Free Republic

The U.S. Army Special Forces is equipping 18 A Teams (officially known as ODAs, or Operational Detachment Alpha) with Land Warrior electronic equipment. But the Special Forces gear will have one special addition; satellite communications. Normally, Land Warrior comms use line-of-sight (FM) radio. But in the hilly Afghan terrain, and with the dispersed tactics used by Special Forces, satellite communications makes more sense. This is yet another field test for the cancelled Land Warrior project. Last Summer, the army sent an infantry brigade, equipped with Land Warrior gear, to Afghanistan. All this is happening, in spite of the fact that,...

Although the complete Land Warrior System -- a modular, integrated fighting system that includes everything an infantry soldier wears or carries on the battlefield -- is not due to be fielded until 2007, troops in the field already benefit from several of its components. The goal of Land Warrior, said Army Col. Ted Johnson, project manager for Soldier Warrior, Program Executive Office Soldier at Fort Belvoir, Va., is to improve a soldier's ability on the battlefield. This, he added, includes enhancing a soldier's mobility, situational awareness (command and control and communications), lethality, sustainability and survivability. The original intent, said the...

US Army 'going to Linux' after OS switch for GI PDA By John Lettice Posted: 27/10/2003 at 15:44 GMT The US Army has abandoned Windows and chosen Linux for a key component of its "Land Warrior" programme, according to a report in National Defense Magazine. The move, initially covering a personal computing and communications device termed the Commander's Digital Assistant (CDA), follows the failure of the previous attempt at such a device in trials in February of this year, and is part of a move to make the device simpler and less breakable. According to program manager Lt Col Dave...