US Military News, Reports, Data, etc.

delft said:

I confess I was surprised not to see the Garand in your armory round up. My late brother in law shot with one when in the Dutch army nearly half a century ago.

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EADS North America Withdraws JMR Bid To Focus On AAS
By Graham Warwick [email protected]
Source: AWIN First

June 04, 2013
Credit: U.S. Army
EADS North America has withdrawn its proposal for the U.S. Army’s Joint Multi-Role (JMR) advanced-rotorcraft technology demonstration, to focus company resources on its offering for the service’s Armed Aerial Scout (AAS) requirement.

CEO Sean O’Keefe informed Assistant Secretary of the Army Heidi Shyu of the decision in a letter sent May 29, just a day or two before the Army’s Aviation Applied Technology Directorate invited at least some of the JMR bidders to enter negotiations to build and fly demonstrators in 2017.

A Sikorsky-Boeing team confirms it has been invited to negotiate a cost-sharing technology investment agreement (TIA) for a 230-kt. coaxial-rotor compound-helicopter demonstrator.

Industry sources say AVX Aircraft also has been invited to negotiate a TIA for a 230-kt. coaxial-rotor/ducted-fan compound helicopter. The company declines to comment.

EADS had earlier confirmed it submitted a proposal for the JMR Phase 1 air-vehicle demonstration, but not revealed the configuration – widely expected to be based on its X3 high-speed hybrid helicopter.

In the letter to Shyu, O’Keefe said EADS North America had “painstakingly reviewed our resource needs… [and] determined that the Army’s most urgent need and our most significant investment to date is for a competitive AAS platform.”

EADS is proposing the AAS-72X/X+ for AAS, while also lobbying to reverse the Army’s fiscal 2014 budget decision to prematurely terminate procurement of the U.S.-assembled UH-72A Lakota light utility helicopter on which the armed scout would be based.

JMR is a precursor to the Army’s planned Future Vertical Lift (FVL) family of rotorcraft that would replace initially the Sikorsky UH-60 Black Hawk, then the Boeing AH-64 Apache, but eventually everything from the light Bell OH-58D Kiowa Warrior to the heavy Boeing CH-47 Chinook.

“The Army’s concept development plan for JMR to replace AAS with an aircraft that meets the needs of the force currently met by the OH-58, AH-64 Apache Block III, UH-60M and CH-47F/G appears to be very long term and an open-ended industry resource commitment,” O’Keefe says in the letter.

Recent statements by Army leadership suggest the service, struggling with budget cuts, is backing away from plans to buy an off-the-shelf replacement for the OH-58D and will instead make a decision between extending the Kiowa Warrior’s service life and starting a new-development AAS program.

EADS has invested heavily in company-funded development of the AAS-72X/X+, which is derived from the commercial Eurocopter EC145, and is finalizing a cooperative research and development agreement to conduct weapons testing at Aberdeen Proving Ground to support its AAS proposal.

Citing the fiscal constraints caused by sequestration and budget instability, O’Keefe said EADS’s “plan is to focus our resources along with our world-class team mates on the AAS competition. As such we will withdraw from further consideration for the JMR/FVL concept development effort.”

Copyright © 2013, Aviation Week, a division of McGraw Hill Financial.

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AVX Aircraft Wins Place On U.S. Army’s JMR Demo
By Graham Warwick
Source: Aerospace Daily & Defense Report

June 07, 2013
Credit: AVX Aircraft
AVX Aircraft confirms it has been selected for the U.S. Army’s Joint Multi-Role (JMR) program, which aims to fly advanced-rotorcraft technology demonstrators in 2017.

The small, Fort Worth-based company has been selected to negotiate a cost-sharing agreement as a “Category 1” participant in Phase 1 of the JMR technology demonstration, as have Bell Helicopter and a Sikorsky/Boeing team.

Category 1 proposals “are recommended for acceptance and funding is available,” according to Army contracting language. The Army’s Aviation Applied Technology Directorate says it has $213 million available to fund all Phase 1 awards.

The Army’s hopes of funding at least two air-vehicle demonstrators in Phase 1 depend on the degree of industry cost-sharing. The service is negotiating technology investment agreements with each of the Category 1 participants.

