A human being is such a frail thing that he cannot live more than a few days without both food and sleep. Nature is still his real enemy even though he takes his eternal struggle with her for granted. So the army as a whole must survive against nature before it can harm a single enemy by surviving and moving itself from one place to another is ninety per cent of the army's business, and unless it does this well it is not an army. The army solves its problems of surviving by two dull words: organization and standardization --and an enormous personal effort and submergence of the individual will to the collective welfare."

- Capt. Ralph Ingersoll, The Battle is the Pay-Off; 1943; pp. 84-85 Regarding operations of U.S. Army Rangers and the 1st Infantry Division near El Quettar, Tunisia in early 1943

TABLE OF CONTENTS

I History of the Concept of Hard Mobile Modules (Gavin's KIWI pods, Quonset Huts etc.)

II The optimized tactical BattleBox^TM made from ISO sea/air/land containers

III Early forms of BattleBoxes^TM already in use in war by other armies

IV Extending the BattleBox^TM Reach by land/sea/air transport

V BattleBoxes^TM as True Military Transformational Means (operational analysis, loading scenarios, benefits for security, surprise, political commentary, etc.)

The Roman Legions used to carry EVERYTHING they needed to form their own stockade, an armed camp to include the wood for fencing! No matter where they were, deserts, woods, swamps they could stop and set up a protective camp. In fact, you can still see the traces of their encampments today in archaeological ruins.

http://library.thinkquest.org/26602/romancamp.htm

The Roman Camp was a vital technique used in the military. One might ask themselves, technique? Yes, technique. The Roman Camp was actually a detailed strategy used to prevent surprise attack. The Roman Legions would easily control their surroundings by taking a portable city whever they went. The Army would march all day, and when they found a spot to settle, the entire army could build a camp that ran as efficiently as a well planned city. The only difference between the Roman Camp and the Roman City was that the camp would be in a different location the next day.

The Roman Camp was easily built in about six hours. The first step in building the city is contructing the walls. The camp would be surrounded in fossa (ditch) and an agger (wall). This ditch and wall system made it difficult to attack, and often would slow down the enemy.

The Roman Camp was shaped like a square, with entrances at the midpoint of each of its sides. The entire camp perimeter was made of a strong wall, built up by a vallum. This vallum had walkways that were constantly guarded by centurions, and each portae is guarded by an additional watchtower. The guarded gates in the vallum were called portae. The camp was connected by roads which were built as straight as possible. The way the road system worked was that the Via Principia connected the eastern and western portae, and the Via Praetoria connected the north and south portae.

All the Soldiers were quartered inside cantebernium, which were tents that could hold eight men at a time. The general's tent, called the Praetorium, was located in the center of the camp, where the main roads intersected. Outside the general's tent was a flagpole. When certain flags were raised, battle could be signaled. Also in the center were the Taburnaculae, known as the merchant tents.

However, when one examines the U.S. make-shift and now defacto permanent presence in Iraq where our men are getting killed in their vulnerable base camps as they hunker down to avoid getting killed on the main supply routes by roadside bombs and RPGs, you have to wonder if we are up to the task of world conquest when we don't have the Roman Legion's tactically-sound but TEMPORARY encampment and stay ensconced capability. Because we lack a take-with-us-wherever-we-go portable hard-shell encampment capability, we at first live in vulnerable, tactically unsound "tent cities" and progress towards occupying former dictator palaces and static buildings that do not belong to us, inciting the people we are supposed to be liberating to rebel against us. And just being focused on a sub-national conflict within a country doesn't means you are safe from sophisticated, industrialized, nation-state attacks: if near-by Iran's nuclear facilities are attacked, these static bases holding 140, 000+ U.S. troops could be attacked by surface-to-surface ballistics missiles (SSMs) and/or have their paved road-dependant wheeled truck supply lines cut by sympathetic Shia militias since we refuse to employ air or tracked armored vehicle resupply means that can avoid ambushes by taking non-linear routes and fight their way through if need be.

Static Building FOB "From Here to Eternity" Garrison Camp Victory, Iraq, 2005-present

Video Proof of Americans Occupying Permanent Forward Operating Bases (FOBs) in Iraq and alienating the people there while we can play garrison Army and marine games (obsess with time wasting paperwork and custodial chores, linear formations, sports PT, find someone of lower rank to defecate on etc.)!

www.combatreform2.com/americanoccupationofiraq.wmv

www.youtube.com/watch?v=SmAhL8iPutA

www.youtube.com/watch?v=I7S8TRIyDjs

Moldy Tents, Sick Soldiers

www.youtube.com/watch?v=iPIHPJayatA

We are paying civilian truck drivers to shuttle water, supplies and fuel in unarmored trucks to keep our Soldiers/marines supplied with an electrical power grid in Iraq, and that they are refusing to be a "human BBQ" should comes as no surprise. We are doing the wasteful, throw-away American way of war in Iraq--and it isn't working!. Static buildings make contractors rich but leave our men unprotected and are left behind when we leave so we are unprepared again for the next operation overseas or some remote area. Were we Americans always this inept? The answer to this question can be found in our past and projected into the present with new technologies to reverse the present debacle. The lessons to be learned from the Iraq debacle is to be SELF-SUFFICIENT when you go to war.

1st Air Cavalry Forward Operating Base, An Khe, 1965

www.youtube.com/watch?v=4nczyAL9UqE

Notice the sprawling An Khe FOB is a clusterfuck of vulnerable static buildings.

VIDEO: 1st Cav needs two MONTHS to build base in Vietnam from scratch

See any improvements in the 2005 American occupation "FOBBITs" and the 1965 "Sky Soldiers"?

You know the drill.

We are supposed to be ready-to-fight, STRAC, etc. etc.

We are not if we need to build static buildings and air bases. Especially if they are FLIMSY and vulnerable to enemy commando, rocket, mortar and artillery attacks.

An Khe closer look: TENT HORROR Story, Part 4, "The Pre-quel".

Look at the pathetic fabric TENTS and wooden buildings our troops lived in during the Vietnam war, is it a wonder we lost 58, 000 dead? Injured Soldiers, where do they go to? Why, MORE VULNERABLE TENTS where enemy fires and shrapnel not bound by the "Geneva Convention" can finish them off.

Our troops deserved better then and they deserve better N-O-W.

If 1st Air Cav had been ISO containerized in BATTLEBOXes they would have been combat-ready in 2 DAYS after arrival. And they would have been HARDENED by earth fill, sand bags, concrete (Old Ralph Zumbro trick: mix in with sand let rain do rest) etc. and even underground to withstand even the heaviest NVA bombardments. Once you have a rigid metal shape you can do miracles of combat fortifications...

The weight of the hundreds of 30 pounds each sand bags alone could collapse these make-shift "bunkers".

If you do not have a solid structural shape and try to erect shapes out of flimsy WOOD that soaks up rain, moisture and BURNS you are going to waste $$$$ millions upon millions of dollars, countless hours of time better spent defeating the enemy and doing civic action for the civil populace, and when all is said and done you are still living in a shit-hole for a dwelling (hot, dirty, can't keep rain out) THAT DOES NOT PROTECT YOU AND YOUR MEN. "Half-Assed" is being charitable for a description.

How did America win the West?

U.S. Army covered wagon in 1800s at the Fort Eustis Transportation Museum: we were more self-sufficient and BATTLE AGAINST THE EARTH ready in some ways than we are now!

We conquered the west with covered wagons that protected ourselves and our supplies to sustain us for days, weeks and months before game could be shot and killed and crops grown. With Indians shooting at us with arrows and throwing Tomahawk axes, this was good enough for that 1st Generation War threat; but its not enough for today's 4th Generation of War (4GW) threats. We have forgotten that we have a legacy of self-sufficient mobile warfare and need to rediscover it in 21st century form so we bring our own infrastructure to sustain ourselves against the battle against the earth and protect it against man.

Iraq TENT HORROR STORY PART 1a: We must get our troops out of tactically unsound tent cities and plywood shacks in Iraq (and everywhere else)

First Sergeant Perry Jefferies, USA (retired) writes:

"One of my Soldiers in Iraq was Roger Turner. We gave him a hard time because he always wore all of his protective equipment, including three pairs of glasses or goggles. He did this because he wanted to make sure that he returned home to his family. He rode a bicycle to work every day to make sure that he was able to save enough money on his Army salary to send his son to college. At Camp Anaconda, where the squadron briefly stayed, a rocket landed inside a tent, sending a piece of debris or fragment into him and killed him."

WHAT A TRAGEDY. We could have prevented this hero's death. We need to prevent this from happening again. WE WILL PREVENT THIS TRAGEDY from happening again.

Unsafe Plywood Shacks: do these provide our Soldiers ANY protection from enemy attacks?

Iraq War TENT HORROR STORY, PART 1b: False "Victory" Complacency from Operation DESERT SHIELD/STORM, 1990-91

The Army Transportation Museum tries to glorify the BS tent with a display of a notional tent with make-shift wood camp furniture that General Sherman of Civil War fame would have collected and burned. None of these ad hoc devices are ready so even more time and funds $$$ are wasted when "suddenly" the Army and marines stop playing garrison routine and start living in the field--badly.

Iraqi TENT HORROR STORY, PART 1c: No Border Security: Without Soil Sealants & Hardened Living Modules, U.S. troops can't stay...temporary sweeps alienate Iraqis

Without portable hard living modules and a way to instantly pave the dirt, troops cannot outpost border areas long enough to stop enemy infiltration. Sweeping through civilian homes and not staying fails to catch the rebels and angers the populace to join side of the rebels. When rains come the ad hoc American camps will be washed out of business. As the New York Times article shows our troops need "BattleBoxes^TM" and "Rhino Snot".

www.nytimes.com/2005/10/03/international/middleeast/03rawa.html

U.S. and Iraq Step Up Effort to Block Insurgents' Routes

By CRAIG S. SMITH
Published: October 3, 2005

RAWA, Iraq - A few miles outside this sleepy river town, marked in many places with black spray-painted scrawls hailing the network of Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, called Al Qaeda in Mesopotamia, American troops are building a desert outpost of plywood huts protected by dirt-filled blast barriers and surrounded by a high berm.

Johan Spanner/Polaris, for The New York Times

A helipad at an American outpost in Rawa, Iraq, where troops are trying to halt the movement of foreign fighters who have entered the country.

