JUNE 2013 ISSUE NO. 12
INSIDE THIS ISSUE DIRECTOR’S corner Combating sexual assault, sexual harassment, Page 2 Secretary Hagel: Message on Furloughs, Page 3 Army announces R&D achievement awards Page 4 RDECOM shows off latest Army technology Armed Forces Day, Page 6 Research center partnership trail leads to Puerto Rico Page 7
Dale A. Ormond, director of the Army Research, Development and Engineering Command; Ronald E. Meyers of the Army Research Laboratory; Heidi Shyu, assistant secretary of the Army for Acquisition, Logistics and Technology; John E. Nettleton of the Communications-Electronics Research, Development and Engineering Center; and Bartley Durst of the Engineer Research and Development Center.
U.S., Filipino Soldiers train to purify water Page 8
RDECOM researchers among the best
AMRDEC works to monitor missile health Page 9
ABERDEEN PROVING GROUND, Md. — The latest list of the Thomson Reuters’ Top 100 Global Innovators includes the U.S. Army for the first time. The U.S. government’s heavy investments in innovation, especially as related to matters of national security, made the difference, according to the Reuters website. The U.S. Navy also made the list for the first time. Of the top inventors working for the Army, 13 researchers and scientists from the U.S. Army Research, Development and Engineering Command. The “Prolific Inventors” in the U.S. Army patent portfolio analysis that analyzes patent data and
ECBC 3d Printing brings concepts to life Page 10 Army Lab wants ‘smart energy’ for warfighters Page 12 Science advisor helps create new technologies Page 15 NSRDEC: Knee brace puts ‘a spring in your step’ Page 17
RDECOM Public Affairs
related metrics used that has determined the Army’s placement. “This illustrates how we attack many Army-unique problems, yet also contribute in wide-ranging areas,” said Dale A. Ormond, director of the Army Research, Development and Engineering Command. “Our portfolio was heavy in weapons, ammunition and blasting, but also pharmaceutical products, polymers and computing.” RDECOM has the mission of developing technology and engineering solutions for the U.S. Army. According to the selection criteria, “Organizations on the Global Innovator
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JUNE 2013 – ISSUE NO. 11
RDECOM town hall meeting addresses issues RDECOM Public Affairs ABDERDEEN PROVING GROUND, Md. — The U.S. Army Research, Development and Engineering Command workforce gathered for a town hall meeting at the Ball Auditorium May 28. For Department of Defense civilians, the negative impact of the sequester will soon be reality. “I hate to say this, but ... today is the day we start handing out furlough notices, said RDECOM Director Dale A. Ormond.” Todd Morris, RDECOM G1, announced that furloughs will begin July 8. The notices state, “This administrative furlough is necessitated by the extraordinary and serious budgetary challenges facing the Department of Defense for the remainder of the fiscal year.” “As you know, the furlough has been reduced from 22 to 11 days,” Morris said. “Eleven days translates into 88 work hours -- 11 times eight-hour days. The period of furlough is July 8 through September 30.” Morris said there would be very few exceptions in all of RDECOM. “We’re going to suspend the alternate work schedule,” he said. “We will all be on eight-hour days. The plan is for all employees, as agreed between you and your supervisor, to take either Mondays or Fridays off.” All RDECOM federal employees will be placed on an 8-hour days effective June 30. Morris detailed the procedures involved in starting the furlough and what employees should expect. Employees will have 10 working days to respond to the replying official. “All employees will receive a notice of decision regardless if you have responded to the replying official,” Morris said. “Overtime and compensation time still have the same restrictions. We cannot use overtime and comp time to compensate for the furlough.” Morris said some frequently asked questions links on the web have changed and recommended employees visit the sites for current information.
http://twitter.com/rdecom http://facebook.com/USArmyRDECOM http://flickr.com/rdecom
U.S. Army Research, Development and Engineering Command G1 Todd Morris explains furlough procedures at a May 28 town hall meeting at Aberdeen Proving Ground, Md. (U.S. Army photo by Conrad Johnson)
One employee wanted to know if there was still a chance the furlough days would be reduced. “The Secretary of Defense has reserved, in the way his language was, to make it less if there are sufficient funds -- and those funds can be reprogrammed through the Congress to put it into the accounts that would pay the salaries,” Ormond said. “There is still the potential that it may be fewer days.” The meeting then shifted gears to discuss sexual harassment and sexual assault prevention. “There is a tremendous amount of focus on it,” Ormond said. “There is no tolerance for this.” Ormond said sexual harassment and sexual assault are matters of professionalism and respect. “It is important to make sure everyone understands,” he said. “It is respect for your coworkers. It is respect for yourself. It is professionalism and the kind of culture that I expect in this command. It’s about how we treat each other with dignity and respect.” The director reminded employees of the importance of the RDECOM mission to help Soldiers by developing technology
and engineering solutions. “There is no place for this in our workforce and it will not be tolerated,” Ormond said. Ormond likened sexual assault and harrassment to safety. “There is nothing we do in our command where we don’t expect our employees to go home safe every day,” he said. “It’s the same thing with this. No one should feel intimidated. We owe it to every employee to treat everyone with respect.” The director said the Army will work its way through this challenge. “Please make sure we’re doing the right thing every day,” he said. The meeting closed with an announcement of the new RDECOM strategic plan. The document is in final draft. “It shows why this command is so critical to moving the Army forward,” Ormond said. “It is where we’re going.” The document will be published soon, he said.
The INSIDER is an internal information product of RDECOM G3/5/7 Public Affairs, Aberdeen Proving Ground, MD 21005 at (410) 306-4539
Public Affairs Officer: Joseph Ferrare at joseph.ferrare.civ@mail.mil
Strategy & Communications Director (G5): Lionel Brown at lionel.l.brown.civ@mail.mil
Related links Furlough Info: http://go.usa.gov/2A39 Twitter: http://twitter.com/daleormond Facebook: http://facebook.com/mrdaleormond
Editor: David McNally at david.mcnally@us.army.mil Please send us your feedback!
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RDECOM’s THE INSIDER
Secretary Hagel: Message on Furloughs By Chuck Hagel Secretary of Defense
Staff Sgt. Joshua Menninger wins the 2013 RDECOM Noncommissioned Officer of the Year competition. (U.S. Army photo by Conrad Johnson)
RDECOM recognizes 2013 NCO of the Year By Dan Lafontaine RDECOM Public Affairs ABERDEEN PROVING GROUND, Md. — Staff Sgt. Joshua Menninger captured top honors May 23 after a week of competition that tested four noncommissioned officers’ physical abilities, endurance and technical expertise. Menninger earned recognition as the U.S. Army Research, Development and Engineering Command’s NCO of the Year. RDECOM Director Dale A. Ormond and Command Sgt. Maj. Lebert Beharie, RDECOM’s senior enlisted advisor, congratulated Menninger and presented him with momentos. “I commend you for being chosen by your organizations to come,” Ormond said. “I appreciate you for stepping up. It’s a tremendous honor for us to be able to honor you for taking on the challenges of the past few days.” Menninger, a counter-mine section leader assigned to Communications-Electronics Research, Development and Engineering Center’s Night Vision and Electronic Sensors Directorate at Fort Belvoir, Va., now advances to the Army Materiel Command NCO of the Year competition. Also vying for the honors were: Staff Sgt. Joshua Hawes, Staff Sgt. Eric Linder and Sgt. Charles Andrzejewski. Related links http://www.army.mil/article/104066/
As you are fully aware, the Department of Defense is facing a historic shortfall in our budget for the current fiscal year. This is the result of current law that went into effect March 1. It imposes deep across-the-board cuts on DoD and other federal agencies. Combined with higher than expected wartime operating costs, we are now short more than $30 billion in our operation and maintenance (O&M) accounts – which are the funds that we use to pay most civilian employees, maintain our military readiness, and respond to global contingencies. The Department has been doing everything possible to reduce this shortfall while ensuring we can defend the nation, sustain wartime operations, and preserve DoD’s most critical asset – our world-class civilian and military personnel. To that end, we have cut back sharply on facilities maintenance, worked to shift funds from investment to O&M accounts, and reduced many other important but non-essential programs. Still, these steps have not been enough to close the shortfall. Each of the military services has begun to significantly reduce training and maintenance of nondeployed operating forces – steps that will adversely impact military readiness. And even these reductions are not enough. Since deeper cuts to training and maintenance could leave our nation and our military exposed in the event of an unforeseen crisis, we have been forced to consider placing the majority of our civilian employees on administrative furlough. After extensive review of all options with the DoD’s senior military and civilian leadership on how we address this budget crisis, today I am announcing that I have decided to direct furloughs of up to 11 days for most of the Department’s civilian personnel. I have made this decision very reluctantly, because I know that the furloughs will disrupt lives and impact DoD operations. I recognize the significant hardship this places on you and your families. After required notifications, we will begin the furlough period on July 8 at the rate of one furlough day per week for most personnel. We plan to continue these furloughs through the end of the current
Chuck Hagel, Secretary of Defense
fiscal year. If our budgetary situation permits us to end furloughs early, I would strongly prefer to do so. That is a decision I will make later in the year. Furloughs for 11 days represent about half of the number we had originally planned, reflecting the Department’s vigorous efforts to meet our budgetary shortfalls through actions other than furlough. There will be exceptions driven by law and by the need to minimize harm to the execution of our core missions. For example, all employees deployed or temporarily assigned to a combat zone will be excepted from furloughs. Your managers have been given authority to develop specific furlough procedures to minimize adverse mission effects and also limit the harm to morale and productivity. They will be in touch with you to provide guidance and answers. The President and I are deeply appreciative of your patience, your hard work, and your dedication and contributions to the critical mission of helping protect America’s national security. I am counting on all of you to stay focused on this vital mission in the days ahead. As I said the day I assumed the responsibilities of Secretary of Defense, I’m proud to be part of your team and I’m proud to serve with you. Related links http://1.usa.gov/10mV1Yb
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JUNE 2013 – ISSUE NO. 11
Army announces R&D achievement awards RDECOM Public Affairs WASHINGTON — The U.S. Army announced its 2012 Research and Development Awards April 30. The annual recognition highlights the best in Army science and technology. The Army employs nearly 13,000 civilian scientists, researchers and engineers. “Just over one percent receives the RDA award,” Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Army for Research and Technology Mary J. Miller wrote in a memorandum. “These recipients reflect the great diversity of talent and expertise within the Army laboratory system that support the future capabilities of our Soldiers.” Of the 149 Army scientists and engineers earning this honor, 140 are part of the U.S. Army Research, Development and Engineering Command. The remaining awardees are assigned to the Engineering Research and Development Center (Corps of Engineers), the Army Research Institute for Behavioral and Social Sciences and the Medical Research and Materiel Command. “We’re moving the state of the art every day,” RDECOM Director Dale A. Ormond said. “We like to say that our people operate in the space between the state of the art and the art of the possible, where innovation is paramount and focused on addressing needs
unique to the Army.” Miller said the awardees distinguished themselves through proven scientific and technical expertise or leadership. “Their pioneering work and dedication in basic research and technology development promise to improve the Army’s technical capabilities and enhance our national defense,” Miller wrote. “The hard work and dedication of these individuals brings great credit to themselves, their organizations and the U.S. Army.” Dr. Betsy Rice, U.S. Army Research Laboratory, is one of 149 Research This year’s achieveand Development Achievement awardees. Rice earned an outstanding ment awards cover a technical leadership award for her energetic materials project. (U.S. Army wide range of military rephoto by Doug Lafon) search, from laser proximity sensors to non-lethal weapons. Army’s premier provider of materiel readiness “At RDECOM, we develop technologies -- technology, acquisition support, materiel dethat have a major impact once they leave the velopment, logistics power projection, and susmilitary world,” Ormond said. “It’s an incred- tainment -- to the total force, across the specible value for the taxpayer.” trum of joint military operations. RDECOM is a major subordinate command Awardees will receive a plaque that will be of the Army Materiel Command. AMC is the forwarded to their organization. Outstanding Technical Achievement Awards
AMRDEC
Design and demonstration of crossed beam laser proximity sensor
Dr. Jay Land Dana Harrah
Wendy Carriger
AMRDEC
Application of high-frequency measurement techniques to estimate bearing envelope windows for U.S. Army helicopter drive systems
Dana Harrah
AMRDEC
Design and flight test development of flight control laws for unmanned K-MAX helicopter leading to a revelolunity system to theater
Mohammadreza Mansur
AMRDEC
Kinetic Energy Active Protection System (KEAPS) guidance system
Jason Reneau James Meadows Brian Grantham
David Tarrant Ralph Halladay
AMRDEC
Development of a missile flight data recorder
Thomas Branch Aaron Brown
Timothy Haney John Price
AMRDEC
Demonstration of a real-time, target classifying impact sensor
Christina Brantley James Holt
Dr. Tracy Hudson Levi Ogle
ARDEC
Reduced cost controlled fragmentation technology for adaptive effects
Henry Hsieh Peter Rottinger
Richard Fong
ARDEC
Breakthrough pre-cursor warhead technology for shoulder-fired munitions
Arthur Daniels
Daniel Suarez
ARDEC
Verification of advanced medium caliber multi-purpose and bash-through technology for urban warfare
William Poulos Jack Pincay
Chuck Chin Irene Wu
ARDEC
Army’s revolutionary scalable munitions technology
Nicholas Berg Richard Dratler Jeffrey Kraft Daniel Murphy Andrew Sanchez Kyle Santangelo
Donna Snyder Christopher Stout Sean Swaszek Jeffrey Woodhouse Evan Young
ARDEC
Ground Combat Vehicle Reactive Armor Tile (GRAT)
Federick Rickert Khaled Darwish Josiah Fay Jason Friedman
Sarah Hug Michael Keele Francesco Murphy
ARDEC
Innovative and effective methods for quantative testing and evaluation of non-lethal weapon effectiveness in crowd management
Gordon Cooke Robert DeMarco Nasir Jaffery Dr. Elizabeth Mezzacappa Gladstone Reid
John Riedener Charles Sheridan Dr. Kenneth Short Kevin Tevis
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RDECOM’s THE INSIDER ARI
Improving marksmanship performance of Soldiers in Initial Entry Training
Dr. Jean Dyer Dr. John Lipinski
Dr. Peter Schaefer
ARL
Development of optically repairable transparent plastics
Dr. Rick Beyer
ARL
Ring-resonator technique for identification of dielectric properties of IED charges and soils
Dr. Gregory Mazzaro
ARL
Three-dimension through-thickness reinforced ceramic-composite armor
Seth Ghiorse
Dr. Hian-Fong Yen
ARL
A material and physics innovation to achieve enhanced and balanced material properties to enable the Army’s next generation On-The-Move (OTM) communications systems
Dr. Melanie Cole Eric Ngo Dr. Ryan Toonen
Clifford Hubbard Samuel Hirsch Dr. Mathew Ivill
ARL
Synthetic Recognition Elements (SRE)
Dr. Dimitra Stratis-Cullum Dr. Joshua Kogot Dr. Paul Pellegrino
Joe Pennington Dr. Margaret Hurley Dr. James Carney
ARL
Magnetic Diffusion Analysis of in-flight sharped charge sets for temperature measurement of material model validation
Dr. Charles Hummer
Dr. W. Casey Uhlig
ARL
Photonic synthesis and distribution of ultra-low noise radio frequency signals
Dr. Olukayode Okusaga
Dr. Weimin Zhou
ARL
High-speed, scalable bidirectionable solid-state circuit breaker development
Damian Urciuoli
CERDEC
Monolithic laser technology for portable laser designators
Dr. Brian Cole Chris McIntosh Alan Hays
Andy Pogany John Nettleton Dr. Lew Goldberg
CERDEC
Reduction of dislocations by use of reticulated crystallographic planes
Andrew Stoltz Jr. Dr. J. David Benson Peter Smith
Randolph Jacobs Leo Almeida
CERDEC
Multi-sensor correlation with increased standoff range for improved common mode clutter rejection
Sean Jellish Dr. Chris Marshall
Jim Hilger Dr. Philip Perconti
CERDEC
Development of enterprise service management monitoring tool for the Army
