HPS Simulations, 3 New Wargames Out!

Good news from HPS Simulations, 3 new titles are out!
Please follow the links below for more details.
Screens are directly from HPS's website and used without authorization but without monetary gain. If this is a problem please comment below.

• Alexandrian Wars

• War in the Southern Front

• Dien Bien Phu

Cheers,

USMC to Open Military Academies Across the US

This morning, the Army Times published an article about the US Marine Corps leading a movement to open military academies across the country and how they are talking to civilian education district leaders to combine efforts to do so.

The Marine Corps is wooing public school districts across the country, expanding a network of military academies that has grown steadily despite criticism that it’s a recruiting ploy.

The US Marine Corps leading some innovation. Nothing new here, move on. Sometimes it appears that the USMC are they guys with the bigger fire in their feet when it comes to attitudes of change. I'm not surprised, but kudos anyway.

And then, off course, the backlash.

In DeKalb County, which includes part of Atlanta, protests by parents and threats of lawsuits began almost as soon as the school board announced last year that it planned to open a Marine Corps high school. The district wanted to open it this fall, but the approval process in Washington has delayed that. The district hopes to open the school in fall 2010.

Critics like Mike Hearington, a 56-year-old Vietnam War veteran whose son attends Shamrock Middle School in DeKalb County, say the schools are breeding grounds for the military.

“To pursue children like they are is criminal in my mind,” Hearington said.

Some degree of controversy is always good. Good debate about something new has to be a given.
But what worries me is that the the detractors are using language that reflects something beyond the mere fear of some day seeing our sons go into harms way.

"Breeding grounds for the military"? This sounds like something sinister will come out from the proposed academies. Like potential recruits. The horror!

“To pursue children like they are is criminal in my mind ...”. We indoctrinate our children in lots of things way before they can make rational decisions by their own. None of these indoctrinations are considered "criminal". Thus, if indoctrination per se is not criminal, is the word "criminal" used here implying that eventually becoming recruits and later waging the wars of our country is somehow "criminal"?

In his book "The Culture of War", van Creveld wrote:

... in today's self-styled "advanced" countries, for the culture of war to be held in such high esteem is rare. Soldiers, war gamers, collectors of militaria, and even military historians know the score. At best, their culture is seen as a quaint leftover from a previous, presumably less rational, less utilitarian, and less humane past. At worst, it is denied, put aside, ignored, ridiculed, or denounced as childish "warmongering".

The dangers of embracing opposition to anything military are only to be known when our enemies are too close to the gates of our cities.

Cheers,

Point of Attack 2 (HPS Simulations): The Ultimate War Simulation

Point of Attack 2 (PoA2) is a simulation of modern warfare by Scott Hamilton that was made for the US Air Force Office of Scientific Research. It is a turn-based, tactical level simulation featuring regular armies (US, Russia, Iran, Iraq, Syria) and irregular forces.

The level of detail of PoA2 is very deep. The screen-shot above shows a Combat Phase Report window (you will have to click the screenshot to be able to read), where every move and fire is recorded. Taking into account that this simulation is used by the US Air Force, the algorithms used to solve fire and movement must be really top-notch.

One could spend a lot of time trying to summarize all the gadgets and goodies this simulation has. Yet today I want to show you something that I have never seen in other off-the shelf simulation.
Take a look at the screenshot below (again, you will have to click the screenshot to be able to read).


The window on top shows tabs for all type of staff officers. The "Commo" (communications tab), has a detailed summary of the communication status of every unit. Yes, the simulation keeps track of communications sent back and forward, and if the comms network is saturated, the messages start to fall within the cracks. The highlighted unit in the screenshot (1st AP Section) could not send its SITREP (situation report) and as a result of that, the 1st AP Section position shown in the map will not be accurate. This is called "friendly fog of war", something in the lines of "you don't know where your forces are unless they have an effective communications means with you".

Before I end this entry, a very important clarification: PoA2 is not for everybody. This is not a "beers and pretzel" game. Indeed, I don't even think this is a game in the entertainment sense of the word. I would label PoA2 as an analytical tool to simulate warfare at a very realistic level.

Cheers,

2009 Joint Services Open House: Assorted Images (Part 2)

Some more images from the event.

The cockpit of an F/A18

This close-up of the cockpit didn't work out very well ...

Awesome bird ...

The F/A 18 from where you can admire it at all its splendor

The HUD of a USMC's Super-Cobra attack helicopter

Next year I promise I will get a better camera! :)

Cheers,

DCS Black Shark Review by RAES Includes Comments by Ed Macy

In its latest Aerospace International issue, the Royal Aeronautical Society has published a review of DCS Black Shark (link downloads a pdf file).

Ed Macy, the attack helicopter pilot and author of "Apache", has been consulted for this review and his comments are basically a big thumbs up for the flight simulator.

Mr. Macy commented on the Ka-50 pilots' high workload, and the dangers of target fixation. His expert advice includes also tips for how to use the Ka-50 in air-to-air combat. He also praised the mission editor's flexibility. About scenario editing, his comment on how to add an RPG ambush in an scenario caught my attention. Accoring to him, the RPGer should pop up when the helicopter steps within 1,000 meters. This scenario-editing trick has been scolded many times before, but I always felt it was right. Ambushes are not supposed to be seen until they fire at you.

The following comment by Mr. Macy really made my day:

"I would recommend the Army buy a few copies of this and study it and learn its weaknesses"

DCS Black Shark is a product that warrants praise and recommendation as a study tool from a professional attack helicopter pilot.

On a side note, Ed Macy is a member of the official DCS Black Shark forums. I am looking forward to read more of his expert opinion on how the Ka-50 should be used in different combat situations.

