Search Results for: "Base Kabul"
Military locations in Afghanistan supported by TS2 Satellite Provider
Relevance Score: 4.471 2008-06-01 11:48:22
TS2 was among the first telecommunications operators in the satellite technology in the territory of Iraq and Afghanistan and as such we have enjoyed a successful cooperation with the US Department of Defense, DoD contractors, Contracting Officers and U.S. Military Personnel from Afghanistan. Airfields Bagram Air base Chagcharan Chapman Airfield Bamian / Bamiyan Fayzabad / Faizabad Herat Jalalabad Kabul International Kandahar / Qandahar Khowst Mazar-e Sharif, AF Meymanah / Maimana Pul-i-Kandahar, AF Rhino FOB Shindand Air base Taloqan / Talulqan US Army Camps Kabul Compound Gardez Compound Camp Albert Camp Bagram Camp Barber Camp Black Horse Camp Blackjack Camp Bastion Camp Bulldog Camp Civilian Camp Cunningham Camp Dogan Camp Eggers Camp Gecko Camp Gibraltar Camp Hadrian Camp Holland Camp Harriman Camp Invicta Camp Julien Camp Kabul Camp Kandahar Camp Kearney Camp Lightning Camp Leatherneck Camp Marmal Camp Morehead Camp Nathan Smith Camp Phoenix Camp Rhino Camp Salerno Camp Souter Camp Spann Camp Tombstone Camp Vianini Camp Warehouse Camp Wilson Camp Wright FOB's FOB ABAD FOB Asadabad FOB Bermel FOB Blessing FOB Bostick FOB Cobra FOB Delhi FOB Dwyer FOB Fenty FOB Freia FOB Gereshk FOB Ghazni FOB Indianhead FOB Keating FOB Lagman FOB Lonestar FOB Lwara FOB Martello FOB Maimaneh FOB Mehtar Lam FOB Mizan FOB Naray FOB Orgun-e FOB Payne FOB Qalat FOB Rhino FOB Ripley FOB Salerno FOB Scorpion FOB Shank FOB Sharana FOB Sweeney FOB Tillman FOB Terrett FOB Thunder FOB Tiger FOB Zormat Fire Bases Fire Base Anaconda Fire Base Asadabad Fire Base California Fire Base Cobra Strike Fire Base Cobra Fire Base Gardez Fire Base Lagman Fire Base Maholic Fire Base Nixon Fire Base Orgun-E Fire Base Oulet Fire Base Phoenix Fire Base Shkin Fire Base Waza Khwa Fire Base Wilderness Provincial Reconstruction Team (PRT) PRT Asadabad - ISAF US PRT Baglan - ISAF PRT Bagram - ISAF US PRT Bamian (Bamyan) ISAF NZ PRT Chaghcharan - ISAF Lithuania PRT Farah - ISAF US PRT Feyzabad - ISAF Germany PRT Gardez - ISAF US PRT Ghazni - ISAFUS PRT Herat - ISAF Italy PRT Jalalabad - ISAF US PRT Kabul PRT Khandahar - ISAF Canada PRT Khowst / Khost - ISAF US PRT Konduz - ISAF Germany PRT Lashkar-Gah - ISAF UK PRT Mazar-E-Sharif - ISAF Sweden PRT Mehtar Lam - ISAF US PRT Meymaneh - ISAF Norway PRT Nurestan - ISAF US PRT Parwan – ROK/US PRT Panjshir - ISAF US PRT Pol-E-Khomri - ISAF Netherlands PRT Qalat - ISAF US PRT Qala-e-Naw - ISAF Spain PRT Sharana - ISAF US PRT Tarin Kowt - ISAF Netherlands/Australia PRT Wardak - ISAF Turkey
Expanding internet connectivity in Afghanistan
Relevance Score: 3.735 2009-03-23 00:07:57
Named after the Great Silk Road trading route linking Asia and Europe, the NATO Virtual Silk Highway (SILK) provides affordable, high-speed Internet access via satellite to the academic communities of the Caucasus and Central Asia. The SILK project is operational at Kabul University, Afghanistan, since 2006, and is now looking into expanding the network to the provinces. Under the Declaration by NATO and the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan to maximize the potential of the Virtual Silk Highway, the NATO Public Diplomacy Division (PDD) Science for Peace and Security (SPS) programme is assisting the Afghan authorities in paving the way for developing their educational system. Kabul area In 2008, the NATO-PDD SPS programme connected all 14 faculties of Kabul University and the Ministry of Higher Education to a campus network, as well as setting up a video teleconferencing facility. Work is in progress to provide high-speed Internet access through the Virtual Silk Highway to other higher education institutions in Kabul, including the National Military Academy of Afghanistan. Linking the provinces In March 2008, the NATO Consultation, Command and Control Agency (NC3A) was tasked by NATO-PDD SPS to conduct a feasibility study on the potential provision of internet connectivity for universities outside of Kabul. The tender process for this expanded SILK project is currently underway, and implementation could start end 2009. In the meantime, the Afghan Ministry of Higher Education has identified six universities as the first beneficiaries of the expansion: Herat University; Jawzjan University in Sheberghan; Kandahar University, Sheikh Zaid University, Khost Province, Balkh University in Mazar-e-Sharif; and Nangarhar University in Jalalabad.
