Command said here today. Army Lt. Gen. David M. Rodriguez took over the job just two months ago. He commands U.S. troops assigned to NATO and troops of 42 other nations for daily operations throughout Afghanistan. “Now that we know where [U.S. troops] are going and when they are coming in, I think we’ll be able to make them well-prepared for what they need to do,” he said during...

Defense Update magazine has published a news story about a new Marine Corps contract awarded to Navistar Defense, for the development and production of a lighter version of the MaxxPro Mine Resistant Ambush Protected (MRAP) under a $752 million contract awarded last week by the US Marine Corps. The corps is the program manager for the development and procurement of the MRAP vehicles, built under an urgent requirement to protect troops in Iraq and Afghanistan from ambushes, improvised explosive devices (IED), mines and roadside bombs. The full story is available: HERE

PHYSICAL barriers: Rough terrain precludes a continuous wall and presents huge challenges for those trying to patrol the Mexican border A craggy border canyon in San Diego is difficult to monitor and too rough to handle much of a fence, so the federal government has come up with an idea - it will fill the 230-foot-deep chasm and get the dirt to do it by lopping off the tops of two nearby mesas. By smoothing out Smuggler's Gulch with enough dirt to fill 70,000 dump trucks, the U.S. Border Patrol expects to be able to better patrol one of San...

CENTRAL TRAINING AREA, OKINAWA, Japan (Aug. 4, 2006) -- Fifty-two Marines with Combat Assault Battalion, 3rd Marine Division, participated in military operations on urbanized terrain training July 26-27 at Central Training Area's Combat Town. The training consisted of instruction on MOUT tactics, followed by live-fire combat scenarios with SESAMS, or special-effect small arms marking system rounds. The rounds, fired out of a special receiver for M-16 rifles and the M-4 carbine, leave a bright, washable liquid on the impact area to display where a target was hit. The intent of the training was to expose the Marines to close quarters...

You'd be hard-pressed to find similarities between the Amazonian jungles of Brazil and the mountains of Afghanistan, but there are some. Air Force Gen. Richard B. Myers, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, kicked off a trip to South America with a stop here in the capital of Amazonia. During a briefing from Brazilian Maj. Gen. Eduardo Dias da Costa Villa Boas, the commander of army forces in the region, Myers was struck by the similarity of tactics the coalition uses in Afghanistan and tactics the Brazilian government is using in this far-flung region of the country. The Brazilian...

Astronomy Picture of the Day Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation written by a professional astronomer. 2003 March 26 A Lenticular Cloud Over Wyoming Credit & Copyright: Mark Meyer (Photo-Mark.com) Explanation: Is that a cloud or a flying saucer? Both, although it is surely not an alien spacecraft. Lenticular clouds can be shaped like a saucer, and can fly in the sense that, like most clouds, they are composed of small water droplets that float on air. Lenticular clouds are typically formed by high...

Astronomy Picture of the Day Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation written by a professional astronomer. 2002 October 1 Rectangular Ridges on Mars Credit: Malin Space Science Systems, MGS, JPL, NASA Explanation: What could cause rectangular ridges on Mars? As data flows in from the two spacecraft currently orbiting Mars, surface structures are seen that are not immediately understood. These structures pose puzzles that planetary geologists are eager to solve, as they might provide clues to past processes that have shaped Mars over billions...

Astronomy Picture of the Day Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation written by a professional astronomer. 2002 September 3 A Dust Devil on Mars Credit: Malin Space Science Systems, MGS, JPL, NASA Explanation: Does the surface of Mars change? When inspecting yearly images of the Martian surface taken by the robot spacecraft Mars Global Surveyor currently orbiting Mars, sometimes new dark trails are visible. Although originally a mystery, the culprit is now usually known to be a dust devil, a huge swirling gas-cloud with...

Astronomy Picture of the Day Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation written by a professional astronomer. 2002 May 31 In Chandor Chasma on Mars Credit: THEMIS, Mars Odyssey Team, JPL, NASA Explanation: Scroll right and dive into a spectacular canyon on Mars. This daytime infrared view, recently recorded by the THEMIS camera on board the orbiting Mars Odyssey spacecraft, covers a 30 by 175 kilometer swath running along the canyon floor. The north (left) end of the scene is poised at the edge of...

Astronomy Picture of the Day Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation written by a professional astronomer. 2002 March 22 Odyssey Over Mars Credit: THEMIS, Mars Odyssey Team, JPL, NASA Explanation: Scroll right and journey for 300 kilometers over Terra Sirenum in the cratered highlands of southern Mars. The infrared view, 32 kilometers wide, was recently recorded by the THEMIS camera on board the orbiting Mars Odyssey spacecraft. Beginning at the north (left) edge, the scene sweeps across the floor and over the rim of...