Cheers,

Armed Assault 2 (Arma 2): The German Version is Out

People in Germany have already started receiving their Armed Assault 2 (ArmA 2) DVD copies.

Arma 2 (German version) is also available for download from this webstore. Cost is Eu 49.99. The release in the US is going to be on June 19th.

First impressions are being posted in dedicated forums all around the globe. The sim is receiving a big thumbs up so far. The out of the box German version of ArmA 2 had some issues. But a patch has been released to address the most serious ones.

Can't wait for the US release. I'm debating with myself about getting the German version rather than waiting until June 19th.

Marines in Chenarus. Screenshot above is from Bohemia Interactive's Press kit.

Cheers,

Counterinsurgencies, Should We Keep them "Short and Lively"?

In the last entry of his blog, Dr. Jack Kem (US Army Combined Arms Center) has a great recoup on how the armed forces of Sri Lanka had defeated the Tamil Tigers, who controlled vast regions of the country's north.

A side note: Dr. Jack's blog is listed in this page at the "blogs of interest" section. I encourage you to visit Dr. Jack's blog frequently, the information and insights there are superb. Please also check his entries on design applied to operations planning, this concept is very new to US Army doctrine.

Long story short, there was a decades-long insurgency that was defeated in a couple of years after a politically-backed strategy was put in place. The armed forces also changed tactics accordingly. Hasta la vista ... Tamil Tigers.

This is a conflict that I definitvely need to dig more into. Any pointers from the readers will be appreciated. But the speed by which this insurgency was defeated is impressive.

Frederick the Great once said that wars should be "kurz und vives" (short and lively). This is an approach the Germans have been very keen to as they ravaged Europe during the first two years of World War II. What would a "counter-insurgency blitzkrieg" look like?

Cheers,

Armed Assault 2 (Arma 2): Preview at Eurogamer.com

Armed Assault 2, the sequel of the award winning first person shooter, is close to being released (there are reports of ArmA 2 being shipped in Europe right now). This simulation engine is almost the same as the one used by VBS2, the military-grade simulation.

Eurogamer.com has a preview of this simulation.

The wait for us in the USA is on.

Cheers,

"Apache" by Ed Macy: Modern Attack-Helicopter Missions Recounted by a Real Pilot

"Apache" by Ed Macy, recounts the author's missions as an Attack Pilot of the British Army Air Corps deployed in Afghanistan.

The author has managed to write an action-packed book without compromising a military-level narrative of his missions.

At least for me, "Apache" felt somehow a miss-guiding title for this book. Certainly the attack helicopter is a very important part of the story. Yet the stories of the men flying them into battle are what makes this a superb book. The war against the Taliban is a nasty business. The sacrifices of the British forces in Afghanistan are enormous. The enemy is always elusive and merciless. The soldiers and airmen in "Apache" are portrayed at the level of deepness that only brothers in arms can get.

The climax of the book is the rescue of a Royal Marine, which went MIA in a Taliban stronghold. For this mission, Ed Macy and his flight members received the Military Cross for Bravery.

For the flight simulator enthusiast (yes, you flying DCS Black Shark), this is a must-read. Even when the helicopter is not the one you are flying in the virtual skies, you will find plenty of valuable information here. How to make a rocket-run, how to ingress to a hot area, employment of weapons, fuel economy, deconflict of indirect fires, you name it. The book also has a map section and pictures of the target areas that make following the missions even more engaging. The most detailed chapters of "Apache" are the ones where missions are recounted. These parts of the book are a detailed, button-press to button-press, narrative. It is almost like being in the cockpit with Macy.

Ed Macy has written the ultimate debriefing, the one describing his life-changing combat experience in Afghanistan.

Cheers,

Biohackers, an Imagined Threat Brought to you by the Mainstream Media

The possibility of an enemy using bio-weapons against us is no joke. There is a threat out there. How big it is I don't know.

William Lind's latest "On War" column features a commentary about amateur scientists (biohackers) having acquired an edge sharp enough that it can hurt us now or in the near future. This commentary is based on a front page story ran by the Wall Street Journal on May 12, that plainly implies bio-hackers have accumulated enough know-how to create bio-weapons.

Before I go any further, some clarifications about my background so to add more credibility to this entry. I have a Ph.D. in molecular biology. I have published in peer-reviewed journals, including a book chapter and two reviews. I've been a professional scientist, a mix of microbiologist, cell-biologist, geneticist and biochemist, for the last 15 years.

The story ran by the Wall Street Journal is a disgrace. It falsely puts science enthusiasts, with the cool name of "biohackers" at a level of know-how enough to create a bio-weapon.

Science reporting in mainstream media has gone from mediocre to just plain bad lately. I don't know what's happening. Maybe it's because the sorry state of science education? We live in a media-driven world where the image of a scientist is closer to a character from the TV series CSI than to any of the thousands of great scholars this country has produced.

Letting this story out in the front page of the WSJ without checking facts first is irresponsible. Sure, the so-called biohackers can grow bacteria and bacteriophages (virus that attack bacteria) in a makeshift incubator. Biohackers can amplify a few hundred base pairs in a thermocycler bought from EBay (the equipment at the bottom of the closet in the picture shown at the WSJ's article). Biohackers can buy a few thousand base pairs of DNA online.

So what?

Biotechnology is both expertise and capital intensive. There is no chance these enthusiasts will ever come out of their closet with an engineered organism. Even a biologist equivalent of the genius tycoon that built himself an Iron Man suit, with no shortage of money and ideas, would have trouble to do something as humble as such a bio-weapon. Scientific research is a social activity, not the lone wolf venture the WSJ is reporting about.

Mr. Editor of the Wall Street Journal: thanks for alarming and making us dumber,.

Cheers,