Category Archive for 'Tech'

Spc. Jennifer Cumbie, a Miami native and a multichannel transmission system operator with Company B, 2nd Special Troops Battalion, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division, and Pvt. Maurice Bailey, a Los Angeles native and multichannel transmission system operator with Company B, inspect helium storage containers on Forward Operating Base Warrior, Kirkuk, Iraq, July 12. These Soldiers and other members of their team are responsible for keeping the blimp full of helium and in the air. Photo by Pfc. Justin Naylor

Pre-deployment training prepares Soldiers for a wide range of missions they may encounter. Flying a blimp is typically not one of them.

Or at least it wasn’t for Soldiers on Forward Operating Base Warrior, Kirkuk, Iraq, until a new surveillance blimp took its place in the skies above FOB Warrior.

Chief Warrant Officer Russell Faulkner of St. Louis heats a piece of stainless steel in Baghdad, March 22. Faulkner plans on turning the piece of metal into a quality theater-made knife. Photo by Spc. Jeffrey Ledesma

Despite what parents have been telling their children for decades, the 20-year-veteran and his fellow Soldiers continue to play with fire and have fun with sharp objects in hopes of “making something out of nothing.”

Navy Ferries Going Bio

Newly acquired ferry boat John W. Finn enters the channel to Naval Station Pearl Harbor. The boat is named after Medal of Honor recipient John W. Finn and is the first of five bio-diesel fueled boats that will be used to shuttle visitors to the Arizona Memorial. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Eric J. Cutright/Released)

Photo: Newly acquired ferry boat John W. Finn enters the channel to Naval Station Pearl Harbor.

 Soldiers of the scout sniper team attached to Company A, 1st Combined Arms Battalion, 63rd Armor Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Armored Division, Multi-National Division - Baghdad unload a solar powered water purifier which was given to the village of Lutifiyah, Feb. 28. A ceremony was held by local sheiks, villagers, and Soldiers from 1-63 CAB for the installation of a coalition-funded, solar- powered water filter to bring clean potable water to people in the Mahmudiyah Qada.

“I think it’s really great for the Soldiers of the scout platoon/sniper section to be able to give this water filter to a group of local nationals who do not enjoy the same privileges we have had growing up [in the United States]. I had not seen anything like this filter before. The system is really cool,” said Spc. Kevin Stroud, a Soldier of the scout platoon, and a native of Dallas, Texas.

Windows Live Writer Test

This is a test of Windows Live Writer, a desktop blogging tool.

A wovel. A wheelbarrow shovel for snow removal

It would appear that this would be an ideal device for older folks to move snow with less effort. The wovel site has a lot of details and photos.

New New Choo Choo

Manufactured by National Railway Equipment Company, the "N-Viromotive" locomotives cost $1.5 million apiece and will replace the current Fort Lewis fleet of two older diesels and one electric model. They will continue to use diesel fuel, but in a far more efficient manner.

Fort Lewis just received two members of a clean, new generation – “ultra-low-emitting locomotives.”

Manufactured by National Railway Equipment Company, the “N-Viromotive” locomotives cost $1.5 million apiece and will replace the current Fort Lewis fleet of two older diesels and one electric model. They will continue to use diesel fuel, but in a far more efficient manner.

According to Smith, a coating of this paint is equal to approximately 20 inches of ceiling insulation. He went on to say the new paint is safe for humans and the environment.

“This stuff is almost too good to be true,” Smith said. “If it works, then we will apply it to all buildings on all camps.”

GEM light utility electric vehicle leased by the US Army

The lease of 4,000 NEV’s is projected to save the Army the purchase of 11.5 million gallons of fuel over the six years of the lease. Each NEV will cost about $400 per year to keep charged. The Army anticipates a cost of about $200 per vehicle to create charging stations for the vehicles. The Secretary pointed out that an ordinary three pronged outlet is all that is required to charge an NEV so a charging station will not be necessary in many circumstances.