American military commanders see this effort as a crucial step in their strategy of cutting off the supply of foreign fighters that has fed the insurgency and threatens to tip the country into civil war.

Attention has focused recently on the northern city of Tal Afar, another entry point for foreign fighters, where 8,500 American and Iraqi troops have been fighting insurgents since early September.

But the greater battle lies ahead, in the towns in the Euphrates River valley, where for nearly two years Mr. Zarqawi's fighters have had free rein, blowing up police stations and building a network of safe houses to stockpile weapons, make car bombs and move fighters into the country from Syria.

Foreigners who infiltrated Iraq through the network are believed to have carried out most of the suicide attacks in Baghdad and elsewhere that have become among the most visible and destabilizing tools of the insurgency.

Now, American and Iraqi forces are trying to change that by occupying towns like Rawa and installing Iraqi Army battalions to keep insurgents at bay. They engaged in heavy fighting with insurgents recently in Ramadi, a major city on the river, and they continued to carry out airstrikes and ground raids against insurgent safe houses along the Syrian border. But American military officials say the strategy, which residents say is killing civilians, is not enough.

American military officials have said they know of no civilian casualties, but emphasize that other measures are needed.

"You can go through these towns again and again, but you can't get results unless you are there to stay," said Col. Stephen Davis, commander of marine regimental combat team 2, which is responsible for a vast area of western Iraq south of the Euphrates. "As Iraqis are getting trained, we're going back to take these towns back and build bases inside for both Iraqi and American forces."

Rawa, built on a finger of land formed by a hairpin turn in the Euphrates, overlooks a major bridge that was an important site in Mr. Zarqawi's network, military officials say. "We believe it was the last point at which they would decide to send the foreigners south to Baghdad or north across the desert to Mosul," said Lt. Col. Mark Davis, who commands the new Army outpost.

The town of 20,000 remains a Baathist stronghold, where animosity toward the American effort runs deep. Army intelligence officers say they believe that some former high-ranking Baathist military figures here have provided active support for the Zarqawi network, but they say the mujahedeen have become the dominant power in the area.

"Al Qaeda came in and established a network along the river valley, and made it stronger based on the lack of coalition presence here," Colonel Davis said. On the sign welcoming people to Rawa, the insurgents wrote: "Long live the mujahedeen. To fight for Islam is an obligation of all Muslims."

Rawa did not exactly send out the Welcome Wagon after the Stryker Brigade Combat Team from the Second Infantry Division arrived in late July. In little more than a month, the unit was hit by two dozen roadside bombs and eight suicide car bombs. It has been backed by two airstrikes; one on an armor-hardened safe house with a large weapons cache and another on a building booby-trapped with artillery shells.

Officers say they have received little cooperation from the town's residents, many of whom are convinced the Americans will pull out when the rains come and turn their desert outpost into a lake of viscous mud.

In fact, there is only a sporadic American military presence outside the few towns now occupied.

Neither the Army nor the marines maintain any permanent checkpoints along the road from the Syrian border to Haditha, another town reportedly controlled by Mr. Zarqawi's mujahedeen. The road, which leads to Baghdad, is the primary route for foreign fighters headed for suicide attacks in the capital.

The marines and the Army rely on periodic checkpoints to catch drivers by surprise. Four of six such operations in a two-week period in August stopped vehicles apparently carrying insurgents, suggesting that men and matériel continue to move despite the American presence. One car turned up guns, grenades, ammunition and a computer storage device filled with files dealing with the insurgency. One of the guns was an M-16 assault rifle taken from a dead marine.

But each of the temporary checkpoints lasts only a few hours and the searches are cursory.

Part of the problem is the size of the force. The Army has about 800 Soldiers on the base but only about 300 leave the outpost on operations and never all at the same time. They must cover an expanse of desert, north of the river to the Syrian border, that is the size of Vermont. The marines, with 3,000 troops covering an even larger area, suffer from the same problem south of the river.

"We have more men on the way," said Gen. George W. Casey Jr., the highest-ranking military commander in Iraq, during a brief stopover at the desert outpost. He said an Iraqi Army division, the Seventh, which would have about 4,000 men, was now being formed for Anbar Province, the predominantly Sunni area that includes the northern Euphrates Valley.

The United States Army is running daily patrols through the narrow, hilly streets of Rawa and westward to the Syrian border, along with 500 Iraqi Soldiers who are based in an unfinished water treatment plant.

In one recent operation in Rawa, the Iraqi forces, protected by Stryker combat vehicles and Army snipers, fanned out across a hillside of new villas, crumbling outbuildings and trash-strewn lots, hunting for fighters who had fired on one of their checkpoints during the night.

They kicked in doors and combed the open ground, quickly discovering the gunner's position. Concealed in the rubbish nearby they found an AK-47, four grenades and a cigarette carton filled with machine-gun rounds. On a nearby wall, someone had scrawled "Join the jihad."

The insurgents continue to operate in the town, residents say, planting roadside bombs like the one that breached the armor of a Stryker vehicle recently, slightly wounding some Soldiers inside.

Two days after the Iraqi Army's sweep, the American Army commander, Colonel Davis, and his Iraqi counterpart, a Colonel Yasser who did not give his first name, faced a crowd of 300 people angered by the house-to-house searches and summary detentions.

"The Iraqi Army will be in every city," Colonel Yasser, a Sunni, told the crowd, urging them to vote in the constitutional referendum, scheduled for Oct. 15, and the national elections, scheduled for December.

He said the town must work with the government of Anbar Province to appoint new town officials and restore the police force. "If we don't unite," he said, "our voices will not be heard."

Colonel Davis delivered a blunter message. "We're not going anywhere," he told the murmuring crowd, adding that as long as there were attacks against Iraqi or American troops the house searches and roadblocks and bridge closings would continue.

"Some of you are concerned about the attack helicopters and mortar fire from the base," he said. "I will tell you this: those are the sounds of peace."

Afghanistan TENT HORROR STORY, PART 2: U.S. troops in waiting game vs. Taliban, their powers weakened by poor BATTLE AGAINST THE EARTH adaptation

www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/chi- 0607110158jul11,1,736947.story?ctrack=1&cset=true

Taliban haven is GIs' `Camp Hell' Afghan villagers `don't want to help us any'

By Kim Barker, Tribune foreign correspondent.
Chicago Tribune
July 11, 2006

Tribune foreign correspondent Kim Barker reported from a remote region in Afghanistan

MUSA QALA BASE, Afghanistan -- Nobody waves at the Soldiers here. Children do not crowd around the Humvees, asking for pens and candy, as they do in the rest of Afghanistan. Even the girls throw rocks at passing U.S. military helicopters.

U.S. troops set up this base in southwestern Helmand province in mid-June to fight insurgents, part of the largest military operation since the fall of the Taliban in late 2001. This area, virtually abandoned by the government for years, is probably the most hostile place for foreign troops in all of Afghanistan. Here, all government enemies have a comfortable home--the opium poppy farmers, the drug runners, the Taliban. Everyone else is scared.

The only Afghan visitors to the new base have either tried to attack it or complained about it. Some Soldiers refer to the nearest large village, Musa Qala, as Taliban Town. Many are resentful of locals who pretend the Taliban does not exist, who refuse to help.

"They just want, want, want," Spec. Jason Ide, 22, said while in his Humvee scouting a route for an upcoming mission. "They don't want to help us any."

To see how violent the war in Afghanistan has turned, look no further than the Soldiers at this base. They have been attacked every few days. On the morning of June 28, a medic known for always carrying a picture of his wife and newborn son was killed when an old land mine exploded. That night, insurgents attacked a convoy carrying supplies to the base.

The next night, insurgents ambushed U.S. Soldiers operating out of a satellite base about 60 miles to the north. Last week, a gunner at the satellite base was shot dead when his convoy was ambushed.

These troops aim to put pressure on the Taliban, to go into areas where the U.S.-led coalition has not had a steady presence before. They are part of Operation Mountain Thrust, in which more than 10,000 Afghan and foreign troops have poured into the southern provinces, attempting to pave the way for a smooth transition in security control later this month from the coalition to NATO troops.

Life on the new base is bleak, a constant struggle in a windy desert where temperatures soar higher than 120 degrees and nightly blasts from 105mm howitzers remind the Taliban that the Soldiers still are there. The camp is protected by barbed wire and a ring of "Hescos," which are large bags that are filled with sand to serve as barriers. Sentries on a hill above the camp and on guard towers can spot anyone approaching.

Everyone lives in long tents that sleep about 50 people. At night the wind picks up, whipping through the tents and covering everything and everyone in sand the consistency of talcum powder. If left alone, the sand would bury this place in a month.

Showers are iffy. Air conditioners sit unused, with no generator to power them. The Taliban destroyed the base's new large refrigerator unit while it was being driven up through Musa Qala, along with the Red Bull, Gatorade and many Soldiers' personal belongings. Soldiers call the base Camp Hell or worse.

"And I thought Iraq was bad," said Staff Sgt. Robert Masher, 29, of Pittson, Pa.

Soldiers here lament that this is a forgotten war, overshadowed by the violence in Iraq, as many Soldiers in Afghanistan have long felt. But increasingly, this is a forgotten deadly war. Just look at Ide's unit, the 3rd Squadron, 71st Cavalry Regiment of the 10th Mountain Division: In the past two months, seven Soldiers have been killed, in fighting and in helicopter accidents.

On June 24, 1st Lt. Joe Lang, 23, of Maui, Hawaii, wrote a letter to his family, talking about the Soldiers who have died, the good men they were, like the fair and even-handed battalion commander who never had seen his new baby daughter. Or the friend shot dead while rescuing an injured man. Or that same injured man and the medic, who both died when the cable on the rescue helicopter snapped. Lang said his heart was broken. He felt strange about his lack of remorse when a key Taliban rebel was killed.

"I still feel alone," Lang told his family. "Realize that no one could understand what I've been through unless they have lived it."

For the Soldiers, life at this base has been a series of attacks. They were first ambushed outside of Kandahar on June 12 while driving to set up the base, in an isolated spot in the middle of a desert, miles from the nearest village. Three days after troops arrived, a man rode up on a motorcycle. As an Afghan army truck drove toward the man, he pulled out a Kalashnikov and began to fire. An Afghan Soldier shot him dead. Two days later, the company north of the Musa Qala base was attacked.

