Feral Jundi

Thursday, January 7, 2010

Afghanistan: The Road Watchers

Filed under: Afghanistan,Industry Talk — Tags: , , , , , , , , — Matt @ 8:38 AM

    Bravo to Mike for being innovative and on the job. No telling how many lives he has saved with his dedication to the mission and this unique program. It also looks like he is sporting the 5.11 plate carrier. –Matt

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Mike Bowles

SHARANA, Afghanistan – Mike Bowles works as a law enforcement professional for Military Professional Resources International. He helps train Afghan National Security Forces on various investigative techniques he learned while working special investigations for the San Diego Sheriff’s Department for more than 20 years. He started a projected called Road Watchers, where he trains local Afghan contractors on spotting emplaced IEDs. (ISAF Joint Command photo by U.S. Air Force Tech. Sgt. Nathan Gallahan)  

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The Road Watchers

ISAF Joint Command

January 6, 2010

By U.S. Air Force Tech. Sgt. Nathan Gallahan

SHARANA, Afghanistan – Teams of Afghans are saving countless lives, after one man from San Diego, Calif., noticed their potential and trained them on how to spot and report a deadly threat.

The Afghans are saving lives by finding improvised explosive devices on the roadways and reporting the locations, so international forces can disarm them and the Afghan national security forces can collect evidence to find those responsible.

Mike Bowles, a law enforcement professional for Military Professional Resources International, coordinates a project called Road Watch.

(more…)

Sunday, January 3, 2010

Industry Talk: Iraq Spokesman Says Ex-Blackwater Employees Not Wanted In Iraq

Filed under: Industry Talk,Iraq — Tags: , , , — Matt @ 2:12 PM

“I don’t think [the] Iraqi government is willing to have any Blackwater member, even if they are working in other companies, we don’t like to see them here working in any company,” al-Dabbagh said. “Instructions have been given to check if there is any Blackwater member [in the country]. I advise him to leave Iraq and not to stay in Iraq anymore.”

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     Interesting choice of words.  So my question is how will Iraq get this list of current and former BW guys? Keep your eye on this one, and watch yourselves out there.-Matt

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Iraq spokesman: Ex-Blackwater employees not wanted in Iraq

January 3, 2010

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

• Ali al-Dabbagh says he hasn’t told U.S. Embassy: “I don’t think we need to consult any others”

• He says Iraq will file suit against five Blackwater security guards in 2007 deaths of civilians

• Stance follows U.S. ruling to dismiss charges against ex-Blackwater guards

Baghdad, Iraq (CNN) — The Iraqi government is actively pursuing any former Blackwater personnel still working in the country, spokesman Ali al-Dabbagh told CNN in an interview Sunday.

“I don’t think [the] Iraqi government is willing to have any Blackwater member, even if they are working in other companies, we don’t like to see them here working in any company,” al-Dabbagh said. “Instructions have been given to check if there is any Blackwater member [in the country]. I advise him to leave Iraq and not to stay in Iraq anymore.”

Iraq said Friday it will file suit against five Blackwater security guards cleared of manslaughter charges in the 2007 killings of 17 Iraqi civilians, an act a government official called murder. Al-Dabbagh also said Friday the Iraqi government will ask the U.S. Justice Department to appeal a federal judge’s dismissal of the charges Thursday, calling it “unfair and unacceptable.”

(more…)

Tuesday, December 29, 2009

PMC 2.0: Armchair Deputies Patrol U.S. Border

Filed under: Law Enforcement,PMC 2.0,Technology,Texas — Tags: , , , , , , — Matt @ 10:40 AM

   I posted a deal about this awhile back, and it is cool to finally get some statistics about the program.  I thought it was an awesome idea back then, and I still think it is good idea and deserves further study and use.

   Now some of you are probably wondering why this isn’t under law enforcement or technology?  I put it under PMC 2.0 because I think the lessons learned with this virtual border watch program, could easily be applied to other countries and border security contracts.  Especially countries where border control is a matter of life and death, where terrorists are looking to import their hate.

