Pretty scary when we're buying commercial japanese made 2ways that are one step up from ham radios for the military.
Posted on 01/12/2005 9:11:00 PM PST by Happy2BMe
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Army officials are rushing the Icom radios to Iraq to ensure that no soldiers have to purchase their own radios, Woodhouse said.
This stinks.
My son just came home after a year in Iraq. He's a member of FR and the members of the "Hobbit Hole" bought radios for his company.
Ping
Good for your son - am very glad he is home safe and sound.
>>He said the new radio buys should eliminate that risk by providing U.S. forces with secure military systems.<<
A simple commercially available walkie talkie radio that the kids use costs about $30.
Our Defense Department procurement personnel have never heard of code words or selected phraseology so they have decided that $1,200 which includes a radio, spare battery and headset is a fine price. Add on the ground/air radio systems costing between $6,000 and $14,000 each, plus personnel to operate them.
It isn't too difficult to see why we are spending so much money to fight a bunch of rag tag terrorists who steal their ammo and supplies yet remain quite efficient at killing.
By the way a $30 walkie talkie radio will reach overhead aircraft at 10,000 feet very easily so I guess the correct term of them is ground/air walkie talkie radio. I mean lets make them sound worth their $30 cost also.
Pretty scary when we're buying commercial japanese made 2ways that are one step up from ham radios for the military.
What does Rumsfeld/Myers/Pace/Army Chief-of-staff do all day?
I'm getting tired of people defending these DoD leaders.
Someone needs to be held responsible! This is disgraceful.
Quite a few of us bought our own radios to take on our deployment to Afghanistan last year.
Bump.
Instead of walkie-talkies, why doesn't each vehicle have a CB already installed, just like the truckers use?
Use the more sophisticated radios for calling HQ or air-support or whatever... but SHEESH, give 'em something simple and cheap to talk to each other. It shouldn't be that hard to modify for special frequencies either.
RINO = Radio In Name Only?
You would never see the CIA or the FBI use these types of radio's because you are correct they can be intercepted easily. Secondly ICOM lost a lawsuit because the radio did not perform as expected. Here is the INFO on that one.
See below:
http://www.co.medina.oh.us/judgecollier/jury_verdicts_2004.htm
4-5-04 ICOM of America, Inc. v. Rapid 2 Way
Case no. 03 CIV 0078
In this case, the Plaintiff, ICOM America, claimed the Defendant owed $114,000 to Plaintiff on an account for products sold and shipped to Defendant. Plaintiff sold Defendant hundreds of hand-held radios and accessories. Defendant, Rapid 2 Way, purchased these radios for rent and sale in its business. Defendant acknowledged that it owed money to Plaintiff on account, however Defendant claimed the Plaintiff supplied it with substandard and defective radios causing damage to Defendant’s business. Defendant claimed Plaintiff committed fraud in its representations regarding the radios.
The Plaintiff was represented by Kenneth Baker, Esq., and Michael Slodov, Esq., of Cleveland, Ohio. The Defendant was represented by Bruce Hall, Esq., of Medina, Ohio and Gregory Beck, Esq., of North Canton, Ohio.
Verdict: After a thirteen day trial, the jury awarded the Plaintiff $92,915.95 on its claim on the account and attorney fees. The jury awarded the Defendant $579,131.83 on its claim of breach of contract and breach of warranty. The jury awarded the Defendant $774,321.50 on its claim of fraud. The jury further awarded $1,045,837 in punitive damages along with attorney fees.
Squad Communications: Based on the feedback, I believe this is the area that requires the greatest attention by the Acquisition community. Soldiers have no confidence in the ICOM radios. The range was unsatisfactory. Everyone had a Motorola-type hand-held radio that had vastly better range and power performance. Soldiers purchased handsets and longer antennas for their ICOM radios.
Whether mechanized or light, communications at the squad level is problematic. Mechanized leaders told us they needed a way for squads to communicate back to the platforms and with each other once they dismounted. Light leaders had the same concern with communicating with geographically separated squads operating independently in urban terrain. Soldiers had MBITR radios at company and platoon level. They feel the MBITR is a good solution for the squad but could be lighter/smaller.
SG1 has been using FRS radios for years and they work from the planet to a space ship fine.
A couple of Nukes and you don't need no extra armor no extra radios.
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