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DTIC: The Series Wrap-Up

Filed under Uncategorized by Julie Weckerlein on July 18, 2011 at 12:06 pm {no comments}

Did you catch our 22-part series produced by the Defense Technical Information Center? Over several months, DTIC provided weekly entries detailing their various research and information centers, explaining how each plays a role in our nation’s defense. Check out the links below to learn more.

1) The Secret is Out: Now Do You Want to Be Friends?

2) Fixing a Rusty Economy Using Technology

3) In Defense of Decontamination: How to Clean Up After a Biological Incident

4) Face-to-Face with Real-Life Explosives Hero: Decorated Warfighter Awes Propulsion Community

5) If You’re Worried About Computer Security, You Should Know…

6) No Really … Saving Money Using Advanced Technology

7) This Ain’t No Rodeo Robots on a Mission

8) Keeping America’s Top Fighter Pilots Flying High

9) Coming Soon to an App Store Near You: Mobile Technology for Information Collection and Dissemination

10) Guesstimates, Fuzzy Logic and Believe it or Not…Better Decision Making

11) UAVs: Not So Expendable Anymore

12) From Garbage to Gas: Today’s Military Goes Green

13) Unlocking Research on Nuclear and Radiological Threats

14) It Doesn’t Take a Rocket Scientist

15) From Shoes to Software, Benchmarking Helps Organizations Find the “Right Fit”

16) The Evolution of Information Protection

17) So, Why Do You Change Your Oil Every 3,000 Miles

18) One Year Later: DoD Develops Oil Detection Technology

19) Modeling Human Interface

20) Peering Through the Sniper’s Scope

21) Forget CSI, When it Comes to Downed Aircraft, Call SURVIAC

22) Information Analysis Centers, Saving Money and Saving Lives

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Information Analysis Centers, Saving Money and Saving Lives

Filed under Education & Culture, STEM, Technology, Uncategorized by Julie Weckerlein on June 10, 2011 at 8:07 am {no comments}

Six-Month Blogging Campaign Increases “Friends” and Shares Stories of Success

By Christopher Zember, Deputy Director, Information Analysis Centers

This blog was shared by the Information Analysis Center (IAC) Program Management Office (PMO). It is the final blog in our 22-part series produced by the Defense Technical Information Center (DTIC).

Six months ago, we started our very first blogging campaign. Our goal was to reach out and connect with as many people as possible. By connecting with others in the Armed with Science community, we had the opportunity to share some of our success stories and highlight the mission-critical, warfighter-centric work performed every day by the Information Analysis Centers (IACs). The past twenty blogs gave our readers a snapshot of some of the incredible work performed by the IACs. We focused on “hot topics” within the Department including: Oil Detection Sensors, Aircraft Survivability in Operation Enduring Freedom and Operation Iraqi Freedom, MRAP Reliability, Weapons Systems, Information Assurance and so much more. But it doesn’t end there…

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Forget CSI, When it Comes to Downed Aircraft, Call SURVIAC

Filed under STEM, Uncategorized by Julie Weckerlein on May 31, 2011 at 4:45 pm {no comments}

This blog was shared by the Survivability/Vulnerability Information Analysis Center (SURVIAC). It is the 21st in our 22-part series produced by the Defense Technical Information Center (DTIC).

Courtesy Photo

Imagine the following scene: broken glass, bent steel, charred sand, and remnants of a downed US aircraft. Now imagine you are asked to play detective and collect critical information related to the damaged aircraft that will be used to further the Aircraft Survivability community. If this sounds like a scene out of CSI, you’d be close. It’s actually a typical scene for the hard working personnel at the Survivability/Vulnerability Information Analysis Center (SURVIAC).

Originally known as the Combat Damage Information Center (CDIC), SURVIAC has been responsible for combat damage collecting, analysis and reporting since its inception in 1984.

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Peering Through the Sniper’s Scope

Filed under STEM, Technology by Carla Voorhees on May 19, 2011 at 1:59 pm {one comment}

This blog was shared by the Weapons Systems Technology Information Analysis Center (WSTIAC). It is the 20th in our 22-part series produced by the Defense Technical Information Center (DTIC).

