An Cosantóir

An Cosantóir May 2014 www.dfmagazine.ie 10 | Military Media Round Up "Abbreviation of military phrases is to become a thing of the past, it has been revealed. 'We are finding such phrases are causing significant confu- sion among those joining us from the civilian world. Over the next 18 months we will be working to halt acronym use across all Army formations, with the clear exception of unit titles.' Spot checks will then take place alongside military annual training tests to ensure abbreviations are no longer used, with a full ban coming into force in 2016." Soldier, April, 2014. "2013 AUSA Show Report: The Sikorsky Raider is configured to the same X2 technol- ogy design that will be used by the Defiant. The rigid co-axial rotor design allows the Raider to achieve flight speeds of up to 250kts – roughly twice that of other helicopters – while still maintaining high manoeuvrability. It has one-third the turn radius of a conventional helicopter and is able to execute 3G turns at high speeds." Military technology, Issue 3, 2014. Photo: www.army-technology.com "Maximum Lethality in Urban Operations: ST Kinetics unveiled two new combat rifles that are designed for compactness, minimum weight and full ambidextrous operations in a highly configu- rable multirole package. The STK BMCR (Bullpup Multirole Combat Rifle) and STK CMCR (Conven- tional Multirole Combat Rifle) possess multirole flexibility for assault, marksman/sharp shooter and supressive roles.The STK BMCR (pictured) is designed to be the shortest bullpup design in the world." Military technology, Issue 3, 2014. Photo: www.flickr.com/photos/cks2k2/ "Twisting Thunder 2014 barreled onto Marine Corps Logistics Base Albany, April 1, leaving 28 simulated fatalities, two collapsed struc- tures, trapped victims, a host of injuries and displaced families. "The two-day exercise tested the procedures, plans and policies in place in the event of a tornado on the installation as well as the coordination between partnering agencies," Marvin Thomas, chemical biological radiological nuclear explosives protection of- ficer, Mission Assurance Branch, MCLB Albany, said the goal was to return MCLB Albany to pre-incident operating conditions." www.marines.mil, April 2014 "2013 AUSA Show Report: The Colt booth was centred around two technology dem- onstrators, titled Sniper Weapon & Observer Reconnaissance Devices (SWORD)... The addition of data connectivity to a load carriage vest through a unique single point sling. Network connectivity includes the Android smartphone attached to the rifle, as well as a tablet for the spotter. A camera attached to the riflescope allows the shooter to upload photos of potential targets in real time to other users on the network." Military technology, Issue 3, 2014. Photo: www.defensereview.com "Reserve soldiers from the London Regiment will become the first to deploy as a whole platoon fully integrated with a regular unit. Around 50 mem- bers of the formation have embarked on a six-month tour in Cyprus alongside 1st Battalion, The Irish Guards." Soldier, April, 2014. "A highlight of the search for missing Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 has been the level of international co-operation which has brought together the navies of Australia, China, United Kingdom and Malaysia in a common cause. The co-operation between navies presented an opportunity for People's Liberation Army- Navy (PLA-N) Liaison Officer, Commander Lin Wan, to embark in the Royal Australian Navy's HMAS Success from the destroy- er Haikou (DDG-171) early on the morning of 9 April 2014. Com- mander Wan is the first PLA-N officer to operate at the tactical level with the Royal Australian Navy by embarking in a Fleet unit during an operation." www.news.navy.gov.au/en/ Apr2014 "The government is becoming increasingly concerned that hu- man rights laws are hindering military operations, the Defence Secretary has hinted.... (he) said new legislation could be intro- duced to protect soldiers from civil litigation. 'We are clear that once we commit our military to combat, they must be able to carry out missions without constant fear of review in the civil courts.' The MoD faced 5,827 claims in 2012/13, with lawsuits costing the department some £36 million a year." Soldier, April, 2014

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