It is not known whether any other bidders were classified as Category 1, or Category 2, for which funding is not always available. EADS North America withdrew its proposal for JMR to focus company resources on the Army’s Armed Aerial Scout requirement.

AVX has proposed a 230-kt coaxial-rotor compound helicopter with ducted fans for propulsion and small wings to offload the rotors at high speed. The company plans to build a 70%-scale flying demonstrator, sized to use existing General Electric T700 engines.

Bell Helicopter has proposed a 280-kt. tiltrotor, while Sikorsky Boeing has proposed a 230-kt. rigid coaxial-rotor/pusher-propulsor compound helicopter based on Sikorsky’s X2 configuration. The Army is looking to demonstrate at least 230 kt. cruise speed.

JMR TD is a precursor to the Army’s proposed Future Vertical Lift Medium program to develop an advanced rotorcraft family to replace first the utility Sikorsky UH-60 Black Hawk beginning in the mid-2030s, then the attack Boeing AH-64 Apache.

Copyright © 2013, Aviation Week, a division of McGraw Hill Financial.

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Cost drove EADS from US Army rotorcraft demonstration
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By: DAVE MAJUMDAR WASHINGTON DC 11:15 13 Jun 2013 Source:

EADS North America pulled out of the US Army's Joint Multi-Role technology demonstrator (JMR-TD) programme because the cost of developing a high-speed rotorcraft compared to the funding the service is willing to provide is enormous, says the company's top official.

"The number was set so low and the estimate we came back with to develop was so high; this was an invitation to shovel cash into an inferno," says Sean O'Keefe, chief executive of EADS North America.

The army wants the companies participating to develop complex technologies given very limited government funding over a set period of time, O'Keefe says. The maximum service commitment was $75 million over several years, which also covered flyable test articles. "We estimated the cost to be far in excess of that number by multiples," he says. "Wonderful invitation, but we passed."

EADS, O'Keefe says, will continue developing its X3 high-speed compound helicopter design for the civilian market. The offshore oil market is one example where companies would pay for speed, he says. There are also other potential markets where a high-speed civilian rotorcraft could serve, O'Keefe says.

However, O'Keefe notes that the EADS North America JMR-TD proposal was not totally based on Eurocopter's X3 prototype, but it did leverage aspects of that aircraft's technology. The X3, O'Keefe explains, was designed for a very specific purpose and could not directly be developed into an operational military aircraft.

In the future, O'Keefe says, the company could potentially return to bid on the army's follow-on Future Vertical Lift (FVL) programme, which is expected to commence after the JMR-TD prototypes have flown in 2017. "If down the road they say: 'Gee, that's really interesting, we'd like to talk to you about it,' I would say: 'Sure, let's have a discussion,'" he says. However, unless the army had firm requirements in mind, EADS would not be willing to participate in such a programme.

The FVL effort aims to replace the Sikorsky UH-60 Black Hawk series of helicopters after 2030

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Army Kills Competition to Replace M4
Jun 13, 2013
Military.com| by Matthew Cox
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The Army announced today it is formally concluding its Individual Carbine competition without selecting a winner to replace the M4 Carbine.
“None of the carbines evaluated during the testing phase of the competition met the minimum scoring requirement needed to continue to the next phase of the evaluation,” according to a June 13 Army press release.
The Army sent out letters to gun makers, such as Heckler & Koch, FNH-USA, Remington Defense, Adcor Defense Inc. and Colt Defense LLC, the original maker of the M4 carbine, informing them that no future contract awards will be made for the final soldier evaluation phase.
Program Executive Office Soldier officials said that “no competitor demonstrated a significant improvement in weapon reliability” to justify buying a new carbine.
“Based upon Army analysis, test results may have been affected by interaction between the ammunition, the magazine and the weapon," the release states. “The Army’s existing carbine requirement assumed use of the M855 ammunition; the weapons tested in the IC competition all fired the next generation M855A1 Enhanced Performance Round (EPR) currently in fielding. The use of the M855A1 round likely resulted in lower than expected reliability performance. These effects are unique to testing conditions and are not known to affect the reliability of any weapon in the operational environment.”

