By Debbie Gregory.

The Marine Corps has released a Request for Proposals (RFP) for a new lightweight body armor plate to protect Marines from rifle fire on the battlefield.

Marine Corps Systems Command is seeking RFPs for plates that are some 38 percent lighter than the current plates. The new plates will be fielded in addition to the enhanced small arms protective insert (ESAPI) plates now in use to give commanders a lighter option for low-intensity threat environments.

In August, Marine Corps Systems Command assessed industry’s capability to make a plate that would supplement the Enhanced Small Arms Protective Insert, or ESAPI plates, and provide sufficient protection for the majority of combat environments. MCSC’s Program Manager Infantry Combat Equipment held Industry Days Oct. 17-18, and met with 12 companies to receive feedback on the draft solicitation documents.

“These new plates will be fielded in addition to the existing ESAPI plates,” said Nick Pierce, Individual Armor Team lead in MCSC’s PM ICE. “We expect the plates to be at least 38% lighter than the ESAPI which will significantly increase the mobility of Marines on the battlefield.”

All proposals are due in March 2019, and a contract is expected to be awarded in July 2019, according to the release. Initial fielding could happen as early as fiscal 2020, officials said.

“This, along with other recent initiatives such as the Plate Carrier Gen III, are part of a holistic effort to modernize the personal protective equipment set to give Marines better, lighter, more effective gear,” Pierce said.

The Corps awarded a $62 million contract in late September to New Jersey-based Vertical Protective Apparel LLC to produce and deliver up to 225,886 Plate Carrier Generation IIIs.

The new plate carrier design features less material to make them lighter than the current carriers. They also are made from a laminated laser-cut material, which reduces water absorption.

By Debbie Gregory.

Congratulations to Lt. Gen. Jack Shanahan. General Shanahan will lead its new Joint Artificial Intelligence Center, or JAIC. He previously oversaw the Pentagon’s controversial artificial intelligence Project Maven. General Shanahan is currently the Director for Defense Intelligence for Warfighter Support. The new JAIC will coordinate artificial intelligence research across the Department, and with government labs and private companies. JAIC, at the end of the day will have a hand in everything the Pentagon does relating to Artificial Intelligence. Maven has been characterized as being the first serious attempt by the Defense Department to cut through bureaucracy and red tape to deliver AI tools quickly to warfighters.

Maven has been described by Pentagon officials as a “pathfinder”, a model for future artificial intelligence efforts. The project uses machine learning to derive useful intelligence from the vast troves of image data that the military collects, freeing up the analysts who manually scoured video footage, spy photos, and other data sources for relevant imagery. The goal was to have algorithms do the boring repetitive stuff — find the right truck, person, object of interest, in the data haystack — then alert the analyst to make decisions about targeting or other next steps.

The Pentagon described it as using “computer-vision algorithms … to help military and civilian analysts encumbered by the sheer volume of full-motion video data that DoD collects every day in support of counterinsurgency and counter terrorism operations.”

Defense officials have said that Maven was a huge success for the Department. But their private-sector partner on the project, Google, saw major public relations fallout from their involvement after their participation was revealed by Gizmodo. Under pressure from employees, Google officials announced they would not be renewing the contract with the Pentagon.

By Debbie Gregory.

Lauren Hope is the owner, designer, and artisan of Hope Design Ltd. What sets Hope’s hand-crafted jewelry and accessories apart from her competitors is that her creations honor our country’s service members.

Hope is a self-described “military history nerd” who has transformed her interest in vintage buttons and insignias into custom-made cuff links, tie clips, earrings, necklaces, and brooches.

The wife of a soldier and the mother of two boys has found that creating jewelry provides an oasis of sanity in her unpredictable military life. It was also she was able to do in the evenings after her children had gone to bed.

Hope’s entrepreneurial spirit led her to launch her website, HopeDesignLtd.com, one outlet where her creations can be purchased. She also has an Etsy shop. Her designs can also be found at gift shops that support the military-spouse community, including R. Riveter, West Point Spouses’ Club, and Bragg’s Unique Boutique.

Hope treasures the “sweetheart jewelry,” pieces she finds that she is able to restore. These pieces were originally purchased by World War II servicemen for girlfriends and wives back home. Those who served in World War II “are a passing generation, and their stories are being lost,” she says. “I collect and restore those pieces so I can keep the stories alive for the military community.”