Alexander O’Ree
CERDEC
Folded Lightweight Annual Tactical (FLAT) optics for size and weight reduction for man portable imaging systems
Dr. Philip Perconti Jay Vizgaitis
Colin Reese
ERDC
Modular protective system-development of innovative, adaptable protective measures for the contingency environment
Mr. Boone Omar Esquilin-Mangual Omar Flores Ben Jones
Milliam McCleave Justin Roberts Devin Sham
MRMC
Risk propensity and health risk behaviors in U.S. Army Soldiers across the deployment cycle
Dr. Amanda Kelley
NSRDEC
High-sensitivity microbial forensics
Dr. Charlene Mello
NSRDEC
Physical burden of Soldier load: Biomechanical implications of prototypical exoskeleton devices
Karen Gregorczyk Dr. Leif Hasselquist Dr. Carolyn Bensel
AMRDEC
Development and application of autonomous rotorcraft technologies
Matthew Whalley
ARL
Energetic materials
Dr. Betsy Rice
ERDC
Buckeye ortho-mosaic effort in support of the U.S. Armed Forces
Mitchell Pierson
MRMC
Investigational new drug status for therapeutics to counter filovirus infections
Dr. Sina Bavari
TARDEC
Canon EFP Upgrade
Demetrio Lacap
ARDEC
Scalable extended range dual purpose energetic warhead
Richard Summers Dr. Muge Fermen-Coker Christopher Meyer Jeffrey Kraft Ernesto Vasquez
David Kafrouni Amy Gerands Larry Pledger Allison Durrett
ARDEC
Silicon metalized combined effectives explosives: a high performance IM alternative to aluminized explosives
Dr. Paul Anderson
Paula Cook
ARDEC
Soldier wearable gunfire detection data fusion module
Bruce Buckland George Cakiades Sachi Desai
Dr. Jemin George Dr. Lance Kaplan Dennis Manifico
ARL
Super-resolution technology for national security
Dr. Shuowen Hu
Dr. Shiqiong Young
ARL
Atomistic and sub-grain modeling of energetic materials
Dr. John Brennan Dr. Sergey Izvekov
Dr. DeCarlos Taylor
ARL
Utilization of computational fluid dynamics in development and testing of controllable thrust gel bipropellent rocket engins for tactical missles
Dr. Michael Nusca Robert Michaels
Nathan Mathis
TARDEC
C4ISR network integration
Dr. Bruce Brendle George Palafox
Mark Feury John Hufstedler
TARDEC
RPG defeat
Mark Radiwon Kenneth Greene
Will Norton Mark Gorecki
Albert Adams Dr. Jeffrey Schiffman
Outstanding Technical Leadership Awards
Outstanding Collaborative Awards
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JUNE 2013 – ISSUE NO. 11
Steve Yvrechko (left), a lead test engineer from RDECOM’s Edgewood Chemical Biological Center, explains advancements in the Army’s protective masks to students during Armed Forces Day May 15 at Aberdeen Proving Ground, Md. (U.S. Army photo by Mike Barnette)
RDECOM shows off latest Army technology at Armed Forces Day By Dan Lafontaine RDECOM Public Affairs ABERDEEN PROVING GROUND, Md. —Local students, military veterans and APG community members inspected and explored the Army’s latest advancements in protective masks, body armor, ballistics protection and renewable energy at Armed Forces Day May 15. Scientists and engineers of the U.S. Army Research, Development and Engineering Command displayed their work to unburden, empower and protect Soldiers at the APGNorth Recreation Center. Jennifer Carroll, an outreach specialist with RDECOM’s Edgewood Chemical Biological Center, talked with students from Chapel Hill Elementary School in Perry Hall, Md., about how the Army encourages science, technology, engineering and math education. “It’s critical to move forward with efforts to excite students in STEM. The Army needs a technically skilled workforce to keep Soldiers safe,” Carroll said. Many ECBC employees are nearing retirement age, and the Army will need
young scientists and engineers to replenish the workforce, Carroll said. Leroy Stitz and Steve Yurechko of ECBC presented a historical display of the military’s respiratory protection, including the latest advancements. RDECOM demonstrated its effort to bring renewable energy to the battlefield with the Renewable Energy for Distributed Undersupplied Command Environments, or REDUCE. The REDUCE, which is attached to a trailer and can be towed with a Humvee, harvests solar and wind energy and is intended to reduce the cost and logistics burden of delivering traditional fossil fuels, said Cao Chung, a chemical engineer with RDECOM’s Communications-Electronics Research, Development and Engineering Center. The system on display was providing power to stereo speakers, a cell phone, a TV and a laptop with energy to spare, Chung said. It is one of CERDEC’s first prototypes, and the next step for engineers is to improve the efficiency of solar panels. The REDUCE is undergoing testing in CERDEC’s laboratories and at controlled
Army demonstrations such as the Network Integration Evaluation. Daniel Berka, Michael Zalewski, Shaun Haskell, Darla Flanagan-Lassiter, Rafael Casanova and Chung comprised the CERDEC team. RDECOM’s Army Research Laboratory showed off its technologies in the areas of head protection, enhanced small-arms ammunition, transparent armor, body armor and handheld improvised explosive device detectors. ARL engineer Steve Taulbee said students were interested in what types of materials comprise Soldiers’ body armor and helmets. Brendan Patton, Art Carey and Wendy Leonard completed the ARL team. Taulbee said he spoke with a Gold Star Mother whose son, a Marine, was killed in combat. He expressed his condolences and emphasized that ARL works to develop the best technology for service members. “What we do at ARL in maximizing armor is to provide the best protection for Soldiers,” Taulbee said. Related links http://www.army.mil/article/103371
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RDECOM’s THE INSIDER
Research center partnership trail leads to Puerto Rico Heather R. Smith AMRDEC Public Affairs REDSTONE ARSENAL, Ala. — Doug Felker knows excellence when he sees it, and he sees it in the engineering students at the University of Puerto Rico. “We go to UPR because they have a lot of good students,” said Felker, aviation branch chief in the Reliability, Affordability and Maintainability Engineering and System Assessment Division of the U.S. Army Aviation and Missile Research Development and Engineering Center’s Engineering Directorate. “They just have a good engineering school. We know the professors. We respect their work and we respect their training. We get good people and they get a good reputation, and it just snowballs like that.” Felker and RAM division chief Tom Erickson have worked with the university in the development of the Aviation System Assessment Program tool to assist with meeting Failure Mode Effects and Criticality Analysis requirements. The university has helped AMRDEC build software that allows the ASAP database and the FMECA analyst to talk to each other. “FMECA is a prediction. ASAP is a field assessment,” Felker explained. “If we need to build a FMECA, we can quickly build a skeletal FMECA from past data and how it’s failed, and if we need to look at design and how it’s meeting the design predictions, we can quickly pull it back and forth.” Erickson said his division sought to partner with UPR because of their expertise in several areas, such as condition-based maintenance and RAM. “We looked at where their expertise lies and what activities we had ongoing, and we were looking for a way to partner with them,” Erickson said. “We looked at some of our condition-based maintenance effort, and then Doug came up with some ideas where they could help us more efficiently accomplish that mission.” Felker added that the university is in the process of developing a strong RAM engineering program. “Huntsville is the Silicon Valley of RAM engineering,” Felker said. “We’re interested because we’re both becoming experts in RAM. It really is a pool of excellence, and
Dainys Carrasquillo (left) is joined by fellow University of Puerto Rico alumni working at the Aviation and Missile Research Development and Engineering Center: from left, Pedro Mangual, Giselle Castro and Edgardo Luna. (U.S. Army photo by Ryan Keith)
we feel like we’ve tapped into a good source for RAM engineers.” The desire to work together is mutual, with many students from UPR seeking out opportunities with AMRDEC and Huntsville contractors. AMRDEC mechanical engineer Dainys Carrasquillo, a graduate of the University of Puerto Rico-Mayaguez, worked under Felker, earlier this year, as a liaison for the RAM work the university was doing. Carrasquillo came to AMRDEC in 2010 through an opportunity with Intuitive Research and Technology’s co-founder A.R. “Rey” Almodovar. At the time, Carrasquillo was designing engine parts for commercial and military aircraft with Infotech Aerospace Services in Puerto Rico. Her friend and AMRDEC analyst Giselle Castro, who had joined AMRDEC in 2006, recommended Carrasquillo look at opportunities with Intuitive and AMRDEC; and the rest is history. Carrasquillo moved to Huntsville in the summer of 2010; living for the first time off of her native island. “Huntsville is a great place for professional growth,” Carrasquillo said. “Being a Caribbean, I was used to
summer all year, so now I’m enjoying the changes and different colors of fall and winter,” he said. “I saw snow for the first time two years ago, and I really enjoyed that. The transition was hard, but not as hard as I thought it would be since I have friends here and co-workers and people from Huntsville are pretty nice and they helped me a lot. Having my friends here makes me feel at home, but it’s pretty different. I was used to having the beach about 15 minutes from home and here you need to drive six hours. Still, it feels good to be here.” Erickson said there is a significant amount of competition for students in Puerto Rico. “When you go down there and interview students you’ll have all the big industries there recruiting those same students, not just DoD contractors, but industry as a whole because they do have such a solid engineering program,” he said. AMRDEC is part of the U.S. Army Research, Development and Engineering Command, which has the mission to develop technology and engineering solutions for America’s Soldiers. Related links http://www.army.mil/article/101969/
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JUNE 2013 – ISSUE NO. 11
Jim Ivey (center), a contractor with the U.S. Army Rapid Equipping Force, trains Soldiers on the Aspen 2000 water-purification system at Fort Magsaysay, Philippines, April 2. (U.S. Army photo)
Shoulder-to-shoulder: U.S., Filipino Soldiers train to purify water By Dan Lafontaine RDECOM Public Affairs ABERDEEN PROVING GROUND, Md. — A team of U.S. Army Soldiers and civilians helped the Filipino people purify more than 14,000 gallons of water during a joint military exercise in April. The water-purification project, part of the Balikatan 2013 Exercise, demonstrates the U.S. military’s significant commitment to stand “shoulder-to-shoulder” during military operations as well as humanitarian assistance and disaster relief missions in the Pacific region, said Jim Muldoon, the science advisor assigned to U.S. Army Pacific at Fort Shafter, Hawaii. “When an HA/DR event occurs, the military is typically the one that has the transportation, equipment and personnel that can take anything, anywhere, anytime,” Muldoon said. “Water is an invaluable resource, and you have to secure that from friend, foe and even nature itself.” Muldoon is part of U.S. Army Research, Development and Engineering Command’s Field Assistance in Science and Technology
team. He reports to RDECOM Forward Element Command-Pacific, which coordinates the Army’s science and technology partnerships and collaboration with foreign militaries, academia and industry in the region from its headquarters in Tokyo. RDECOM’s 30 science advisors, both uniformed officers and Army civilians, span the globe to provide a link between Soldiers and the command’s thousands of subject matter experts. USARPAC requested that the Army Rapid Equipping Force procure and ship five Aspen 2000 water-purification systems to the Pahingahan Dam at Fort Magsaysay, Philippines. The REF responded quickly, Muldoon said. Within two months, Darren Hayes led a team that processed the request, analyzed the requirement, determined the best solution, obtained the assets and ensured the systems were waiting for the Soldiers 9,000 miles away. Muldoon said his role as the project’s science advisor was to assist in the logistics details and training of the equipment before the exercise and then to identify the technical
gaps and develop solutions during the exercise. A team of six U.S. Soldiers; six Filipino Soldiers; Jim Ivey and Randy Mefford, REF contractors who trained everyone on the system; and Muldoon purified water for six to eight hours per day from April 2-15. The system is easy to operate, Muldoon said. Staff Sgt. Naome Trigg was the only water treatment specialist as the remaining Soldiers were infantrymen and combat engineers. Four Soldiers can unload the system from a small pickup truck, but only one is needed to operate it to purify up to 100 gallons of water per hour. The Aspen systems pulled water from a lake contaminated with bacteria and purified it through a series of screens; 50-micron, 3-micron and carbon filters; reverse osmosis; and ultraviolet light. Even though the system automatically checks to ensure the water is clean, Soldiers can use a handheld meter to double-check the filtration. The preventive medicine officer tests and verifies the water’s purity and quality. “An easy way to take down the strongest of Soldiers is to ‘scramble’ their stomach with a
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RDECOM’s THE INSIDER drink of bad water,” Muldoon said. As the U.S. military pivots to the Pacific, humanitarian assistance and disaster relief missions will be vital to establishing and maintaining good relations with America’s allies in the region, Muldoon said. As the provider of scientific and engineering solutions, RDECOM will be an important part of Army operations. “Five of America’s seven longest-standing treaties are in the Pacific. It’s America’s obligation to help build our allies’ capacity and help maintain stability of the Pacific,” Muldoon said. “A natural disaster is indiscriminate, so any country in the Pacific can take a hard hit on their economy, infrastructure and capability to sustain itself. When that is jeopardized, we owe it as humanitarians to help them start to build back up. “All the things that make a mission successful are pieces of equipment that RDECOM has provided, developed or improved.” The support goes beyond Balikatan 13. The Army will send two purification units, along with Solar Stiks for sustainable power, to both Saipan and American Samoa for contingency operations. One system will remain in Hawaii for training and quick deployment to a disaster in the Pacific. “If those territories have a disaster, Soldiers on rotation there know that -- as a minimum -- they will have power to charge communications and water,” Muldoon said. “These are going into operation to give us an increased capability. We’re stretching across the Pacific with these five systems.” Work on next year’s Balikatan exercise has already begun, Muldoon said. Plans are aligned with a DoD directive on contingency basing to purify and reuse water from the camp’s dining facilities and showers. This reduces the need to truck water from the lake back into camp. Muldoon has been a developmental engineer for five years with RDECOM’s Tank Automotive Research, Development and Engineering Center at Detroit Arsenal, Mich., after retiring as an Air Force officer. He took the assignment as a FAST science advisor in January 2012 to get a broader view of the Army and to work in the field with Soldiers. “It’s important to deploy with the unit, to understand what it really means to be in field conditions. We’ve been in the Pacific for over 100 years. That was one of the reasons I picked the Pacific -- it’s an enduring mission,” he said. Related links http://www.army.mil/article/103503/
AMRDEC engineers work to better monitor missile health Heather R. Smith AMRDEC Public Affairs REDSTONE ARSENAL, Ala. — The U.S. Army Research, Development and Engineering Command’s aviation and missile center is leveraging micro-electromechanical systems research in a new application to detect potentially damaging vibrations encountered by missiles during handling, transport and operation. Stephen Marotta, Engineering Directorate project principal investigator, said MEMS research has been ongoing at Aviation and Missile Research, Development and Engineering Center for many years and many different applications have been successfully transitioned from the lab to the Soldier in the field. In an effort to improve missile health monitoring, Marotta began collaborating with Mohan Sanghadasa, from AMRDEDC’s Weapons Development and Integration Directorate, and Stephen Horowitz, an engineer with Ducommun Miltec. The AMRDEC team is using technology, both current and in-development, to design a new MEMS sensor that will offer several benefits over current missile health monitoring systems. “We’ve spent a number of years developing acoustic sensors, microphones based on piezoelectric materials,” Horowitz said, “and there’s not a huge difference between designing a microphone and designing a vibration sensor and accelerometers. It’s a different structure, a different geometry, but we use the same fabrication processes to create them. On our first generation sensor, we used the same materials even.” One benefit of the new design is extended battery life. Current missile health monitoring methods require a lot of power, because they collect vibration data at all frequencies. Research, however, has shown that the greatest risk for damage to missiles occurs during low vibration -- under 200 hertz. The AMRDEC team is designing a sensor that only collects low frequency data and is capable of switching on and off, thus extending the battery’s life.