Army officials, however, decided “not to pursue a new carbine competition ... following careful consideration of the Army’s operational requirements in the context of the available small arms technology, the constrained fiscal environment, and the capability of our current carbines,” the release states.
The Army’s announcement occurred despite a recent House Armed Services Committee budget amendment aimed at preventing the Army from canceling its improved carbine competition without conducting Phase III of the effort.
It’s been five years since Army leaders announced the plan to search for a replacement for the M4 Carbine, originally made by Colt Defense LLC. Program officials plan on reprogramming the $49.6 million requested in the proposed fiscal 2014 budget to buy 30,000 new Individual Carbines, Military.com reported May 2.
Army weapons officials recently completed Phase II of the competition, where testers fired hundreds of thousands of rounds through prototype carbines.
The HASC amendment still would have had to pass through the Senate and would not have taken effect until Oct. 1 -- the beginning of fiscal 2014 -- so the Army hasn’t violated a congressional directive.
The carbine competition is not the only effort the Army has launched to improve the soldier’s basic individual weapon. The service recently decided to replace the standard M4 with the M4A1, as a result of its M4 Product Improvement Program.
The M4A1 is the special operations version of the weapon that’s been in use for just over a decade. It features a heavier barrel and a full-auto trigger. The Army’s decision to dump the current three-round burst trigger will give shooters a more consistent trigger pull and lead to better accuracy, weapons officials maintain.
The Army has budgeted $21.2 million to buy 12,000 M4A1s in the proposed fiscal 2014 budget.
The Army’s effort to replace the M4 has also not been without scrutiny. The Pentagon’s Inspector General recently announced it was auditing the improved-carbine effort. In March 19 testimony before the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, the watchdog group said there were concerns that “DoD may not have an established need for this weapon nor developed performance requirements … such as accuracy, reliability, and lethality,” according to testimony.
Army officials and program experts were quick to point out, however, that the IG testimony contains misunderstandings about basic facts of the carbine-improvement effort. The Army established its requirements for the improved carbine effort three years ago.

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Navy Order Seen Boosting Foreign Osprey Sales

By Richard Sisk Friday, June 14th, 2013 12:14 pm
Posted in Afghanistan, Air

The MV-22 Osprey won’t be at the Paris Air Show for potential buyers to kick the tires, but that might not be necessary after a $6.5 billion vote of confidence by the U.S. government in the tilt-rotor aircraft.

“We’re not bringing one” to Paris, a Marine Corps spokesman said of the Osprey, though Marine Lt. Gen. Robert Schmidle, the deputy commandant for aviation, and Col. Greg Masiello, program manager for the Osprey, will be on hand at Le Bourget airfield outside Paris to talk up the aircraft’s capabilities.

Naval Air Systems Command on June 12 awarded a joint venture of Textron Inc.’s Bell Helicopter and Boeing Co. a $6.5 billion contract for 99 Ospreys – 92 for the Marines and seven for the Air Force. The agreement was expected to intensify interest by foreign buyers who would be key to keeping the production line open past the current phase out date in 2018.


The MV-22, a frequent performer at air shows worldwide in the past, has been barred along with all other U.S. military aircraft from participating in air shows to save money as the military struggles to meet the automatic budget cuts ordered up by the congressional process called sequester.

A Bell-Boeing team will also attend the Paris event to back up Schmidle and Masiello when they brief potential buyers on June 17, according to William Schroeder, a Bell spokesman.

The Marines and the manufacturers say the Osprey’s performance in Iraq and Afghanistan, where it has logged more than 180,000 flight hours, proves its reliability. The aircraft takes off and lands like a helicopter, yet flies like a fixed-wing plane, giving it longer range and greater speed.

During development of the Osprey, more than 30 Marines and civilian contractors were killed in crashes. Some lawmakers and Defense Department officials sought unsuccessfully to cancel the program.

In April, Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel announced in Tel Aviv the first foreign sale of the Osprey for the Israeli special forces. The number of Ospreys Israel would receive was not announced but it was believed to be at least five for $70 million apiece, which would likely come out of the more than $3 billion in military assistance the U.S. gives Israel annually.