And two days after that, on June 20, a medical convoy tried to give free medical help to the village of Sarbesa. Elders said the U.S. Soldiers scared the women and children and asked the medics to hold their clinic outside the village. Only 30 people came. In other parts of Afghanistan, such clinics typically draw about 250 people.

"We would have been mobbed anywhere else," said Capt. Bill Adams, 36, who has a stash of candy and pens that no Afghans want to take. "The people here are very guarded. It takes patience."

On the way back to the base, the medical convoy was ambushed. Reinforcements had to be sent in, and one U.S. Soldier was shot in the head; his helmet protected him from the bullet.

Days later, 50 elders from Sarbesa came to the U.S. base and asked that the Soldiers not return. The Soldiers have not tried to go back.

On June 28 the Soviet-era land mine exploded, killing the medic, who never complained about the harsh conditions at the base. That night the supply convoy was attacked, and despite reinforcements, insurgents attacked again the next morning.

U.S. troops have tried to win over the locals, by setting up meetings with elders, offering to build wells and handing over gifts of blankets, prayer rugs, vegetable oil, food and school supplies. One village accepted the gifts. But another rejected them, scared of the Taliban's reaction.

Still, a couple of Afghans have agreed to talk about the Taliban. U.S. Soldiers acknowledge that building a relationship here will take time. The Taliban has been entrenched here for years; so have the poppies and the drug traffickers.

"People are more scared of the Taliban," Capt. Scott Horrigan, operations officer at Musa Qala, said of the 2nd Battalion, 87th Infantry Regiment, 10th Mountain Division. "They know they can lie to us, and nothing's going to happen to them."

Some Soldiers hate this place and these people and they are not shy about saying so. They willingly volunteer these feelings, that they hate Afghans, hate Afghanistan and that they do not understand why anyone would fight over such a desolate country for so many years.

Other Soldiers try to put themselves in the minds of the Afghans, or of the children at least, and wonder what it's like to grow up in a desert on the edge of Earth, in a place where the Taliban burns down schools, where brand-new USAID-funded clinics are not used, where the job options are limited to herding goats and growing poppies.

In his letter to his family, Lang wrote that Afghanistan's mountains looked almost beautiful enough for a vacation. He talked about how wasteful war was. And Lang ended his letter to his family with a piece of hope, a rarity here. He talked about running into an Afghan girl and giving her a Pop-tart, even though Soldiers are not supposed to give out food. Lang and his fellow soldiers showed her how to unwrap it.

"She smiles," Lang wrote. "Beautiful. Hides the food and walks away."

Camp Udairy, Kuwait: Tent Horror Story, PART 3: they suck: A photo journal of a UNPA Nurse Practitioner

http://unpa.org/news-operation-iraqi-freedom.htm

Key photos:

1. Tents burn

2. Tents collapse in high winds

3. Tents don't protect from dirt/dust/enemy fire

4. They try to fortify the tents by concrete barriers, berms and bunker pieces as work-arounds when the basic problem is the tents themselves offer no protection

Notice they had a 40 foot shower ISO container--why not everyone in shipping container "BattleBoxes" that can be fortified in the first place and have built-in living features?

SIDEBAR: Solar Heated Showers in Vietnam

Here is a typical sun-heated barrel shower from Vietnam...why not have "BattleBox" roof tanks solar heated to be a BATTLEBOXshowertoilet^TM unit?

Tent Horror Story PART 4: WHY are American troops STILL living in TENTS in combat zones?

A senior NCO writes starting with an excerpt:

"The mortar alarms that sound in Camp Kalsu are sometimes ignored, as Soldiers have become accustomed to the attacks. Playing dominoes in a large tent, a group of Soldiers barely glance up as a mortar alarm begins to sound. The sharp whump of a nearby mortar hit sends them scrambling outside their tent into reinforced concrete shelters. 'The worst is when you get four or five alarms and attacks in one night,' says a sergeant, leaning on his rifle and peering out of the bunker. 'It's hard to sleep through all of that, and you wind up running into the shelter wearing only your boxers."

He then elaborates:

"Concrete is cheap, so a fair question is 'why is not every structure hardened'?

A BattleBox isn't designed to stop attacks from mortars, but because generic containers are cheap they can be throwaway items. It is perfectly feasable to make portable forms that go around an ISO container and rise above it, install some rebar/remat/etc, and pour a nice concrete shell around the results. I could do it in my damn backyard, so I know an engineering unit can do it with their much greater resources. Battleboxes can be built cheaply enough that they can be potted in conjunction with generic ISO containers. Also, a standard container can be torched in half horizontally after having the end doors welded shut. This gives two nice 'trays' that can be stacked and locked to the top of other containers, then filled with concrete, rock, etc.

It is also perfectly feasable to put predet grating above a potted ISO, where it could also serve to mount watchtowers and the like.

The cheapo 'bunkers'

http://bdelapla.typepad.com/photos/around_the_fob/dscf0908.html

...rely on personnel hearing an alert or explosion, then hauling ass to get into the shelter. It would be better for obvious reasons to work IN a shelter. Containers have walls, while the concrete channel has no anti-spall liner.

BBox HVAC packs could be pulled for reuse if a potted Box is abandoned. Steel cans are cheap compared to G.I. lives.

This is starting to chap my ass. Containers are cheap, concrete is cheap, the tools are available and the work isn't hard. Who could we suggest this to that might give a shit? They could even strip the lights and HVAC units FROM tents and hook them up in containers. Just yank the hoses, cut a couple of holes in the container (drill first hole, finish with jigsaw or Sawzall), and feed them through! No nice ducting (unless someone bothers to make it out of the many optional materials) but it would work fine. The tent lighting harness could hang from the tiedown loops in the top of standard containers. The tent entrance could be attached to the end of the container, and an emergency exit in the other end or side of the container is simple to cut.

I don't know how deep a hole common insurgent mortars dig, but a half or full ISO-worth of barrier concrete is better than a foot (or nothing if you don't make it to the shelter!)."

U.S. News & World Report
March 12, 2007

The Things That Get You

By Alex Kingsbury

FORWARD OPERATING BASE KALSU-There are plenty of nasty ways to meet with death or injury in Iraq. Examples of some of the cleverest devices targeting American troops are mounted on large sheets of plywood outside a dining hall at FOB Kalsu, about 25 miles south of Baghdad. It's a sobering display of the ingenuity and resourcefulness of the enemy: antipersonnel mines hidden in household items, pressure-sensitive explosives fashioned from slats of wood and wire, garage door openers that trigger artillery shells to rip open tanks. The letters IED, for improvised explosive device, have become forever associated with the war in Iraq. These weapons are the greatest day-to-day threat to U.S. forces. The military reported that at least 60 U.S. troops have been killed in IED attacks so far this year (the military doesn't report the cause of death in all instances). IEDs were responsible for more than half of American hostile-fire deaths in the past 12 months.

The military has struggled to develop practices and gear to counter the IED threat, with an array of devices designed to trigger the bombs prematurely or render them harmless. It's punch and counterpunch, as each new design breeds a new defense, and vice versa.

The display at FOB Kalsu, intended to help troops recognize common IEDs, is a poignant reminder of the dangers that Soldiers routinely face in or out of their vehicles. The variety known as explosively formed penetrators-which American officials assert are coming from Iran-are particularly dangerous because of their ability to penetrate even armored vehicles. An EFP consists of a short tube that acts as a barrel for a machine-milled concave copper plate. When the explosive charge detonates, the force of the explosion creates a hot copper projectile that shoots from the barrel at hypervelocity and through nearly anything in its path.

"Getting clever." It's hard to fully appreciate the force of this small weapon, even seeing how it can punch a hole through a vehicle's armor. One EFP attack on an American light armored vehicle a few weeks ago sent a copper slug a distance of more than 70 yards, through a concrete wall, then through the rear of a car, tearing through the trunk and the front and back seats, and finally settling in the engine block. In this case, the slug missed its intended target, and no one was injured.

Increasingly sophisticated EFP attacks involve four or more such explosives timed to explode simultaneously or in sequence against a single target. "They are getting clever about aiming EFPs at the engine and troop compartments," says an American commander who witnessed an EFP attack.

But the EFPs against patrols and convoys are only the latest weapons of choice for targeting U.S. troops. Insurgents still use traditional military weapons like mortars as well. Either hand-held or mounted on the back of a pickup truck, mortars can fire an explosive shell a distance of a mile or so, delivering a powerful, if often inaccurate, punch.

The mortar alarms that sound in Camp Kalsu are sometimes ignored, as Soldiers have become accustomed to the attacks. Playing dominoes in a large TENT, a group of Soldiers barely glance up as a mortar alarm begins to sound. The sharp whump of a nearby mortar hit sends them scrambling outside their tent into reinforced concrete shelters. "The worst is when you get four or five alarms and attacks in one night," says a sergeant, leaning on his rifle and peering out of the bunker. "It's hard to sleep through all of that, and you wind up running into the shelter wearing only your boxers."

Phil Hubbard doesn't show his office to many visitors, but the manager of an Internet cafe and coffee shop at FOB Kalsu has had some close calls. Looking at the 20 jagged shrapnel holes in his office wall, he gestures to the point of impact a few yards behind his trailer. "The guy who was working in here at the time just missed being turned into Swiss cheese," he says. Shrapnel tore through the wall, punching several holes into the faux leather chair at his desk, then through another wall on the opposite side of the room. Several Soldiers were injured in the attack, one of the largest mortar attacks against FOB Kalsu.

Incidentally, the camp itself was named for the only recently active professional football player killed in the Vietnam War. Robert Kalsu was a lineman from the University of Oklahoma who was voted the Buffalo Bills team rookie of the year in 1968, his first and only season with the team. He was killed two years later in the A Shau Valley in Vietnam during a mortar attack.

Death-from-a-Shack-in-Iraq: Half-Assed Buildings Kill Soldiers but Make Contractors Rich

The pics below show the horrible cheap, flimsy contractor building-itis we are paying $BILLIONS for just because we are in denial that we as Soldiers need ANY buildings at all (ICRI Myth) and can just live in tents. Tents don't protect and neither do flimsy contractor lash-ups which when the war is over get forfeited over to the locals---often the ENEMY.