Principal investigator Stephen Marotta (left) watches as Stephen Horowitz, a Ducommun Miltec engineer, displays a sensor being developed to monitor vibration. (U.S. Army photo by Heather R. Smith)
Marotta said the MEMS work meets the challenge set by AMRDEC director for missile development Steve Cornelius to get new capabilities into the hands of Soldiers, to leverage technology solutions that increase readiness, and to enable more affordable weapons. “Applied research, led by the AMRDEC Engineering Directorate, is addressing those many challenges in an integrated fashion with other AMRDEC directorates, other RDECs, and other services to sustain its missile systems as efficiently and effectively as possible,” Marotta said. “AMRDEC science and technology for monitoring of missile health or condition improves the accuracy of readiness reporting and reduces the overall missile sustainment burden. AMRDEC is making a positive impact with current technology transitions at present, as well as greatly benefiting future systems.” A prototype of the sensor should be complete later this year with transition into the field expected in 2014. The team reported its research in a paper published by the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, “A Low Frequency MEMS Vibration Sensor for Low Power Missile Health Monitoring.” The paper was nominated for best paper at the 2013 IEEE conference. Related links http://www.army.mil/article/102095/
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ECBC’s additive manufacturing brings concepts to life ECBC Communications ABERDEEN PROVING GROUND, Md — Additive Manufacturing technology has gained notoriety because it can reproduce everything from critical gun parts to exact replicas of children’s toys. Rick Moore, Rapid Technologies and Inspection Branch chief at the U.S. Army Research, Development and Engineering Command’s chemical and biological center said more than toys or gun parts are in the future of 3D printing. Additive Manufacturing (also known as rapid prototyping or 3D printing) is the process of making a three-dimensional solid object of virtually any shape from a digital model. Having this capability has increased the speed at which products are brought to market, while also proving to be ideal for testing, which allows for cost-effective design changes during the preproduction cycle of a product. Moore and his team have been using these revolutionary processes and capabilities to produce items in support of the warfighter and homeland security, all within their Rapid Technologies lab at ECBC. “3D-printing and 3D-laser scanning are capabilities we’ve had here since the mid1990s,” Moore said. “These capabilities help us get equipment in the hands of the Warfighter quicker, and it also provides access for other engineering and science groups to design products with the ability for many iterations or design changes before fully investing critical funds into the mass-production of that item.” In the simplest of concepts, it’s a process that can take an idea that has been drawn on a napkin and transform it into a 3D product that you can look at, feel and test in a matter of hours or a few short days, he said. “Additive Manufacturing technologies allow people to design something quickly and then produce an affordable physical model that can be thoroughly inspected, discussed and tested before additional money is invested or items are fielded,” said Lester Hitch, an engineering technician in the Rapid Technologies and Inspection Branch. The Look and Feel of Engineering Additive Manufacturing has paved the way for several new technologies that will change the landscape of the Army, such as the Octopus-inspired suction cups developed by U.S. Army Research Laboratory scientists with the assistance of Moore’s Rapid Technologies and Inspection Branch. These
3D modeling artist Ryan Gilley displays some of the products he designed and printed using advanced manufacturing techniques at Edgewood Chemical Biological Center. (U.S. Army photo by Tom Faulkner)
self-sealing suction cups, conceptualized by Chad Kessens of ARL during his postgraduate research in robotic manipulation, were produced with the assistance of engineering technician Brad Ruprecht from the Rapid Technologies and Inspection Branch, using the Objet Connex500 multimaterial 3D-printer. These robotic suction cups are able to maximize suction force and the passive reaction forces that cause the cup to activate and open when the lip contacts an object, breaking the seal to initiate suction. “Using the multiple digital material options afforded by the Connex500 allowed us to blend variations of elastomeric and rigid materials at the same time, into the same product. That otherwise would be very difficult if not nearly impossible to manufacture traditionally,” Ruprecht said. The Rapid Technologies Branch also supported prototyping of the Anthropomorphic Control Arm, a recent project of the Advanced Design and Manufacturing Division’s in support of the Defense Threat Reduction Agency Robotics. “The ACA is an intuitive joystick developed to control a hydraulic actuating arm and claw mounted on a military vehicle. Much like how a human arm has wrist, elbows and the ability to twist or extend, the ACA has joints that mimic these motions to manipulate the vehicle mounted arms in a fashion that requires little to no training between operators,” Ruprecht said. The ACA project has been through multiple design iterations ranging from simple wood or cardboard models that test ergonomics to more involved designs built using polycarbonate or nylon plastic materials that support the integration of electronics and sensors that allow full functionality testing. Beyond the Additive Manufacturing
capabilities of the branch, there is also a highly capable 3D scanning department supported by engineering technician Ryan Gilley. “3D scanning is great for recreating organic items, such as those fitted to human anatomy -- or even exploded fragments -- and for items involving prismatic geometry, like holepatterns or custom brackets,” said Gilley. In cases of evidence collection, exploded fragments provided by ARL’s Survivability/ Lethality Analysis Directorate can be scanned and accurately recreated for various uses, such as lightweight replicates that preserve the integrity or security of the physical sample. In fact, components from an entire vehicle system can be scanned and recreated in a 3D-CAD environment to very accurate detail to assist groups like the Letterkenny Army Depot in the production of Mine- Resistant Ambush Protected vehicles. Additive Manufacturing for the Common Man While the engineers of the Rapid Technologies and Inspection Branch are using their 3D equipment to make life safer for the Warfighter, they recognize its presence in popular culture as well. While the general public is concerned about those who would use the technology to bypass laws for gun production with a $2K printer, Moore and his engineers hope that a few users won’t mar the technology and the possibilities for everyone else. “Sure, the technology is available for home use, but we feel the higher functionality and capability we have been able to achieve has been a credit to the team I have put together, combined with our accessibility to unique projects provided by ECBC and other Department of Defense organizations,” said Moore. The Rapid Technologies engineers truly care about utilizing this capability to make the world a better place for the Warfighter: “We want to be a part of the driving technology behind the evolution of additive manufacturing in the Army and can hopefully shape its future into something meaningful,” Hitch reflects. They are halfway there. Hitch said some manufacturers have already come to them for their opinion on the technologies and materials. “We like contributing and we want to use our tools to help the Army improve and evolve,” Moore said. Related links http://www.army.mil/article/103350
RDECOM’s THE INSIDER
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Demining efforts improve technology and safety of Thai borders By Amanda Rominiecki CERDEC Public Affairs FORT BELVOIR, Va. — Landmines and unexploded ordnance are found throughout the world, often in peaceful countries leftover from conflict decades ago. Researchers from the U.S. Army Research, Development and Engineering Command’s communications-electronics center, or CERDEC, continued global humanitarian demining efforts, including a new yearlong project aimed to improve demining technology and increase border safety in Thailand that began March 29. Members of CERDEC Night Vision & Electronic Sensors Directorate, or NVESD, partnered with the Thailand Mine Action Center, or TMAC, for an operational field evaluation of the Mini MineWolf mine-clearing system to remove mines along Thailand’s borders. “Thailand is surrounded by countries that have a long history of conflict, not only Cambodia to the South, but Laos to the east and north and Burma to the west,” said Sean Burke, CERDEC NVESD Humanitarian Demining Research and Development, HD R&D, program manager. “Each border has remnants of these past conflicts and denies land for farming and other activities for the local people.” CERDEC NVESD executes the humanitarian demining effort for the Department of Defense. Since its inception in 1995, the program has provided over 160 technologies to conduct minefield clearance operations in 36 countries, clearing over 80,000 mines and unexploded ordnance, or UXO, and 18 million square meters of the world’s most challenging minefields. Mini MineWolf is a remote controlled earth tilling system capable of clearing mines that target both humans and vehicles and are buried in the ground to a depth of 25cm, or just under 10 inches. HD R&D worked with MineWolf Systems, developer of Mini MineWolf, to further develop the system to include improved remote control and a video monitoring system, Burke said. Program team members deployed to Thailand in April for three weeks to launch the operational field evaluation. Among the goals for the evaluation, were to both test improvements to Mini MineWolf in an operational setting and clear dangerous UXO in Thailand at the same time. “The OFE is designed to obtain
Mini MineWolf is a remote controlled earth tilling system capable of clearing mines that target humans and vehicles and are buried in the ground to a depth of 25 centimeters, or just less than 10 inches. CERDEC NVESD HD R&D partnered with the Thailand Mine Action Center, for an operational field evaluation of the Mini MineWolf mine clearing system to remove mines along Thai borders.
performance data in real world conditions, using indigenous operators and live mines and UXO that provide insight into [Mini MineWolf’s] operational effectiveness and suitability,” Burke said. “The lessons learned are real world lessons that help improve the technology.” The Mini MineWolf system is capable of surviving multiple anti-personnel and antitank mine blasts with little to no damage while the operator of the system is a safe distance away. Mini MineWolf can also mulch vegetation up to 15 centimeters in diameter, meaning it can clear through bushes, shrubs and trees common in the Thailand terrain. Mine detection and clearance are particularly challenging in Thailand due to each area’s unique characteristics of mines, vegetation, terrain and battlefield remnants, Burke said. The Mini MineWolf OFE also aimed to prove its capability as a technical survey tool. Technical surveying is used in areas suspected to have hazardous mines and UXO, in order to determine their exact location. More commonly, surveying involves teams manually
canvassing land with metal detectors. The humanitarian demining research and development team is using the OFE as an opportunity to evaluate and prove the Mini MineWolf’s ability to more efficiently survey land in Southeast Asia, an environment with metallic soil and post-conflict metal fragments that can provide false positives when metal detectors are used in manual surveying. Technical surveying is both more accurate and proves less hazardous for the operator. CERDEC NVESD’s humanitarian demining research and development program has worked with TMAC for 13 years to improve technologies like Mini MineWolf and clear Thai borders of mines and UXO. “The OFE in Thailand is the validation and demonstration component of [humanitarian demining research and development] mission which will enhance mine action capability of TMAC, improve the safety of its people, its economy and therefore its stability as a U.S. partner in the region,” Burke said. Related links http://www.army.mil/article/103172/
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Bob Wood, an electrical engineer with the U.S. Army Research Laboratory, recently received configurable test equipment that can handle multiple energy loads and sources. The set up is the first step toward testing novel ways to streamline energy management in Army operations. (U.S. Army photo by Doug Lafon)
Army Lab engineers want ‘smart energy’ for warfighters By Joyce P. Brayboy ARL Public Affairs ADELPHI, Md.— Troops in a tactical environment have unique challenges with efficient energy use that are uncommon to the rest of the fighting forces. One is that a Soldier positioned to stand guard at an outpost, or forward operating base, should not have to think about energy -- a distraction from the strategy and Soldier protection. In a recent panel discussion in Washington, D.C., April 10, Katherine Hammack, the Army’s assistant secretary for installations, energy and environment, said that “energy is mission critical. It is vulnerability. It is a risk.” The effective use of energy increases mission capabilities, she said. This challenge of efficient operational energy in remote, combat areas in part belongs to scientists and engineers at the U.S. Army Research Laboratory, or ARL, who are a part of the team that manages the Smart Battlefield Energy on-Demand program, known as SmartBED.
“The real goal is more efficient use of energy at small operating posts,” said Bruce Geil, power conditioning branch chief who oversees the SmartBED project. “We want to streamline the way we go about managing the energy, which is all over the map right now.” Geil’s team started with the question of, “How do we give a plug-and-play simplicity to that Soldier who’s tasked to put the microgrid together in the heat of battle?” That single question birthed the SmartBED program, which along with other programs is giving engineers an idea of how the energy is used, and how it can be distributed simply and efficiently. Part of the SmartBED effort is a highly configurable test bed that can handle multiple loads and sources; emulating battlefield conditions. The technology should get researchers as close as they can get to a realworld scenario while staying in a laboratory, said Bob Wood, an electrical engineer on the project. “Theater is not the place to test microgrid equipment,” said Wood, who has deployed to Afghanistan and to Iraq. “The last thing you
want is for a Soldier on the front lines to have an experimental piece of hardware that may or may not work.” The test bed allows you to prove whether equipment is ready for field testing. What is unique about SmartBED is the ability to configure it in ways to fit Soldiers’ needs at outposts. One goal of this research is to take steps toward developing a power distribution system that could make automated decisions about when to shut off less critical loads to keep as much of the critical capability as possible, Geil said. A further goal of the program is to provide the Army chain of command critical information such as “how long will the generator function before maintenance problems occur”. “It gives the commander the capability to plan ahead,” he said. “We have intelligent systems out there now, but the challenge is that those systems rely heavily on human decision-making. If things change, and a person is not there to program the energy grid, there will be problems.” ARL has a research thrust toward cognitive networks and the use of this
RDECOM’s THE INSIDER technology in power conversion and distribution for the future is one of many places that “smart systems” have value for the Army, he said. This technology would be a key part of a power “router” that directs power from multiple sources to critical and non-critical loads. The system will prioritize power loads based on what is plugged in. At the lab, “our job is to push beyond the current capability and step up that ability by looking at controls and cognitive applications,” Geil said. “Researchers are working toward capabilities that take into account all that transpires in the fog of war, and they want to create smart systems that can sense what is plugged in, historical-use data and local restrictions,” he said. Geil envisions a system with cognitive algorithms to make decisions with minimal human guidance. Systems that can maintain operations of the most critical requirements such as critical communications and medical operations in the absence of guidance -but that can be easily overridden by system operators -- people. Engineers like Wood recognize that it’s one thing to make something work in the sterile lab environment, but “it’s a much different environment in places like Afghanistan.” Researchers have to close the gap so that they don’t develop a seemingly perfect piece of equipment that no Soldier at an Army outpost would use, Wood said. Wood added that other Army organizations like the Communication-Electronics Research, Development and Engineering Center take fundamental concepts closer to transition and have near-term programs such as the hybrid intelligent power (HI Power) program that increases efficiency by sharing loads on generators. “We develop and refine a concept, and then ARL works with other Army Research, Development and Engineering Centers to refine and materialize intelligent energy solutions,” Wood said. “There are many trials before technology like this gets to the Soldier,” he said. “SmartBED is designed to one day speed that process along.” SmartBED is the second in a series of four stories about ARL’s far-reaching concepts for Army operational energy. The next article in the series is Long-lived Power. Scientists and engineers at ARL forecast energy solutions into the future with a portfolio of basic and applied science. Related links http://www.army.mil/article/102875/
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Brian Cook, Tennessee Technological University graduate, demonstrates his senior design project that gives the U.S. Army Research, Development and Engineering Command’s aviation and missile center a mechanized way to apply liners to rocket motor cases. (U.S. Army photo by Ryan Keith)
Engineer develops technology, upgrades lab By Heather R. Smith AMRDEC Public Affairs REDSTONE ARSENAL, Ala. — A design project planned and executed by Tennessee Technological University students has given the U.S. Army Research, Development and Engineering Command’s aviation and missile center increased capabilities to accomplish its mission. While a co-op student with the Aviation and Missile Research, Development and Engineering Center in 2010, and looking for a project to design and build, Brian Cook found inspiration from a suggestion from Weapons Development and Integration Directorate technician Darrell Simonds. Cook, and his team of six Tennessee Tech students, set out to develop a machine that would upgrade the process for applying motor case liners. Cook’s invention uses pressure to force the liner substance through a series of tubes and into a spinning head. A DC motor spins the head at up to 10,000 RPMs -slinging the liner in an even coating on the inside of the motor case. “We have this automated arm that moves in and out, so we can control how much liner we have coming through and control the speed,” Cook said. “In return, we get equal lining throughout.” The carbon black liner is applied inside motor cases to bond with the propellant, and an even coating is important for the motor to perform well. Before Cook’s team completed its