The Osprey deal culminated a long courtship of Israel by the Marine Corps and Bell-Boeing. Going back to early 2011, Israeli air force pilots were brought to the Marine air base in New River, N.C., to train on simulators and take test flights at the controls of the aircraft, according to Marine Capt. Richard Ulsh, a Marine spokesman.

“No other (foreign) militaries have done that” or been afforded the opportunity, he said.

Indeed, in a visit to the U.S., Israeli Defense Minister Moshe Ya’alon was scheduled to make his first flight in an Osprey on June 14 as part of a demonstration before landing at the Pentagon to meet with Hagel.

The sale to Israel has piqued additional interest in the V-22s among other nations, officials said. “I can tell you that several countries are very, very interested” in the Osprey, Schroeder, the Bell spokesman, said at the time, without naming them.

The Marines and Bell-Boeing say several other countries have shown interest in the Osprey, three of which have reportedly exchanged letters with the Pentagon on a possible purchase.

The countries have not been named, but Middle East news reports have said that the United Arab Emirates has been haggling for more than a year with Bell over a purchase price. Other countries that have received extended briefings on the aircraft include Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Italy, Brazil, Colombia, Singapore and Australia.

The Marines and Bell have aggressively marketed the Osprey at air shows around the world. Last year, the Osprey performed at the Farnborough air show outside London, and at similar air shows in Singapore and Dubai in the United Arab Emirates.

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White House: No plans for no-fly zone over Syria for now
Jun. 13, 2013 - 07:29PM |

By Brian Everstine- Airforce times
FILED UNDER
News
Congress & DOD
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Obama steps up military aid to Syrian rebels
The Obama administration announced today it will provide military assistance to Syrian rebels, but that does not include a no-fly zone, an administration official said.

Deputy National Security Adviser Ben Rhodes said the U.S. will send military assistance to the rebels, and it is weighing possible military responses. A no-fly zone is part of a “range of options” being considered, but it will not happen now and may not be the best way to assist rebels, he said.

“A no-fly zone would carry with it great and open-ended costs for the U.S. and international community,” Rhodes said in a conference call with reporters.

Earlier today, the Wall Street Journal reported the military had drawn up plans for a limited no-fly zone from Jordan territory to help train and equip rebel forces. This came as the White House announced it has confirmed President Bashar al-Assad used chemical weapons against Syrian citizens multiple times.

Maintaining a no-fly zone over Syria would be more complex than it was in Libya, and it is not known how effective it could be to help rebels involved in ground war with forces loyal to al-Assad, Rhodes said, adding the administration will work with other countries on possible routes forward.

Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., took to the Senate floor shortly before the White House announcement to praise the move to aid the rebels, and said a no-fly zone would help to “change the equation on the battle field.”

Thirteen Air Force combat-coded squadrons have been grounded or will be when they return from deployments. Chief of Staff Gen. Mark Welsh said at a May 24 news briefing that “our readiness continues to decline, even while calls for potential no-fly zone or air policing operations in response to Syrian violence are reaching a new crescendo.”

Welsh said he was concerned about unexpected contingencies that have not been budgeted. “New contingencies could be a problem for us, especially the longer this goes and the less training our people have compared to what we would normally require of them to be fully combat ready.”

McCain said it would not be acceptable for the military to be unable to handle the operations in a “third-rate” country such as Syria.

“We spend tens of millions a year on defense, and if our military cannot establish a no-fly zone, then by God, American tax payer dollars have been wasted,” he said.

Earlier this month, F-16C/Ds from the Colorado Air National Guard’s 140th Wing went to Jordan for Operation Eager Lion, along with an Army Patriot missile battery. The plan is for the F-16s to stay in Jordan until the end of the exercise, unless the Jordanian government requests they stay.

“We will continue to consult closely with the government of Jordan on their security needs in light of the Syrian crisis,” Defense Department spokesman Lt. Col. Jack Miller said last week. “If requested by the government of Jordan, we will consider extending the deployment of Jordan, we will consider extending the deployment of the F-16s and Patriot battery associated with Eager Lion.”

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GAO rejects Beechcraft protest, clears A-29 deliveries to Afghanistan
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By: STEPHEN TRIMBLE WASHINGTON DC 19 hours ago Source:

The US Government Accountability Office (GAO) today rejected an attempt by Beechcraft to overturn a controversial, $427 million contract awarded to a Sierra Nevada/Embraer team to supply 20 A-29 Super Tucanos to the Afghan air force.