Photo by Steve Thurow (DefenseImagery.mil)

“One shot, one kill” is a phrase that has gained significant notoriety in pop culture when referring to a sniper’s lethality and impact. Without question, today’s U.S. military snipers are elite force multipliers. Often referred to as the “tip of the spear,” snipers provide real-time reconnaissance to the combatant commanders and have the ability to take direct action, if called upon.

To ensure they remain elite force multipliers, all snipers receive specialized training in marksmanship, camouflage, evasion, and target range estimation. Upon successful completion of their training, they receive a distinct high-precision rifle. A sniper’s rifle is much more than a weapon; it’s often the only lifeline they have back to a safer environment. But who is in charge with making sure a sniper’s tools and weapons continue to evolve and improve over time?

The Product Manager Individual Weapons (PM-IW), a component of Program Executive Office (PEO) Soldier, is responsible for the research and development of current and future rifles, carbines, pistols, shotguns, grenade launchers, small arms ammunition, and related target acquisition/fire control products. Within PM-IW, a special unit works to address all of the unique needs of the sniper team. (more…)

Modeling Human Interface

Filed under STEM, Technology by Julie Weckerlein on May 11, 2011 at 3:22 pm {2 comments}

This blog post was shared with us by the Modeling and Simulation Information Analysis Center (MSIAC). It is the 19^th entry in our 22-part series produced by the Defense Technical Information Center (DTIC).

What’s one of the most complex parts of any weapons system? Most would guess it has to do with some highly technical, highly sensitive manufactured component. Actually, one of the most complex, and often challenging, aspects of any system is the human element — the human beings actually using the system.

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One Year Later: DoD Develops Oil Detection Technology

Filed under STEM, Technology by Julie Weckerlein on May 4, 2011 at 2:32 pm {4 comments}

This blog post was shared by the Military Sensing Information Analysis Center (SENSIAC). It is the 18th in our 22-part series produced by the Defense Technical Information Center (DTIC).

Since the Deepwater Horizon spill one year ago, increased attention has been given to the Gulf of Mexico and its’ ecosystem. Monitoring the health of the ecosystems helps ensure the sustainability of natural resources, and helps protect human health and the environment.

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So, why do you change your oil every 3,000 miles?

Filed under Physical Sciences, STEM, Technology by John Ohab on April 27, 2011 at 1:54 pm {5 comments}

MRAP on Patrol in Afghanistan. (Photo: Sgt. Justin Howe)

This blog post was shared by the Reliability Information Analysis Center (RIAC). It is the 17th in our 22-part series produced by the Defense Technical Information Center (DTIC).

Because that’s what it says in the owner’s manual. But, how much could you save if you waited until 6,000 miles [provided of course you didn’t damage your engine]? It’s questions like this that RIAC engineers, scientists and subject matter experts (SMEs) are dealing with every day on weapons platforms from tanks, to planes, to helicopters, and even submarines.

RIAC engineers not only study the maintenance requirements in the owner’s manuals, but they also spend hours researching failure rates and explore various data sets related to maintenance events. This is a highly structured and very effective process called Reliability Centered Maintenance.

A Reliability Centered Maintenance analysis starts with detailed systems drawings. From the drawings, every component is analyzed for ways that it could possibly fail and then analyzed to see how severe that failure could be to the system. Next, engineers review the actual field failure data or use one of the databases on failures developed over the past 45 years at RIAC. Then, RIAC engineers look at the maintenance currently performed and analyze whether or not certain activities could be eliminated or reduced. Any activity that’s been identified for elimination or reduction must be explored further to ensure the overall system remains safe and reliable. If the overall system remains safe, there’s an opportunity for cost savings to come into play.

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The Evolution of Information Protection

Filed under Cyber Security, Technology by Julie Weckerlein on April 20, 2011 at 3:17 pm {no comments}

This blog post was shared with us by the Information Assurance Technology Analysis Center (IATAC). It is the sixteenth entry in our 22-part series produced by the Defense Technical Information Center.

Courtesy graphic

Information protection has evolved along with our information technology. Ciphers first protected written information. Ciphers then evolved into cryptography, which evolved into information security (INFOSEC). INFOSEC evolved even more when it fully incorporated computer security. And, near the time the Defense Technical Information Center (DTIC) first stood up the Information Assurance Technology Analysis Center (IATAC) in 1998, information security and computer security were evolving into information assurance (IA).

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