project, engineers appplied rocket motor case liners by hand. Michael Morrison, chief of the energetic materials function, said the device gives the team consistency in liner thickness, which brings greater reproducibility when doing the many motor demonstrations the lab is called upon to do. When you hand paint it, Morrison said, you end up with thick areas and thin areas that potentially affect the bond between the liner and the propellant which is cast inside the case. The liner serves as a bond between the propellant and the case. “If you get an unbond -- depending on where the unbond is and when it happens -- it can be a not very successful day for a motor test,” Morrison said. The sling liner process improves reproducibility reliability significantly, he said. Simonds’ experience with similar lining systems and other personal support was instrumental in the team’s success, according to Cook. Cook moved from being a coop student into the Army Pathways Internship program in 2012. He completed his bachelor’s in mechanical engineering and is working on a master’s in aerospace engineering. Related links http://www.army.mil/article/102669/
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Army engineers enhance EOD Soldiers’ safety with ‘batwings’ By Dan Lafontaine RDECOM Public Affairs
The U.S. Army Research, Development and Engineering Command Field Assistance in Science and Technology-Center’s modified “batwing” design provides multiple tools for remote counter-improvised explosive device operations, including a hook for grabbing or cutting command wire, a rake for breaking up soil, and a spade for moving and digging up items. (U.S. Army photo)
ABERDEEN PROVING GROUND, Md. — U.S. Army engineers in Afghanistan recently designed and fabricated a tool to help Soldiers investigate possible improvised explosive devices from a safer distance. Capt. Chad M. Juhlin, commander of the 53rd Ordnance Company (EOD), said his Soldiers needed an attachment for use with the iRobot 310-SUGV when searching for improvised explosive devices, known as IEDs. The iRobot’s explosive ordnance disposal capabilities were limited, requiring Soldiers to operate close to the potential hazards. The forward deployed engineering cell from the U.S. Army Research, Development and Engineering Command, or RDECOM, at Bagram Airfield, Afghanistan, took on the challenge. The RDECOM Field Assistance in Science and Technology-Center, or RFAST-C, developed the first iteration of the “batwing” in January for Combined Joint Task Force Paladin. It is a collapsible hook that attaches to a telescoping pole for interrogating a site believed to contain explosives. The same tools needed to be modified for attachment to robot arms. Two engineers and two technicians adapted the RFAST-C’s existing “batwing” command wire detection hook so it could be used with the EOD team’s iRobot arm, and they delivered the products in two weeks. “RFAST-C provides a great opportunity for Soldiers on the ground to submit a requirement on the battlefield that will
eventually turn into a product,” Juhlin said. “Having these capabilities in theater not only decreases the lead time to obtain the product but allows for easy manipulation to the item if needed.” The RFAST-C’s modified “batwing” design provides multiple tools for remote IED operations, including a hook for grabbing or cutting command wire, a rake for breaking up soil, and a spade for moving and digging up items, said Mark Woolley, who led the project for RFAST-C. He is an electrical engineer with RDECOM’s Armament Research, Development and Engineering Center. RFAST-C Director Mike Anthony said both the first-generation “batwing” for telescoping poles and the subsequent modification for robots have received positive feedback from Soldiers in the field. The Joint IED Defeat Organization requested 670 original “batwings” for Special Operations Forces and EOD units worldwide. CJTF Paladin requested 50 iRobot “batwings,” in addition to the 10 already delivered to the 53rd Ordnance Company. Anthony said the partnership between the 53rd Ordnance Company and RFAST-C was made possible by Scott Heim, a mechanical engineer with RDECOM’s Tank Automotive Research, Development and Engineering Center who is assigned to the Science and Technology Assistance Team at the Combined Joint Special Operations Task Force-Afghanistan at Bagram Airfield. Heim said one of his major duties is to help Soldiers with a technological need connect
with the RFAST-C. “This example is just one of many projects that have been successful with FAST entities collaborating with users and developing requirements in a collective environment,” Heim said. “Working with the RFAST-C, we can provide rapid prototyping designs to facilitate an evaluation as to whether it meets the user’s needs or if a couple of modifications are needed before production is started.” After analyzing the iRobot’s capabilities, RFAST-C personnel cut, bent and welded a proof of concept in minutes to conduct a realtime test, Heim said. The prototype functioned well, but it also revealed some weaknesses and potential optimization features. The team made changes for a second version, which was then successfully manufactured. Nick Merrill, a mechanical engineer with RDECOM’s Edgewood Chemical Biological Center, assisted in the design of the iRobot “batwing.” He said the collaboration with the Soldiers helped the team quickly develop a prototype. “This project was unique in how we came up with the original prototype. Most projects, we sit down and brainstorm. For this one, they brought the robot in, we looked at it and how it grasps objects,” Merrill said. “Within 20 minutes of them being on-site, we had a quick, very rough prototype. Not very often does something get off the ground that quick.” Related links http://www.army.mil/article/102815/
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RDECOM’s THE INSIDER
Science advisor helps create new technologies By Terysa M. King U.S. Army Africa Public Affairs VICENZA, Italy — As worldwide technologies are constantly changing and updating, the U.S. Army does its part to keep up with these changes. What some may not know is the Army has a tool that gives commands access to these new technologies or helps them create something entirely new. Hassan Azzam, science and technology advisor for U.S. Army Africa, has served as an Army civilian for the past 15 years with the Research, Development and Engineering Command. Azzam’s key role is to provide commanders immediate access to labs and centers in RDECOM; cover capabilities and material gaps; help different combatant commands demonstrate rapid solutions to improve performance, readiness, safety, training and cost savings; and serve as a communications link on technology issues between Soldiers and the materiel development community. Azzam, a native of Cairo, Egypt, talks with commanders from USARAF, the 173rd Airborne Brigade Combat Team, and the Combined Joint Task Force - Horn of Africa in Djibouti to help them fulfill requirements for their deployments. On the continent of Africa, water is of extreme importance. The Individual Water Purification Device started from an idea and was sent to the Natick Soldier Research, Development and Engineering Center, which ran tests based on the requirement. They came up with a final product -- and eight-inch long, plastic, disposable device that provides emergency water purification. The IWPD will be useful because USARAF operates in multiple locations across Africa in small towns and remote areas where access to clean water is sometimes limited. “This little device purifies water with a variety of dirt or bacteria,” Azzam said. “It provides an individual Soldier up to 100 liters of water. You can literally just dip it into water: clean or dirty, and purify it, then once gone, it cannot be reused so it’s disposable in case of isolation or emergency.” Along with the IWPD, Azzam worked to introduce products to USARAF like the Rucksack Enhanced Portable Power System, Reusing Existing Natural Energy, Wind and Solar System and the Automated Route Reconnaissance Kit. The REPPS is a lightweight, portable power system capable of recharging Army batteries and/or acting as a continuous power source which provides power to remote locations, and is silent and environmentally friendly. In Africa,
Hassan Azzam, U.S. Army Africa science and technology advisor. (U.S. Army photo)
Azzam said it’s not easy to send a generator and to fuel it all the time because USARAF does not have forward operating bases nor does it have big stationary forces like in Afghanistan. “When we go to Africa to train with different nations one of the problems we encounter is figuring out where to find a generator and where to find fuel for the generator; that’s not easy in Africa. So, now we have a power supply based on solar energy, which is easy to obtain in Africa. REPPS is very soft, yet durable, foldable, and it fits in a rucksack. It can charge military batteries, a laptop, iPhone and an iPad. Depending on the sun, the angle and if the battery is totally depleted or halfway, within a couple of hours a Soldier can get enough power to talk on a cell phone or charge an Army battery,” Azzam said. To aid with lack of generators, Azzam said RENEWS is a great source of power used by the USARAF Combined Contingency Post and CJTF-HOA. “When we go to Africa, we are dependent on the host nation’s power system grid so RDECOM came up with the RENEWS, which will reuse natural energy, wind and solar power,” Azzam said. The RENEWS system is completely renewable energy with solar and wind components meant for smaller mostly communications systems in very remote locations that are difficult to resupply. This is a self sustaining system. “We hook them up and connect them with a turbine that can also get electricity through wind, so the wind will work during day and night. The solar works during the day and the Soldiers get a box of special batteries that can store energy during the day so they can work during the night.” Azzam said. To create a new product, Azzam said there has to be a request for information. Any
director or office can request a new product, and once the request has been submitted, Azzam’s job is to translate the request into specifications using technical terminology. He meets once a week with his engineering counterparts and within a week or two he gets one of three answers: ‘it already exists, it can be done and it’s in the works, or it cannot be done.’ If a product is requested that requires new technology and is untested, it will first go to the lab to confirm its feasibility and to make sure it has safety certifications so Soldiers won’t get hurt during testing. Once confirmed feasible and safe, it is brought to Vicenza for more tests. If the product is approved it can be reproduced and manufactured. “The variety of orders will have a variety of timeframes. A product might already be in stock so you could order it and have it in-hand within a week. Or it could be something in the lab. For example, the individual water purifier system took a while because RDECOM started from scratch. We didn’t have the system before, so we had a variety of samples to test. It took us three months to come up with the perfect one. Then sometimes you will have something within a couple of weeks, so it just depends on what you’re asking for,” Azzam said. With the unlimited possibilities of different types of technologies the Army could have, Azzam said he looks for what is going to work well with USARAF, since every COCOM has their own mission and different requirements. “I start looking for technology that serves the COCOM I’m supporting, so let’s say we’re looking for something they have in Afghanistan. I can take that technology and use it -- it may not be perfect for Africa, so we adjust it, fix it and tailor it to our COCOM needs,” Azzam said. To have success stories with new technologies, Azzam said his job as an engineer is to watch out for any problems or snags that come up during a mission or exercise. Instead of the same mistake, he finds a solution to the problem so the next time there is a mission there won’t be a snag, which Azzam said is his favorite part of his job. “I love engineering and I love my job. If you’re sitting at your computer and you try to fix something on the internet and you can’t get connected, you say ‘Ok let me try this,’ and you try it and it works. That makes my day, and that makes me feel like good things get accomplished. Plus, the Soldiers get what they want,” Azzam said. Related links http://www.army.mil/article/102818
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Artillerymen with 3rd Battalion, 319th Airborne Field Artillery Regiment, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne Division, load a round into the Army’s new all-digital M119A3 105 mm lightweight howitzer April 19, 2013, at Fort Bragg, N.C. The regiment, known as the Gun Devils, made history by being the first operational unit in the Army to field and fire the weapon system. (U.S. Army photo)
ARDEC: Fort Bragg first to receive upgraded howitzers By Audra Calloway ARDEC Public Affairs FORT BRAGG, N.C. — On April 19, Artillerymen at Fort Bragg, N.C., became the first unit in the Army to receive digitized M119A3 howitzers, which will make it possible for Soldiers to start firing rounds and evade return fire quicker in combat. The M119 is a lightweight 105 mm howitzer that provides suppressive and protective fires for infantry brigade combat teams. The upgraded M119A3 is equipped with a digital fire control system that includes an inertial navigation unit, guided-precision system technology and other features that will give the weapon the ability to determine its precise geographical location on its own. Employees from the Program Executive Office for Ammunition, with help from the Armament Research, Development and Engineering Center, or ARDEC, recently fielded 16 M119A3s to the 3rd Battalion, 319th Airborne Field Artillery Regiment, 1st Brigade. “One benefit of the digital fire control system is improved survivability because it reduces emplacement and displacement times,” said Keith Gooding, Project Manager Towed Artillery Systems, also known as PM TAS, for the Program Executive Office for Ammunition. The digitized M119A3 includes a GPS-aided
Inertial Navigation Unit, or INU, that detects where the weapon is at all times, so optical sites are not needed to determine location. The INU allows the Soldier to prepare the howitzer and fire the first round in two to three minutes, as opposed to the 10 minutes it could take them to ready the M119A2 for fire. “Ten minutes may not seem that long, but when someone’s shooting at you, 10 minutes is a big deal,” he said of the infantrymen who rely on M119A3 protective fire during combat. In addition to assisting infantry troops quickly, the digital fire-control system will help the M119A3 cannoneers avoid enemy fire, allowing them to “Shoot and Scoot.” With the digitized fire control, artillerymen can quickly fire some rounds and then move to a new location and quickly begin firing rounds again. Because they will be able to quickly relocate, this can help them evade return fire from the enemy. “The M119 Howitzer is a unique program in that the work is conducted within the government,” said Gene Conner, M119A2 Assistant Program Manager. “PM TAS acts as the prime contractor and ARDEC is the system integrator.” The digitization package is integrated onto existing M119A2 guns, creating the M119A3 howitzer.
The software development and integration of the digital fire control system onto the first 16 of approximately 600 M119A3’s was conducted in-house at ARDEC. To upgrade the Army’s additional howitzers, a team from Picatinny Arsenal will travel to each unit location to apply the digitized package, provide manuals, tools, and initial spares, and to provide new equipment training to the Soldiers. Ninety percent of the software used on the M119A3 was taken from the M777A2. This provides useful standardization between the Army’s three howitzers, the M777A2, the Paladin self-propelled 155 mm Howitzer and now the M119A3. “If you’re training on howitzers that share the same base code, the difference in training requirements across platforms is minimized and the flexibility of the artillerymen to move from platform to platform is simplified and increased,” Gooding added. Using similar software also made the upgrades cheaper because separate development efforts and teams were not needed. “Since we reused 90 percent of the software associated with the M777A2, we saved about $7 million developing the code,” Gooding noted. Related links http://www.army.mil/article/102652/
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NSRDEC: Knee brace puts ‘a spring in your step’ By Alexandra Foran NSRDEC Public Affairs NATICK, Mass. — Weight, hinge design, and assistive power of a quasi-passive exoskeleton were studied at the U.S. Army Natick Soldier Research, Development and Engineering Center here to see how these factors affect the way an individual walks. The study, done in conjunction with Yale University, also measured how much energy a person used walking with the knee brace. “The Yale engineers, under direction of Dr. Aaron Dollar, have built what can be simply defined as a pair of knee braces with springs built into them,” said Al Adams, NSRDEC biomechanics research engineer. The foundation of the Yale design is a pair of commercial of f-the -shelf knee braces, comparable to the knee or thotics people use post-surger y or if they are suf fering from knee pain. The major dif ference of the Yale design is the quasi-passive robotics - - meaning the actual mechanical work of the device is done by springs, but the springs are controlled by electric motors and computer. Testing involved 13 Soldiers from NSRDEC’s Human Research Volunteer program. The participants wore a brace on each knee, which weighed at total of 11 pounds. Each brace contained a spring, an electric motor to engage/disengage the spring, and an electronic controller. The device loads the spring at the beginning of each step, “slightly helping to extend your knee and removing some of the force usually applied by your quad muscles,” Adams said. Disengagement of the spring occurs right before the leg is swung forward for the next step, “so that you do not have to fight against the spring when flexing your knee closed during the swing phase of your step.” After orientation sessions using the brace to walk normally on the ground and to walk on a treadmill, data was collected during a testing session that involved six different 10-minute walking trials. The trials included knee braces with three different springs of varying stiffness, no springs, hinges of the knee brace detached, and a trial without the braces as a control condition. Heart rate, rate of oxygen consumption and muscle activity were measured during
Al Adams, a biomechanics research engineer at Natick Soldier Research, Development and Engineering Center, has been studying the weight, hinge design and assistive power of a quasi-passive exoskeleton. (U.S. Army photo by David Kamm)
data collection sessions. Motion capture cameras were also used during the testing to record the volunteers’ movements. “Understanding the effects of each of these design aspects will help current and future exoskeleton engineers to optimize their system and reduce its negative effects on the user,” Adams said. Previous exoskeletons tested at Natick were evaluated as advanced technology prototype products, not necessarily to answer fundamental scientific questions on the effects of exoskeletons on Soldier performance. Prior testing of robotic prototypes designed to assist Soldiers with heavy combat loads resulted in Soldiers using more metabolic energy walking with a personal augmentation system than they did when they walked without an exoskeleton. This research-specific exoskeleton designed by Yale had “built-in adjustability” for engineers to test their hypotheses. In addition to looking at how the weight of the device affects the user, NSRDEC wants to examine how the hinge design alone affects the user. One of their hypotheses is that the hinge design may be limiting motion.