The answer is to stop saying "I can rough it" (ICRI) and start DOING WHAT WE NEED WE CAN ROUGH IT. This means ALWAYS HAVING MOBILE SHELTERS before the war for everyone, we suggest using ISO containers and making them into "BATTLEBOXes" (BBs) to create our FOBs.

www.seabox.com/news/fob.htm

To do this we have to UNDERSTAND and appreciate the dominance of HIGH EXPLOSIVES on the modern, non-linear battlefield which means COMBAT ENGINEERS need to be in charge not kinetic energy (bullet) "shooters". One way to attain this would be to create a Non-Linear Battlefield Stability Corps (NLB-SC) which would specialize in sub-national conflicts instead of using nation-state war shooter egomaniacs who lack an appreciation for the ground and the people who live on it.

1. If we fully understood the BB concept, all BBs configured as troop living/work areas would be LINED WITH ANTI-BALLISTIC MATERIAL. Those shown in these pics are just the steel box itself which does provide far better protection than tents and flimsy contractor buildings but let's not be lazy here.

2. THE WHOLE POINT of BBs is that they HAVE A RIGID SHAPE THAT ENABLES US TO LAY EARTH-FILL CONTAINERS AGAINST THEM AND ON TOP OF THEM. If however you are HALF-ASS and do not even stack sandbags or better yet CONCERTAINER barrels all the way up and on top of the BB ITS YOUR FAULT IF THEY DO NOT FULLY PROTECT YOU. Maybe if we spent less or better ZERO time on sports PT running around in shorts/t-shirt and more time on COMBAT PHYSICAL TASKS this would have been done?

In our BB system the required number of CONCERTAINER barrels or SOA blast walls would ALWAYS be with every BB to prod the dumbass users to fill them and surround their BBs.

3. BBs can also be dug-in under the ground

The BB shape also enables us to BURROW them under the ground, which I see no evidence yet of Americans doing it in Iraq. We have evidance of the Iraqi Army doing it before the war and even A-10 strikes couldn't penetrate this "bunker".

If we can develop folding-wing aircraft to fit inside super-sized ISO BBs, there'd be huge mobility and camouflage/protection benefits to be had. Revetments only protect from sideways blast effects as the burning Humvee truck in the pictures shows. You also see a flimsy contractor building smashed from an overhead attack probably a mortar round surrounded by CONCERTAINER barrels. You get what you pay for in the laws of physics running life on planet earth. Its time we woke up and started looking at everything we do from a combat engineer's anti-high explosives attack perspective because IRAQ IS A ENGINEERING WAR not a shooting war. Obviously when "shooters" are in charge of your ground forces, its no surprise that car bombs, land mines and large FOBs with half-ass buildings within running "presence patrols" and "sweeps" that gets everyone back by chow time with a tail-to-tooth ratio of 120, 000-to-10, 000* is the consequence.

* We're being charitable. Probably less than 1, 000 troops leave the FOBs each day, why do you think Keane/Kagan's 20K "troop surge" is seen as some sort of miracle by the foolish? They THINK that the "tail" is already set and they are sending over 20K "shooters" when really the same tail composed ratio is inherent in the "surge".

BATTLEBOXes & Special Operations: Already Being done

In Victor Ostrovsky's book, "By Way of Deception", he describes a MOSSAD deception where an agent posed as a humanitarian aid worker who modifies shipping containers into housing for third world refugees. This shows that its a good idea that even kill/capture/spies are aware of. In the '90s American SEALs used ISO containers to infiltrate into Bosnia.

www.specialoperations.com/Army/Delta_Force/bosnia.html

EXCERPT:

World Report 7/6/98
Hunting war criminals

The first account of secret U.S. missions in Bosnia

BY RICHARD J. NEWMAN

An unusual shipment arrived at the U.S. base in Tuzla, Bosnia, early last December. Inside the hull of a C-17 cargo jet were several 8-foot-high metal containers--modern-day Trojan horses filled with a total of about 65 commandos from the Navy's premier counterterrorism unit, SEAL Team 6. Handlers whisked the human payload into a nearby hangar to avoid notice by Russian, Polish, and other little-trusted allied troops on the base. Once the SEALs had been unpacked in secrecy and joined by others who drove in from Germany, they headed to CIA-run safe houses in the surrounding countryside. Their mission: to apprehend five PIFWCs (pronounced PIF-wix), an acronym for "persons indicted for war crimes," in northern Bosnia.

General James M. Gavin in Airborne Warfare: KIWI pods

Click on picture for full size or link underneath for no captions version

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General Gavin as the U.S. Army's Head of Research and Development employed young talent like then Captain Hal Moore to come up with improved parachutes and later tracked armored fighting vehicles. This was the first "heavy drop" of a platform-loaded artillery howitzer using a delayed opening, two-state cargo parachute system, which we take for granted today. Here the extraction chute pulls the load out the back of the C-82.

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After the extraction chute has cleared the load from the aircraft it pulls out the main cargo parachute which is set to deploy vertically so the load comes down on its platform. Platform airdrop loads enable the entire gun and even prime mover vehicle and ammunition to be dropped as an intact unit compared to the WW2 artillery pieces that were dropped in pieces by underwing bundles (most WW2 cargo planes did not have a twin or t-tail for a large, unobstructed rear opening for large parachute loads to slide out) widely scattered on the drop zone.

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Gavin here has a jet KIWI transport with forward swept wings probably an idea he got studying captured German scientist documents on how to delay sonic boom compressibility to get faster speeds.

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Both jet engined and prop-driven KIWI carrying planes are shown here taking off from a CONUS airfield/runway. The artist did a great job bringing General Gavin's ideas and gives you a real 1940s George Pal science fiction movie feel.

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General Gavin clearly sees KIWI pods like our "BATTLEBOXes" as living shelters for Forward Operating Bases (FOBs). The KIWI pods like today's ISO containers also carry all the vital supplies they need to survive and can be configured for different tasks, ready upon air delivery to go into action. Here General Gavin has an arctic scene and today as we speak, scientists are living in the South Pole in Jim Brennan's SeaBox living quarters made of modified shipping containers.

Gavin also realizes such modular shelters mean the entire base can be moved in an instant to a new location as required, so no time or money is wasted on inferior static buildings you cannot take with you on peaceful expeditions or expeditionary warfare.

no captions The KIWI pods themselves can by a myriad of special function shops in addition to troop living quarters. Here an aircraft repair shop with all the required tools are in two side-by-side pods, a capability we need to do more of today to get away from fixed location, vulnerable air bases easily targeted by enemy missiles and commando attacks.

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More proof that the current USMC is living off the legacy of the past lusting to re-enact WW2 beach assaults. We do not get a clear signal from the NAVSPECWAR community whether its safe to drop SEALs in a rubber boat 5-10 feet above the water from the rear ramp of a C-130 using LAPES. Richard Gabriel in his book, Military Incompetence says it was tried in the 1983 Grenada invasion but with disastrous results. If the carrier aircraft is a seaplane, it simply lands on the water, comes to a slow taxi or halt, then detaches the floating KIWI pod. The Geiger Board of 1946 said to avoid nuclear targeting of the vulnerable and obvious surface fleet, marines should come ashore by seaplanes. An actual "Flying LST" was fielded, the R3Y Tradewind but the WW2 re-enactment bureaucracy with billion dollar amphibious ships for Navy officers to play Captain Kirk killed the whole seaplane option when they found a flimsy technical excuse to kill programs. In the case of the R3Y it was problems with their engines that gave them their excuse and voila! a U.S. Navy without ANY aircraft capable of landing in the water. That we could have amphibious KIWI pods that would be the only part of the carrier plane to touch the water, then take-off is a level of sophistication several steps ahead of the current marine and naval mind.

Notice as far back as 1947, General Gavin has TRACKED tanks coming out of his KIWI pods to render fire support for his beloved Paratroopers who realize OPEN TERRAIN when they see it = DROP ZONE for them. Another of the tracked tanks is shooting a barrage of rockets to saturate bombard the enemy, yet another capability absent in today's Navy/Mc team. The tragedy is that 60 years later AMERICA'S PARATROOPERS STILL DO NOT HAVE ANY TRACKED LIGHT TANKS AND PERSONNEL CARRIERS while the rest of the world's Airbornes do...to include impending foe, Red China's Paratroopers.

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The official history of the U.S. Army for that time period says the following:

www.army.mil/cmh-pg/books/amh/AMH-26.htm

The seven divisions stationed in the United States constituted the strategic reserve. Four of these-two airborne and two infantry-were designated in 1957 the Strategic Army Corps (STRAC) and were maintained in a high state of readiness for quick deployment in event of an emergency. The other three were earmarked as STRAC reinforcements and as a training base for expansion of Army forces should the crisis become prolonged or develop into a full-scale war.

With the emphasis on mobility, even the larger and heavier weapons and equipment were designed to be air-transportable.

A program to produce ground and air vehicles with the necessary battlefield mobility led to the development of armored personnel carriers, such as the M113 with aluminum armor, that could move troops rapidly to the scene of operations while providing greater protection for the individual Soldier. Since

585

highways and bridges might be damaged or destroyed, dual-capability amphibious vehicles that could travel on rough terrain and swim across rivers and swamps freed the fighting units from total dependence upon roads.

What today's planners don't realize is that what was required for a nuclear battlefield is required today with PGMs in a Surveillance Strike System (SSC) that can be as equally devastating but in a more localized way: units ON TRACKS not wheels. We need GREATER PHYSICAL mobility, firepower, protection and livability features not less regardless if tied in to a "Mother May, I?" computer network to alleviate the anxieties of senior officials.

THE AMAZING DETAILS OF GENERAL GAVIN'S VISION

1. General Gavin's goal is to get THE ENTIRE Army "Airborne" and capable of 3D maneuver by aircraft delivery. Today's C-5s and C-17s make this a reality, we just have to CONTAINERIZE everything the Army owns so we do not waste precious time break bulk loading & unloading the USAF's current internal cargo volume T-Tail airlifters and the Army's internal volume CH-47 heavy lift helicopters.

2. Nore that the ideal KIWI pod carrier is still a specially designed aircraft that the pod snaps into for maximum efficiency since the aircraft doesn't carry the dead weight of a large internal volume cargo fuselage. The aircraft depicted here is like the XC-120: a CH-54 SkyCrane but with fixed instead of rotary wings.