The GAO decision appears to complete the final chapter of a three-year acquisition saga over the light air support (LAS) contract in which the US Air Force was forced to re-compete the original deal awarded to the Sierra Nevada/Embraer team after discovering undisclosed errors in the documentation process.

The Sierra Nevada/Embraer team won the second competition again last February, although the value of the deal had increased by 25% since the previous award in 2011.

Beechcraft filed a protest with the GAO less than two weeks after the contract award. In the previous competition, Beechcraft appealed the GAO's decision with the Court of Federal Claims, but this time the company appears to have accepted the rejection, albeit conditionally.

Beechcraft is now calling on US lawmakers to intervene by preventing the USAF from awarding follow-on deals involving the A-29 to other countries besides Afghanistan.

"Beechcraft remains confident that the AT-6, which was rated 'exceptional' by the air force, was the better choice for LAS and is the best aircraft for US partner nations in need of light attack aircraft," the company says.

The LAS programme was conceived as a means for the USAF to equip certain allies with a counter-insurgency fighter. The USAF pays for the aircraft to be delivered and provides the partner country with training and access to sensors and weapons.

The Sierra Nevada/Embraer team and the Beechcraft AT-6 were the only bidders for the award. The competition grew heated as Beechcraft attacked the A-29's Brazilian roots, despite the heritage of the AT-6 as a licensed derivative of the Switzerland-based Pilatus PC-9.

"Today's decision is a win for the American warfighters and our allies in Afghanistan who urgently need this light air support capacity to fulfill our mission there," says Taco Gilbert, vice-president of integrated tactical solutions for SNC's intelligence surveillance and reconnaissance business area.

The Sierra Nevada/Embraer team plans to deliver the first A-29 to Afghanistan in mid-2014.

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Unmanned K-Max crashes in Afghanistan
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By: ZACH ROSENBERG WASHINGTON DC 1 hours ago Source:

An unmanned Lockheed Martin K-Max helicopter crashed near Camp Leatherneck in Helmand Province, Afghanistan on 5 June.

One of only two aircraft in theater, the helicopter, operating in unmanned mode, was nearing the end of its resupply flight when something went wrong, according to reports.

"We are working with the Marine Corps to determine the root cause of this mishap," says Lockheed. The company deferred further comment to the US Marine Corps.

No people were injured in the crash. An investigation is ongoing.

Two unmanned K-Max helicopters have been flying in Afghanistan for nearly two years on what began as a six-month deployment. Despite interest in expanding the programme, the only the two aircraft are operating on a contract basis, plus another for testing in the US. The programme's future after pullout from Afghanistan is unclear.

The Marine Corps did not respond to immediate questions.

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SAN DIEGO (June 14, 2013) The Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force helicopter destroyer JS Hyuga (DDH 181) departs Naval Base San Diego to participate in exercise Dawn Blitz. Dawn Blitz is a scenario-driven exercise led by the U.S. 3rd Fleet and 1 Marine Expeditionary Force that will test participants in the planning and execution of amphibious operations through a series of live training events. (U.S. Navy photo by Maile Baca/Released)

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PACIFIC OCEAN (June 14, 2013) The U.S. Marine Corps marks history by landing an MV-22 Osprey tilt-rotor aircraft on a Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force helicopter destroyer JS Hyuga (DDH 181) for the first time during amphibious exercise Dawn Blitz. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist Seaman Molly A. Evans/Released)

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PACIFIC OCEAN (June 14, 2013) U.S. Marines inspect an MV-22 Osprey tilt-rotor aircraft after landing on the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force helicopter destroyer JS Hyuga (DDH 181) during amphibious exercise Dawn Blitz. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist Seaman Molly A. Evans/Released)

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PACFIC OCEAN,....JS 4002 Shimokita operates USMC V-22 Osprey aircraft near San Diego CA. 14 June 2013

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Joint Light Tactical Vehicle 'closes capability gap,' Army says
June 17, 2013
By David Vergun Army.mil

QUANTICO, Va. (Army News Service, June 17, 2013) -- While the Humvee has served the Army well for some 25 years, there's a "capability gap" in what it can do for warfighters on a 21st-century battlefield, said the Soldier responsible for overseeing its replacement.