According to Adams, previously tested exoskeletons assume the knee is “operating like a pin joint. Think of a hinge on a door where it just rotates in one direction. But really the knee is sort of doing that but also rotating a little bit in another direction, as well. So the multiple degrees of freedom is something that most wearable devices assume doesn’t exist or isn’t necessary.” For the last decade, in particular, exoskeletons have been considered as a solution for unburdening Soldiers on the battlefield and assisting with Soldier load. Adams said he hopes that working alongside exoskeleton engineers in a series of basic research programs will help answer the question of why previous exoskeletons did not aid in Soldier load carriage. “This knowledge will aid current and future exoskeleton developers,” said Adams, “as well as inform biomechanists at NSRDEC with regard to the unique challenges of devices like these to ensure the success of future, related efforts.” Related links http://www.army.mil/article/103694
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Army-funded research may enhance battlefield medicine ARL Public Affairs ADELPHI, Md. — Extramural basic research at the University of California, Los Angeles, funded by the U.S. Army Research Laboratory’s Army Research Office, the Office of Naval Research and the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, has led to the discovery of a fundamental new way to image microorganisms using visible or ultraviolet light without the requirement of any lenses, lasers or bulky optical elements. This new method, called holographic microscopy, may provide a cost-effective, handheld, lightweight and rapid diagnostic system to enhance battlefield medicine capabilities. Holographic microscopy can overcome many limitations of conventional optical microscopy. Current optical microscopes are expensive, cumbersome to transport and require frequent technical maintenance. For example, accidently jarring a microscope will typically require time-intensive realignment by a specialist. In contrast, holographic microscopy simply requires a sensor, software, computing power and a display, and is enabling imaging devices that are inexpensive, compact and virtually maintenance-free. This technology should allow imaging solutions at significantly lower cost (tens of dollars per device vs. thousands for each optical microscope), improved ruggedness (no moving parts or optics), reduced weight (grams rather than kilograms) and smaller size relative to optical microscopes. Dr. Wallace Buchholz, the ARL program manager for this research project, noted that “holographic microscopy can capture an image in less than a second and is capable of resolving bacteria and other microscopic objects over areas and depthsof-field thousands of times greater than possible with optical microscopes.” These capabilities are required attributes for three-dimensional imaging of microscopic particles, a powerful imaging capability that has never-before been available. Given its compact, inexpensive and rugged characteristics, this new method may lead to new capabilities relevant to the Army. Holographic microscopy can revolutionize point-of-care diagnostics.
Photograph (left) and schematic diagram (right) of the field-portable lensfree tomographic microscope. This device will enable the 3D imaging of microscopic particles, a never-before-available capability (Courtesy graphic)
Tests that are currently restricted to hospitals or clinics could be readily conducted on the battlefield and in the remotest areas of the world. For instance, blood, urine, fecal and tissue samples could be analyzed for the presence of parasites and pathogens, and whole blood could be analyzed for cell differentials to diagnose a variety of maladies such as discriminating between allergic reactions and infections. Other potential applications of the technology might include detection of microfractures in materiel such as helicopter rotor blades, or detection of microbes on surfaces. The research team published results in 2013 that demonstrate an adaptation of holography for use on cell phones, thereby providing a lightweight and highly-portable method for imaging fluids such as water, blood and urine to potentially detect and identify infectious diseases. According to Buchholz, this research has great promise for field use by the warfighter; however, there are several key challenges remaining before practical field use of this technology can be realized. Research efforts are underway to increase the resolution beyond 0.5 micrometer. Whereas this resolution is adequate for many needs, higher resolution will significantly increase versatility. Furthermore, current and pending detection methods for pathogen identification must be adapted to the new platform, software that addresses specific Army/ DoD needs must be developed, and the technology must transition from the research and development stage to production and commercialization. To foster nearer-term applications, an Army-Academia-Industr y par tnership (the U.S. Army Edgewood Chemical Biological Center, UCL A and Luminex
Inc.), funded by the Defense Threat Reduction Agency, is determining proofof-concept of this technology for detecting pathogenic bacteria in a body fluid (urine). In addition, a project to be funded by the Tank Automotive Research, Development and Engineering Center and conducted at UCL A will develop a field-deployable platform to monitor the safety of drinking water in-theater by the sensitive and specific detection of waterborne protozoan parasites and fecal bacteria. Though conceptually similar, these two projects will use different technical approaches to achieve similar goals. Scientists in ARL’s Sensors and Electron Devices Directorate are interested in using the technology as a “miniature flow-through cytometer ” for research in a size-limited anaerobic chamber, and in integrating this technology into future sensors and detectors. Fur thermore, proposals to a Chemical Biological Defense Small Business Innovation Research topic are currently under review for the potential development of a global disease sur veillance network that would be used to monitor and track natural disease outbreaks. The system could similarly monitor the release and spread of intentionally or accidentally released biological or chemical agents. It is unusual for basic research to quickly mature into potential Armyrelevant applications. However, with continued investment it is anticipated that in three to five years, a handheld, inexpensive, cell-phonebased prototype may be available to the Army for rapidly detecting microbes in drinking water and bodily fluids- -providing critical diagnostics capabilities previously unavailable on the battlefield or in remote locations. The Army Research Laborator y, Tank Automotive Research, Development and Engineering Center and Edgewood Chemical Biological Center are par t of the U.S. Army Research, Development and Engineering Command at Aberdeen Proving Ground, Md. The command has the mission to empower, unburden and protect America’s Soldiers through technology and engineering solutions. Related links http://www.army.mil/article/102742/
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Soldiers use the Light Detection and Ranging System in an after action review system in use at Fort Bragg Medical Simulation Training Center. (U.S. Army photo)
Army uses advanced systems to improve training Michelle Milliner ARL Public Affairs ORLANDO, Fla. — Military medical training presents trainees with a range of casualty scenarios and engagements involving hostile forces. Engagements may require Soldiers to suppress the opposing force and prevent additional casualties while treating the wounded. Medical training scenarios reinforce essential skills required to include proper tactics, such as maintaining a perimeter or properly using cover and concealment. The addition of a casualty requires trainees to adhere to the rules of Tactical Combat Casualty Care. The first phase of TC3 is care under fire, in which the Soldier must return fire, apply a tourniquet if necessary, and quickly move the casualty to cover. With the casualty in a safer location, tactical field care begins where additional treatments are allowed. Tactical field care treatments meant to address lifethreatening conditions and once stabilized the casualty is evacuated. Throughout these phases, all squad members, including the Medic and Combat Life Saver, must remain vigilant to ensure their safety, and the safety of the patient. In this fast-paced and often chaotic environment, it is a difficult task for in instructors to evaluate performance
effectively. Current medical lane training requires several personnel including instructors to assess performance, actors to portray opposing forces and controllers for the simulation assets. The medical simulation research branch at the Army Research Laboratory’s Human Research Engineering Directorate, Simulation and Training Technology Center is working to unburden the instructors by automating the control of the simulation assets using Light Detection and Ranging, also known as LiDAR, and sensor fusion. Automation of the simulators and effects will free up instructors allowing them to provide a comprehensive review. LiDAR automation may not only reduce instructor load but also eliminate the need for operators at each simulator. The center is researching the use of LiDAR to control video cameras, smoke generators and other simulation assets. LiDAR will serve as a simulation director as trainees approach areas of interest, smoke generators and manikins turn on automatically. Also, LiDAR is able to determine the location of trainees and focus pan-tilt-zoom cameras on them. Future work will investigate sensor fusion and networking of multiple LiDAR to extend
the range and augment data resolution. Fusion with a GPS sensor would allow the system to geo-locate trainees in the field without the need to instrument each Soldier. LiDAR sensors add significant capabilities to after action reviews, by providing analysis of troop formation and lines of sight providing a unique teaching tool for instructors and learning opportunity for trainees. The system will be easily portable and rapidly configurable, allowing sites to move lanes or lend the system to other units. Feasibility tests for of the LiDAR sensor for tracking personnel in a training environment has been conducted at Fort Bragg. The initial results have been very positive and the research team is moving on to the next phase that will include significant hardware integration and software development and an evaluation of the system to include instructor feedback regarding usability and functionality of the AAR component. The Army Research Laboratory and its simulation center are part of the U.S. Army Research, Development and Engineering Command, which has the mission to develop technology and engineering solutions for America’s Soldiers. Related links http://www.army.mil/article/102857
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The newly updated Kiowa Warrior aircraft, the OH-58F, made a ceremonial “first flight,” April 30, 2013, at Redstone Arsenal, Ala. (U.S. Army photo)
Kiowa Warrior upgrades alter aircraft profile By C. Todd Lopez Army News Service WASHINGTON — The newly updated Kiowa Warrior aircraft, the OH-58F, made a ceremonial “first flight,” April 30, at Redstone Arsenal, Ala. With new cockpit and sensor modifications installed, the OH58F represents the first major upgrade or modernization to the Kiowa Warrior in 20 years. The “cockpit and sensor upgrade program,” called CASUP, converts OH-58D Kiowa Warriors into OH-58F models. The CASUP program is “designed to address obsolescence in the aircraft as well as the capabilities of the sensor,” said Col. Robert Grigsby, project manager, Armed Scout Helicopters. Perhaps the biggest change to the aircraft is that the familiar sensor ball, which is mast-mounted above the rotor in older models, has been moved down to
the front of the aircraft. The nose-mounted common sensor payload includes improved optics, an infra-red sensor, laser pointer and laser spot tracker. Col. John Lynch, Training and Doctrine Command capability manager for the Kiowa Warrior, said mounting the sensor package on the nose of the aircraft was a decision made after considering operations over the last 12 years in Iraq and Afghanistan. “We are really doing a lot more maneuvering flight both in urban and nonurban environments, and the sight quickly reaches the stop limits and it is very difficult to track targets when you are flying in an environment where you are getting much closer to the enemy than we ever envisioned with the mast-mounted sensor in the Cold War-era,” Lynch said. Lynch did say the aircraft will be “a little more exposed” by using the nose-mounted sight instead of the mast-mounted sight. But other factors in the battle space mitigate
that exposure. “[With] the linkages that are provided through communications, through mannedunmanned teaming in the current generation of aircraft as opposed to the original OH58D in the late 1980s, and teaming with other aircraft such as the AH-64 Apache, we believe we will be able to overcome that risk and still perform the mission in major combat operation-type environment,” Lynch said. “Based on what we’ve seen in the last ten years, we can certainly expect to be deployed in more environments like the current operating environment in Afghanistan, or recently, in Iraq.” The OH-58D Kiowa Warrior has the highest operational tempo of any Army aircraft in theater. On average, it maintains a monthly operational tempo of about 75 hours. Last year in theater, that number was more than 100 hours a month. The CASUP program, which converts the D model into F models, brings much
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RDECOM’s THE INSIDER capability to the well-used aircraft. The OH-58F also includes a new digital cockpit that can be customized by the crew to display information relevant to the mission. Additionally, the OH-58F brings doubled processing speed to the aircraft, as well as improved recording and storage capability. Both the pilot and co-pilot will now have their own, separate map and data viewing capability. The OH-58F is also about 160 pounds lighter than the D model of the aircraft, which means that commanders have more mission flexibility when using the aircraft. “Understanding where the Kiowa Warrior operates today, which is trading both fuel and ammunition for every mission, I think this provides additional flexibility to the commander and crew,” he said. A weight reduction on the aircraft means it can carry more fuel for increased flight time, or more rockets or ammunition. “I think flexibility is really the key thing it’s going to provide.” The OH-58A model appeared in the Army in the late 1960s, during the Vietnam era. Some of the aircraft in the Army inventory today are more than 40 years old. But the CASUP doesn’t “zero-time” the aircraft. “About 60 percent of the airframe will be replaced,” said Lt. Col. Matt Hannah, product manager, Kiowa Warrior. “But there’s 40 percent that is literally still 42 years old today, and when you finish the production line, 55 years old.” Grigsby said a decision is pending now in the Army to either go after a replacement for the Kiowa Warrior -- that’s the Armed Aerial Scout program -- or completely overhaul the Kiowa Warrior with a service life extension program, called SLEP. Right now, the Prototype Integration Facility at Redstone Arsenal, Ala., is building the “Prototype Qualification 1” OH-58F aircraft. In the fall, production will transition to Corpus Christi Army Depot, Corpus Christi, Texas, to build PQ2, PQ3, and PQ4, as the Army prepares for milestone C decision. In the fall of 2014, it’s expected the Army will conduct a limited user test of the aircraft, and by March 2015, the Army will make a low-rate initial production decision. The LRIP Lot 1 set includes 27 aircraft and LRIP Lot 2 includes 33 aircraft. The decision to go into full-rate production will yield a total of 368 OH-58F Kiowa Warriors, to be built between 20172025. “The program is doing well, and we are on track,” Hannah said. Related links http://www.army.mil/article/102288/
ECBC to support effort at Redstone Arsenal ECBC Communications ABERDEEN PROVING GROUND, Md. — Known for supporting remediation activities at former defense sites, the Chemical Biological Application and Risk Reduction Business Unit of the U.S. Army Edgewood Chemical Biological Center is now turning its focus to supporting an active installation. Redstone Arsenal in Alabama is the site where 17 suspected chemical warfare burial sites will be investigated. These sites date back to the end of World War II when chemical weapons were drained, burned or buried in trenches. “The big one that we’re chasing now is Redstone. This could be the monster of all clean-up projects,” said John Ditillo, CBARR chemist. “Large-scale clean-up effort at Redstone has been projected to last 25 years.” The long-term remediation effort is expected to be divided into small manageable tasks and CBARR’s supporting role begins with this first phase of sample monitoring. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in Huntsville, Ala. where the arsenal is located, sought CBARR’s expertise in providing chemical and biological solutions to conduct air monitoring and laboratory sample analysis of approximately 135 sediment and water samples that will be screened onsite and then shipped to ECBC, whose headquarters is located at APG, for a more thorough analysis. Utilizing state-of-the-art analytical instrumentation capable of 24-hour operation, CBARR’s deployable laboratory services and mobile analytic platforms will monitor for chemical warfare agents as well as their breakdown products. Without a permanent presence in Huntsville, CBARR relies on laboratory analysis at APG or labs located at Pine Bluff Arsenal in Arkansas, which requires the long-distance shipping of samples. The shipment of these samples to APG or PBA require timely coordination efforts with commercial laboratories that receive the corresponding split samples for the final hazardous waste analysis. “Soil samples that require shipment off site must first be cleared by headspace analysis to ensure that they are safe for transport. Once cleared, the samples are put in coolers and sent by commercial courier to be analyzed at the CBARR laboratories at APG or PBA,” explained Ditillo. “Our
Using state-of-the-art instrumentation, CBARR’s deployable laboratory services and mobile analytic platforms will monitor for chemical warfare agents as well as their breakdown products. (U.S. Army photo)
analysis must be completed within 24 to 48 hours so that the corresponding split can be sent to the commercial laboratory. They can’t touch it until we clear it, and they have specific hold time requirements that cannot be exceeded. All of this requires careful coordination.” CBARR has a history of supporting the COE in the remediation of formerly used defense sites, including locations in Florida, Oklahoma, Hawaii, New Jersey, Kansas, Guam, the Virgin Islands and Washington, D.C. Active installations, disposal sites and former CB process facilities are also places where CBARR has provided CB analysis of environmental samples. “We’ve been very busy the last couple of years and there’s very few people who can do this kind of work,” Ditillo said. Built in 1941, Redstone Arsenal produced conventional chemical ammunition such as small arms and light weapons for the Warfighter until demilitarization efforts called for a reduction of surplus munitions through proper CB remediation processes. Redstone Arsenal covers 38,125 acres of land in the middle Tennessee River valley and employs more than 35,000 people. Today, it serves as the headquarters for the U.S. Army Material Command as well as the Aviation and Missile Command. Related links http://www.army.mil/article/102232
