Fergie's Tech Blog

Ft. Monmouth: Fighting the insurgency at the Jersey Shore

Michael Moran writes in MSNBC News:

In an aging office park not far from the Ferris wheels and boardwalks of the New Jersey shore, the Army’s fight against Iraq’s insurgents and Afghanistan’s Taliban is in high gear. Here, where among other things the aircraft altimeter was invented (1933), the first “walkie-talkie” was developed (1936), and where the Army trained courier pigeons until 1957, engineers and researchers are working on ways to counter two of the most deadly and effective weapons in the arsenal of America’s enemies: mortar attacks and IEDs -- or “improvised explosive devices.” Collectively, these two weapons have taken more than 500 American lives in Iraq and Afghanistan in the past three years.

“A very significant portion of Army casualties comes from mortars and IEDs,” says Larry Smith, deputy chief of staff for operations and planning at the base. “We have people working on things that save American lives, and we’ve been working full out ever since Sept. 12, 2001.”

posted by Fergie @ 7/18/2005 05:29:00 PM