Rock as a Weapon - When the U.S. Army drubs an enemy with sound, it wants better speakers.

Red Herring ^ | 6/10/05

[Straight Vermonter]

The U.S. Army announced this week it wants a new generation of rugged, wireless speakers for its psychological warfare units.

An earlier version of the loudspeakers on the U.S. Army’s Special Operations Command’s wish list would likely be familiar to former Panamanian leader Manuel Noriega. In 1989, the U.S. Army blasted hard rock outside the Vatican embassy in Panama City where Mr. Noriega had taken refuge after 24,000 U.S. troops dropped in to arrest him five days before Christmas.

In the end, it wasn’t psychological warfare, but old-fashioned street protests from Panamanians that led Mr. Noriega to surrender to U.S. authorities. Still, so-called psyops units of the U.S. military haven’t stopped using loudspeakers to unhinge foes. Last year, U.S. troops cranked AC/DC’s Hell’s Bells at full volume toward a nest of Sunni snipers in Fallujah.

In a notice to potential vendors released on Wednesday, Special Ops said it is looking for a second generation of loud speakers to tote into battle. The old ones, designed in the 1990s, are cumbersome and come with a tangle of wires that can get in the way when you are trying to rattle mujahadeen with Eminem. The old speakers fit on the undersides of blackhawk helicopters. The new ones will be designed to fit on blackhawks as well as other rotary wing aircraft, new unmanned aerial vehicles, and ground robots.

Special Ops is also interested in disposable speakers that can be remotely operated for a few hours after dropping from a plane. The U.S. Army is not saying how much it will pay, or how many it wants, but audio companies that think they have what it takes to design a combat-ready, portable, 15-pound, remote-controlled speaker system with a touch-screen control panel have until July 25 to send a pitch.

The loudspeakers are also employed to heckle the enemy. During the same battle in Fallujah where U.S. soldiers played AC/DC, loudspeakers blasted insults in Arabic. One memorable taunt reported by The Associated Press: “May all the ambulances in Fallujah have enough fuel to pick up the bodies of the mujahadeen.”

The U.S. Army is quick to point out that loudspeakers can also be used to convey critical information to civilian populations caught in the crossfire. Tell that to Mr. Noriega.

[TFine80]

I wonder what Eminem songs they play. :)

[dts32041]

“May all the ambulances in Fallujah have enough fuel to pick up the bodies of the mujahadeen.”

I like that.

BTW if you really want to torture them run nothing but Sousa and welk w4/7.

[MountainDad]

Awesome post!
LMFAO!

[KentTrappedInLiberalSeattle]

Oh... it's much, much worse than THAT:

:)

[Firefigher NC]

I know a song they can play over those speakers. "America, F*ck Yeah!..."

[TFine80]

LOL.

I've got an appropriate one from Donny + Marie:

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/clipserve/B000000D5Z001005/0/002-9579015-5338461

[Paul Atreides]

I would play anything by Yoko Ono.

[hsalaw]

"I know a song they can play over those speakers. "America, F*ck Yeah!...""

And it's now out on DVD! I got one and watched it the other night, and laughed even harder than I did when I saw it in the theater. Yes, this would be great on those new speakers.

[endthematrix]

Have voices in you head?

Ever "hear" of LRAD? It's a directed acoustic hardware that the military uses. It has several uses in communication and disabling bodily functions! The company has commercial uses for it as well.

http://www.atcsd.com/tl_hss.html

"LRAD can issue a verbal challenge with instructions in excess of 500 meters and has the capability of following up with a warning tone to influence behavior or determine intent. LRADs are currently deployed with the U.S. Marine Corps, U.S. Army, and U.S. Navy in Operation Iraqi Freedom in and around Fallujah, Mosul, and the port of Basra."

[Dr.Zoidberg]

Oh Sure! Give them another excuse to charge us with war crimes.

[TFine80]

Won't link properly. I was thinking 'Make the World Go Away'!

[Paul Atreides]

Or, that song by Slim Whitman, from Mars Attacks.

[hineybona]

Yoko ? Now THATS is tourture..cANT DO IT BUDDY

[hineybona]

They could get real creative..Play animal sounds , old TV show themes,Christman songs , whatever..Drive them nuts trying to figure out what the HELL is going on..Rap is probably big there too , who knows. They may like it..I'd go for the strange and different..

[Paul Atreides]

Well, we are at war. How about Algore doing the Macarena?

[Ramius]

Last year, U.S. troops cranked AC/DC’s Hell’s Bells at full volume toward a nest of Sunni snipers in Fallujah.

Hah! Made 'em so crazy they'd jump out from cover and charge, from what I hear.

You just gotta love this stuff. Really. :-)

[hineybona]

How about that clip of the drunken slob Kennedy singing
Rosie O Grady ..EEEKK what a though ..I was serious about the animal sounds ..They have unbelievable sound CDs out..Imagine in the dead of night these guys hearing a heard of rhinos at 10,000 watts coming from all directions.It would have to start confusion and panic.i swear I want to suggest that to the military

[Ramius]

I would play anything by Yoko Ono.

No, dude... we gotta have some limits... I mean... just damn.

I mean... pork fat, shredded Koran, menstrual fluids... I can see the usefulness there. But I gotta draw the line at Yoko. I mean, we're not barbarians.

[Dr.Zoidberg]

Now there's something I would pay to see.

Watching jihadis heads exploding like so many jello filled baloons would be real entertainment.