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Researchers bring standard Army battery charger ‘into the 21st century,’ refine conformal battery By Amanda Rominiecki CERDEC Public Affairs ABERDEEN PROVING GROUND, Md. — Consider all the pieces of technology you rely on throughout the day, both at work and at home, and how you are limited to the length of each device’s battery life. Now imagine not having an accessible way to power any of them, perhaps for days. This is the harsh reality of today’s networked Soldier. Over the past two decades the electronic devices Soldiers use and the rechargeable batteries that power them have advanced significantly, but the equipment used to recharge these batteries in the field are outdated and inefficient. The U.S. Army Research, Development and Engineering Command’s communications-electronics center, or CERDEC, is working to change that paradigm. A collaborative effort between the Army Research Laboratory, or ARL; Project Manager Soldier Warrior, or PM SWAR; the Communications-Electronics Command Logistics and Readiness Center, or CECOM LRC; CERDEC Command, Power and Integration Directorate, or CP&I; and their industry partners has resulted in what is known as the Universal Battery Charger. The Universal Battery Charger, or UBC, represents the first major update to the standard Army battery charger in almost two decades. The current Army Standard Battery Charger is based on technology from the 1990s, according to CERDEC CP&I engineer Marc Gietter. Roughly the size of a carry-on suitcase, it is not something a Soldier can carry with him in the field. “We’re taking that 1990s technology and shrinking it, bringing it into the 21st century,” Gietter said. “It will keep up with today’s technology.” Two versions of the current Army standard charger exist, explained Ari Herman, a CERDEC Product Realization Directorate engineer who currently supports the CECOM LRC. The first is vehicle mounted and the other is a table-top, stationary device. “While it will charge new batteries, it isn’t optimized for batteries currently used on the battlefield - it does not make efficient use of available space, resulting in a much bulkier charger,” he said. “There is an increasing need with the networked Soldier for portable power,” said Dave Schimmel, PM SWAR lead engineer. “There is a widening gap between the need for power and the actual availability of that power when
Electronic devices like Nett Warrior, a handheld situational awareness and messaging tool pictured here, increase the Soldier’s reliance on batteries and power sources to charge them. The new Universal Battery Charger currently in development by CERDEC will make charging batteries simpler and more efficent. (U.S. Army photo by Claire Heininger)
the Soldier is in the Tier-1 environment [the most austere environment, such as the remote areas of Afghanistan] so portable power is an absolute requirement.” The new Universal Battery Charger, or UBC, will be a Soldier-portable charging system, weighing six pounds and smaller than the size of a shoe box. It provides an on-the-move capability, allowing the Soldier to quickly connect to any power source, at any time. “You can hook this battery charger up to anything that provides power -- a generator, fuel cell, solar panel, wind turbine, vehicle cigarette lighter -- anything,” Gietter said. By allowing the charger to connect to any power source it gives the Soldier versatility, which is critical in the ever-changing battlefield environment. The Soldier can quickly tap into the energy provided from a vehicle during transport or connect to a wind turbine, like the one found in another CERDEC CP&I technology, Re-Using Natural Energy, Wind and Solar, or RENEWS. The UBC will include a foldable solar panel, giving the Soldier yet another option when traditional power is inaccessible, Gietter said. “The UBC will have more capability, more
efficiency and the ability to solve a more universal need for the Warfighter,” Schimmel said. In line with commercial technology, all new Army rechargeable batteries are “smart,” meaning there is communication between the battery and the end item device or charger. An everyday example of this technology is the battery life indicator on your cell phone. “Any battery today, much like the battery in a laptop or cell phone, is a smart battery,” Gietter said. “The circuitry tells the charger how it wants to be charged, to do this and not do that. So now, these chargers are smart chargers and will respond to each individual battery.” Much like any new Army technology, the UBC has strict specifications for rugged conditions the Soldier faces on a daily basis. It must be able to withstand extreme temperatures, humidity, rain, sand and wind. It needs to function while experiencing the bumps and vibrations inside a vehicle. Unlike most commercial electronics, it must also not be destroyed by water. “The charger will function after being completely submerged in water,” Schimmel said. “It doesn’t have to work under water, but it needs to work after being subjected to a river forging. Soldiers do river crossings as needed for mission execution. We don’t want them to be carrying a six-pound brick after one of those crossings.” Part of the appeal of a universal charger and the new UBC is its ability to charge different types of batteries with one device and the ability to do so simultaneously. “The UBC can charge eight batteries and two USB devices at once,” Gietter said. “The USB component is becoming increasingly important as the Soldier moves toward being more connected via a smartphone. It also can charge a morale-boosting device like an iPod.” Complimentary to the research into the new UBC is continued refinements to the Conformal Wearable Battery, or CWB. The CWB is a flexible battery worn by the Soldier as part of the uniform. It bends to the shape of the body, rather than the Soldier carrying a traditional, rigid rectangular box battery. “The CWB allows the Soldier to actually wear the battery and have it seamlessly integrated into his uniform, reducing the burden on the Soldier,” Schimmel said. “It feels like less of a weight and may be placed where the Soldier wants it.” The conformal battery is part of the Soldier Wearable Integrated Power System, or SWIPES, which integrates the charg-
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RDECOM’s THE INSIDER ing of radios, GPS, smartphones and other Command, Control, Communications, Computers, Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance, or C4ISR, technologies into the Soldier’s vest. Each pocket serves as a charging port. “The conformal battery is the first flexible, full temperature range battery that will actually top-charge all C4ISR technologies,” Herman said. A Soldier can charge devices as they sit in the pockets of his vest, rather than having to swap in new batteries during combat. The position of the battery is crucial. It can be integrated into the vest in an area that normally is unusable anyway, like under the Soldier’s arm, rather than placing it in a pocket that could be holding something more vital like ammunition, Schimmel explained. The development of the UBC and refinements to the conformal battery represent a key partnership between several organizations across the lifecycle of Army power and energy technology. Starting at the fundamental research and basic chemistry of batteries and electronics is ARL. The fundamental research is then transitioned to CERDEC, which further develops it into a working and realistic technology. PM SWAR evaluates the technology and gathers feedback from the Soldier to determine if it effectively meets their needs. The LRC completes the lifecycle by working out production contracts, long-term support and sustainment efforts. The Training and Doctrine Command and the PM help to identify capability gaps and keep the focus on technologies that meet the current mission and the future warfighter needs. They represent the user from the very fundamental research to the logistics and support, Schimmel said. “This team has been working together on developing new technology for the Warfighter, then evaluating and testing the results for many years now,” Schimmel said. “From engineers, the PM and the acquisition side, to the actual test labs, developers and integrators, we have been working collectively to focus on targeted solutions for the Warfighter together as a team. We have accomplished all that we have due to focused efforts as a team working collectively.” The organizations leverage each others’ expertise as they work toward the same common goal. “Any battery anywhere is really what it boils down to -- for the Soldier to have the ability to charge any battery in any environment,” Gietter said. “We are giving the Warfighter a desperately needed power source.” Related links http://www.army.mil/article/103583
Chaplain’s Corner: Life is difficult By Chaplain (Lt. Col.) Juan Crockett In his book, “The Road Less Traveled”, M. Scott Peck in the very first paragraph, states this Principle—“Life is Difficult”. This is one of the greatest truths ever mentioned. It is true because once we realize that life is difficult we can rise above. Once we realize this about life; then life is no longer difficult. Once we accept this basic truth, according to Peck, then the fact that life is difficult no longer matters. I am sure that this is not exactly what you want to hear. It is obvious, of course; but hear it we must if you are going find any growth in life. The Word of God states in John 16:33, “In this world (your assignment, job, family, marriage, life) you will have distress and difficulties; these things I have spoken to you that you might have peace. In the world you will have problems. But be of good courage, I have overcome the world.” Have you ever wondered how peace can come through problems? M. Scott Peck il-
“Have you ever wondered how peace can come through problems?” — Chaplain (Lt. Col.) Juan Crockett
lustrates. He says, ‘it is the problems in life that make it difficult and the solving of problems that make us grow.’ If we accept that truth and go about solving our problems, even though life may still be difficult, it can be filled with meaning, joy, and peace. There is no way a human being can grow without suffering, struggle and sorrow and pain. These are part of the human condition. It is said that the greatest wisdom does not come through a comfortable existence. It is achieved during periods of struggle and pain (anonymous). One of my favorite stories illustrating this truth concerns the English Botanist Alfred Russell Wallace, who lived about 150 years ago. Every time I tell this picturesque story, people say, “I’ve heard that story before.” Today I hope that you are able to hear its message. It seems that one day in his laboratory Wallace was observing an emperor butterfly seeking to get free from its cocoon. The scientist was struck by the little butterfly’s painful struggle and the length of time it was
Chaplain (Lt. Col.) Juan Crockett explains how peace can come through problems. (U.S. Army photo by Conrad Johnson)
pushing and pulling, working to get free. He wondered, “What would happen if I assisted in the process?” So he took his scalpel and he cut down the length of the cocoon. He watched to see what would happen, and these are his exact words: “The butterfly emerged from the cocoon, spread its wings, drooped perceptibly - and died.” That butterfly needed the struggle. It needed the pain, all that intense work. Otherwise, the juices would not be distributed into every square millimeter of its large, beautiful wings. Without all the pain, there would be no beauty, no color, no character, no life. Struggle and pain are necessary to create a beautiful, living creature. We too need that effort and work, yet there are people who refuse to see the growth potential in struggle and life’s difficulties. When they encounter adversity, they resist. They become bitter, they push against the pain and they stay frozen within themselves. They say, “This is an unjust world. I don’t deserve to struggle like this.” By refusing to allow pain to act as a master teacher, they miss many of the salient and important experiences in life. When disastrous problems strike, how can we deal positively with the pain, the losses and the tragedies that life places before us? My first idea is that we can remind ourselves to see pain as a teacher when prob-
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JUNE 2013 – ISSUE NO. 11
Army explores futuristic uniform for SOCOM By Roger Teel RDECOM Public Affairs ABERDEEN PROVING GROUND, Md. — Army researchers are responding to a request from the U.S. Special Operations Command for technologies to help develop a revolutionary Tactical Assault Light Operator Suit. The Tactical Assault Light Operator Suit, or TALOS, is an advanced infantry uniform that promises to provide superhuman strength with greater ballistic protection. Using wide-area networking and on-board computers, operators will have more situational awareness of the action around them and of their own bodies. The U.S. Army Research, Development and Engineering Command, known as RDECOM, is submitting TALOS proposals in response to the May 15 request. “There is no one industry that can build it,” said SOCOM Senior Enlisted Advisor Command Sgt. Maj. Chris Faris during a panel discussion at a conference at MacDill Air Force Base, Fla., recently, reported Defense Media Network. The request, currently posted on Federal Business Opportunities, is looking for technology demonstration submissions from research and development organizations, private industry, individuals, government labs and academia to support the command-directed requirement issued by Adm. William McRaven, USSOCOM commander. “[The] requirement is a comprehensive family of systems in a combat armor suit where we bring together an exoskeleton with innovative armor, displays for power monitoring, health monitoring, and integrating a weapon into that -- a whole bunch of stuff that RDECOM is playing heavily in,” said. Lt. Col. Karl Borjes, an RDECOM science advisor assigned to SOCOM. TALOS will have a physiological subsystem that lies against the skin that is embedded with sensors to monitor core body temperature, skin temperature, heart rate, body position and hydration levels. Scientists at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology are currently developing armor made from magnetorheological fluids -- liquid body armor -- that transforms from liquid to solid in milliseconds when a magnetic field or electrical current is applied. Though still in development, this technology will likely be submitted to support TALOS.
The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency is working on the Warrior Web Project, which has many of the attributes of the Army’s Tactical Assault Light Operator Suit concept.
“RDECOM cuts across every aspect making up this combat armor suit,” Borjes said “It’s advanced armor. It’s communications, antennas. It’s cognitive performance. It’s sensors, miniature-type circuits. That’s all going to fit in here, too.” SOCOM demonstrations will take placeJuly 8-10, at or near MacDill Air Force Base. The request asks participants to submit a white paper summary of their technology by May 31, describing how TALOS can be constructed using current and emerging technologies. A limited number of participant white papers will be selected and those selected will demonstrate their technologies. The initial demonstration goal is to
identify technologies that could be integrated into an initial capability within a year. A second goal is to determine if fielding the TALOS within three years is feasible. U.S. Army science advisors, such as Borjes, are embedded with major units around the world to speed technology solutions to Soldiers’ needs. The Field Assistance in Science and Technology program’s 30 science advisors, both uniformed officers and Army civilians, provide a link between Soldiers and the RDECOM’s thousands of subject matter experts. Related links http://www.army.mil/article/104229
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RDECOM’s THE INSIDER
Army Research Laboratory tests DARPA project DARPA Defense Sciences Office ABERDEEN PROVING GROUND, Md. — The amount of equipment and gear carried by today’s dismounted warfighter can exceed 100 pounds, as troops conduct patrols for extended periods over rugged and hilly terrain. The added weight while bending, running, squatting, jumping and crawling in a tactical environment increases the risk of musculoskeletal injury, particularly on vulnerable areas such as ankles, knees and lumbar spine. Increased load weight also causes increase in physical fatigue, which further decreases the body’s ability to perform warfighter tasks and protect against both acute and chronic injury. The U.S. Army Research, Development and Engineering Command’s research laboratory is wrapping up a five-month test on the innovative Warrior Web prototypes. Scientists at the U.S. Army Research Laboratory Human Research and Engineering Directorate are seeking to evaluate the technologies required to prevent and reduce musculoskeletal injuries caused by dynamic events typically found in the warfighter’s environment. The testing evaluates how each prototype incorporates different technologies and approaches to reduce forces on the body, decreases fatigue, stabilizes joints and helps Soldiers maintain a natural gait under a heavy load. ARL researchers use a multi-camera motion-capture system to determine any changes in gait or balance, a cardio-pulmonary exercise testing device to measure oxygen consumption and many other sensors to collect force, acceleration and muscle activity data. The ultimate Warrior Web program goal is a lightweight, conformal under-suit that is transparent to the user (like a diver’s wetsuit). The suit seeks to employ a system (or web) of closed-loop controlled actuation, transmission, and functional structures that protect injury prone areas, focusing on the soft tissues that connect and interface with the skeletal system. Other novel technologies that prevent, reduce, ambulate, and assist with healing of acute and chronic musculoskeletal injuries are also being sought. In addition to direct injury mitigation, Warrior Web will have the capacity to
augment positive work done by the muscles, to reduce the physical burden, by leveraging the web structure to impart joint torque at the ankle, knee, and hip joints. The suit seeks to reduce the metabolic cost of carrying a typical assault load, as well as compensate for the weight of the suit itself, while consuming no more than 100 Watts of electric power from the battery source. While injury mitigation is a primary goal, a Warrior Web suit system is not intended to interfere with current warfighter “Soldier systems,” such as external body armor, rather it aims to augment them to improve warfighter effectiveness. The Warrior Web program will consist of two separate but related program tasks. Task A, called Warrior Web Alpha, seeks to develop a mix of core technologies critical to the realization of a Warrior
Web capability. The Warrior Web Alpha effort examines five key Technology Areas: core injury mitigation technologies; comprehensive analytical representations; regenerative actuation; adaptive sensing and control; and suit human-towearer interface. Part way through the Warrior Web program, Warrior Web Bravo, or Task B, is expected to develop an integrated suit capability by leveraging the technology developed by Task A efforts and incorporating the most appropriate breakthroughs into a suit that shows the best performance. The final suit is expected to be tested in appropriate mission profiles under realistic loads to evaluate performance. Related links http://bit.ly/1426CwN
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JUNE 2013 – ISSUE NO. 11
Gregory Harris, a certified Green Manufacturing Specialist at the Aviation and Missile Research Development and Engineering Center, promotes sustainability in every facet of the manufacturing process. (U.S. Army photo by Merv Brokke)
Engineer pushes environmental approach in processes By Heather R. Smith AMRDEC Public Affairs REDSTONE ARSENAL, Ala. — Words like green and sustainability are often used to refer to recycling, taking better care of the Earth, and new or alternative forms of energy, such as solar- or wind-power. Army engineer Gregory Harris would say it’s much more than that and is working to make that point to the Army and to manufacturers involved in developing the latest military technology. Harris takes a systems engineering approach to sustainability, which he said includes not just energy, the environment, production and the product, but also sustainability in the work force, technology and product lifecycle. “When people think of ‘green’ they think of the environment and energy,” Harris said, “but it’s much, much more.” Harris is an engineer in the U.S. Army Research, Development and Engineering Command’s aviation and missile center. He is part of the Manufacturing Science and Technology Division, Engineering Directorate of the Aviation and Missile Research Development and Engineering Center where he supports sustainability, supply chain management, model-based enterprise and manufacturing readiness initiatives. Before joining AMRDEC, Harris was director of the Center for Management and Economic Research and the Manufacturing Extension
