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Soldiers Call for Engineering Tech Support

Posted by michael on from the you-break-it-you-bought-it dept.

chuckfucter writes "Wired news writes that soldiers in the battlefield now have their own army of geek advisers whom they can contact whenever they need technical support. The stakes are much higher here, with troops asking about the structural integrity of bridges, roads, dams and airfields: Can this structure be safely used after sustaining damage from bombings?"

30 of 314 comments (clear)

  1. Responses by metlin · · Score: 2, Insightful

    And if it is on the field, the responses would need to be realtime, too.

    It may make the difference between life and death.

  2. it makes sence by dns_server · · Score: 2, Insightful

    This doesn't suprise me, with all the money being spend on the army, it makes an awful lof of sence to give the army all the tools they need. the better prepared the army, the better they can protect us.

    1. Re:it makes sence by BiggerIsBetter · · Score: 3, Insightful

      Protect you from who? It's the rest of the world that's worried about the US, not the other way around. It certainly makes sense to have better information on a battlefield, but surely it's more about reducing casualties - especially "friendly fire" on both your own and allied troops.

      --
      Forget thrust, drag, lift and weight. Airplanes fly because of money.
    2. Re:it makes sence by zakezuke · · Score: 2, Insightful

      This doesn't suprise me, with all the money being spend on the army, it makes an awful lof of sence to give the army all the tools they need. the better prepared the army, the better they can protect us.

      They are not protecting us the US. There is an old rule of thumb as far as military spending is concerned about keeping enough assets to fight 2.5 wars. This way when we go out and police the world we don't leave our nation undefended. Keep in mind two large northern and southern land borders, and two large coasts. Well during the lovely Gulf war this rule was changed to a guide line, one which has long since been crossed. At present the function of the military is not to defend us, it's off elsewhere fighting terror with terror. There hasn't been a terrorist attack since 9/11, and like a moron swatting hornet's nest chances are this will change.

      The Army should be there to protect us.
      The Army is out playing world police.

      --
      There is no sanctuary. There is no sanctuary. SHUT UP! There is no shut up. There is no shut up.
    3. Re:it makes sence by Corporate+Troll · · Score: 5, Insightful
      Keep in mind two large northern and southern land borders, and two large coasts.

      Yeah, sure.... the Canadians and Mexicans were just waiting for you to lower your defenses in order to conquer, plunder and rape defenseless Americans... Americans who are unarmed by definition, after all they don't have right to bear arms to form militia.

      The two large coasts? You need an industrialized nation in order to attack those (airplanes/warships). China could *perhaps* do that. Europe is out of the question: we barely have enough military to defend ourself if anyone would like to invade us.
      Besides, the US under attack would immediately recall all troups in Iraq. Be damned civil war in Iraq if you've got bigger problems at home.

    4. Re:it makes sence by MemoryDragon · · Score: 4, Insightful

      The funny thing is even if Europe had the ressources to fight sever offensive wars, it in its current state would not, the people are fed up with war and have been fed up with it since WW2 (you need severe reasons to drag the average European into a war, he/she would feel would be justified, Iraq was the classical example of not how to do it).

      On the other hand, Europe is a good buffer zone for the US and always was. Europeans prolly would start to fight tough once they are attacked. Europe in its current state should not be underestimated as a defensive force but as an offencive, forget it. The mentality of the people is not like that.
      Even if there are lots of problems with the transatlantic relations (most are caused by the idiotic Bush government) Europe still is the best ally the US can have against an atlantic coastal attack, most attackers who would try it that way, would get stuck way before, with around 500-800 million people working actively or passively against them und ultimately being stuck in Europe with an unresolvable resistance situation.

      But having Europe attacking the US, there is no way, even if the US was unable to defend itself. Despite all the shoutings and problems, no western European even would get the idea, to attack the "brothers" in the US, although the younger brother currently has a big problem :-) .

    5. Re:it makes sence by stephanruby · · Score: 2, Insightful
      "Does anyone in Europe worry about the suffering *without* formal declaration of war in Sudan, NK, much of Africa etc etc? Most of Afghnistan isn't worrying about the US anymore and that must chap your ass. "

      Actually, a much larger proportion of Europeans are aware of those "conflicts" as opposed to the numbers of Americans that are aware of its own government's involvement abroad. If you were to ask most Americans what the Bush administration has recently done in Venezuela, Haiti, and the Ivory Coast, the overwhelming majority of Americans simply wouldn't be able to tell you.

