Women in all branches of the military soon will have unprecedented opportunities to serve on the front lines of the nation’s wars.

Leon Panetta, in one of his last acts as President Obama’s defense secretary, is preparing to announce the policy change, which would open hundreds of thousands of front-line positions and potentially elite commando jobs after more than a decade at war, the Pentagon confirmed Wednesday.

The groundbreaking move recommended by the Joint Chiefs of Staff overturns a 1994 rule banning women from being assigned to smaller ground combat units. Panetta’s decision gives the military services until January 2016 to seek special exceptions if they believe any positions must remain closed to women.

“This policy change will initiate a process whereby the services will develop plans to implement this decision, which was made by the secretary of defense upon the recommendation of the Joint Chiefs of Staff,” a senior defense official told reporters on condition of anonymity.

Some front-line military roles may open to women as soon as this year. Assessments for others, such as special operations forces, including Navy SEALS and the Army’s Delta Force, may take longer.

A defense official told the Associated Press that the military chiefs must report back to Panetta with their initial implementation plans by May 15. The announcement on Panetta’s decision is not expected until Thursday, so the official spoke on condition of anonymity.

Panetta’s move expands the Pentagon’s action nearly a year ago to open about 14,500 combat positions to women, nearly all of them in the Army. This decision could open more than 230,000 jobs, many in Army and Marine infantry units, to women.

In recent years the necessities of war propelled women into jobs as medics, military police and intelligence officers that were sometimes attached — but not formally assigned — to units on the front lines.

Women comprise 14 percent of the 1.4 million active military personnel.

Panetta is preparing to step down as Obama begins his second term, with former Sen. Charles Hagel nominated to take Panetta’s place.

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2013/01/23/panetta-opens-combat-roles-to-women/

(Source: slavicinferno)

French Soldier In Mali

Watch a 1963 video of British soldiers conducting a military exercise after dropping acid

Back during the Cold War, the military wanted to find out if LSD could be used to incapacitate enemy forces. So they administered the drug to unsuspecting British soldiers, and sent the squaddies off to perform their duties. This short video, which is as hilarious as it is disturbing, chronicles the British soldiers’ hapless attempt to complete a military exercise while completely tripping balls.

The British weren’t the only country to conduct such experiments. Back during the 1950s, the U.S. Army conducted experiments with soldier volunteers at its Edgewood, MD arsenal. These experiments lasted until 1972, in which soldiers were given synthetic marijuana, LSD and two dozen other psychoactive drugs — all with the intent of developing chemical weapons to debilitate enemy soldiers.

Wonder how many of these soliders went on to become hippies.

io9.com

(Source: slavicinferno)

I hate batteries. I thought once I outgrew remote control cars I wouldn’t have to worry about them much anymore, but nope, everything has to wireless these days, which means piles of batteries all over the house and a charger constantly on the go. Anything that improves stupid, crappy batteries even a little bit is greatnews in my eyes.

So yeah, I’m excited to report that scientists have made a big breakthrough in battery technology. Up until now a single cell battery couldn’t produce more than 4 volts. Just couldn’t do it — until now that is. Scientists at the U.S. Army Research Lab have devised a way to get 5 volts out of a single cell battery.

That may not sound like a big deal, but it’s basically the biggest advance in battery technology since batteries were invented. It’ll mean longer lasting, smaller, lighter batteries. Hopefully it’ll eventually mean the end of the ol’ AA battery because I barely stand to look at the damn things anymore.

http://gammasquad.uproxx.com/2012/06/make-volts-not-war-u-s-army-scientists-achieve-major-breakthrough-in-battery-technology

The AK-47 has been one of the most widely-used weapons in the world since its inception in the 1940’s. However, as the battlefield of the 21st century demands ever-greater degrees of accuracy, the Kalashnikov’s 350m range is no longer effective. That’s why Russia is giving the “world’s most dangerous weapon” a deadly new makeover.

“With demands for precision and engagement range on the rise, a new weapon must replace the Kalashnikov in the very near future,” Ruslan Pukhov, the director of a Moscow-based defense consortium, told Reuters. To that end, Dmitry Rogozin, the deputy prime minister and head of the Defense Ministry, hopes to have the AK-47 retooled as part of Russia’s 20 trillion-rouble modernization effort. The new iteration will reportedly feature a detachable scope and light when it’s deployed sometime before 2020.

“We are planning deep modernization of the Kalashnikov assault rifle,” said Mr Rogozin, “This will be a weapon with detachable equipment, such as an optical sight and a lamp.” The Russian military has already scrapped purchases of the AK-74, a less-than-stellar update for the original design which debuted in the 70’s—essentially the Vista of assault rifles.

Russian forces can also look forward to a replacement for the equally-old Makarov pistol by year’s end. Man, playing Goldeneye will never be the same. [Telegraph]

Image: the AP

http://gizmodo.com/5889153/russias-designing-the-ak+47s-successor-right-now?tag=guns

A replacement limb that moves, feels and responds just like flesh and blood. It’s the holy grail of prosthetics research. The Pentagon’s invested millions to make it happen. But it’s been elusive - until, quite possibly, now.