Partnership Center at the University of AlabamaHuntsville. It was in this role that Harris first started exploring the idea of sustainability. “The key,” Harris said, “is to integrate sustainability into everything you’re doing; both the product and the process.” He recently completed coursework in Purdue University’s Green Enterprise Development Workforce Training Program to become credentialed as a Green Manufacturing Specialist. Developed by the Society of Manufacturing Engineers and Purdue University, the program provides training in the latest green manufacturing practices and ideas through a series of in-depth training modules. After completing 56 hours of classroom instruction and a comprehensive final exam, students have a thorough understanding of the many topics that comprise sustainable manufacturing. The program, he said, encourages manufacturers to change their way of thinking to actively look for ways to incorporate more sustainable, environmentally friendly improvements that have a positive effect on the bottom line. As an engineer and a Green Manufacturing Specialist, Harris plays a vital role in AMRDEC providing education for his fellow Army employees and their business partners about integrating green practices into every facet of the manufacturing process. “We need to be educating and providing
assistance for improving sustainability,” Harris said. “If you get people to actually think about it, sustainability starts to make sense. Most of the time, it’s just making people aware, then they start to realize there’s more going into the trash bin than just trash. Sustainability is not just a good idea or the right thing to do, it makes financial sense because we are limiting waste and reducing costs.” Harris brings a wealth of education and experience with him to his current position. He has a bachelor’s degree in industrial engineering from Auburn University, a master’s from St. Edwards University and a doctorate in industrial and systems engineering from UAH. His expertise in this area stems from more than 30 years experience as an industrial engineer, quality engineer, operations manager, plant manager, and consultant in operations and supply chain. Along with his work at the AMRDEC, Harris is adjunct professor in the College of Business Administration and a member of the graduate faculty in the College of Engineering at UAH. He teaches courses in Supply Chain Management, Transportation and Logistics, and Production and Inventory Control. Harris also teaches systems engineering as an adjunct assistant professor at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University’s Redstone campus. Related links http://www.army.mil/article/101974
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RDECOM’s THE INSIDER
Army closely monitors chemical agent disposal facility ECBC Communications ABERDEEN PROVING GROUND, Md. — Supporting a larger quest to establish a legacy of environmental responsibility, the U.S. Army Research, Development and Engineering Command’s chemical and biological center is making progress. The Edgewood Chemical Biological Center’s Chemical Biological Application and Risk Reduction Business Unit has safely sampled, monitored and analyzed 58 hazardous waste management units, some of which stored chemical agents at the Umatilla Chemical Agent Disposal Facility in northeast Oregon. A team has been at the Umatilla Chemical Depot monitoring the units, known as “igloos,” before the contract was switched to the Chemical Materials Activity. Through a unique Cooperative Research and Development Agreement, CBARR and site contractor URS Federal Services continued the relationship to monitor in accordance with the UMCDF Hazardous Waste Permit and then to close the igloos in accordance with the closure plan. CBARR began the General Population Limit monitoring project in November 2012 and finished on May 21. Real-time Analytical Platforms are mobile vehicles equipped with Depot Area Air Monitoring Systems and Miniature Continuous Air Monitors, and are used onsite to examine the interior atmosphere for potential hazards. Mustard Igloos Temperature Conditioning Systems are also used onsite to heat the igloos to about 80 degrees Fahrenheit and clear the structure of any chemicals present. “MITECs are big heaters that are staged inside the igloo,” said Satchell Doyle, CBARR chemical engineer and Umatilla project manager. “They heat the inside of the structure to at least 80 degrees. Two RTAP operators then use the DAAMS and MINICAMS to monitor the atmosphere to make sure it is not hazardous. After 12 hours at 80 degrees Fahrenheit, a sample is collected shipped back to ECBC at APG, where CBARR conducts GPL analysis.” The sampling methodology used in GPL monitoring requires the utmost accuracy due to the extreme sensitivity of this kind of work, Doyle said. Common challenges include background interference from trace organophosphate pesticides, hydrocarbons and other airborne chemicals in the ambient air. Trained and experience CBARR personnel ensure these challenges are met with precision, supporting a larger demilitarization effort that requires the safe de-
An Edgewood Chemical Biological Center Chemical Biological Application and Risk Reduction Business Unit team safely samples, monitors and analyzes hazardous waste management units at an Oregon site. (U.S. Army photo)
contamination and clearing of igloos located on the depot. According to Doyle, four ECBC employees operated the RTAPs and MITECs in a supporting effort to contractor URS as the UMCDF/ UMCD Closure Plan transitions the land to the state of Oregon. Final approval of the UMCDF Closure Plan was granted by the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality on Jan. 17, 2013. According to a press release from contractor URS Federal Services in January, chemical agent destruction operations were completed in October 2011. Since then, the UMCDF team has worked to decontaminate and decommission onsite buildings, including the Munitions Demilitarization Building, where chemical agents and weapons were processed. CBARR supports URS in the closure effort using stateof-the-art monitoring equipment to assess and confirm the chemical agent hazard has been alleviated prior to turnover. Aaron Sredin, chemical engineering technician, was responsible for conducting weekly “first-entry” surveillance tests on the igloos, six of which had agent contaminated waste items that were sent for incineration. Sredin also put together an inventory list of all the items that supported equipment used by the RTAPs, including generators, gas chromatographs and heaters.
“If we were going to use these RTAPs anywhere else, what would I need?” Sredin recalled. “I pulled out every item that I deemed necessary for each of the six instruments that we were using inside three RTAPs onsite. I categorized everything from quantity to part number.” According to Sredin, the equipment holds up fairly well during operations, but it is likely that filters for the hydrogen and nitrogen air generators may need to be replaced depending upon the humidity in a given location. The inventory list saved URS valuable time in determining which parts were necessary for onsite work, whether it is the UMCDF or the U.S. Army Pueblo Chemical Depot, where the RTAP equipment may be used. “I absolutely love doing stuff like this. I like to go in there and help people, and know that it’s made a big impact on them,” Sredin said. “It’s my job, but it’s also my pleasure to make sure it goes well for people, and the inventory list is something that can be directly used in Pueblo.” CBARR support to Umatilla will officially end once the GPL monitoring of igloos is completed at the end of May. Sredin called the project a “great success and a very enjoyable job with great people to work with.” Related links http://www.army.mil/article/103985/
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Top AMRDEC engineer built career on teamwork By Kari Hawkins USAG-Redstone Public Affairs REDSTONE ARSENAL, Ala. — When it comes to success, Patti Martin sees it as a team effort. Throughout her 30 years at the Aviation and Missile Research Development and Engineering Center, Martin has been involved with many engineering teams that have worked to develop, design and prototype aviation and missile systems that have been game changers on the battlefield. When she was recently inducted as a Distinguished Engineering Fellow at the University of Alabama, she said she was a bit uncomfortable receiving the prestigious honor. “It was awkward for me because this is an individual award, and I haven’t done anything in my career that hasn’t been accomplished as part of a team,” she said. “Everybody likes recognition and I was honored to receive this award. But, for me, in this community, we have so many good engineers who work their whole lives trying to do the right thing and to make a contribution. To have somebody recognize your body of work, at the level of this award, is overwhelming for me, but it’s also satisfying to know I’ve made a difference. I’m incredibly proud to be an Army civilian, and I’m so honored and privileged to support our Soldiers. It doesn’t get any better than that.” A 1983 University of Alabama chemical engineering graduate, Martin is now among about 400 to have received the Distinguished Engineering Fellow out of 27,000 engineering alumni who have graduated from Alabama in the past 25 years. Team Redstone’s Pam McCue, who served 30 years with the Missile and Space Intelligence Agency, also was honored among the 2013 class of inductees. The award recognized Martin for her “leadership and expertise in the fields of systems and specialty engineering and rapid response prototyping,” for her work as a systems engineer for missile simulation tests and as the first program manager for the Prototype Integration Facility, and for her work in managing an annual business portfolio of more than $900 million to develop aviation and missile products that are “producible, reliable, sustainable and of high quality.” “Alabama’s College of Engineering really gave me such a great foundation. Many of the principles I learned there I still use every day,” she said. “While I no longer do hard core engineering, that foundation led to the success I’ve had in my career.”
Patti Martin of the Aviation and Missile Research Development and Engineering Center was recently recognized by the University of Alabama’s College of Engineering. (U.S. Army photo)
Since 2006, Martin has served in the Senior Executive Service as the director of AMRDEC’s Engineering Directorate. Yet, in the past year, she has made some personal decisions that have caused her to step down from her position in preparation for her retirement on July 3. Martin, her husband and their teenage twins live in Madison, and she is hoping to have more time to spend with her two teenagers before they go away to college and with her parents, who live in Decatur. It was an Austin High School (Decatur)
“I loved chemistry. I wasn’t a big math fan. But I had a great love for science. Chemistry became my niche.” — Patti Martin chemistry teacher who first steered Martin toward an engineering career. With his background in the chemical industry, his use of lab work and chemistry experiments in the classroom grabbed Martin’s interest. “I loved chemistry. I wasn’t a big math fan. But I had a great love for science,” she said. “Chemistry became my niche.” With an older brother who also majored in chemical engineering, and parents who both worked at Redstone Arsenal, Martin’s course was set for Alabama’s engineering school and an engineering position at Redstone.
Although she had her heart set on working in a composite lab or a chemistry lab at what was then known as the Army Missile Laboratory (later AMRDEC), she was instead hired to work in the organization’s systems simulation hardware-in-the-loop facility. “I was hired by a guy I hadn’t met in the interview process, in an area that I hadn’t seen and doing work that I didn’t think I was interested in,” Martin said. “It turned out to be a phenomenal job and my first boss -- Ron Davis -- is a mentor to me to this day. When I got there, he asked me to give it six months. I stayed for one and a half years.” As a systems engineer for missile simulation testing, Martin worked with nationally and internationally recognized Army engineers and scientists to conduct hardware-in-theloop tests to determine missile performance against simulated environments and countermeasures. “It was a great way to learn details of missile design, performance and test,” she said. She not only enjoyed the job, but also met her future husband while working in the simulations lab. But opportunity came knocking, and Martin answered the call. “My dad always told me to never turn down an interview,” she said. “Even if you are not interested, it’s a good way to make new contacts and to learn about new opportunities.” The interview led Martin, in 1985, into the fields of systems and production engineering, and eventually into management. She remained in AMRDEC’s Production Engineering Division for 17 years and, in 2000, she was named chief of production engineering, responsible for conducting life-cycle production engineering, systems engineering and acquisition management for aviation, missile and unmanned systems. “One of the great things with working for the Army is you get to work on lots of different projects,” she said. In 2002, Martin was selected as the first program manager for AMRDEC’s Prototype Integration Facility, a unique government-owned, government-operated organization with a mission to rapidly develop and deliver technical solutions to meet critical Army requirements. “At the PIF, we developed a unique culture and streamlined processes, and built strong relationships within the Army community and industry so that we could deliver high quality products to Soldiers in days or months instead of the typical years that it takes to get through Army acquisition,” she said. “We broke through traditional bureaucratic processes and established project-specific government and industry teams to do the job.
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RDECOM’s THE INSIDER The immediacy of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan allowed us to really develop a rapid response capability. Over the last 10 years, we have been able to deliver more than 1,000 PIF products in support of theater operations.” Martin joined the ranks of the Senior Executive Service in 2006 as AMRDEC’s director of the Engineering Directorate. “I couldn’t have asked for a better job. I’ve loved the mission and the people are fantastic,” she said. “The directorate’s employees are dedicated to providing the best products to our Soldiers, to being a superior work force, and to being an invaluable customer partner. Throughout the organization, there is exceptional leadership and an exceptional value system.” The Engineering Directorate includes 900 employees with functional expertise in systems engineering, quality, manufacturing technology, production engineering, reliability, industrial base, obsolescence, PIF, test and logistics engineering. As its director, Martin managed an annual business portfolio of more than $900 million, and was also responsible for ensuring all aviation and missile products were safe, suitable and supportable prior to fielding to Soldiers. Martin especially enjoyed working with the Engineering Directorate’s “Board of Directors” in developing its strategic path. “Army organizations do not tend to develop strategic plans and execute those plans at lower levels of the organization. But we took it seriously at the Engineering Directorate,”
“There is a lot of diversity in our work and we have a great team of people who all do what’s in the best interest of the warfighter.” she said. “We wanted a strategic plan that wouldn’t sit on a shelf, but that would be a living and breathing strategy we used to move our organization forward. We want our team to be technically superior and to have the Engineering Directorate known as the expert in our mission areas.” And, with that strategic plan in place, Martin and the Engineering Directorate’s employees had a clear vision of how the organization continues to add value for its customers. “This has all been a natural progression for me,” she said. “As the director, I focused on the strategic path and how to handle all the potential issues of the future so that we can be successful even in a downturn. “We have more customers coming to us today than ever before. There is a lot of diversity in our work and we have a great team of
people who all do what’s in the best interest of the warfighter. They are here for the mission.” She encourages employees to grow deep by developing a foundation of technical excellence; grow wide by becoming familiar with other Engineering Directorate divisions and AMRDEC directorates, and the expertise they offer; build trust with customers; and build value with stakeholders, both with the Army, throughout the Department of Defense and with international partners. “We need to grow employee knowledge across the directorate and across the center,” Martin said. “The more you know, the better you can work collaboratively and the better you can serve the customer.” In July 2012, Martin publicly announced her plans to retire and, in January 2013, she stepped down as director. Currently, she serves as a strategic advisor to the new director of the Engineering Directorate, James Lackey, until her official retirement in July. Throughout her career, Martin has mentored AMRDEC employees and worked to encourage young people to pursue careers in engineering and the sciences. As an example, she has led Coffee with the Director sessions with
“I believe every employee can be a leader. A leader influences others. No matter what the job, you should strive to be a positive influence.”
the organization’s newer employees to share her management philosophy. “I tell them ‘You can do anything you want to do, but there are things you have to do to get there,’” she said. “Often, people will focus on their own training and development, but there’s much more than that required to advance. “You have to know what the Army is looking for in leaders, and, from my point of view, leadership is not always the same as authority. I believe every employee can be a leader. A leader influences others. No matter what the job, you should strive to be a positive influence. A good leader has knowledge; the right attitude and passion for the job; a commitment to the mission, to the team, to the organization and to the Soldiers; and the ability to make good, sound decisions.” Advancement and promotions, she said, go to those employees who make themselves more valuable throughout their careers. “It’s not enough to be good at your job. You’ve got to show how you can operate at the next level,” Martin said. While engineers start with a love of science and math, they expand their career opportu-
nities and value to the organization by being problem solvers, using their knowledge and talent to make a difference, thinking logically about the details and the big picture, and mastering communications and team building skills. Over the years, Martin has seen the globalization of engineering and the industrial base. She has seen a larger emphasis on international relationships, and a more holistic approach to the development, manufacturing and sustainment of weapon systems. “Today, we aren’t seeing a lot of new products. Instead, we are seeing an increase in the number of modifications and in engineering’s role in sustainment,” she said. “We are focused on reducing costs, improving quality and enhancing our teaming approach with industry. We want to continue to give Soldiers the best technology and capabilities despite the constraints of today. This requires more effective collaboration across our organizations, customers, other government agencies and industry. “I’ve spent my whole career with AMRDEC,
“People are amazed at how much this center can do and what is accomplishes every day.”