3. Once a KIWI pod system is fielded all kinds of options become possible from the very aggressive to the very safe. The most aggressive is DROPPING the pod a few feet above the ground or water; if the carrier aircraft is a Burnelli ESTOL design the slightly above stall speed would be just 60 mph so a LAPES without a parachute or perhaps with a tail parachute on the KIWI pod may not be so severe an impact that the pod gets damaged. People inside are another matter. If its a land carrier plane, with tracked or air cushion landing gear ON THE KIWI pod itself, the plane could detach the pod once firm contact with the ground is made and pull up to return to flight back to base. The conservative option would be to land then could come to a taxi or stop and then detach the pod.

The KIWI pod has tracks to propel itself over the ground after detaching from its carrier aircraft.

4. The KIWI pod. First notice the two cargo cranes in back to load/offload supplies on pallets. There's a side door for Paratroopers to enter/leave the KIWI pod.

5. There are two sets of tracks which is incredible that General Gavin proposes this since it enables a vehicle to run over a land mine and still have 3 sets of tracks intact to keep going. On top of the KIWI pods are two machine gun or autocannon turrets to defend itself from enemy attacks or to attack the enemy, whichever happens first.

6. LOOK WHAT'S COMING OUT OF THE KIWI POD!!

Why its a LIGHT TRACKED ARMORED FIGHTING VEHICLE...sort of like a M113! Notice on its front are two mine roller wheels to sacrifice themselves if a land mine is run over to keep the main vehicle's tracks intact to stay mobile. And right behind it is either a Paratrooper on a motorcycle and/or pedal bike!

7. Here is retired LTC Chuck Jarnot's "T-MARS" minimalist 227mm rocket launcher described in our Air-Mech-Strike book to offer a barrage of rockets to saturate the Paratrooper's enemies for maximum "bang" with least amount of weight for air delivery purposes. Certainly General Gavin saw our own and the Russian and German WW2 barrage rockets on trucks and trailers and wanted the capability continued. Where are they today? Heavy units have 227mm rockets on very heavy MLRS tracked launchers and a few Airborne units are getting the HIMARS FMTV truck with a single 6-rocket MLRS 227mm rocket pack...otherwise there are no ground rockets in our Army light units and marines today! Gavin's trailer mobile rocket system still has merit.

The Current Future Combat System (FCS) of 2006

8. 60 years later, the Army is still playing with "futuristic" concepts like FCS when we could have had them back in 1947! Compare the current "Future Combat System" of 2006 (see pic above) to Gavin's of 1947...his vision is actually more revolutionary, creative and practical because its PHYSICALLY offering capabilities while the current FCS is all about joining hands mentally with Tofflerian computer networks and embracing PHYSICAL WEAKNESS when we still live in a very large PHYSICAL world full of real, PHYSICAL enemies! Here Gavin shows a future TANK with 4 sets of tracks to like today's Bv206S keep moving in event of a landmine attack. Notice he has the driver in the hull center like today's M1 Abrams heavy tank. The turret has twin autocannon like the German Geopard for a high rate of fire to shoot down aircraft or ground targets.

General Gavin's KIWI pod concept was and still is far ahead of its time.

The piston-engined XC-120 simply did not have enough extra power to spare for the extra tare weight of a detachable pod. Today's turboprops and turbofans can enable a modular pod equipped plane to work but anti-physical DoD is not interested and wants to play with mental gadgets to steer firepower when Planet Earth is still a very big place where MANEUVER is the key to changing peoples and governments. We have the world-wide ISO shipping container system to be our "KIWI pods" we just need to design a fixed-wing cargo plane around these "BATTLEBOXes". The S-64 SkyCrane can carry one ISO container now snug up into its skeletal body (see description below). Pods would enable every unit in the U.S. Army to be READY-TO-FIGHT at all times with "BATTLEBOXes" ready to operate as soon as they are delivered by air, land or sea.

The Answer is staring at us right in our faces: Hard-Shell ISO Containers

Why not after they are emptied dig them in and surround them with earth-filled metal walls and use them for guard posts and troop living spaces instead of flimsy tents and plywood shacks?

1st Tactical Studies Group (Airborne) Director, Mike Sparks writes: I can't believe I didn't make this connection sooner! In 1986 I went to USMC OCS at Camp Upshur living in the last of the marine quonset huts.....the point here is that we knew as far back as WWII that tents are not good enough....we retired the quonset hut and did not replace it....planet earth has not changed....we still need portable hard shell housing...but the way to do it better is by using ISO containers that can be fortified and transported by land/sea/air...BattleBoxes^TM! Why live in a tent and run to a bomb shelter every time the enemy attacks giving the enemy the disruption he seeks when we can already be in fortified BattleBoxes^TM as bomb shelters?

www.uh.edu/engines/epi1278.htm

No. 1278: QUONSET HUTS

by John H. Lienhard

Click here for audio of Episode 1278.

Today, we build an instant house. The University of Houston's College of Engineering presents this series about the machines that make our civilization run, and the people whose ingenuity created them.

As WW-II war clouds gathered in 1941, the Navy knew it would soon face vast problems of moving and housing people and materiel. War is about logistics, and people need shelter. Someone had a bright idea. Why not create a cheap, lightweight, portable structure that could be put up by untrained people?

So they went to the George A. Fuller construction company in New York. The Navy wanted buildings within two months. The British had developed a light prefab structure called a Nissen hut during WW-I. Now the Navy wanted an improved version.

And they got it: Peter Dejongh and Otto Brandenberger went to work. Within a month they'd set up a production facility near Quonset, Rhode Island. They moved so quickly that they were producing units while the design was still being tinkered.

That's how the famous Quonset hut came into being. Some people thought the old Nissen hut had been modeled on Iroquois council lodges. Now the Quonset hut version had the same shape and an Iroquois-sounding name. The Indian connection was probably fortuitous. Still, the resemblance was strong. The Quonset hut skeleton was a row of semi-circular steel ribs covered with corrugated sheet metal. The ribs sat on a low steel-frame foundation with a plywood floor. The basic model was 20 feet wide and 48 feet long with 720 square feet of usable floor space. The larger model was 40 by 100 feet.

So we entered the war armed with this cheap housing meant for airstrips, MASH units, barracks -- you name it. Historian Michael Lamm tells how Quonsets were strung together in Guam to form a 54,000-square-foot warehouse.

Around 170,000 Quonset huts were produced during the war -- enough to house the combined populations of Portland and Seattle. Then the war ended, and they were too good a resource to throw away. So the military sold them to civilians for about a thousand dollars each. They made serviceable single-family homes.

Returning veterans now occupied Quonset huts by choice. Universities made them into student housing. Architects took an interest and gussied them up in odd ways. Churches and small businesses took up residence in them. In 1948 the Sacramento Peak observatory was housed in Quonset huts. Playwright Robert Finton has written a play about them. He titled it Tents of Tin.

Drive your streets today and you'll see them here and there. Much more than relics of war, they're icons of a day in our history -- icons that spread all the way from North Africa to the Aleutian Islands. And now, a new memorial museum for war correspondent Ernie Pyle has just been built of Quonset huts. Once in a while, a really good design surfaces -- robust, simple, and enduring. The DC-3, the Jeep, and the Quonset hut are all examples of the clear thinking that was needed to keep us out of serious trouble, back in the 1940s.

I'm John Lienhard, at the University of Houston, where we're interested in the way inventive minds work.

(Theme music)

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Lamm, M., The Instant Building. Invention & And Technology, Winter, 1998, pp. 68-72.

See also the following websites which reflect some of the continuation of the Quonset hut in our lives today:

www.sunspot.noao.edu/PR/quonset.html
www3.electriciti.com/aviator/restore2.html

While we see few orginal Quonset huts around today, we do find the form being utilized in modern versions of it. See, for example,

www.archtechnology.com

Here is a U.S. Government photo of Quonset huts as seen in front of Laguna Peak, Point Mugu, in 1946:

Our civilian lives are held together today by "covered wagon" tractor-trailers piloted by brave truck drivers who go without sleep, but of course no one is shooting at them as long as they don't go on strike. So why should we try to resupply ourselves with unarmored tractor-trailers in a shooting war? War is different than peace-time. The U.S. Army has been inadequately cobbling together ad hoc, non-comprehensive field living work-arounds for decades after the motor driven truck was invented and are still not properly adapted to the earth environment. Human needs are scoffed at with machismo disdain. The U.S. Army still lives in completely vulnerable tents that we pack, repack and erect wasting enormous time and of course fail to protect our Soldiers! The time has come for us to adapt once and for all to earth field living conditions, the non-linear battle enemy threat and end the scourge of the garrison pampered/field deprivation feast/famine mentalities. We can no longer every time we go to war learn our adolescent machismo is no match for bullets, bombs and infections. We need to grow up about field living and war conditions, and admit we are not third world fighters who will live in squalid conditions and trade years off our lives in order to win in battle. The way to success is to properly take care of our high health standard human needs and then focus all of our, in general, greater available energies to warfighting.

Click Here to return to Table of Contents.

II The optimized tactical BattleBox^TM made from ISO sea/air/land containers

Make Sea/Air/Land ISO Containers our "building blocks", our "BattleBoxes^TM"

FM 55-80 Army Container Operations states:

http://155.217.58.58/cgi-bin/atdl.dll/fm/55-80/ch1.htm

"The DOD relies on commercial sealift to move 85 percent of cargo during contingency operations. The U.S. and world merchant fleets are dominated by large, fast containerships with supporting corporate infrastructure (for example, CHE [Container Handling Equipment], terminals, information systems, tractors/chassis, and experienced personnel). Experience in ODS [Operation Desert Storm] revealed that DOD was unprepared to use effectively, containers and containerships to move UE [Unit Equipment] and ammunition. This contributed, in conjunction with port saturation and lack of ITV, to the slow deployment of CS/CSS forces and resulted in significant delays in moving Class V [ammunition] resupply. Also, large numbers of small, slow breakbulk vessels were used instead of containerships which resulted in significant costs in time and money.

The transition to a CONUS-based, power projection force increases the need for the Army to be able to rapidly deploy anywhere, anytime. Strategic lift must be maximized to rapidly project power to meet our force projection goals. Strategic lift is supplied by either ocean-going vessels or air transport. Both are limited resources. Having the largest requirement for strategic lift demands that the Army maximize its use of containerization. Containerization increases the types of ships available to support strategic deployment as well as increasing the cargo capacity of other available ships. It also streamlines handling requirements within the distribution system. Other added bonuses of containerization are increased protection against shipping damage and safeguards against pilferage."