That replacement is the Joint Light Tactical Vehicle, or JLTV, said Col. John Cavedo, manager, Joint Program Office, or JPO, for JLTV, during an off-road demonstration at the Transportation Demonstration Support Area here, June 14.

Cavedo said the JLTV "closes the capability gap" left by the Humvee.

Marine Lt. Col. Mike Burks, deputy, JPO, JLTV explained the gap.

"We've been trying to break the laws of physics by overloading the Humvee with survivability measures," Burks said. "The Humvee is overloaded even before a Soldier or Marine gets inside."

The other vehicle used to transport Soldiers and Marines around the battlefield, the mine-resistant, ambush-protected vehicle, known as an MRAP, has the necessary armor to defeat improvised explosive devices and has saved many lives. However, Burks said the MRAP lacks mobility.

One of the MRAP variants weighs as much as three JLTVs, Burkes said. The weight of that MRAP means it can't be transported by the Army CH-47 Chinook or the Marine CH-53E Super Stallion, the heavy-lift helicopters of the services.

Burkes also said that an additional concern for the Marine Corps, in regard to the MRAP, is that it can't be moved from ship-to-shore like other light wheeled vehicles.

The Army, the lead for the JLTV portfolio, plans to purchase some 49,000 JLTVs, with 5,500 for the Marine Corps. The average production cost will not exceed $250,000 per vehicle, said Cavedo.

Various JLTVs may also be specialized with kits for performing different missions, including fording, combat buffering or command. That specialization may change the cost of a particular vehicle.

Despite sequestration and budget shortfalls, the JLTV program is still on track for fiscal year 2015, Cavedo said. At that time, the JLTV contract will be awarded and the 20-plus year production cycle will begin.

The plan calls for a phase-in of JLTVs, with Humvees and MRAPs still being used, commensurate with mission requirements, said David Branham, PEO Land Systems Marine Corps.

FIERCE COMPETITION

Last year, three manufacturers were selected and are now competing for the JLTV contract. Competition is "fierce and the stakes are high because the winner takes all," said Cavedo, who noted that an important part of his job is to ensure a "level playing field" during the competition.

The three competitors include Oshkosh Defense, which builds MRAPS and other Army vehicles; Lockheed Martin, which produces High Mobility Artillery Rocket System vehicle; and AM General, who builds the Humvee.

Improvised explosive device, or IED, blast and shot testing have already been conducted at Aberdeen Test Center, Md. While not at liberty to say the levels of the blasts, Cavedo said the JLTV's survivability is comparable to the MRAP.

The next milestone comes in mid-August 2013, when each competitor will turn over 22 JLTV prototypes for testing. Those 66 vehicles will undergo 14 months of rigorous testing in a variety of battlefield scenarios conducted by Soldiers and Marines, said Cavedo.

Testing areas include Yuma Proving Grounds, Ariz.; Redstone Test Center, Ala.; and Fort Huachuca, Ariz. Additionally, both the Marine Corps and the Army will conduct helicopter trials of the vehicles at various locations, and there will be ship-to-shore testing conducted at Little Creek, Va.

Reliability, availability and maintainability, called RAM testing, will determine the winner, Cavedo said. Additionally, input from Soldiers and Marines "will absolutely be taken very seriously."

RAM testing includes the "iron triangle of performance," Cavedo said. That includes evaluations of performance, protection and payload. The vehicles will also be evaluated for transportability, mobility, expeditionary capability, network-readiness and affordability.

In early fiscal year 2015, following user testing, the requirements document will be revalidated to ensure the original requirements are still pertinent. After that, a winner will be chosen, Cavedo said.

During the demonstration runs at Quantico, Va., all three of the JLTVs in the competition ran smoothly at high speed over the roller coaster-like hills which followed alongside power transmission lines. The vehicles didn't protest turns at high speed, and bumps and ruts barely registered. Inside the vehicles there was plenty of room for network gear, blue-force tracker, GPS, and other networking and communications equipment. Seating was comfortable as well.