Satellite Broadband Internet in Iraq and Afghanistan for U.S. Troops
Relevance Score: 3.307 2009-06-28 22:04:20
WARSAW, Poland, Jan. 22 /Reuters/ -- TS2 Satellite Technologies' network in Iraq and Afghanistan has over 15,000 military users of local broadband satellite connections. "We were among the first telecommunications operators in the satellite technology in the territory of Iraq and Afghanistan, and as such we have enjoyed a successful cooperation with the U.S. Army for several years now," says Marcin Frackiewicz, CEO of the TS2 Satellite Technologies. TS2 Satellite Technologies offers two-way high-speed Internet access with no phone lines, no cable and no dial-up modem. It's always on, available virtually anywhere, and affordable. The laptop or Wi-Fi network can receive Internet signal through a special satellite VSAT modem, which was usually set up in a building or tent when deployed. The one VSAT access point provides the following services for soldiers: -- Broadband access to the Internet (WWW, E-mail, FTP etc.) -- Data transfer to many other users simultaneously -- Telephone connections including VoIP, IP phone -- Video-conference connections Advantages of the system: -- Short set-up time -- Fast and easy upgrades -- Possibility of guaranteed CIR -- Transmission in almost all weather conditions The communication among the bases is possible thanks to the simultaneous lease of bands on the Intelsat 10-02, Intelsat 901 and Eutelsat W6 satellites whose coverage enables configuration of connections between any place in Europe, Middle East and Southwest Asia. TS2's satellite military networks are located in Al Taqaddum Air Base, Bahgram AF, Balad Base, Baquba Airfield, Brassfield-Mora, Cob Adder, Cob Speicher, Camp Al Asad Airbase, Camp Bucca Basra City, Camp Buehring, Camp Charlie Basra, Camp Eggers, Camp Fallujah, Camp Grizzly, Camp Korean Village, Camp Liberty, Camp Mejid, Camp Ramadi, Camp Slayer, Camp Stryker, Camp Taji, Camp Victory, Fob Bagram, Fob Brassfield Mora, Fob Delta Al Kut, Fob Diamondback, Fob Falcon, Fob Garryowen, Fob Gardez, Fob Ghazni, Fob Kalagush, Fob Kandahar, Fob Lagman, Fob Mchenry, Fob Marez, Fob Normandy, Fob Rustamiyah, Fob Summerall, Fob Sykes, Fob Salerno, Fob Torkham, Fob Warhorse, Fob Warrior, Herat RTC, Jallahabad Air Base, Kabul Airport, Kabul Camp Eggers, Kandahar Air Base, Lsa Anaconda Balad, Q-West Base Complex and Tallil Ab Lsa Adder. Especially for U.S. Military Personnel, Contracting Officers and DoD Contractors, TS2 delivers satellite equipment to most of all military addresses in Afghanistan, Iraq and the Middle East, within maximum of 7 days. Supported military locations in Iraq - http://www.ts2.pl/en/Internet-in-Iraq-for-US-Army-Soldiers Supported military locations in Afghanistan - http://www.ts2.pl/en/Internet-in-Afghanistan-for-US-Army-Soldiers Contact: Piotr Kubiak and Michal Skrok TS2 Satellite Technologies phone +48 22 630 70 70 fax +48 22 630 70 71 http://www.ts2.pl
Military Seeks $1.3 Billion For Projects in Afghanistan
Relevance Score: 3.056 2009-10-18 11:13:57