      In any case, what you're setting up here is a straw man's argument. The original poster didn't even mention Europe. You're putting arguments in his mouth he hasn't even made. I guess you must be proud of yourself, it must be soooo challenging to win arguments against yourself.

  3. Doesn't really belong in "IT"... by nz_mincemeat · · Score: 2, Insightful

    The article states clearly that the support is for engineering type problems.

    Article?!? Wait a minute, this is slashdot after all...

  4. ACE. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

    "Wired news writes that soldiers in the battlefield now have their own army of geek advisers whom they can contact whenever they need technical support. "

    Ummm, wouldn't that be the Army Corp. of Engineers?

  5. Yup this makes sense... NOT! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Insightful

    So has anyone ever seen how long it takes to get a building checked out by a civil engineer and now your telling me people are going to do it over the phone whithout even seeing the damage to the beams?

  6. Uhh... by JNighthawk · · Score: 2, Insightful

    The world wide left? How about the world wide non-mentally handicapped? Clinton gets a BJ in office and they try to impeach him. At worst, an intern got a lifelong stigma. Bush lied about WMDs in Iraq, leading to the deaths of thousands of US Soldiers and innocent Iraqis and he gets re-elected?

    WHAT THE FUCK?!

    --
    Wheel in the sky keeps on turnin'.
    1. Re:Uhh... by mr_snarf · · Score: 2, Insightful

      Yes, but lets not go calling the US stupid. The election was fairly close (well, not as close as the last election, so thats a bit odd) so its not like everyone in the US voted for bush.

      And those who voted for bush might not be stupid, or even poorly educated. Lets look at an analogy:

      You are stuck in room with no door and the only way you can observe the outside world is through a tv screen. You have no control over whats displayed on the tv screen. Sure, you might be skeptical, and not believe everything you see on it at first. However, having nothing to compare it to, you may eventually start believing it. After all, whos to say its wrong? The tv keeps saying its independant.

      Ok, pretty stupid analogy which is obvious, but its not always the people's fault. Sure they could go and find some other source of information, but...ok, maybe it is partially their fault :P But...Hrmm, I'm running out of reasons to excuse the US population of immiment world destruction.

      Anyway, I didn't vote. I wasn't allowed to. I couldn't find any information about where to vote in my entire state! (Australia, it is a state of the US right?)

      --
      printf("Goodbye cruel world!\b\b\b\b\b\b\b\b\b\b\b\b\b\b\b\b\b\b\b\b");
    2. Re:Uhh... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Insightful

      Bush lied about WMDs in Iraq

      And you call us mentally handicapped? How can you possibly still believe that?

      Tell Mr. Moore that your brain needs dried since it's had a good washing. If your pal Clinton would've took Osama when Sudan offered him to us we wouldn't be in this mess anyway. It's as sad day when people believe freedom is not worth fighting for.

    3. Re:Uhh... by zakezuke · · Score: 2, Insightful

      The world wide left? How about the world wide non-mentally handicapped? Clinton gets a BJ in office and they try to impeach him. At worst, an intern got a lifelong stigma. Bush lied about WMDs in Iraq, leading to the deaths of thousands of US Soldiers and innocent Iraqis and he gets re-elected?

      It wasn't about the BJ, it was about taking an oath on a bible and saying "I never had sex with that woman". In principle I agree with you, but keep in mind that Kerry lost because of Christian morals. In other words, don't dare lie about a BJ on a bible in America or you'll get burned like a witch.

      Bush lied about WMDs in Iraq, leading to the deaths of thousands of US Soldiers and innocent Iraqis and he gets re-elected?

      Again in principle I agree with you. Imagine trying to find some equipment buried in a place the size of Texas. While I believe Bush flat out lied to the world about the whole Iraq situation it's such a lie that would be difficult to prove either way. These are the best lies as by the time you find out the truth you someone else is in office. So far they have not found any WMDs, but they have found a few 747s. This has got to be a fun job.

      --
      There is no sanctuary. There is no sanctuary. SHUT UP! There is no shut up. There is no shut up.
  7. I wanna hear about the REAL IT work by Travoltus · · Score: 3, Insightful

    such as what they're doing in the areas of signal security and preventing interceptions/jamming of transmissions on the battlefield. How do they authenticate who's talking to who? How do they keep the enemy from listening in?

    --
    --- Grow a pair, liberals... stop letting the Republicans bully you!
  8. Re:Oh Goodie by krymsin01 · · Score: 2, Insightful

    Over how many years?

    America killed at least 100,000 in 2 years. I'd be willing to say America has the higher rate of killing Iraqi civillians.

    Yeah, that's called PROGRESS!

