By Mike Sparks April 29, 2009 “Geographically speaking, Afghanistan is ungovernable. It’s a recipe for a failed state” — Defeatist statement from Peter Zeihan of STRATFOR The April 2009 Armed Forces Journal (AFJ) on page 18 reports we are going to spend more than last year’s $36.5 BILLION occupying Afghanistan with 34,000 U.S. troops in 2008, yet Taliban violence is …

By David Crane defrev at gmail dot com September 7, 2008 Laser warfare may be closer than we think. Danger Room and Gizmodo both report that Northrop Grumman is promising the U.S. military that it will have working, deployable weapons-grade solid-state, electric lasers (tactical lasers) ready to go by the end of 2008. Solid-state electric lasers have been making progress …

By David Crane defrev at gmail dot com July 11, 2008 U.S. troops are having to contend with new improvised weapons known as Improvised Rocket-Assisted Munitions a.k.a. Improvised Rocket Assisted Mortars, or IRAMs for short. IRAMs a.k.a. "aerial IEDs" are configured in linear arrays in the backs of tractor-trailer trucks and are comprised of metal cannisters that contain the 107mm …

by David Crane defrev@gmail.com November 14, 2007 DefenseReview recently received an interesting document on a proposed recoil-attenuation system a.k.a. recoil-mitigation system for firearms, everything from infantry small arms up to cannon systems. It comes from inventor Dr. R.A. Zeineh a.k.a. Dr. Z., the man behind the first laser scanner and the AAE Cloaking / Adaptive Camouflage system for infantry personnel …

A Review by Air-Mech-Strike Study Group (AMS-SG). The following review is exclusive to DefenseReview. 9/27/07 Airborne Armour is a must-have book for understanding Airborne 3D maneuver operations, period. Flint is a superb researcher and writer and this book is a masterpiece. However, Keith Flint is also at times the typical whiny, turret tank dueler where every tracked tank is never …

by David Crane david@defensereview.com Airborne Combat Engineer (ACE) just published a blurb on a potential future force protection technology in the form a a pager/beeper that, if fielded, would reportedly provide infantry personnel with early warning system (a.k.a. advanced warning system) against inbound/incoming rocket and mortar rounds headed their way. It’s called the "Strike Warning System" (SWS), and it’s a …

by David Crane defrev (at) gmail (dot) com July 19, 2006 There are currently a number of anti-sniper systems (a.k.a. sniper detection systems, a.k.a. gunfire detection systems) that have been designed and developed for use by military infantry personnel. DefenseReview plans on doing a review and analysis of all of these systems/technologies at some point in the not-too-distant future. In …

by Monica Morales Electronic Systems Center Public Affairs HANSCOM AIR FORCE BASE, Mass. April 05, 2006 13:46 One year after answering the Marine Corps’ call to meet an urgent need, the Force Protection Systems Squadron here is preparing to do it again. It will deploy another Tactical Automated Security System to Al Taqaddum Air Base, Iraq, this month. "The Marine …

by David Crane defrev@gmail.com In the movie Predator (1987), an alien hunter visits earth to bag armed human warriors (military Special Operations personnel) as trophies, and engages in this recreational endeavor very methodically and efficiently. By the time the movie ends, the alien predator has killed off two complete (elite) and highly-experienced U.S. Special Operations teams, save for one survivor …

My name is Kevin Donell Vance. In June, I will have been in the United States Air Force for eight years. I hold the rank of Staff Sergeant. I am currently married with two children, ages four and two. I was born on 3 September 1976 and am currently 25 years old. I entered into the USAF eleven days after …