While the Obama administration weighs whether to send additional troops to Afghanistan, the U.S. military is spending billions of dollars on construction projects to ensure the country's infrastructure can support American and coalition personnel in 2010 and years beyond. The military has already spent roughly $2.7 billion on construction over the past three fiscal years. Now, if its request is approved as part of the fiscal 2010 defense appropriations bill, it would spend another $1.3 billion on more than 100 projects at 40 sites across the country, according to a Senate report on the legislation. At the main U.S. base in Afghanistan, Bagram, the military is planning to build a $30 million passenger terminal and adjacent cargo facility to handle the flow of troops, many of whom arrive at the base north of Kabul before moving onto other sites. Under the proposed schedule, those facilities will not be completed until late 2010 and go into operation early in 2011, according to military sources. Officials say such projects are absolutely essential given the inadequate and dilapidated nature of the existing infrastructure. Bagram is far from the only U.S. base being upgraded. The military is also spending hundreds of millions of dollars constructing facilities for the Afghan army and police. The U.S.-led coalition recently announced the opening of a $68 million, U.S.-financed forward operating base near Farah, in the western part of the country bordering on Iran. The base will house 2,000 Afghan soldiers and an American mentoring team. Such bases can take a long time to build. The original solicitation for contractors on the Farah garrison project was dated Dec. 29, 2007. A proposal for an additional phase was offered in March 2008, and 18 months later, almost two years after it was first solicited, the garrison at Farah was opened. Col. Thomas E. O'Donovan, commander of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Afghanistan Engineer District, told reporters last March that his multibillion-dollar construction program is providing "underpinnings" for efforts at establishing security and stability across Afghanistan.
France opens military base in Persian Gulf
Relevance Score: 2.263 2009-05-27 11:53:23
France opened on Tuesday a permanent military base in the Persian Gulf, in a bid to bolster security in the region. The base, located in Abu Dhabi, the capital of United Arab Emirates, will be home to 400 to 500 French personnel from the Navy, Army and Air Force and will effectively control the Strait of Hormuz, which connects the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman. Up until now, only the United States has had military bases in the oil-rich region, but Persian Gulf officials have been talking about bringing in other military partners for several years as a result of declining U.S. influence among Arab countries. According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, an average of about 15 tankers carrying 16.5 to 17 million barrels of crude oil pass through the strait every day. This represents 40% of the world's seaborne oil shipments, and 20% of all world shipments. The French base will start receiving its first warships in the next few weeks, the officials said, and will also become one of the key support points for an international naval task force fighting piracy off the Somali coast. Arab experts believe that the presence of a French military base will bring about more balance in the region, boost Arab Gulf countries' deterrence against Iran and subsequently improve stability.