    --
    stuff
  9. Re:Outsourcing IS actually possible by Bastian · · Score: 5, Insightful

    If we're talking small government in terms of decreased spending, then Halliburton is a terrible example. I fail to see how handing a cost-plus contract to a company without any bidding process whatsoever is a good way to save money. It may sound good in theory, but in practise I imagine that it's a lot like giving some random guy a blank check to go get you some beer instead of walking to the store yourself.

  10. Re:Oh Goodie by AKAImBatman · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Over how many years?

    Who gives a damn? The guy used nerve gas on his own city, pushed little kids out of helicopters, randomly terrorized his people with the police force, turned a blind eye to his kids raping women, and a lot of other crap that the body count just doesn't do justice to!

    America killed at least 100,000 in 2 years. I'd be willing to say America has the higher rate of killing Iraqi civillians.

    Listen up, you sanctimonious son of a bitch: The US troops aren't killing people. The remnants of Saddam's forces are. Just like they've done for the last two DECADES. Only now, assholes like you blame it on people like my brother who are PROTECTING people over there. He nearly lost his life protecting Iraqis on MANY occasions. And you know what? The IRAQIS are THANKFUL he's there. In fact, civilian support is one of the few things that keeps him alive.

    So get off your GODDAMN high horse, and recognize that the US has actually DONE A GOOD THING. You can argue with the reasons for starting the war, but don't you DARE blame deaths caused by Saddam's regime on our troops.

    Ok moderators, I've said my peace. Do your worst. :-/

    --
    Javascript + Nintendo DSi = DSiCade
  11. Hmm by pmc255 · · Score: 1, Insightful

    Rather than have these "geek consultants" off site and ready for call-in support, why not just train soldiers with engineering backgrounds? I think a geek with technical prowess coupled with decent physical training under his/her belt would r0x0r anyone's b0x0rs :D

    1. Re:Hmm by t_allardyce · · Score: 2, Insightful

      Hands up all geeks who would like to leave their well-earning tech job, friends, family, girlfriend/wife, Quake and decent INTERNET connection to go work in a random country with no re-spawn points, a crappy salary and bullets flying at you from both sides?

      "You will give your rifle a girls name, because this is the only pussy you are gonna get!"

      --
      This comment does not represent the views or opinions of the user.
  12. Re:Oh Goodie by superpulpsicle · · Score: 2, Insightful

    You know I see posts like this EVERY DAY. The guy on the other side of the spectrum who is saying "US troops don't belong" are actually doing your brother a favor.

    The more heroic you make the troops, the more righteous it becomes for the administration to send more people down there. It's just better to tell them all they don't belong, so they can all come home.

    If you think there will be less terrorists when U.S troops leave the region, you are crazy. We all respect the troops no doubt. But let's face it, we just made 10x more enemies.

  13. good angle by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Insightful

    Nice to see that Slashdot found the cool geek angle to the wholesale murder of civilians. But will the apache helicopters bombing faluja be running linux? Well done nerds.

  14. Re:Oh Goodie by Dionysus · · Score: 2, Insightful

    Who gives a damn? The guy used nerve gas on his own city, pushed little kids out of helicopters, randomly terrorized his people with the police force, turned a blind eye to his kids raping women, and a lot of other crap that the body count just doesn't do justice to!

    And all that was OK as long as Saddam was Washington's little puppetman. As soon as the puppet didn't follow its master, then suddenly he became the most evil man after Hitler.

    --
    Je ne parle pas francais.
  15. Re:Open Source and Military abuse! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Insightful

    Well, your work could be used by ANYONE for nefarious purposes, and you'll never know about it. Does it matter if it's the US Army, or Osama Bin Laden, or some drug cartel in Colombia, an organized crime ring in Italy or Russia, any government entity to help oppress and control its citizens, etc.?

    If it means anything to you, there is at least one Congressional Medal of Honor recipient who was a Conscientious Objector, and served the military as a field medic. At some level he decided that helping his fellow soldiers live to go home was of some merit, as long as he wasn't actually pulling the trigger.

  16. Re:It's called AWACS by kfg · · Score: 2, Insightful

    We have these "tools" as our bargaining chips. "I'll see your nuclear program and raise you certain death if you fail to meet our demands of disarmament. Worse, we'll capture you and parade you before the world, and then hold a trial where you are convicted and executed. You can drop out of this game now, or you can try to raise the bet, or you can call."

    Carthago delenda est.

