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Well, I blew that link

I believe it was the MCMSMO (MARINE CORPS MODELING AND SIMULATION MANAGEMENT OFFICE).
and for some background: Marine Doom.

Granted, it's been a while since I was a sp00k for Uncle Sam, but when I worked with the DISA systems, they all ran Solaris on Sparc hardware. The next giant leap for DoD will be to standardize on Linux for their other desktop systems and implement StarOffice or OpenOffice for compatibility across the board. When I worked on the non-secret squirrel projects, they couldn't decide on a standard office software package. Some shops used AmiPro, some used Wordperfect, etc. It varied across the board.

Let's not forget the Tier II Predator , one of the most sophisticated pieces of technology in the USAF. Sitting in the air-conditioned offices of the 11th Reconnaissance Squadron at Nellis Air Force Base, flying a recon mission via satellite linkup half-way around the word. I guess it's a living.

Nothing against the jarheads-- I mean the USMC. You guys are great, and I'll stand behind you 100% in a fight.

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The Marine Corps and Navy are about to embark on an new project called Navy-Marine Corps Intranet (NMCI). Actually the Navy began last year, and the Marine Corps will follow in Fall 2002. Under this agreement, which is with EDS, Microsoft, Dell, and Yap!, we will buy EVERYTHING as a service. It is a 5 year contract (with, I believe a 2 or 3 year possible extension).

Here's how it will work: First, we will sell the NMCI vendors all of our existing infrastructure. PC's, printers, routers, cabling, etc. Then they will sell us "seats". Each seat will come with 2 accounts, i.e. 68,000 seats equals 136,000 possible users. Each seat will include a PC with an OS, all applications needed (in theory), network access, 1 printer per 20 seats, and support (guaranteed problem resolution in 48 hours). They will provide everything, once again, in theory. We will get it all by paying them a monthly fee per seat. Now, I can't get into my personal opinion of the project, but this is important insight into where the market is going. Entities will pay a subscribtion fee and will get their entire computing infrastructure. Of course they will pay more, but all the headaches are out of their hands and they can fine the vendors for any problems. For more information on NMCI, I suggest you visit the MARCORSYSCOM website on NMCI.

Pay attention, because this is the way the government and corporate America is beginning to view future computing policy. We will probably begin to see a large shift in employment of computer types away from large organizations and towards the vendors who want to provide this level of support.

The scale runs from 1 to 9. A few entries:

• 1. Over 9M resolution.
  Distinguish taxiways from runways at large airports. Recognize seaports.
• ...
• 6. 0.40 to 0.75M resolution:
  Distinguish between models of small/medium helicopters (e.g., HELIX A from HELIX B from HELIX C, HIND D from HIND E, HAZE A from HAZE B from HAZE C).
  Identify the shape of antennas on EW/GCI/ACQ radars as parabolic, parabolic with clipped corners or rectangular.
  Identify the spare tire on a medium-sized truck.
  Distinguish between SA-6, SA-ll, and SA-17 missile airframes.
  Identify individual launcher covers (8) of vertically launched SA-N-6 on SLAVA-class vessels. Identify automobiles as sedans or station wagons.
• 7. 0.25 to 0.40M resolution:
  Identify fitments and fairings on a fighter-sized aircraft (e.g., FULCRUM, FOXHOUND).
  Identify ports, ladders, and vents on electronics vans.
  Detect the mount for antitank guided missiles (e.g., SAGGER on BMP-1).
  Detect details of the silo door hinging mechanism on Type III-F, III-G, and II-H launch silos and Type III-X launch control silos.
  Identify the individual tubes of the RBU on KIROV-, KARA-, and KRIVAK-class vessels.
  Identify individual rail ties.

As you can see, at 0.5M resolution, most of the intel a military force really needs can be extracted. The examples at level 7 are interesting, however.

It's embarassing, because the AvroCar in the 1950s used the same idea and actually flew. But it wasn't stable. The AvroCar guys knew they needed automatic stability augmentation, but early 1950s control technology wasn't up to doing that. The stability problem should be solveable today, but the fundamental inefficiency problem of pure-thrust VTOL craft remains.

There was lots of enthusiasm for vertical takeoff craft in the 1950s, and quite a few flyable prototypes, some very wierd, were built. Many of them ended up in the Hiller Aviation Museum.

Other than helicopters, the only VTOLs made in any quantity were the Harrier and the Osprey, both of which are used by the USMC. Both operate as pure-thrust aircraft only for takeoff and landing; they're ordinary winged aircraft in cruise.

Gunpowder!

There is a famous study, Men Against Fire by S.L.A. Marshall, that showed that only a small proportion (~20%) of U.S. soldiers in combat situations in World War II, actively used their weapons. That suggests that killing the enemy is not instinctive for most people, even during a war.