Interesting report and check it out. The things I thought were interesting was the discussion about the TWISS2 contracts, the RUF, and the fear of repeating the same mistakes in Afghanistan. You think? pfffffft.-Matt
—————————————————————-
At What Cost? Contingency Contracting in Iraq and Afghanistan
By the Commission on Wartime Contracting in Iraq and Afghanistan
Let the commission know what you think, click here.
On most contracts out there, you will have access to some kind of WiFi or internet connection. If you have access to some WiFi, yet you are a little far from that WiFi hub to get a full signal, you just might have to make a field expedient antenna to make a connection. This little DIY site is awesome, and explains the parts and process for building a cheap WiFi Antenna that you could throw away after your contract is over.(save the nuts and bolts, the N type female chassis-mount connector, and wire if you want) You can also buy an amplifier to increase the strength of the signal. These parts are small and light for just a basic Cantenna, and I like that. To read more about WiFi antennas, check this out.
Also, if you are going to use WiFi over there, make sure to use password protected WiFi hubs, and only use the unsecured WiFi hubs at your own risk. Also, make sure it is authorized in your AO to set something like this up. Some camps would not be down with this stuff and others probably don’t care. As to the FCC’s thoughts on WiFi antennas, here you go. –Matt
——————————————————————
How To Build A Tin Can Waveguide WiFi Antenna
Got no dough for a commercial WiFi antenna? Looking for an inexpensive way to increase the range of your wireless network? A tin can waveguide antenna, or Cantenna, may be just the ticket. This design can be built for under $5 U.S. and reuses a food, juice, or other tin can.
I am not an electrical engineer, nor do I have access to any fancy test equipment. I’ve built some antennas that worked for me and thought I would share what I learned. I have no idea if this is safe for your radio or wireless network equipment. The risk to you and your equipment is yours.
Building your Cantenna is easy, just follow these steps.
1. Collect the parts
2. Drill or punch holes in your can to mount the probe
3. Assemble the probe and mount in can
Learn How to Build Antenna Here.
Why does this belong on Feral Jundi? These orders and watch out situations, and LCES, were all developed out of some hard learned lessons in the forest fire fighting industry. Which usually means that a fire fighter died or a really bad accident happened, and these were the patterns of mistakes or indicators prior to the incident that were ignored. If you are going to be patrolling in a high fire danger area, or protecting an estate or FOB up in the mountains, then these lessons dealing with fire will be helpful. Summer is here, and fire is a disaster in every sense of the word.
What led to the development of LCES was that it was an easy to remember, catch all acronym used to simplify the safety of fire fighting. As a smokejumper, LCES was first on my priorities and planning for the fight, and then during the operations phase, I would constantly be evaluating the situation and referring to these orders and watch out situations to help me see the potential problems. We were constantly seeking intelligence and observing fire behavior, while at the same time using strategy and hard work to extinguish it. Often times on fires, guys got killed when they got tired and did not heed these rules of forest fire fighting. Those lessons were pounded into our brains every year during fire refresher training, and for those that lost friends or survived a burn over, those lessons are seared onto the brain. Most have a fireline handbook on their person, just so they don’t forget anything out there.
I also posted this as a supplement to the building snowmobiles article I wrote that deals with the attack by fire. There is even some carry over with some of these rules of firefighting, to the war fighting or security industry, and I think it is interesting to see some of the similarities. –Matt
——————————————————————
LCES
Lookouts, Communication, Escape Routes, Safety Zone
10 STANDARD FIRE ORDERS
The arrangement of the Orders are logically organized to be implemented systematically and applied to all fire situations.
Four Horsemen International (FHI)
Service Disabled Veteran Owned and Operated
Thank you for your interest in The Four Horsemen International Inc. (FHI). The Four Horsemen International is a leading provider of security, logistics, Construction, Operations & Maintenance, Program management, and consulting in shaping the future of many emerging markets around the world. The Four Horsemen has multiple vendors in a wide variety of capabilities to service our client’s needs anywhere they do business. The Four Horsemen is a Service Disabled Veteran Owned and Operated Businsess.
FHI currently employs individuals thoughout the globe. If you are interested in applying with FHI please see the available positions and contact information.
CURRENT POSITIONS AVAILABLE:
Afghanistan – Convoy Team Leaders (8 positions available)
Please contact:
FHI Human Resources Department at HR@thefourhorsemeninternational.com
ALL Resume’s submission must include:
Copy of current passport
Copy of current DD-214
Current contact information
Website Here.
This is not only cool, but it is essential stuff for contracting. And what I really like about this encrypted flash drive is that it self destructs. So if you lose it, and someone picks it up and attempts to break into it, it will erase after tampering or ten attempts at a password. Not to mention that it is mil spec.
But if you are out there on contract, and your company loses their gig and you’re rolled over to another company or you hop on over to a better deal, having your important stuff stored on a device like this and ready to send is vital. I would also save your documents on an encrypted email account like Hushmail or some other secure online service where you can store documents. Have the stuff easy to get to, that is safely stored and secure, and in different places, can make the difference between getting a job or not when you are out on the road. –Matt
——————————————————————-
SECURE YOUR FILES AND PROTECT YOUR IDENTITY
IronKey Personal is a revolutionary personal security device designed to protect your data, passwords and online identity on any computer.
Hardware Encryption and Malware Defenses for Bullet-Proof Security
All data stored on an IronKey Personal drive is encrypted with high-speed military-grade hardware encryption. Unlike software-based encryption, this “always-on” protection cannot be disabled and is protected against cold-boot and brute force attacks. No one can access files stored on an IronKey unless they authenticate with the correct password. All encryption and password verification are performed in hardware, and it cannot be disabled by worms, viruses or other malware.
Secure & Private Web Browsing
IronKey drives come pre-configured with a portable version of Mozilla’s popular Firefox Web browser. All data, cookies, and Web history are maintained locally on the drive. The optional IronKey Secure Sessions service protects your privacy on the Web by triple-encrypting all of your Web surfing traffic, and provides secure DNS services to help assure that you are not visiting a spoofed website.
Powered by WordPress