    KFG

  17. Re:Open Source and Military abuse! by rale,+the · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Is this a joke? If you don't want a piece of code you wrote to be used in a certain way, then license it in a way that takes that into consideration. Of course, at that point, its no longer "free and open", its "free unless i don't like what you're doing". If you actually submit code to larger projects, where you don't have control over the licensing, well... too damn bad. Either don't give it away for free, or live with it. Nothing is being 'abused' here, but hey, thats common sense, and your post smells more like a troll then that of a real, concerned programmer who submits to open source projects.

  18. Re:It's called AWACS by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Insightful

    Two ways to end the war: (1) Kill all terrorists. (2) Convert to Islam. Unfortunately, diplomacy is not a part of either

    You, sir, are an idiot.

    The KKK are to christianity what these 'muslim terrorists' are to islam.

    "Hang on Bubbah, that may be a black church, but it's a _christian_ black church, better not burn it".

    As for killing all the terorrists:
    Terrorists hide among the civilians
    Killing terrorists means 'collateral damage'
    Having your brother/father/mother/neighbour killed by the 'great Satan USA' is about the best recruiting tool there is for terrorists!

    You are part of the problem. Please stop.

  19. Re:It's called AWACS by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Insightful

    "Carthage must be destroyed!", ever heard of Google?

    lupus est homo homini

  20. Re:The US army by kidgenius · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Notice how as the armies of the world get more advanced and better weapons, that certain tactics that were used in the past that killed many more innocents, are no longer used. Take carpet bombing for example. How many times, during previous wars, have certain areas been bombed, with thousands of pieces of ordinance, with no regard as to where the individual bombs fell? Now, we have smart weapons that can take out one specific building, with minimal impact to the surrounding area. Yes, there are times that the intelligence is incorrect and the wrong building is targeted, and innocents die. BUT, there are far fewer innocents being killed nowadays, then in the days of past. Also, I would recon that more innocents have been killed by their own people (i.e. suicide bombers) than have been killed by the US military.

  21. Re:Blogs? by AKAImBatman · · Score: 3, Insightful
    I wasn't going to respond to any posts, but your request is reasonable enough. I've actually had the opposite experience of yourself, finding that most Iraqi bloggers have been positive about the war. Here's a few I was able to dig up:

    Healing Iraq

    Road of a Nation

    this is indeed important for me ,not only for me but I thing for all Iraqis and free people in the world ,I strongly support GWB ,this man I very admirer ,is a very brave man ,and he is always keeping his promises and words ,and fight evil every where ,and what he did for me and my family ,is something we will never forget ,he free us from the evil and torch of the murder ,that roles us with fire and kill .

    Iraq & Iraqi`s

    I have come back from Basra yesterday, filled with happiness about the American election result which I stayed awake all night to follow for the first time of my life.

    And also I hear the news of many other countries helping with what ever they can with rebuilding Iraq and that's not a jock or a lie, because I saw with my own eyes the warehouse where the equipments and tools and materials sent to Iraq for rebuilding it by those countries, an unbelievable stock of every thing, thousands of police cars, hundreds of army vehicles thousands of sealed containers, electricity transformers and many thing I don't know what is it and it was by a coincidence when I had to visit the warehouse for some business actually to supply them with employees with different qualifications hundreds of them with the condition that they should be Iraqis, because these countries are trying to solve unemployment problem as well. I even told my friend who was with me in that visit "if all Iraqis knew about the things stocked and happening here they will stop complaining and they will have enough patience to wait for the better days to come.

    Dear Raed

    On the long list of things that I have not seen or experienced before the fall of Saddam I can now add a new item, Eid al-Ghadeer. Happy Eid al-Ghadeer to you all.

    Iraq the Model

    It's another sad day here in Iraq..
    The terrorists have resumed their evil plans as we expected before and their bloody attack today targeted both, Iraqi civilians and American soldiers and unfortunately this is not going to end soon.
    [..]
    God bless the souls of the Iraqis and Americans who fell today and may God help their families.
    We are so sad today but we will not despair.

    Messopotamian Blog

    Congratulations to all American people and to our Iraqi people for this great outcome of the American Elections. This was a great statement by the American people; a statement showing the quality and backbone of this people and affirming their worth and qualification as world leaders. Now that this matter has been settled in satisfactory manner, in my humble opinion; we should emphasize that this is no time for division and rancor. Senator Kerry has acted in very dignified manner when he did not allow the matter to drag, and has shown his patriotism and sense of responsibility and awareness that the interests of the country at these times require national unity and putting this election campaign behind our backs to concentrate on the momentous tasks ahead. Yes at times of war and conflict, the unity of the nation and putting high

    --
    Javascript + Nintendo DSi = DSiCade