For the Army/marines its BUILDINGS.

Do we go to war with buildings?

No.

Then why are we spending most of our garrison day on lawn and building care on buildings that do nothing for us in a fight?

We have a solution.

Awhile back, British military expert, William Owen suggested we put light tanks like M113 Gavins inside sea/air/land containers also known as "milvans" in U.S. parlance to container ship, rail and truck them into battle areas.

Its a great idea we haven't stopped tinkering with. We think small aircraft and helicopters need to be carried inside armored milvans as suggested by Captain Brent Orr to effect the ground mobility we propose so we don't have to work around them like we do now and get them co-located with ground maneuver units for more responsiveness.

My buddy from college is a SF MSG, and he just returned from Iraq. He gave me this picture of the Sea/Air/Land container HOUSE he lived in called a "Cormex". He says its made in Italy and not only stacks like a container for ship, truck, air transport, they FLATTEN, too. I haven't found much on the www of this development.

Here's the pic:

Here's some info:

www.monmouth.army.mil/monmessg/ newmonmsg/oct242003/m43qatar.htm

EXCERPT:

"As a deployed civilian, I was assigned to live in a 'Cormex,' a steel box composed of "storage container" components. Storage containers are often stacked three high on the deck of ocean-going ships. The interior walls and ceiling of units were covered in thick plastic, with a linoleum-covered floor. Cormexes have a front door and small window. The unit is eight strides long and three strides wide and contains two beds, two nightstands, a shelf attached to one wall and two chairs."

"This isn't a bad system but we can actually do better as well - expandable containers are available in a variety of designs allowing for even more room. I've advocated these for years as replacements for all major tentage. Keep the force mobile in the early stages of conflict and when it's time to settle in, truck in these shelters on load handling trailers. Also ideal for office space. The medical corps is already working on converting to this format with the primary mode of transport being an LHS-equipped MTV."

So let's get rid of all the buildings and lawn areas possible from the Army and marines. What are we waiting for? Are we warfighters or janitors?

The key invention here is the sea/air/land ISO shipping container which easily stacks on top of each other for container ship delivery by sea, mounts on railroad flat cars, truck beds and in aircraft. Here is where equipment and doctrine collide. Replace everything with military ISO sea/air/land containers that are mobile by trains, trucks and planes. If it cannot fit in an ISO and deploy with us to war, throw it out. What we do in garrison out of ISO containers better damn well be exactly what we would do in war.

Thanks to my friend Last Dingo, we have done a quick "market survey" of the military ISO containers out there. There are ISO containers that FLOAT that connect like lego pieces to form piers and causeways...there are several fully functional hospitals with patient bed ISOs....aircraft workshop repair facilities (no excuse not to do our aircraft-in-a-box idea!), kitchens, commo facilities, CPs.....

Researcher Phil West uncovered the following:

"Some more stuff on container living from the guy who first put me onto them"

Phil

There's a follow-up article for your 1st link:

http://www.escapeartist.com/efam17/Nomadic_Housing.html

I must admit that I have lost track with the majority of my shipping container housing URL's, having gone through a number of computers since posting to you on that subject. I have looked through your links (thanks) and searching through several Google results pages and see the topic has proliferated. As I recall, the container that caught my eye was an expandable mil spec unit...from a Norwegan company named Uniteam (at www.uniteam.org) ,it was designed as a command post or something, with the sidewalls sliding outwards (like a Caravan or RV's "tip-out" rooms) to convert from a standard container-width, to triple size after being towed to a destination. Made for NATO.

Exterior view:

www.army-technology.com/contractors/field/uniteam/uniteam3.html

Interior view:

www.army-technology.com/contractors/field/uniteam/uniteam4.html

Uniteam International AS
Tevlingveien 23
PO Box 200
N-0614 Oslo
Norway
Tel: +47 23 14 22 80
Fax: +47 23 14 22 90
Email: international@uniteam.no
URL: www.uniteam.org

There are also a number of pre-fab shelters that are sold in a shipping container and which setup "quickly". One such are Deltec prefab homes. Google it. Also a yurt is a very livable shelter which can be transported in the back of a truck. Build a deck and setup on top. Might look at some at http://www.nbyurts.com/ - Here's a compact treatise on how to make a small fortune by living in a yurt. Inspiring:

"Stop paying rent without mortgaging your next 30 years. Shelter is an area where all people experience a common ground - everyone needs a place to stay warm and dry. Fortunately, we have choices. For example, instead of paying $600 a month rent, why not stay at a friend's or camp out for 3-4 months?

You could use the $2400 you would save to buy a Yurt. Then find some land you could use for low or no cost. In 2 years, you could save $14,400 - enough to buy some nice land and move your portable Yurt. 10 years of saving the $600 a month rent yields $72,000; over $100,000 if reinvested at 10%"

Retire in some easy 3rd world country. Someplace like Goa, Thailand, Panama...move to Brazil and take up the saxaphone...it's your call.

Good hearing from you, but I've been up about 24 hrs., so must steal some sleep before doing another night shift...you know how it is.

best,

Chris

These are some I found

www.escapeartist.com/OREQ4/Nomadic_Housing2000.html
www.escapeartist.com/efam17/At_The_Edge.html
www.enr.com/news/buildings/archives/031117.asp
www.archpaper.com/feature_articles/shipping_news.html
www.totse.com/en/ego/self_improvement/howtomakeachea173260.htm l
www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A28394-2004May14.html

The inspiration behind the BATTLEBOX is Noah's box-shaped, sturdy Ark. Look all around you.

Most everything is a box. Your computer monitor is a BOX. Your CD case is a thin BOX. Your room you are in is a BOX. The box is the fundamental artificial way to keep out the forces of the earth, be it dust from your CD or to group electronic components together or keep the rain and wind out from your body creating an indoor, safe environment. The box is HORIZONTAL and is humble, admitting that man has limits and needs help to survive against the battle against the earth's forces (TBATE). Taking ISO container creator, Malcolm McClean's box and making it into portable, sturdy military BATTLEBOXes is to extend Noah's Ark principle to withstand against evil men seeking our damage in war.

Compare Noah's humble box to Nimrod's VERTICAL Tower of Babel. Noah's Ark withstood a world-wide flood for a year, and Nimrod's tower fell at the first earthquake. Being arrogant and trying to be god is physically unsound and is the driving force behind the mental RMA stupidity driving the U.S. DoD. DoD is trying to use the mental powers of computers and air/space sensors to lord it over its enemies throwing firepower thunderbolts at them without being physically grounded to withstand the force of planet earth much less human attacks (the battle against man or "TBAM"). The flimsy, long runway air bases which the RMA launches its unarmored air and space craft are easily targeted by an alert enemy and knocked out; just as Nimrod's tower fell from just a slight shift at its foundation.

America needs a a href="http://www.combatreform2.com/usarmyethos.htm">humble and sturdy military based on Noah's Ark completely BATTLEBOXed so it can prevail in TBATE and TBAM and not one with its head in the clouds.

Here's one way the U.S. Army fortifies ISO containers above-ground using HESCO Concertainers and sandbags: an ammo dump in Iraq.

More Progress in Iraq: marines using dug-in ISO containers near Ubaydi

http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2005/09/28/MNGF8EV3UF1.DTL
http://billroggio.com/archives/2005/09/the_waiting_gam.php

"For now, marines maintain a permanent checkpoint about 1.5 miles south of the town and camp out at a desert outpost they call Battle Position Belleau Wood -- a cluster of berms and shipping containers half-dug into ankle-deep fine dust and covered with sandbags and camouflage netting, surrounded by a 7-foot wall of dust and rocks. The outpost, which the marines set up 12 days ago, is being shelled by mortars almost daily, Fischer said. 'The job here is to just have the presence,' he said. Occasionally, the marines launch what they call 'presence patrols' near the town, to see what kind of firepower their enemy has."

BATTLEBOXtroops^TM IN ACTION

Superb photos by SPC Mark Getman, NYARNG (click on picture for high resolution version)

Soldier & Private Security demonstrators: LTC Larry Altersitz USAR (R), Vasilios G. (Bill) Perselis, Sam Altersitz, Joe Altersitz and the lovely Kim Williams from SeaBox.

Today's Soldier cannot waste time mowing lawns and polishing floors; he has to be "STRAC": Skilled, Tough and Ready-Around-the-Clock; he is instantly able to deploy anywhere in the world inside his highly modified ISO shipping container "BATTLEBOX" full of all the supplies and equipment he needs to fight & win on Non-Linear Battlefields (NLBs) by land, sea and air. Upon arrival, he can create Forward Operating Bases (FOBs) by fortifying his BATTLEBOX^TMes into 360 degree security defensive shapes; he doesn't need someone to come in and build an ice cream parlor that doesn't move that will be left behind when he leaves. He takes with him all his equipment in his BATTLEBOX to be ready to fight again when America calls to defend freedom.

The BATTLEBOX^TM is the creation of Jim Brennan of SeaBox.com [1-800-SEABOX-8] in 802 Industrial Highway, East Riverton, NJ 08077-1910, (856) 303-1101, Fax: 1501, E-mail: sales@seabox.com and the BATTLEBOX^TM Development Team lead by 1LT Mike Sparks USAR www.geocities.com/strategicmaneuver/battleboxes.htm. The BATTLEBOX^TM is an insulated---with the option of kevlar armoring---20 foot long by 8 feet wide and 8 feet high ISO shipping container configured to comfortably house up to 6 x Soldiers. There is no reason why 2-4 Soldiers couldn't be housed as SOP, the ability to protect up to 6 Soldiers is a tactical capability we need and makes the BATTLEBOX concept affordable. It comes with end doors and a side troop door. BATTLEBOX^TMes can be stacked on container ships for transport and can even be used as berthing while at sea.

Each BATTLEBOX^TM comes with forklift slots for materials handling equipment (MHE) to lift them onto the back of railroad cars or truck/tracked vehicle flatbeds or to move them around as needed to create the tactical arrangement required.

BATTLEBOX^TMes come in camouflage colors upon customer request, the prototype here in OD Green blends in well with the woodline and would not have the SEABOX logo and BATTLEBOXtroops^TM white lettering which is there for promotional/informational purposes.

