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The Enhancements Super Soldiers Actually Need | Science Not Fiction

Posted January 11, 2011 11:22 AM

From Discover Technology:

In 2002, Dr Joseph Bielitzki, chair of DARPA's Defense Sciences Office, announced a grand program to improve soldiers, with the slogan "Be all that you can be, and a lot more." His targets: sleep, fatigue, pain, and blood loss. Other projects studied psychological stress, memory, and learning . . . The words on everybody's lips were "human enhancement," the use of science and technology to upgrade the human body and mind . . . According to military futurists, the then-new War on Terror required a new type of soldier, independent, fast and more lethal than ever before.

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#1

Re: The Enhancements Super Soldiers Actually Need | Science Not Fiction

01/12/2011 10:26 AM

I get emails every day about enhancements.

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Re: The Enhancements Super Soldiers Actually Need | Science Not Fiction

01/12/2011 10:33 AM

But seriously, as a former soldier, the best enhancements are good training, rest, reliable equipment that is intuitive to use, managing distractions both from the force and the home front (taking care of families back home), decent chow, and reasonable security (i.e. not having to worry if the next mortar is going land in your bunk).

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#3
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Re: The Enhancements Super Soldiers Actually Need | Science Not Fiction

01/12/2011 11:30 AM

That's far too sensible, how can you expect chiefs at DARPA to justify their existence with clear headed thinking like that?
...you should be ashamed of yourself.
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Re: The Enhancements Super Soldiers Actually Need | Science Not Fiction

01/12/2011 6:57 PM

Yeah true, but in all fairness, the express purpose of DARPA is to really push the envelope to see what "might" develop. It's a long ways from DARPA to the battlefield. I'm familiar with some DARPA contracts at my place of employment and DARPA always shoots for the moon, but ultimately what goes in high-rate production may be low-earth orbit.

(Just what is the airspeed of an unladen sparrow?)

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Re: The Enhancements Super Soldiers Actually Need | Science Not Fiction

01/12/2011 8:24 PM

Finally, someone who recognizes "rest" as an enhancement. That's a break from the usual spiel about enhancing soldiers so they no longer need to sleep.

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