“Marines and soldiers deployed to Afghanistan have received a new biometrics tool to help distinguish potential Taliban fighters.

The device is a SEEK II — Securte Electronic Enrollment Kit and Multimodal Identification Platform — built by Cross Match Technologies. The device is probably best known for helping Navy SEALs identify Osama Bin Laden on the raid in which the former head of Al Qaeda was killed.

Marines have received 334 SEEK IIs over the past year, according to Corps officials. The devices have been sent to the I, II, and III Marine Expeditionary Forces, as well as the Command and Control Training and Education Center of Excellence on Marine Corps Base Quantico, Va.

The Army also took part in the program, but it’s unclear how many SEEK IIs soldiers have received thus far. When we hear back from the Army, we’ll update those numbers….”

“Camp Dwyer, AF — He’s been to Afghanistan three times in four years.

From the Sangin District in the north of Helmand province to the wind-swept desert around Camp Dwyer to the south, it’s been an eventful early career for Cpl. Juan C. Mejia, a water support technician with Combat Logistics Regiment 2, Regional Command (Southwest).

“I wasn’t married, had no kids, and really had no commitments,” said the Tarrytown, N.Y., native, who joined the Marine Corps in May 2009. “I felt I could do something with myself … I actually get that fulfillment every time I deploy.”…”

Forrás : http://www.military.com/daily-news/2013/08/22/marine-recalls-journey-to-the-corps.html?ESRC=marine.nl

“USS Blue Ridge, off the coast of the Republic of Korea — Approximately 70 Marines with III Marine Expeditionary Force embarked the USS Blue Ridge from Busan, Republic of Korea on Aug. 17, in preparation for exercise Ulchi Freedom Guardian 2013.

The Marines flew from their forward-deployed location in Okinawa, Japan, to Busan join the exercise as command and control elements, planners and liaisons on ship. Approximately 170 other servicemembers with III MEF are participating from other locations across Japan and the Republic of Korea….”

Forrás : http://www.military.com/daily-news/2013/08/22/marines-command-and-control-from-sea.html?ESRC=marine.nl

“The Army rolled out the M110 to much controversy, but in response to valid concerns and shifting tactical situations that snipers were encountering overseas. With soldiers fighting in built up urban areas, target ranges were decreased and the number of targets often increased, creating a need for a semi-automatic Sniper system to be fielded Army wide. However, many of us in the Special Operations community felt that the Army was getting the short end of the stick with the M110.

Where is the forward assist?

The first time I laid eyes on the M110 was at the SOF armorers course in Crane, Indiana. Crane’s Subject Matter Expert in sniper systems was giving a class on the rifle when I blurted out, “Where is the forward assist on that thing?” My SR-25 had one so what was the issue? The instructor responded that Colt was the patent holder for the forward assist design and it would have set the entire M110 project back years and millions of dollars to license the design or start from scratch to create something new that performed the same functionality….”

“The Israelis have an upgrade for the M203 they say will give grenadiers the ability to launch 40mm rounds programmed to explode overtop of bad guys behind cover. I filed a story yesterday on Military.com that talks about the Marine Corps’ search for just such a capability.

Now, the Army is putting its money on the XM25, the so-called “Punisher” that peppers enemy with air-bursting 25mm projectiles. But Marine weapons officials aren’t convinced that the XM25 has enough punch to be lethal.

“I have not seen a detailed analysis on the [XM25’s] lethality,” said Charles Clark III, Infantry Weapons Capabilities Integration Officer for the Marine Corps Fires and Maneuver Integration Division. “We think we can get more lethality out of a 40mm round.”…..”