Unlike flimsy tents that lack a hard shape to bear weight, the BATTLEBOX^TM itself can be dug in under ground to fortify it and its Soldiers from enemy artillery, mortars, RPGs. Above ground, it can carry inside itself several SOA plastic blast wall sections that can be linked together to form perimeter walls that when filled with dirt protect against all types of bullets, RPGs and even 25, 000 pound bomb blasts as recent U.S. Army ERDEC tests prove.

HESCO concertainers come in compact packages so many can easily fit inside the BATTLEBOX^TM

HESCO Concertainer power point show

Another option is to carry beaucoup HESCO Concertainers sand/dirt barrels to surround the BATTLEBOX^TM for 360 degree protection from all threats.

HESCO

Location: West Yorkshire , UK Markets: Direct; also in North America through the Trading Force Ltd, Orleans, Ottawa, Canada

Product: Blast wall made of welded wire mesh baskets filled with material such as sand, rubble, soil, rocks, snow, etc. Can be stacked

Product name: Concertainer

Web site: www.hesco.group.com

Test data available: Testing by ERDC, DSWA, and USAF Wright Labs; also extensive testing in the United Kingdom (contact manufacturer)

POC: Al Grice (613) 526-3908 and fax (613) 733-3154
POC: Gary Bergland (229) 630-3479 and fax (229) 247-3264

Testing Data (for Concertainer):

Structural Mechanics Division, Structures Laboratory, U.S. Army Engineer Waterways Experiment Station (WES), Vicksburg, MS, Telephone: (601) 634-2666 or Fax (601) 634-2309

Procurement Assistance: Defense Supply Service Center, Columbus, OH; Telephone: (614) 692-4003 or DSN 850-4003

Additional Information: U.S. Army Military Police School, Directorate of Combat Developments, Materials Division, Ft. McClellan, AL; Telephone: (205) 848-7576 or DSN 865-7576, Fax DSN 865-6209

USACE PageMaster- William.F.Seipel@usace.army.mil
Telephone - (402) 221-3063
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
Protective Design Center
Omaha District, CENWO-ED-SH
Omaha, Nebraska 68102

On the end of the BATTLEBOXtroops^TM is a recessed air conditioning unit that in combination with the white insulated walls keeps the Soldiers inside cool and rested even in middle eastern climates.

The side opposite the A/C unit has full-sized container doors to facilitate the offload of full-size equipment from SOA blast walls to even a small M113 Mini-Gavin tracked armored fighting vehicle since the 6 x troop bunks fold up flush against the inner wall when not in use.

BATTLEBOX^TMes come with integral 110v AC wiring and plug outlets for Soldiers to operate mission equipment, desk and laptop computers, TVs, DVDs, CD players etc. Lighting overhead by long-life flourescent bulbs is easy on the eyes and long lasting before needing bulb replacement. However, the BATTLEBOX^TM does not need to be dependant on a FOB AC power grid and can have 12v DC overhead lighting and plug outlets powered at the box itself using solar, wind and pedal power charging a row of deep cycle storage batteries. Another option for small FOBs/pillbox operations would be to use a small JP-8 fossil fuel generator surrounded by HESCOs would be fairly sound proof to power the unit during the day and charge a row of deep-cycle 12v batteries for night sensor use. Note the integral locking rifle rack, circuit breaker box, fire extinguisher and bunk ladders. The old style rifle rack is shown to demonstrate the concept, but the new rifle racks that enable collimator aiming sight and other optics to stay attached to keep their zero would be standard equipment.

AS RAID FORCE COMMAND POST: MISSION PREP

Under the 8 x personal valuables storage lockers is a work desk shown here with two M4 5.56mm carbines, a PASGT kevlar helmet, a Meal-Ready-to-Eat (MRE) and a cup-of-soup.

Here, Bill Perselis begins to clean his M4 carbine to prepare it for an upcoming mission.

In this picture, Vietnam combat veteran and weapons developer, retired Army Reserves LTC Larry Altersitz discusses with Bill Perselis and Joe Altersitz the upcoming raid target's details from a digitized intelligence report displayed on a mission laptop computer. The BATTLEBOX^TM could easily be fitted with Category V C4ISR electronics wiring for SIPRNET, NIPRNET and FBCB2 digital communications since the robust metal box itself is easily adaptable by skilled craftsmen and handymen.

Black operator Joe Altersitz points out an important detail on the mission target map for the team.

The RAID team study the lay of the land for the upcoming mission. A much larger map could be clear plastic laminated and posted on the BATTLEBOX^TM's huge empty wall space behind them with push pins to idicate moving enemy/friendly units or a large flat screen digital display could be used.

AS RAID FORCE HOLDING CELL

Bill Perselis exits the BATTLEBOXtroops^TM' side troop door weapon shouldered to begin his raid mission outside the FOB perimeter.

Once BATTLEBOXtroops^TM are in large numbers, they can be used for specific purposes like holding enemy prisoners of war (EPWs) after being captured during a raid.

The BATTLEBOX^TM has plenty of space inside to detain and restrain EPWs like Sam Altersitz depicted here, with the bunks down or up.

After the RAID, LTC Altersitz debriefs Bill Perselis as he sits on the edge of his bunk with his TA-50 gear and weapon at his side.

AS MEDICAL CLINIC

Acting as a notional medical doctor, LTC Altersitz checks the pulse of his son, Joe Altersitz with his portable medical cabinet of supplies nearby.

"Dog Tag check!" LTC Altersitz requests to see the I.D. tag of his new patient, Bill Perselis who has checked into his BATTLEBOX^TM mobile medical clinic.

Once BATTLEBOX^TMes are in use in large numbers, some could be designated as Troop Medical Clinics (TMCs) for Soldiers and contractors with minor ailments to get a check-up and minor care.

Up to 6 patients can be accomodated in the BATTLEBOXtroops^TM, here are 4; a Soldier, Bill Perselis, two Black operators, Joe and Sam Altersitz and the lovely Kim Williams from SeaBox.

There is plenty of living space in the BATTLEBOXtroops^TM for all the patients to hand their gear and towels.

"Am I going to live, doc?" Here LTC Altersitz breaks them the good news; his son Joe Altersitz and civilian contractor from SeaBox, Kim Williams will make a full recovery in the BATTLEBOXtroops^TM.

GOT A MISSION? THE BATTLEBOX^TM WILL HELP YOU ACCOMPLISH IT ANYTIME, ANYWHERE IN THE WORLD!

Both Military, police and private security firms can better move, house and protect their men/women by BATTLEBOX^TMes.

BATTLEBOXkitchens: Soldiers eat in their decentralized, dispersed area not collect at a centralized DFAC presenting target to the enemy

Details: of Proposed Optimized U.S. Army Standard ISO BATTLEBOX^TM (BB)

* Each BattleBox contains sections to form an outer sacrificial blast SOA wall wall to predetonate RPGs, roadside/car/truck bomb blasts which can be filled with ice/sand/dirt via exclusive SOA expertise proven in DoD tests...below is one modular wall section...

* Butch Walker's ANT-ISO trailers or M1022-A1 Dolly Set Mobilizer wheels so units self-move when required

* PLS interface built-in to be picked up and dropped off by PLS system equipped vehicles
* Wartertight, able to float to form bridges
* Insulated to be cool in summer/warm in winter even without heat/AC
* Electrical outlets/wiring for 110V and 12V via roof solar panels
* Top troop hatches or guard towers on roof to fight from while moving as troop transport or stationary as pillbox/guard towers
* Side entrance/exit doors
* Link together to form unified walls, larger enclosed bunkers/meeting places
* Lightweight AirBattleBox versions airland and cargo parachute air-droppable

BATTLEBOXcivilian: Zero Energy Homes already in use made from ISO containers! Below is a video clip of an outfit out on the west coast that modifies ISO shipping containers into comfortable civilian homesthat live "off the (power) grid".

* ISUs can fit inside to be weapons vaults, securable sub-storage units (see above)
* REQUIRES NO PETROL FUEL WHATSOEVER: combination of solar panels, 12v deep-cycle batteries and peda-generator exercise bikes powers lighting, cooling, recharges flashlight, night vision device and laptop computer batteries, DVDs etc. Options include David Butcher's recumbent exercise bike, attaching a folding military mountain bike to a Windstream generator stand or their very small hand or pedal crank unit.

The case for Solar Power = BattleBoxes^TM could use them, Soldier's backs probably not without camouflage compromise

In the RDECOM magazine article below, they make a case for lightening the Soldier's load via rechargable batteries to sell his solar power cells. It doesn't do much for a Soldier on the move but back at his Forward Operating Base camp if he has ISO container BattleBoxes^TM , he has the necessary large surface area on the roof for solar cells.

However, human power generation should be the primary way to recharge batteries for self-sufficient BattleBoxes^TM since it can be taken with you and doesn't need sunlight to work. Fossil fuel powered TAFVs like the M113 Gavin when moving should be recharging batteries and purifying and drawing out water from the ambient air and engine exhaust.

www.rdecom.army.mil/rdemagazine/200412/itl_photovoltaics.html

RDECOM Magazine | in the lab |

Photovoltaics Shine Into New Territory
U.S. Army Soldier Systems Center

NATICK, Mass. -- Sunlight is the bright filling station above that never asks for money or runs out of fuel for photovoltaic products, and some scientists believe that the sky is the limit for a new generation of photovoltaic technologies in development at the U.S. Army Soldier Systems Center here.

A promising technology that's existed for decades, photovoltaic (PV) solar cells convert light energy into electricity without noise, moving parts, fuel consumption or pollutant emissions. A breakthrough arrived in the past five years when PV technology transformed from the traditional large, heavy, rigid, reflective and expensive glass panels into lightweight, conformal and inexpensive devices that now can be directly integrated into textiles and warfighter systems, according to Lynne Samuelson, a research chemist in the Science and Technology Directorate.

"There's a lot of room to grow on how power is harvested according to the ambient light," Samuelson said. "Already it's at a usable level."

It's seen as boon to the military for a variety of reasons. Warfighters could cut their battery load weight in half when PV cells are used in combination with rechargeable batteries to power individual items such as night vision goggles, according to Steven Tucker, an electrical engineer in the Collective Protection Directorate.