The body’s own nerves are arguably the biggest barrier towards turning the dream of lifelike replacements into a reality. Peripheral nerves, severed by amputation, can no longer transmit or receive any of the myriad sensory signals we rely on every day. Trying to fuse them with robot limbs, to create a direct neural-prosthetic interface, is no easy task.

But now a team of scientists believe they’ve overcome that massive barrier. Their research is still in the early stages. But if successful, it’d yield artificial arms and legs that can move with agility; discern hot from lukewarm from freezing; and restore even the subtlest sensations of touch.

Read Full Article Here:

http://gizmodo.com/5888617/the-prosthetics-breakthrough-that-could-fuse-nerves-with-fake-limbs

If you’re like most people, photography boils down to automatic mode paired with luck. Not for US Army officer Alex Jansen, who wrote up a massive guide to crisp low-light photography based on “the four fundamentals of marksmanship. Snap, headshot.

Separated into several sections depending on circumstance—though none for suppressing enemy fire—Jansen walks you through “Hand, Elbow, and Standing Positions,” “Kneeling and Sitting Positions,” “Bracing Techniques,” and “Breathing Control.” For example:

If there is a vertical column, fence post, or simply the end of the wall (to include door frames, like the one picture below), you can hook your elbow on the edge of it. Here I am shooting through a doorway and having my elbow stabilize my entire body. Is it perfect? No, of course not, just like none of these are. But it will help if it is the only solution available to you.
…

If possible, it will even help to put the corner of the wall, fence post, whatever, in your armpit and squeeze, making a sort of hasty vice.

The guide is exhaustive, visual, and I applaud Jansen for his willingness to be both a military man and a dude willing to have himself photographed with his ass sticking out in such a sassy manner. [Pentax Forums via PetaPixel]

http://gizmodo.com/5887389/army-officer-teaches-you-how-to-shoot-your-dslr-like-a-rifle

Kat Hannaford — It’s not enough to know how to shoot a gun and shine shoes—now, the US Army is writing Android apps for use in combat. Not on your bogstandard Motorola phone obviously—these apps will be used on the army and marine’s special new Android phone that will be given to troops come 2013.

The Joint Battle Command-Platform (JBC-P) phones might not be strapped to soldiers’ belts for another couple of years, but the dev kit used to write the apps is being released this July. That means anyone can write apps for the army and marines—soldiers, developers or even you. But, “like when you get an iPhone and you have the Apple-made apps: the contacts, the email,” says J Tyler Barton, an app engineer at the army, there will be a ready-made stock of apps primed for use already—maps, messaging and even an app to help avoid friendly fire. [The Reg]

Image Credit: Fort Benning

io9.com

Associated Press

PHILADELPHIA—Richard “Dick” Winters, the Easy Company commander whose World War II exploits were chronicled in the book and TV miniseries “Band of Brothers,” died last week in central Pennsylvania at age 92.

Mr. Winters died following a several-year battle with Parkinson’s disease, longtime family friend William Jackson said Monday.

View Full Image

Associated Press

Maj. Richard “Dick” Winters, pictured in 2002

An private and humble man, Mr. Winters had asked that news of his death be withheld until after his funeral, Mr. Jackson said. Mr. Winters lived in Hershey, Pa., but died in suburban Palmyra.

The men Mr. Winters led expressed their admiration for their company commander after learning of his death.

William Guarnere, 88, said what he remembers about Mr. Winters is “great leadership.”

“When he said ‘Let’s go,’ he was right in the front,” Mr. Guarnere, who was called “Wild Bill” by his comrades, said Sunday night from his South Philadelphia home. “He was never in the back. A leader personified.”

Another member of the unit living in Philadelphia, Edward Heffron, 87, said thinking about Mr. Winters brought a tear to his eye.

“He was one hell of a guy, one of the greatest soldiers I was ever under,” said Mr. Heffron, who had the nickname “Babe” in the company. “He was a wonderful officer, a wonderful leader. He had what you needed, guts and brains. He took care of his men, that’s very important.”

Mr. Winters was born Jan. 21, 1918, and studied economics at Franklin & Marshall College before enlisting, according to a biography on the Penn State website.

He became the leader of Company E, 506th Regiment, 101st Airborne Division on D-Day, after the death of the company commander during the invasion of Normandy.

During that invasion, Mr. Winters led 13 of his men in destroying an enemy battery and obtained a detailed map of German defenses along Utah Beach. In September 1944, he led 20 men in a successful attack on a German force of 200 soldiers. Occupying the Bastogne area of Belgium at the time of the Battle of the Bulge, he and his men held their place until the Third Army broke through enemy lines, and Mr. Winters shortly afterward was promoted to major.

After returning home, he married his wife, Ethel, in May 1948 and trained infantry and Army Ranger units at Fort Dix during the Korean War. He started a company selling livestock feed to farmers, and he and his family eventually settled in a farmhouse in Hershey, where he retired.

Historian Stephen Ambrose interviewed Mr. Winters for the 1992 book “Band of Brothers,” upon which the HBO miniseries that started airing in September 2001 was based. Mr. Winters himself published a memoir in 2006 entitled “Beyond Band of Brothers.”

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703779704576073703340092680.html?mod=WSJ_hpp_editorsPicks_3

I just heard about this. Make sure you go out and read or watch Band of Brothers to understand what this man and his comrades did.