TS2 Satellite Technologies
Relevance Score: 2.248 2008-06-29 00:52:58
TS 2 is the prime Internet Provider for US Army soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan. Most of all active customers are Polish and US Army soldiers, but TS 2 solutions have been implemented also for private companies and organizations. TS 2' network in Iraq and Afghanistan has over 15 thousand military users of local broadband satellite connections. TS 2 specializes in providing global satellite access services. They core business is broadband access to the Internet in areas with poor telecommunications infrastructure and mobile satellite phones communication. The main medium of used transmission is a two-way satellite transfer system, which provides good access to the satellite network in even the least accessible areas. It not only provides a broadband connection but also a wide range of additional data and voice services. TS2’s satellite networks are available in Al Taqaddum Air Base, Bagram AF, Balad Base, Baquba Airfield, Brassfield-Mora, Cob Adder, Cob Speicher, Camp Al Asad Airbase, Camp Bucca Basra City, Camp Buehring, Camp Charlie Basra, Camp Eggers, Camp Fallujah, Camp Grizzly, Camp Korean Village, Camp Liberty, Camp Mejid, Camp Ramadi, Camp Slayer, Camp Stryker, Camp Taji, Camp Victory, Fob Bagram, Fob Brassfield Mora, Fob Delta Al Kut, Fob Diamondback, Fob Falcon, Fob Garryowen, Fob Gardez, Fob Ghazni, Fob Kalagush, Fob Kandahar, Fob Lagman, Fob Mchenry, Fob Marez, Fob Normandy, Fob Rustamiyah, Fob Summerall, Fob Sykes, Fob Salerno, Fob Torkham, Fob Warhorse, Fob Warrior, Herat RTC, Jallaabad Air Base, Kabul Airport, Kabul Camp Eggers, Kandahar Air Base, Lsa Anaconda Balad, Sather Air Base, Q-West Base Complex and Tallil Ab Lsa Adder. [2] TS2 delivers telecommunication services also for Police Transition Teams in following locations: West Ramadi, Warrar, Tal-Aswad, Saqlawiyah / Saqlawiah, Rutbah, Rumanah, Ramadi District HQ, Qatanna, Mulaab, Kubaisa, Khaladiah, Karmah, Jazeera, Hit, Haqlaniyah, Hamdiyah, Habbaniyah, Forsan, Ferris, East Ramadi, Barwannah, Anah, Ameriayah and Al Qaim. [3] Military customers in Iraq and Afghanistan Before end of 2007 year, the TS 2 solutions have been implemented for e.g. US Marine Corps (USMC), US Army Corps of Engineers, Australian Defence Force (ADF), Command of Polish Navy, Special Military Formation GROM, 1st Special Commando Regiment, Polish National Police, Polish National Headquarters of the State Fire Services, Border Guard (Poland), World Bank Group, Lockheed Martin Information Technology, Halliburton Energy Services, KBR, General Dynamics Information Technology, General Atomics Aeronautical Systems Inc., L-3 Communications Vertex Aerospace, US Naval Research Laboratory, ITT Corporation Aerospace / Communications Division, Technest Holdings / EOIR Technologies, North Eastern Aeronautical Company (Neany), EchoStorm Worldwide, Jorge Scientific Corporation, Erinys International, Aegis Iraq, American Heart of Poland and more others. TS2's military services are used by soldiers from 1 BCT 101 ABN DIV, 1-151 CAV HHT, 1-161st FA A-BTRY, 1-206 Field Artillery Battalion, 1-25 SBCT, 1-5 INF B Co, 1-61 CAV SQDN, 1-76 FA, 1/402nd AFSB STRYKER LNO, 1038th HCC, 10TH MTN DIV, 1710 Transpotation company, 184th Ordnance