"All three vendors absolutely meet the key requirements, all could close that critical and substantial capability gap in our light tactical wheel portfolio," Cavedo concluded. "In the end, the government will pick very best of best. We're in a fortunate situation."

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Exercise Eager Lion begins in Jordan
ZARQA, Jordan (Army News Service, June 11, 2013) -- Exercise Eager Lion kicked off in Jordan this week as U.S. service members began training with military forces from 19 nations.

The multi-national exercise, which runs June 9-20, began with a press conference in which Maj. Gen. Robert Catalanotti, director of exercises and training for U.S. Central Command, explained how impressed he was with the Jordanian way of running the training.

"We from the United States are following behind our lead, the Jordanians, this year, who have really taken this exercise to a great level after building it over the last four years," Catalanotti said.

Eager Lion is designed to strengthen military-to-military partnerships and enhance security and stability in the region by responding to realistic, modern-day security scenarios, according to U.S. Central Command. This year's scenarios will focus on integrated air and missile defense, humanitarian assistance and disaster relief, officials said.

Around 5,000 U.S. service members are participating in the exercise. Included among those are Soldiers with a U.S. Army Patriot missile battery that deployed in order to participate.

"This exercise is designed to encounter national security challenges such as counterinsurgency, border security, close air support and integration of the whole of government," said Maj. Gen. Awni al Adwan, chairman of joint task force with the Jordanian Army. He spoke during the press conference announcing the beginning of Eager Lion 2013.

In hosting the military training exercise, Jordan is opening its doors to allow more than 8,000 participants who will be conducting operations by land, air and sea.

Eager Lion includes events ranging from board, search and seizure techniques to live-fire demonstrations being conducted by the participating militaries. It is designed to increase the capabilities and partnerships of the participating countries.

"Eager Lion is an excellent example of teamwork that brings together military forces and inter-agency partners from around the world," Catalanotti said. "This exercise challenges the participants to respond to realistic, modern-day security scenarios by integrating a variety of disciplines in the air, on land and at sea. Our relationship with Jordan and the 19 partner nations involved in the exercise is built on a foundation of interoperability that brings us closer together and enhances regional stability."

Eager Lion culminates with a massive display of sea-land capabilities, June 18-20.

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Military plans would put women in most combat jobs
By Lolita C. Baldor
The Associated Press
FILED UNDER
News
Congress & DOD
History of women in the military
1948: Law passed making women a permanent part of the U.S. military services
1975: The Air Force puts the first woman on operational crew status
1976: The first group of women enters the U.S. military academies, as directed by legislation signed by President Gerald Ford a year earlier.
1983: About 200 Army and Air Force women are among the forces deployed to Grenada, serving on air crews, as military police and as transportation specialists
1990-91: Some 40,000 American military women are deployed during the Gulf War operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm. Iraqis take two Army women prisoner
1994: A Pentagon policy prohibits women from being assigned to ground combat units below the brigade level. Historically, brigades — which are about 3,500 troops — were based farther from the front lines, and they often included top command and support staff.
2002: Marine Sgt. Jeannette L. Winters becomes the first U.S. servicewoman to die in the post 9/11 wars. She was killed in a refueling tanker crash.
2005: Sgt. Leigh Ann Hester, a Kentucky National Guard soldier, becomes the first woman awarded the Silver Star for service in the war on terror. Her convoy came under attack outside Baghdad. She was cited for killing several insurgents and saving the lives of numerous convoy members.
2008 : Ann E. Dunwoody becomes the military's first women to be promoted to general. She retired in 2012 after 38 years in the Army.
2012: The military opens more than 14,000 jobs in smaller units closer to the front lines
2013: Then-Defense Secretary Leon Panetta and Gen. Martin Dempsey, chairman of the Joint Chiefs, sign order saying women must have the same opportunities as men in combat jobs. Military services begin studies to determine how and when to bring women into all jobs, probably including in at least some commando units
WASHINGTON — Women may be able to start training as Army Rangers by mid-2015 and as Navy SEALs a year later under plans set to be announced by the Pentagon that would slowly bring women into thousands of combat jobs, including those in elite special operations forces.