to include working in three different directorates: the System Simulation and Development Directorate, the Aviation Engineering Directorate and the Engineering Directorate. This organization has so many different capabilities. People are amazed at how much this center can do and what is accomplishes every day. And the technical expertise just keeps growing and getting better.” Besides the Distinguished Engineering Fellowship from her alma mater, Martin will leave AMRDEC with a host of awards to her credit, including the Presidential Rank Award (Meritorious), Office of the Secretary of Defense Civilian Service Award, eight Army Greatest Invention Team Awards, National Defense Industry Association Leadership Excellence Award and Army Materiel Command Top 10 Civilians Award. A 1998 master’s degree graduate from the University of Alabama-Huntsville, she has also received that university’s Distinguished Engineering Alumni Award. “At the end of the day, all you’ve got is your name and your credibility,” she said. “I hope when people hear my name they will think of a person who focused on achieving mission excellence and who worked with our team, customers, the community and industry to get the best technology and the best products to our Soldiers.” Related links http://www.army.mil/article/101815/
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JUNE 2013 – ISSUE NO. 11
Army, Marines partner to update Tactical Imagery Production System By Amanda Rominiecki CERDEC Public Affairs ABERDEEN PROVING GROUND, Md. — The Marine Corps has partnered with Army researchers again to overhaul tactical multimedia capabilities that support its information operation activities overseas. Building upon prior successful collaboration, the U.S. Army Research, Development and Engineering Command’s communications-electronics center, or CERDEC, is working closely with the Marine Corps Combat Camera Program, or COMCAM, to update the Tactical Imagery Production System, or TIPS, to make the most of significant technology advancements. After a successful interim program review hosted by CERDEC’s Command, Power and Integration Directorate, or CP&I, in April, the project is set to deliver the first new TIPS to the Marines in June. TIPS processes raw imagery and video collected from the tactical battlefield by the COMCAM teams to provide intelligence and situational awareness data to the Marine Expeditionary Force Combat Commander for command and control decision making. The system provides commanders with timely imagery and multimedia products which facilitate operational analysis, planning, training and documentation. Further contributing to the Marine Corps’ ability to achieve and maintain information dominance, TIPS is also a hub for the consolidation of intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance information, serving as a source of accurate, actionable intelligence for the commander. In 2005, CERDEC CP&I outfitted 13 TIPS for the Marine Corps. Eight years later, the first TIPS has returned to CERDEC CP&I to be updated with advancements in technology that have evolved since 2005. “We are taking the old TIPS and gutting it completely,” said Jack Ruroede, CERDEC CP&I TIPS team lead. “Everything will be smaller and lighter. More importantly, [the new] TIPS will have a smaller footprint, meaning it will use less power. It’s going to end up being much cheaper [to run in theater].” CERDEC CP&I’s Prototype Integration Facility, or PIF, specializes in the integration of Command, Control, Communications, Computers, Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance, or C4ISR, technologies across various platforms, and the in-house capabilities offered in the PIF cut program costs and turnaround time, attracting multiple customers like the Marines, Ruroede said. In 2009, CERDEC collaborated with the Marine Corps on an additional project for a calibration facility, or CALFAC, which involved the integration
of complex, precise calibration instruments into a new facility, similar to the TIPS project. “CERDEC is very familiar with what TIPS needs to be able to accomplish,” said Gunnery Sgt. Ernest Hagewood, a program analyst for Combat Camera. “CERDEC’S ability to provide support ranges from technical, engineering, fabrication, installation and testing--they are able to provide expert advice as well as making themselves available to meeting our needs.” The PIF provides equivalent service to Army customers such as Program Manager Warfighter Information Network -- Tactical, Program Executive Office Intelligence, Electronic Warfare and Sensors and Special Operations Command, said Joe Ryan, CERDEC CP&I Prototype, Integration and Testing division chief. The 2005 iteration of TIPS consisted of three ISO units, two of which contained the functional pieces of TIPS while the third contained support equipment. The new TIPS will be contained to just one ISO unit, allowing for the creation of two new TIPS for every one original. The new TIPS houses commercial-off-the-shelf products that reflect vast technology advancements since the original TIPS design almost a decade ago. These include cutting edge video editing equipment and software, all-in-one color printers that also scan and copy, a large scale poster printer and scanner, a National Security Agency certified shredder and other multimedia equipment. The CERDEC TIPS development team is made of engineers from the PIF along with engineers from CERDEC’s Space and Terrestrial Communications Directorate, or S&TCD, who provide the networking and configuration expertise. As potential equipment is identified, the S&TCD engineers verify that the equipment will meet the system requirements. They also provide field support for TIPS from S&TCD labs, which maintains a subset of the TIPS equipment. This teaming has proven successful not only with both versions of TIPS but with many other projects as well, Ryan said. New advances in technology cut down on both space requirements and energy costs. Special LED light fixtures will use longer-lasting light bulbs that can also safely use nonLED bulbs if they are unavailable. The new printers and computers are more efficient, further cutting energy consumption. “The biggest energy savings comes from the use of the new [environmental control unit] ECU,” Hagewood said. “The old ECU drew almost twice as much power than the newer version. Additionally, because we are reducing the number of shelters per system, we are further reducing the energy consumption by 50% right from the start.” TIPS is also an on-the-move capability. The
unit is condensed by two-thirds for travel between locations. Various components like light fixtures and electrical wiring can be easily removed and reattached to the walls, as the outer walls of the unit collapse, and the remaining appliances like printers and shredders fit, when pushed together, within one-third of the normal operating space. “This redesign will lighten our impact on Marine Air Ground Task Force to maintain operational tempo, gain intelligence and enhance decision making within command and control functions at all war fighting levels,” Hagewood said. This is in accordance with the USMC Commandant’s Planning Guidance released in 2010, calling for the continued and improved ability to execute distributed operations, provide command and control, and conduct persistent engagement missions while allowing the USMC to operate lighter and faster through reduced energy consumption. To ensure all updates are practical, CERDEC CP&I engineers are in constant communication with COMCAM Marines who will be using the updated TIPS. Weekly phone calls ensure the end users will find each aspect of the design useful and better than before. “This is one of the beautiful things about this program,” Ruroede said. “We get early input from the end user as we’re developing it, rather than deploying it and finding out its impractical.” Small changes have been made to the program as a direct result of this continued dialogue between CERDEC engineers and COMCAM Marines. A specific video-editing keyboard has replaced a traditional computer keyboard, giving Marines the option to more easily maneuver video footage, frame by frame. The new TIPS will also have a more effective cooling system, said Hagewood. Previously, TIPS had an unbalanced cooling system that resulted in a significant temperature difference on either side of the unit. Based on requests from the Marines, TIPS will distribute air more efficiently. The original plan called for Mac computers, but has been changed to PCs in order for TIPS to connect to the greater Marine Corps network. “The original TIPS didn’t connect to the network,” Ruroede said. “We are doing our due diligence to make sure the new TIPS passes all certifications in order to be connected to the wider network, making it even more useful to the Marines.” The redesign began in October of last year. Based on the current schedule, the first of the new TIPS will be delivered to the Marines in June of this year and the second in September, with the intent that all TIPS would return to CERDEC between 2014 and 2020 to be updated. Related links http://www.army.mil/article/104317
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RDECOM’s THE INSIDER
SHARE program shines light on available resources ECBC Communications ABERDEEN PROVING GROUND, Md. — Many subject matter experts, resources and assets across the installation spark innovative research efforts and perform sound testing capabilities to accomplish mission critical objectives for the U.S. Army. Tapping into these areas across APG organizations has become even easier thanks to a new digital bulletin board tool available to government employees. Seeking Help through Available Resource Exchanges, or SHARE, is a communitybased project developed from this year’s APG Senior Leadership Cohort. In February, Steve Norman, Peter Emanuel and Ron Pojunas from U.S. Army Research, Development and Engineering Command’s chemical and biological center, graduated from the program, which was created to build a self-sustaining leadership community among high potential GS-14/15 and equivalent level managers. SHARE was one of the capstone projects that resulted from the cohort. It is a webenabled milBook product facilitating the exchange of goods and services in a collaborative effort to accomplish APG missions. “There’s a lot of talent on APG that we really aren’t taking advantage of,” Norman said. “This board came about as an electronic media where you can advertise resources.” Norman is the Environmental Monitoring Laboratory branch chief for the U.S. Army Edgewood Chemical Biological Center’s Chemical Biological Application and Risk Reduction Business Unit. “For example, if you are in need of two chemists to work on a certain project, you would put the duration and specifications of this detail on the web-based bulletin board,” he said. “Someone who may have two chemists that are available can respond to the request, exchange contact information and begin the process to execute the detail. That requirement then comes off the board.” Similarly, an organization can advertise resources they may have available in order to attract potential customers across APG and make visible their assets that have traditionally remained hidden on a grassroots level. SHARE’s digital platform turns available resources into highly visible prospects for organizations to capitalize on, whether it is reducing costs, cutting down the time needed to generate contracts or completing a project in a more efficient manner. “In this time of sequestration, we’re trying to do more with less,” Norman said. “If you have folks that are available who aren’t fully
Steve Norman (center) is chief of the Environmental Monitoring Laboratory branch for ECBC’s Chemical Biological Application and Risk Reduction Business Unit. He was part of an APG Senior Leadership Cohort team that developed the SHARE program, a digital platform for identifying and sharing resources across organizations located at APG. (U.S. Army photo)
engaged, you now have an opportunity to advertise their core competencies with the hope that they may be needed to support other organizations. This also prevents the organization receiving the support from the laborious process of generating contract vehicles to accomplish a task or procure a resource.” As the largest employer in Harford County with more than 21,000 civilian, military and contractor employees, the garrison supports military intelligence, medical research, engineering and computer technology achievements. Home to 11 major commands that support more than 80 tenants, 20 satellite and 17 private activities, using existing capital enables organizations to work more collaboratively, effectively manage the ebbs and flows of a given workload and raises awareness of the buyer and seller existence. Using the digital interface, users can create blogs to start discussions and receive notifications of new posts. Information can be tailored and formatted in ways that facilitate advertisements and solicitations. Attachments can also be added to posts, which can be tagged with key words to target specific audiences and make searches more efficient. The SHARE program has been active for
the past three months and encourages collaboration not only within ECBC but installation-wide. Engaging APG’s workforce in the digital space may also lead to creative problem solving in real time. The unique, yet simple, concept of the SHARE project fosters a resource-sharing environment where APG tenants can reach out to the local Army workforce for support. As a result, it equips the installation with better buying power capabilities during a challenging Department of Defense climate of sequestration, war time drawdown, contract reform and reduction in force. “If we let some other folks know what our skill sets are and what talents we have here at ECBC that are available, that may also help generate funding opportunities. A majority of the work we do is customer-funded so we have to get out there and find new ways to capture the work ourselves. This is almost an avenue to advertise what we can do for folks who need our capabilities,” Norman said. Related links http://www.army.mil/article/103793
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JUNE 2013 – ISSUE NO. 11
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 list were required to have a minimum of 100 inventions published in 2009--2011 covered by patents.” The Army had 327 inventions patented during this time frame. The Army Research Laboratory inventors accounted for 46 patents. The Natick Soldier Research, Development and Engineering Center, patented 20 different technological advancements for the Army in fiscal year 2012 alone. Ron Meyers, an Army Research Laboratory quantum physicist, had the most patents awarded, with 11. Meyers, John E. Nettleton form the Communications-Electronics Research, Development and Engineering Center and Bartley Durst of the Engineer Research and Development Center (Corps of Engineers), accompanied Heidi Shyu, assistant secretary for acquisition, logistics and technology to the Pentagon award ceremony where she accepted the honor on behalf of the Army April 30. Meyers has performed research for the Army since 1982. The achievement he said he’s most proud of is moving ghost imaging from a physics curiosity to a practical far-reaching technology now under development for the Army. Another RDECOM inventor on the list is Robert C. Hoffman, who has been with the Army since the 1980s. He started with the Night Vision Laboratory at Fort Belvoir, Va. His first three patents, including technologies needed to protect Army systems from laser threats, he feels are most significant for the Army.
“Innovation is the foundation for economic prosperity and technological advancement.” — David Brown “Innovation is the foundation for economic prosperity and technological advancement,” said David Brown, managing director, Thomson Reuters IP Solutions. “Our Top 100 Global Innovator methodology demonstrates the insight that can be gleaned from the analysis of patent data and confirms the fact that companies focused on innovating drive growth and financial success.” Christopher Doona, an NSRDEC senior research chemist, researches novel technologies in order to create more hy-
gienic and safer working environments for Soldiers in places such as medical facilities, kitchens and showers. Doona was responsible for seven patents during the award timeframe. “It’s kind of fascinating to see our research being more applied, patented and licensed to industry,” Doona said. “Actually, industry is already marketing a commercial product based on our inventions.” Doona’s patents transitioned into products such as the Portable Chemical Sterilizer and Disinfectant sprayer for Foods and Environmentally friendly Sanitation, both of which are lightweight, portable, and generate gaseous chlorine dioxide safely in minutes to sterilize certain specific surfaces at their point-of-use. The Global Innovator methodology is based on four principle criteria: overall patent volume, patent grant success rate, global reach of the portfolio, and patent influence as evidenced by citations. A 2012 U.S. Department of Commerce report stated: “Innovation is the key driver of competitiveness, wage and job growth, and long-term economic growth.” “Our people operate in the space between the ‘state of the art’ and the ‘art of the possible,’ where innovation is paramount and focused on addressing needs unique to the Army,” Ormond said. “We also develop technologies that have a major impact once they leave the military world. It’s an incredible value for the taxpayer.” Contributing inventors n Ronald E. Meyers, ARL, 11 patents n Keith S. Deacon, ARL, 10 patents n Michael Wraback, ARL, 9 patents n Jose-Luis Sagripanti, ECBC, 7 patents n Christopher Doona, NSRDEC, 7 patents n Kenneth Kustin, NSRDEC, 7 patents n Robert C. Hoffman, ARL, 6 patents n Florence Feeherry, NSRDEC, 6 patents n Maria Curtin, NSRDEC, 6 patents n Neha Mehta, ARDEC, 5 patents n George W. Wagner, ECBC, 5 patents n T. Richard Jow, ARL, 5 patents n Alan S. Edelstein, ARL, 5 patents n Sadeck, James E., NSRDEC, 5 patents n Nettleton, John E., CERDEC, 5 patents n Bartley P. Durst, Corps of Engineers, 5 patents n Toney K. Cummins, NSRDEC, 5 patents n Taub, Irwin A., NSRDEC, 5 patents n David Baer, Defense Threat Reduction Agency, 5 patents n Albert T. McManus, NSRDEC, 5 patents
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 23 lems strike. We can remember to ask: What is there that I need to see and learn? What is the life lesson that is contained in this painful experience? The Apostle Paul, one of the greatest scripture writers ever, said in 2 Corinthians 12:10, “Therefore I take pleasure in illnesses, in my problems, in my necessities, in my trials and pain.” Does that sound a little prideful, a little masochistic? No, it really is not. Paul was saying that our suffering contains something that is valuable, golden, precious and rich. We should be happy to embrace our trials, because they produce our endurance and strength. All our hard work makes us greater and builds our character. If someone says to you, “You have character,” that will probably make you realize that your character was born out of pain. What does character do? Character produces hope, (the expectation of something to be fulfilled), something good is about to happen. Scripture acknowledges the human condition, the reality of the way life works. Isaiah wrote in chapter 48:10, “Behold, I have refined you, but not as silver. I have tested you in the furnace of adversity.” We all know what that’s about. And we also know that the Bible says in Psalms 30:5, “For His anger endureth but a moment; in his favor is life: weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning.” You will have pain, but you will have joy in the morning. So our faith journey is one that carries us through pain, through fire, through difficulty, and through hardship. But as we pass through difficult times, we build our character, endurance and hope. The Apostle Paul says this, in Roman 5:5 about hope, “Hope does not disappoint us. It does not let us down, because God’s Love has been poured into our hearts by the Holy Spirit whom He has given to us.” Keep the Faith. Editor’s Note This will be the final edition of the INSIDER PDF workforce newsletter. Beginning July 1, workforce news and information will be published to the RDECOM SharePoint. Contact your technical staff to ensure access. Note, this will only be available to common access cardholders. RDECOM will debut a bimonthly, professional magazine Aug. 1. The first issue will feature Soldier Protection.