Battalion, 189 CSSB, 18th EN BDE, 1AD 2BCT / TF 1-35 AR, 1AD STB/Datapath, 1BCT, 1STB 1BCT 4ID, 1st BCT 101st Airborne Div., 1st Intel Bn P&A Co AFP, 1st PLT C Co 3-21 IN, 1st Space BDE / MNC-I, 2 BCT 1ID JSS H2, 2/25 DET 1 WPNS CO MAP 3, 2/25 Det 1 H&S Comm Plt, 201st Engineer Bn., 215th ASMC Phipps Clinic, 259 CSSB 155 ICTC, 25th Signal BN, 269 TH MP CO, 269th MP CO, 27th BCT, 3/10 MPCO, 3/4 WPNS CAAT-2, 324 NSC, 330th Military Police Detachment, 345th MI BN, 351st MP CO, 368th Finance DET 4, 370th En Co 54th En Bn, 3ACR, 3D RADIO BN, 401st AFSB MRAP, 41st Fires BDE, 455 EOG/ Spawar/ ATM, 4ID, 4SB 1BCT 4ID, 4th BAT. 101st AB, 4th BCT, 504th MP BN, 527th MP CO, 527th Military Police Company, 542nd SMC, 55th EN CO, 561 MT company, 589th BSB, 58th mp co 1st plt, 5th ANGLICO HQ Det/1st BDE, 5th EN BN, 5th Eng Bn, 6-17 CAV 1-1 ARB, 715th MP CO, 752nd OD CO, 772 Military Police Company, 776 Maintenance Co., 812th MP CO, 836th Engineer Company Sapper, 84th EN BN 643 EN CO, 84th Eng Bn 643rd En Bn, 87th Eng Co, 926th EN BDE, 937th Engineer Company, 97th Trans Det 3, A 2-20 FA, A CO 1-5 IN REGT, A TRP 1-152 CAV, A co. 4SB, A-4/320th, A-BRTY 2-44 ADA, A-CO 1-21 INF, A/2-211 AVIATION, A/CO 1/21, ACO TF 1/35 AR, ALPHA TROOP 1-152, Aco 1-153 INF, Alpha Company, B 4-320th FA, B Btry 3-4 AMD Battalion, B CO Task Force Odin, B CO. Bldg 3455/CH, B Co 1-6 IN, B Co 2-112th, B Co 2-4 GSAB, B Co. Bldg 3455 / CH, B Co. Bldg 3510 / CH, B Company 1-18 Infantry, B co 1-35AR, B co 2-6 IN, B co 563D ASB, B co. 404 ASB CAB 4ID, Bco 1-184 IN L, Bco 1-21, Bco. 2-4 GSAB CAB 4ID, Bco.404 ASB, Bravo Co. 1-184th, Bravo co. 3-159 ARB, C 1/158 fa bn, C BTRY 2-5 FA, C Btry 2-8 FA 1/25 SBCT, C Co 1-12 CAV 1CD, C Co 1-24 IN, C Co. 1/168th GSAB, C Co. 4-4 ARB, C co. 4-4 ARB CAB 4ID, C trp 1-303d Cav 81st hbct, C-Btry 1/158 FA, C/Trp 6-17 CAV, CAB 4ID, CAB 4th ID, CAFFT TAJI, CAV. 2nd PLATOON, CJTF-101 CJ3 Biometrics, CSTC-A CJ6 CSC, Co. B 146 ESB, D Co 2-27 IN/ 3rd PLT, D Co. 2-327 Inf., D. Co. 1/114th INF, D/123 AVN 6-17 CAV, Delta Company 1-151, Delta Company 1-151 Warlords, Delta Troop 7-17 CAV, E CO 3-1 AVN REGT, E Co. 1-161IN, E. CO 1-66 AR, E/FSC 1-22IN 1BCT 4ID, EOD Company 1/3, F Co. 2-10 AVN, GLS/L-3/Titan, HHB 1/6 FA, HHB 2-20 FA BN, HHC 1-24 IN, HHC 1-87 INF, HHC 2-7 CAV 4 BCT 1 CD, HHC 2/327 INF Olsen Medics, HHC 25th STB 25ID G2, HHC 3-103 AR, HHC 3/2 SCR LST, HHC 51st Signal Battalion, HHC 56 SBCT, HHC 5th Engineer Battalion, HHC 710 BSB 3BCT, HHC 783rd MP BN, HHC 84th Engineers Battalion, HHC 949 BSB, HHC BTB, HQs/ 561st MP Company, HSC 834TH ASB, JCCS-1, JTF Paladin / COIC, KAF NSE Force Protection 1 Platoon, KAIA ISAF Kabul Afghanistan, KBR B4 Services, KBR/LSI C7A McHenry, L-3 Communications Iraq, L3 Vertex Aerospace Iraq, L3/GSI, NSWLOGDET TQ US NAVY, PM BIOMETRICS FWD/BAT, TF 5-09 Canadian Forces, TF Centaur, TF Fighting, TF Phoenix, Task Force 1-6 S6, Task Force ODIN, Task Force Wings and USAF FET in FOB Salerno. [5] TS2 will provide satellite services for the Marines new bases in Afghanistan in first months of 2009 year. The government contract concerns establishing and maintaining full communication in new locations for two years for all soldiers stationed there. The USA are going to transfer 4.5 thousand Marines from Iraq to Afghanistan as early as at the beginning of 2009.