Hope also makes poignant jewelry for Gold Star Families who want to wear something from their loved one’s uniform to feel closer to them.

“Each piece has its own story and its own meaning, and when I can know the person in the military community it goes out to, it makes my heart happy,” she says. “Especially with the Gold Star Families I work with, I feel like I’m helping that person be remembered. The sense of pride that these pieces are worn with is not lost on me.”

Hope has also put her energy into building the #ShopMilitary initiative to help other military spouse and veteran entrepreneurs manage their own businesses and find their target markets.

The ShopMilitary.org website compiles and links to businesses participating in the effort. By strengthening military spouses’ abilities to build careers can contribute to higher military retention rates.

“For people who want to support the military, this is a much more effective thing to do than putting a sign in your yard,” Hope says.

By Debbie Gregory.

Santa Claus is about to making his sleigh ride delivering toys for good boys and girls. In addition to his trusty reindeer led by Rudolph, Santa will have back up from NORAD, North American Aerospace Defense Command with United States military satellites and sensors watching over him and monitoring the flight as well as providing Santa jet fighter escorts including F-15 Eagles, F-16 Fighting Falcons, F-22 Raptors and even Canadian CF-18s.

NORAD is well-known for its ability to track Santa,” said Air Force Gen. Terrence O’Shaughnessy, NORAD’s commander. NORAD has been tracking and helping Santa for 60 years. Did you know that NORAD’s integrated ground & space systems are so powerful, they can even detect the red glow from Rudolph’s nose and the metal that makes up Santa’s sleigh.

This year, more than 1,250 volunteers in the NORAD Tracks Santa call center will serve two-hour shifts and provide updates on social media and by telephone in as many as eight languages, the service said.

While tons of help will boost Santa’s trip from below, it was not immediately clear if Santa will receive a prolonged fighter jet escort on Christmas Eve. Still, the “operational feel” was meant to give U.S. adversaries — most notably, Russia — a clear message: Don’t mess with Santa.

NORAD will be posting to social media, tweeting, answering the phones and responding to emails. The call center will be open for 24 hours, starting at 5 a.m. Eastern Time on December 24.

Santa’s preparations and journey will be followed in real time starting Christmas Eve on a special holiday website. It’s already up and running with a holiday countdown clock, games, movies, daily activities, and music. Children of all ages can dial the toll-free number, 1-877-446-6723, to get a moment-by-moment update.

By Debbie Gregory.

Can you believe this? A sextortion ring that was run by South Carolina inmates, aided by outside civilian associates, extorted more than $560,000 from over 400 servicemembers.

Agents from the Naval Criminal Investigative Service (NCIS) executed arrest warrants on perpetrators that have victimized hundreds of service members since 2015.The warrants are Phase One of “Operation Surprise Party,” a collaboration of military and civilian law enforcement agencies aiming to stop the prisoner-led extortion, money laundering and wire fraud scheme

The prisoners used social media and online dating websites to identify and target the servicemembers, and then pose as women (in the same age bracket as the targeted soldier) duping the targeted soldier into wiring cash following nude photo text message exchanges.

After several hours to several days of texting, the subject will either send unsolicited nude images of a female to the victim and/or agree to trade sexually explicit images with the victim. But shortly after swapping photos with the inmate, the unsuspecting soldier would receive a text from another phone number, one belonging to a completely different prisoner, who would then pose as the fictional girl’s father or law enforcement official. The ‘father’ tells the victim that the female is a minor, but will not take legal action if the victim agrees to pay for various things like cell phone replacement, counseling, hospital treatments, etc.

“This despicable targeting of our brave service members will never be tolerated,” NCIS Director Andrew Traver said in the release. “We will not allow criminal networks to degrade the readiness of our military force.”

The South Carolina Department of Corrections has petitioned to end inmates’ ability to use mobile communication devices inside prisons

“This enforcement operation sends a clear message about our unwavering commitment to protect our nation’s service members so they can focus on their mission of winning wars and defending the American way of life,” said Daniel Andrews, director of the Computer Crime Investigative Unit of the Army Criminal Investigation Command.

Any service members who have identified suspicious activity or are being targeted by sextortion should contact a local NCIS, Army CID or Air Force OSI office, the release states.