Get Warriors' Input for New Technology

More warriors and technologies are required for the battle against man made evils and global problems. Arms, Ammunitions and guns should vanish as past history.

I work for the Defense Information Systems Agency, in the US, Department of Defense. We daily ask the warfighters, with whom we sit at our desks, and via teleconferencing, what it is they need in the way of communications, and computation capabilities. I understand that this is not beans, bombs and bullets, but it is, nonetheless, in this information age, a true "force multiplier". At least, that is what the field grade officers and senior non-commissioned with whom we (and I personally) speak every day tell us. In fact, I cannot speak for other agencies, but with a limited budget, if they do not ask for it, or tell us when asked that they want it (when the idea comes from us to them, instead of the other way around) we don't design, build, or field it.

You need to be gathering info from the E-5's and below, they are the warfighters. Officers and senior staff NCO's are not always in-touch with the needs of the guys actually humping the equipment.

That is my argument, also, but I work for the Washington Bureaucracy, and have learned not to push the officers and upper level GSes to ask advice of people beneath their notice. It isn't QUITE that bad, as we DO work with the 5's and below, but we WORK with them, and their opinions don't get listened to very much at all. In fact, when we instituted a feedback box so that the guys in the field could give us their opinions directly, I was directed, over my objections (I AM a 13, but I'm also a 9 year Navy vet, Vietnam era, who got out as an E-6. I've been where you are talking about, and haven't forgotten it.) to limit access to Field grade officers and above. Basically, no one below an O-3 could comment, because "we don't have the manpower and time to read all the e-mails we'd collect from the lower ranks".

I don't like it, but I will continue anyway, because most of the time, the Captains and LTs we do take our daily time with can give us good modifiers to the ideas of the upper levels. At least we get some Company Grade input, anyway.

One of my sons once said that Politics is a great system of doing things. Its the people who mess it up.

Ditto the feedback loops we work in. But its better than giving the warfighters nothing.

Micah

That's all good stuff for the vehicles described. But very little of it could be used in the jungle or rice paddies I pounded in 67-68, where soldiers were the main weapons carrier. The Huey gunships, artillery, and air strikes, were often too late to be effective. The Morters we (I personally) carried were not effective in the field.

I think a man portable GPS backtrace for incoming fire would be about the best solution there.

That will be 2 cents please.

GA, excellent response to the question. You hit the nail right on the head.

Cheers !!

You got my GA. Thank you. I work for DISA on the NCES program, which provides all sorts of Intel and commo capabilities to you guys over there. We are continuously told that what we build and field is in response to your needs, and I believed it, before. But your answer is "from the horses mouth" so to speak, and gives me a better view of the reality. Thanks for all your service to all of us.