AFGHANISTAN: NATO Treads SILK For Cyber Defence
Relevance Score: 2.176 2009-12-29 11:54:06
NATO has been treading safely the Virtual Silk Highway (SILK). Named after the Great Silk Road trading route linking Asia and Europe, the cyber network was initiated in 2002 under the NATO Science for Peace and Security (SPS) Programme that NATO’s Public Diplomacy Division (NATO-PDD) is managing. “Experts are discussing plans for using the SILK-established networks for applications such as cyber defence and earthquake response,” says a report posted on NATO website. A critical role for the purpose has been assigned to VIZADA Networks of Norway and the Turkish Computer Emergency Response Team as well as the Geological Research Centre in Potsdam, Germany. The NATO C3 Agency and the Public Diplomacy Division of NATO have completed the signature process of the Letter of Agreement in support of the ‘SILK-Afghanistan’ project, another NATO report said on Dec. 21. “This is a significant step towards expanding broadband Internet connectivity for higher education throughout the provinces in Afghanistan.” While the Caucasus and Central Asia sites are migrating to terrestrial connectivity with support by the European Union, the new NATO project ‘SILK-Afghanistan’ will extend the connectivity to initially seven provinces of Afghanistan. An expansion of the SILK network to Afghanistan has brought connectivity to 15 academic and governmental institutions in Kabul and will soon incorporate universities in seven Afghan provinces. NATO has invited IT experts from Afghan universities to participate in discussions on future steps, including the formation of a new supervisory board for the expansion project ‘SILK-Afghanistan’, says the report. NATO-PDD, through its Science for Peace and Security Programme, is assisting the Afghan authorities in paving the way for developing their educational system. In early 2009 NATO-PDD tasked the NATO Consultation, Command and Control Agency (NC3A) to prepare an Invitation For Bids to the Industry for expanding Internet connectivity for universities and higher education institutes in Afghanistan. The signature of the Letter of Agreement between NC3A and NATO-PDD concludes the tender process which took place in spring/summer 2009 and authorizes the ‘SILK-Afghanistan’ project to be run for three years. NC3A will act as Procurement Agent and manage the new contract with the selected service provider to maximize the potential of the “SILK-Afghanistan” project for universities in Afghanistan, the NATO official website reported. "NC3A is committed to support NATO’s Comprehensive Approach through Information and Communications Technologies. The SILK-Afghanistan project is a good example of how far NATO members could go together -- International Staff, NC3A, Industry and Nations -- and benefit from cooperation initiatives. We are looking forward to successfully achieving the full operational capability for this academic network and to supporting other projects bringing stability to Afghanistan and empowering Afghani people to improve their lives", declared Velizar Shalamanov, NC3A Directorate Support Account (DSA) NATO Nations (NN). Seven universities have been identified as the first beneficiaries of this expansion project: Bamiyan, Herat, Jalalabad, Kandahar, Khost, Mazar-e-Sharif and Sheberghan, in addition to the already serviced Kabul University and the Government Media and Information Centre in Kabul, enabling them to access the public Internet network and the GEANT network (multi-Gigabit Pan-European data communications network) dedicated to use in research and education. The selected provider, VIZADA Networks in Norway, will ensure connectivity to the nine sites via satellite resources. VIZADA will install satellite ground terminals at each site. Traffic will be anchored at VIZADA’s teleport in Bratislava, Slovakia and will connect from there to the European network. As the project comes to an end in June 2010, discussions have been under way for the transfer of connectivity in Central Asia on July 1 next year to the Central Asian Research and Educational Network (CAREN) project, supported by the European Commission (EC). The EC’s Black Sea Interconnection (BSI) project has already taken over from the SILK project in the Caucasus, where connectivity provision has been switched from satellite to fibre. Under the Declaration by NATO and the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan to maximize the potential of the Virtual Silk Highway, the NATO Public Diplomacy Division (PDD) Science for Peace and Security (SPS) programme is assisting the Afghan authorities in paving the way for developing their educational system. In 2008, the NATO-PDD SPS programme connected all 14 faculties of Kabul University and the Ministry of Higher Education to a campus network, as well as setting up a video teleconferencing facility. Work is in progress to provide high-speed Internet access through the Virtual Silk Highway to other higher education institutions in Kabul, including the National Military Academy of Afghanistan. In March 2008, the NATO Consultation, Command and Control Agency (NC3A) was tasked by NATO-PDD SPS to conduct a feasibility study on the potential provision of internet connectivity for universities outside of Kabul. The tender process for this expanded SILK project is currently underway, and implementation could start end 2009.
