When I was a boy, soldiers communicated by yelling at each other, and with big boxes which they yelled into and also listened to, carefully. Each bunch of soldiers had one box through which all orders came, and through which they sent all their news back to their superiors. Remember those boxes which malfunctioned in A Bridge Too Far, to the disgust of Sean Connery. Those.
Fast forward. On TV I’m now watching our soldiers, and they all seem to be wearing headsets to talk into, like in a Van Damme SF movie. Every infantryman has become like a fighter pilot. Mostly they seem to observe radio silence. I guess they don’t want to be jabbering all at once.
When did this happen? It’s a big change, and surely a big, big step forward and a big, big difference between our guys in this war and the other poor fellows, who do not have headsets unless I’m much mistaken which is of course only too possible.
That’s it. No links, because if I had a link to something on this I’d probably have the answer. Just questions. When did this change occur? What did it consist of? And what does it mean? A lot, I’m guessing. Commenters please let rip.
Freedom’s arsenal! The innovations created by a free society have been assimilated into the forces required for its defense and protection. Mises would be proud.
I know that doesn’t answer your question and I’m sorry for the sermon, but I cannot get that thought out of my mind when I look at these weapon systems. And it’s never pointed out.
Keep up the great work!
jk
If you think the headsets are cool, wait till the US Army fields Land Warrior:
http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/030204/dctu053_1.html
Google the following if you want more:
Information Dominance
Integrated Battlespace
Joint Virtual Battlespace
Joint Tactical Radio System
The entire US (and I suspect, UK) military are transforming themselves based on the philosoply that real-time information dominance cuts through the fog of war and directly contributes to battlefield dominance.
Don’t you read the news?
““For years rumors have persisted that the United States Department of Defense has been engaged in research and development of ultra sophisticated mind-altering technology. Confirmation of this came to me recently in the form of two ITV News Bureau Ltd (London) wire service bulletins. The March 23, 1991 newsbrief, “High-tech Psychological Warfare Arrives in the Middle East,” describes a US Psychological Operations (PsyOps) tactic directed against Iraqi troops in Kuwait during Operation Desert Storm. The manoeuvre consisted of a system in which subliminal mind-altering technology was carried on standard radio-frequency broadcasts. The March 26, 1991 newsbrief states that among the standard military planning groups in the centre of U.S. war planning operations at Riyadh was “an unbelievable and highly classified PsyOps program utilizing ‘silent sound’ techniques.””
HAL
The headset all the infantry are wearing is the Personal Role Radio (PRR). It started coming in about 18 months ago and lets all the soldiers in an Infantry section chat to each other up to about 500m range. It’s much more tactical than shouting and, unlike hand signals, works at night. It has hundreds of channels so the enemy aren’t likely to be listening in. It makes it much easier to get all the troops heading the right way and lets you warn about threats quickly and clearly. A very useful piece of kit.