   Look at the Afghanistan and Pakistan border, or the Iraq borders, or the Saudi Arabia and Yemen border?  Crowd sourcing a border watch program could very well be the trend of future border security operations.  It also involves that Grandma in Michigan, if in fact she wanted to make  a difference in the war effort or with border enforcement here in the US. It is like a modern day version of the coastal lookouts that civilians participated in back during World War Two.

   By the way, these guys should turn this into a mobile application for smart phones, and make this something people can do while waiting in the doctor’s office before an appointment.  That would really increase the numbers if you know what I mean.-Matt

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Armchair deputies patrol US border

December 26, 2009

By Claire Prentice

When John Spears gets home from his sales job in New York, he sits down at his computer with a bottle of beer and starts patrolling the US border.

And to do it, he does not need to stir from his sofa.

He is one of tens of thousands of people around the world who are volunteering to patrol the 1250-mile long (2000 km) stretch between Texas and Mexico via the web.

The controversial $4m (£2.5m) Texas Virtual Border Watch Programme invites civilians to log on to Blueservo.net.

There they can monitor live feeds 24/7 from 21 hidden surveillance cameras placed at intervals along the border.

Supporters see the initiative as a step forward in US efforts to curb illegal immigration, drug smuggling and border violence.

Critics say it is encouraging vigilantism and stoking anti-immigrant feeling.

Value for money?

(more…)

Friday, December 25, 2009

PMC 2.0: Raytheon Introduces One Force Tracker For iPhone

Filed under: PMC 2.0,Technology — Tags: , , , , , — Matt @ 12:10 PM

   This is cool.  Thanks to David for giving me the heads up on this one.  All I have to say is, ‘cry havoc, and let loose the mobile apps of war’. lol It is about damn time and I look forward to other interesting tools to pop up.

   The big one here, is encryption.  If we are to learn anything at all in this war, and of the wars of history, is never underestimate the enemy.  They have iPhones and computers too, and more than likely they will try to crack this stuff, much like they hacked the drones. Hell, they will just download these mobile apps off of iTunes and just use them for their own little private war.

    All in all though, this is good, and I think as soon as the industry gets revved up for this stuff, there will be some competition over the market share, and only the best and most secure applications will win. I know my iPhone and the legions of other contractor’s iPhones and Blackberries will be hungry for anything that comes up. –Matt

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One Force Tracker for iPhone.

The iPhone Goes to War

December 16, 2009

By ROY FURCHGOTT

One Force Tracker, iPhone software from Raytheon.

Is the iPhone going to war?

On Wednesday at the 2009 Intelligence Warfighting Summit in Tucson, Raytheon, the military contractor, announced an iPhone application that tracks friends and foes, shows their positions on live, real time maps and provides secure communications.

Called the One Force Tracker, the Raytheon iPhone software can also be used by first responders like police, firemen and emergency medical technicians.

The app works on a standard iPhone, said J Smart, chief technology officer for Raytheon’s Intelligence and Information Systems. “We are really delighted to be leveraging Apple’s innovation.”

The adaptation of the iPhone to military use is somewhat unusual, as technology more often trickles from the military to the consumer market. But this is a rare case of consumer hardware and software concepts being adapted for military use.

For instance, crowdsourcing, which has volunteers use cellphones to report real-time traffic flow, could be adapted to turn each soldier into a reporting unit, delivering real-time data about position and status.

Communications resemble social sites like Facebook, in which your friends would be represented by a military unit and could be used to track the position of, and communicate with, other units.

Maps with an overlay of points of interest are familiar to every GPS user. The Raytheon app would use the same concept, but points of interest might be known sniper sites or safe fallback positions.

(more…)

Thursday, December 24, 2009

Cool Stuff: Merry Christmas Feral Jundis!!!

Filed under: Cool Stuff,Industry Talk — Tags: , , , , , , — Matt @ 10:30 AM

    Merry Christmas and happy holidays to all you hard charging Feral Jundis out there. May your next contract or current contract, be the best contract you have ever had, and that you make it home alive and in one piece to spend that hard earned money!

     Here’s to those of you that do things right, when no one is looking. And here’s a really big thanks to those leaders out there that have applied Jundism to all that they do. I thank you, the industry thanks you, and whomever you are protecting thanks you for a job well done! –Matt

 

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