Maneuver Battle Lab tests new mortar system
Relevance Score: 2.141 2009-12-29 12:28:48
The Army wants to decrease the weight Soldiers carry on missions, and Fort Benning's Maneuver Battle Lab is part of the effort. Last week, 10 Soldiers evaluated a lightweight base plate being developed for the M224 Lightweight Company Mortar System during a series of live-fire, static and movement exercises at McKenna Urban Operations Complex, Fergusson and Buckner ranges. The current M8 base plate limits the direction and distance a mortar can be fired, said Rusty Schulten, a project officer for MBL's Soldier Team, and Soldiers still have to carry the M7 base plate - weighing more than 14 pounds - in order to fire in any direction and at maximum range. "The new base plate will reduce the need to carry both during offensive operations when there may be a need to fire beyond hand-held range," Schulten said. "(It) can support firing at maximum range, which could eliminate the need to carry the M7 base plate, significantly decreasing the weight of the Soldiers' total equipment load." Factoring in the cannon and bipod, the current 60mm M224 mortar system weighs 46 pounds. The M8 X is 4.8 pounds, so the goal is to get the entire package down to about 33 pounds, said Alex Wright, mortar projects officer for the Soldier Requirements Division. The Army is trying to reduce weight and improve performance on all mortar systems, said Chris Therkorn, who works at the program manager's office for mortars in Picatinny Arsenal, N.J. After using both the old and new base plates, the Soldiers, mortar instructors with 2nd Battalion, 29th Infantry Regiment, provided feedback to the Maneuver Battle Lab. Even if the M8 X is ultimately fielded, the Army will continue to use the M7 base plate for all sustained operations, Schulten said.
70 Mbps of satellite broadband services for Troops in Afghanistan
Relevance Score: 1.822 2009-06-29 00:42:42
SES AMERICOM-NEW SKIES has announced that IoGlobal has signed a multiyear agreement to create a new DVB IP platform on the NSS-11 satellite to keep NATO troops in Afghanistan connected with friends and family back home. New Asia 9 platform on the China beam of SES AMERICOM-NEW SKIES' NSS-11 satellite provides more than 70 Mbps of satellite-delivered streaming voice, data and video services to soldiers stationed in and around Kabul, Afghanistan. The solution expands on the growing, long-term relationship between IoGlobal and SES AMERICOM-NEW SKIES across three satellites and delivers a broad offering of mission-critical satellite-based services ranging from broadband to video streaming into the South Asian region. "This latest agreement between IoGlobal and SES AMERICOM-NEW SKIES reinforces our service commitment to the Middle East and regions around the world, as the two companies deliver multiple SCPC, VSAT and DVB service platforms over our NSS-703, NSS-6, and NSS-11 spacecraft," said Deepak Mathur, Vice President of South Asia and the Middle East for SES AMERICOM-NEW SKIES.
Running Out of Options, Afghans Decide To Leave Home.
Relevance Score: 1.719 2009-07-10 22:06:03
KABUL, Afghanistan — Through twenty years of war, Abdul Ahad never considered leaving Afghanistan. But as his country started to deteriorate rapidly in 2007, so did his life. He was laid off from his full-time driving job and forced to take the only work he could find: a once-a-week driving gig through Taliban territory. On a recent day at the Kabul airport, 30 young deportees from England returned home for the first time in several years. A 20-year-old man expressed no regrets and vowed to try again. In the past eight months, a suicide bomb and a firefight nearly took killed him. Now, Mr. Ahad, 26, has had enough. He has begun scouting potential smugglers to take him to Europe, he said, looking to join the surge of young Afghans who are leaving their country, frustrated by endless war, a lack of prospects and the slow pace of change. While foreign diplomats hold out hope that the August presidential elections and President Obama’s new troop deployments could change things here, Afghans are voting with their feet. Last year about 18,000 Afghans applied for asylum in Europe, a figure nearly double the 2007 total. The spike was the highest increase for any major country in 2008, according to the United Nations. By comparison, applications from Iraqis fell 10 percent. “People can’t find jobs here,” Mr. Ahad said. “And if you go to a place where there’s work, you’ll be killed in a week. “I’m desperate,” he added. “It’s not a big dream. I just want to finish my studies and live normally.” Willing to gamble on the risks, young men like him are turning over their savings — up to $25,000 in some cases — and their lives to smugglers, who arrange routes over seas to Australia or over land to Europe, where the Afghans then try to seek asylum. Finding a smuggler is not as difficult as it might seem. In interviews in the capital, Kabul, several smugglers, all of whom requested anonymity because their work is illegal, estimated that business was up 60 percent over last year. One said he was turning away customers for the first time in his 11-year career. “It’s out of my power to deal with the demand,” he said. “I never imagined it would get like this.” The country’s dire