Details of the plans were obtained by The Associated Press. They call for requiring women and men to meet the same physical and mental standards to quality for certain infantry, armor, commando and other front-line positions across the Army, Navy, Air Force and Marines. Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel reviewed the plans and has ordered the services to move ahead.

The move, expected to be announced Tuesday, follows revelations of a startling number of sexual assaults in the armed forces. Earlier this year, Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Gen. Martin Dempsey said the sexual assaults might be linked to the longstanding ban on women serving in combat because the disparity between the roles of men and women creates separate classes of personnel — male “warriors” versus the rest of the force.

While the sexual assault problem is more complicated than that, he said, the disparity has created a psychology that lends itself to disrespect for women.

Under the schedules military leaders delivered to Hagel, the Army will develop standards by July 2015 to allow women to train and potentially serve as Rangers, and qualified women could begin training as Navy SEALS by March 2016 if senior leaders agree. Military leaders have suggested bringing senior women from the officer and enlisted ranks into special forces units first to ensure that younger, lower-ranking women have a support system to help them get through the transition.

The Navy intends to open up its Riverine force and begin training women next month, with the goal of assigning women to the units by October. While not part of the special operations forces, the coastal Riverine squadrons do close combat and security operations in small boats. The Navy plans to have studies finished by July 2014 on allowing women to serve as SEALs, and has set October 2015 as the date when women could begin Navy boot camp with the expressed intention of becoming SEALs eventually.

U.S. Special Operations Command is coordinating the matter of what commando jobs could be opened to women, what exceptions might be requested and when the transition would take place.

The proposals leave the door open for continued exclusion of women from some jobs, if research and testing find that women could not be successful in sufficient numbers, but the services would have to defend such decisions to top Pentagon leaders.

Army officials plan to complete gender-neutral standards for the Ranger course by July 2015. Army Rangers are one of the service’s special operations units, but many soldiers who go through Ranger training and wear the coveted tab on their shoulders never actually serve in the 75th Ranger Regiment. To be considered a true Ranger, soldiers must serve in the regiment.

In January, then-Defense Secretary Leon Panetta and Dempsey signed an order that wiped away generations of limits on where and how women could fight for their country. At the time, they asked the services to develop plans to set the change in motion.

The decision reflects a reality driven home by the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, where battle lines were blurred and women were propelled into jobs as medics, military police and intelligence officers that were sometimes attached, but not formally assigned, to battalions. So, even though a woman could not serve officially as a battalion infantryman going out on patrol, she could fly a helicopter supporting the unit or be part of a team supplying medical aid if troops were injured.

Of the more than 6,700 U.S. service members who have been killed in Iraq and Afghanistan, about 150 have been women.

The order Panetta and Dempsey signed prohibits physical standards from being lowered simply to allow women to qualify for jobs closer to the battlefront. But the services are methodically reviewing and revising the standards for many jobs, including strength and stamina, in order to set minimum requirements for troops to meet regardless of their sex.

The military services are also working to determine the cost of opening certain jobs to women, particularly aboard a variety of Navy ships, including certain submarines, frigates, mine warfare and other smaller warships. Dozens of ships do not have adequate berthing or facilities for women to meet privacy needs, and would require design and construction changes.

Under a 1994 Pentagon policy, women were prohibited from being assigned to ground combat units below the brigade level. A brigade is roughly 3,500 troops split into several battalions of about 800 soldiers each. Historically, brigades were based farther from the front lines, and they often included top command and support staff.

Last year the military opened up about 14,500 combat positions to women, most of them in the Army, by allowing them to serve in many jobs at the battalion level. The January order lifted the last barrier to women serving in combat but allows the services to argue to keep some jobs closed.

The bulk of the nearly 240,000 jobs currently closed to women are in the Army, including those in infantry, armor, combat engineer and artillery units that are often close to the battlefront. Similar jobs in the Marine Corps are also closed.

Army officials have laid out a rolling schedule of dates in 2015 to develop gender-neutral standards for specific jobs, beginning with July for engineers, followed by field artillery in March and the infantry and armor jobs no later than September.

Women make up about 14 percent of the 1.4 million active U.S. military personnel. More than 280,000 women have been sent to Iraq, Afghanistan or neighboring nations in support of the wars.

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