situation has even prompted some privileged Afghans to leave. They include the host of “Afghan Star,” an “American Idol”-style television series, who disappeared after a documentary based on the show won two awards at the Sundance Film Festival; as well as a media officer who worked for President Hamid Karzai and deserted his delegation during an official visit to the United States in September. Just a few years ago optimism abounded here, as the American-led invasion seemed to have ousted the Taliban, and wooed more than 3.5 million Afghan refugees back home while setting off a series of promising reconstruction projects. But since 2006, waves of Afghans have fled the Taliban resurgence, endemic corruption and the government’s inability to provide basic services like electricity. They are turning up in perilous waters near Australia, in Turkish prisons, at Rome’s main railway station and in Le Petit Kabul in Paris, or Little Kabul. In Calais, France, an immigration detention complex dubbed the Jungle is keeping about 600 Afghans in conditions that are “very, very bad compared to two years ago,” said Jean-Philippe Chauzy of the International Organization for Migration, an intergovernmental agency based in Geneva, who visited the camp in May. French officials have vowed to close the center by the end of 2009. Migration officials and recent deportees said many other Afghans abroad just disappear, are sexually exploited by truck drivers or are forced into labor. Applications for asylum often fail, too. “It’s death or destination,” said Shuja Halimi, who expressed no regrets after he was deported back to Afghanistan from the United Kingdom, after a two-month journey across 12 countries, including Bulgaria, where he says he eluded gunfire at the border. He said living conditions in Europe were awful “but not as bad as Afghanistan.” Now in Kabul, Mr. Halimi, who has three children, has not found a job. “We’ve got a president called Hamid Karzai who has done nothing for Afghan people,” he said, echoing the sentiment of many young Afghans. On a recent day at the Kabul airport, 30 young deportees from England returned home for the first time in several years. Equipped with only a plaid canvas bag, Akbar Khan, 20, vowed to try again. “We’ll try to go back in about a month after we save some money,” he said. In an attempt to curb the migration, the International Organization for Migration ran a media campaign here warning against the hazards of smuggling. The Italian government, which noted a 202 percent rise in Afghan asylum applications last year, financed the initiative. Pakistan and other neighboring countries historically offered Afghans refuge during crises like the Soviet occupation. But today Pakistan faces an internal refugee crisis of its own. Iran, too, is cracking down, now deeming the Afghans economic migrants rather than victims of war and deporting about 700,000 last year. As other avenues close, Afghans are now engaged in “what has become an intercontinental migration,” said Mr. Chauzy of the International Office of Migration. The most common route out for Afghans, then, is by road — from Iran via Turkey to Greece — and costs around $16,000, the smugglers said. They said that for about $25,000, they could guarantee an air journey eased by forged documents or prepaid bribes to immigration officials. Once in Europe, Afghans apply for asylum most often in the United Kingdom, Turkey, Greece and Italy. Scandinavian countries and Switzerland receive far fewer applicants but accept a significantly higher rate of Afghans, according to data from the European Commission. Migration experts say the widening and tight-knit Afghan diaspora in Europe has encouraged the trend, anchoring new arrivals and providing increasingly sophisticated advice on the asylum process. European officials trying to curb illegal migration have broken up several high-profile smuggling operations recently. In June, British officials convicted an Afghan man calling himself “the smuggler of Europe,” who claimed his multimillion-dollar operation served thousands of young men, according to phone conversations recorded by authorities. Some men were forced to work at a chain of pizza restaurants to pay off their debt. But officials in Afghanistan have been slower to crack down on smugglers. One smuggler chuckled when asked if he feared being arrested, saying his business operated much like a travel agency, and almost as openly. “In this government, three things work very well: relations, money and acquaintances,” the smuggler said. “When these three exist, anyone can get what they want.” Noor Haidiri, an adviser to the Minister of Refugees, placed some of the blame on Afghanistan’s regional neighbors. Many Afghans, he said, leave legally and hire smugglers in Iran or Dubai. As for the networks that exist here, he said, “only five years ago we had our first elected government, and it goes slowly.” But many Afghan youths feel that, given the danger in the country, legality is a secondary concern. “I love this country, but it’s totally going in the wrong direction,” said a teary-eyed 26-year-old man, who did not want to give his name because he was planning to leave. “I want to live like a normal person: wake up, go to work, and be with a wife — or a girlfriend, preferably.”