"On 72-hour and longer missions, it makes a lot more sense to carry rechargeable batteries," Tucker said. "You get rid of that logistics tail by minimizing re-supply with disposable batteries. The benefit/weight payback for a photovoltaic charger and rechargeable battery combination is incredibly quick, and out past 72 hours it just keeps getting better."

Less weight means better mobility, and the ability to recharge batteries on-the-move can increase sustainability, extend mission times and distance from tactical operations centers, and reduce logistics support requirements.

Replacing or decreasing the number of liquid-fuel-powered generators further reduces logistics, and lowers the heat and sound signature in the field for improved stealth. It's also a potential lifesaver as an emergency back-up power in case generators fail, say, in a field hospital.

These benefits are possible because of new lightweight and flexible solar cells made with two complementary PV technologies, amorphous silicon and dye-sensitized nanocomposites.

Of the two, the mature amorphous silicon is the "workhorse" of photovoltaic technology, Samuelson said. "Basically, wherever there's a surface, you can lay it out and generate electricity. These things are so versatile, you can make them to do whatever you want."

Iowa Thin Film Technologies in Ames, Iowa, advanced this technology through a quality award-winning Phase II Small Business Innovative Research (SBIR) effort by manufacturing a PV cell .005 inch thick, rollable to 3 inches diameter and less than 1.7 ounce per 250 mm by 300 mm frame.

Furthermore, the company developed a high-speed manufacturing process for the film and a unique process that allows finished PV product to be roll-laminated directly onto large swaths of shelter fabric.

"This gets away from the heavy glass of prior PV technologies," Tucker said. "PV made from amorphous silicon is mobile and deployable. It can take abuse. I've seen it cut and punctured and still be usable. What degrades over time is the protective covering, not really the PV cell itself."

Three prototype power-generating solar units were manufactured using the speedy process. A "Power Shade" that fits over two kinds of Army tents has PV material laminated into a mesh fabric that reduces solar load by 80-90 percent while generating up to one kilowatt of power for shelter electronics or battery recharging. The smaller TEMPER tent fly generates up to 750 watts, and at one-fourth the size of the fly, the "Quadrant" was designed to be placed wherever convenient and can be adjusted for better exposure to the sun. Its maximum power output is about 190 watts.

On a larger scale, PV cells on shelters for aircraft or field hospitals that cover thousands of square feet could generate 40-60 kilowatts of energy in peak sunlight. "These shelters are out there in the sun baking away, so why not try to take advantage of it?" Tucker said. "This is not just a one-pronged approach. We're approaching the issue of getting power to the warfighter from all sides."

A spin-off from the SBIR is a roll-up module that charges AA batteries. Tucker said the software algorithm that controls the charger was designed to deliver more current to the battery.

"This is a big one. There's nothing out there like this that we're aware of," said Samuelson. "This is the one (Special Operations Command) is excited about and is willing to try."

A colorful approach to PV technology is seen in dye-sensitized nanocomposites, which brings a new wave of possibilities without any sacrifice in power output to amorphous silicon.

Out of an Army Science and Technology Objective, Konarka Technologies in Lowell, Mass., formed to develop PV cells based on light-harvesting dyes that are adsorbed onto titanium dioxide nanoparticles.

Reliable, flexible power for warfighters can be manufactured from a PV layer less than .0005 inch thick that is manufactured onto plastic and into textiles, according to Samuelson. It's made possible because of lower manufacturing temperatures that will not melt the plastic.

"The molecules give it color. We're looking at different color dyes and want to mimic the pattern used in the military," she said.

Demonstration of a photovoltaic fiber is a unique breakthrough for dye-sensitized nanocomposites, according to Samuelson, which could be woven into novel fabric-based PV devices that could be used where traditional PV devices were never thought possible, such as a detachable patch worn to prevent friendly fire or alert to chemical or biological agent contamination.

Konarka's reel-to-reel processing advantage is that it's inexpensive and widely available in foreign countries, and it may fulfill a dream of the late company founder as a way to produce inexpensive electricity in underdeveloped countries, said Samuelson.

"The applications will evolve with the technology," said Tucker. "It could be applied to toys so they don't need batteries or be a way to recharge cell phones or (personal digital assistants)."

Eventually, direct integration into soldier-borne systems may create electronically-active textiles to minimize cables and connections, and provide a more streamlined and multi-functional warfighter system, according to Samuelson.

A new Science and Technology Objective, beginning this year and continuing through 2008, looks to branch out the self-powered electrotextiles theme to achieve PV power generation from virtually any surface.

(Submitted by U.S. Army Natick Soldier Center Public Affairs Office)

Windstream Power Systems: Human Power Generator

The Human Power Generator is small, portable, and dependable - perfect for emergencies, power failures, remote locations, and off-grid applications. It can be pedaled or cranked by hand to charge 12 volt batteries and run small appliances. Incorporate it into your existing 12 volt system or simply plug your 120 volt appliance into the Portable Power Pack outlet and start pedaling.

The typical average continuous power that can be generated by pedaling the Human Power Generator is up to about 125 watts. The maximum power obtainable through hand cranking typically is about 50 watts. The pedals and optional hand-cranks are interchangeable.

The MkIII Human Power Generator has a durable powder coated steel frame, large rubber feet, and vibration isolated generator. Reengineered for more strength, easier adjustment, and smooth operation, the new MkIII Human Power Generator is the tool for energy education and self-reliant electrical production.

The Human Power Combo comes with the Mk III Human Power Generator (pictured at left) and a stand-alone Portable Power Pack which includes: storage battery, 200 watt inverter (with 300 watt peak power), LED battery voltage readout, connection cables, and a 120 volt outlet to turn your calories into useful power. All you need to do is plug into the Portable Power Pack outlet with your standard AC or DC lights or appliances. To keep your system charged, you just hook up the Human Power Generator to the Portable Power Pack, and pedal or crank by hand...it's the same way you would recharge an ordinary battery, except you provide all the power!

Though even the Tour de France winner (Lance) could not run an entire household's electrical appliances with it, the Human Power Generator System can give you a boost when and where you need it most (charge your car or boat battery, recharge portable electric tool batteries, run emergency back-up lighting, run your PC at your remote cabin). You can maximize the use of your Human Power Generator System by retrofitting your cabin with compact fluorescent lighting and energy efficient appliances.

Stock No. 454213, Mk III Human Power Generator $497 Order Now

SAVE! Stock No. 454217, Human Power Combo (with Portable Power Pack) $850 Order Now

Stock No. 341213, Set of Hand Cranks $25 Order Now

www.windstreampower.com/humanpower/ppg.html

Windstream Power Systems: Bike Power

If you are a cyclist, you know the value of winter training. But do you know the value of your exertion? Your energy is being turned into heat by your trainer. Recapture your energy! The Bike Power generator is the answer for making more power, faster. Attach your bicycle using our tool-free stand and start generating. Pedal to charge 12 volt batteries and run small appliances. Incorporate it into your existing 12 or 24 volt system or simply plug your 120 volt appliance into the Portable Power Pack outlet and start pedaling.

If you already have a trainer or want to build your own stand, the Bike Power Module consists of only the generator, bearings, and friction wheel all conveniently mounted on a steel bracket.

Look for 100 to 300 watts from the Bike Power generator. Just remember that all the energy that you are generating is coming from you; be prepared to give.

The Bike Power generator comes with adjustable folding stand. Place your bike in the stand and secure it with the mounting knobs, adjust the friction wheel with a tool-free knob, and pedal. You'll have DC power ready to charge a battery or power DC loads.

The Bike Power Combo comes with a Bike Power generator and a stand-alone Portable Power Pack which includes: storage battery, 200 watt inverter (300 watt peak power!), LED battery voltage readout, connection cables, and a 120 volt outlet to turn your calories into household current. All you need to do is plug into the Portable Power Pack outlet with your standard AC or DC lights or appliances. To recharge, just hook up your Bike Power to the Portable Power Pack, and pedal...it's the same way you would charge an ordinary battery, except you provide all the power!

Save $$$ with a COMBO!

Stock No. 454104, Bike Power Module $450 Order Now
Stock No. 454105, Bike Power generator $558 Order Now
SAVE! Stock No. 454116, Bike Power Combo (with Portable Power Pack) $899 Order Now

www.windstreampower.com/humanpower/ppack.html

Windstream Power Systems: Portable Power Pack

When you want to extend the use of your Human Power or Bike Power generator beyond direct current, you need a Portable Power Pack. To operate standard 120 volt AC lights and appliances, plug directly into the outlet on the Portable Power System. If you use the Human Power Generator without the Portable Power System, 12 volt DC lights and appliances can be connected to the HPG output or to a small battery (for stabilization).

The Portable Power Pack includes storage battery, 300 watt inverter (with 800 watt peak power), LED battery voltage readout, connection cables, and a 120 volt AC outlet to turn your calories into convient easy to use power. All you need to do is plug your standard AC lights or appliances into the Portable Power Pack outlet. There are even separate DC outputs. To keep your system charged, simply connect a Human Power Generator or Bike Power generator to the Portable Power Pack, and pedal...it's the same way you would recharge an ordinary battery, except you provide the power!

Now the Portable Power Pack does even more with wind, solar, PV inputs. A Windstream or AIR wind turbine and a solar panel can now be connected along side a Human Power Generator to pack even more power into your Power Pack.

LOWER PRICE!! Stock No. 454219, Portable Power Pack $397 (was $425) Order Now
SAVE!! Stock No. 454217, Human Power Combo (with Portable Power Pack) $850 Order Now
SAVE!! Stock No. 454116, Bike Power Combo (with Portable Power Pack) $899 Order Now

Windstream Power Systems Incorporated
PO Box 1604
Burlington VT 05402-1604 USA
Tel (802) 658-0075 Fax -1098
email: info@windstreampower.com

What about Command & Control BattleBoxes^TM that need much more power than troop-living units? --The SkyBuilt Power unit

www.spacewar.com/news/energy-tech-05zzzzzzzg.html

"The U.S. Central Intelligence Agency is reportedly investing in a power unit that can generate substantial electrical energy without using any fuel.

The units manufactured by a small Virginia start-up company - SkyBuilt Power - are so rugged they can be dropped by parachute from an airplane and operate so simply, two people could have a unit running in just a few hours, the Christian Science Monitor reported Tuesday.

The generators are fueled by solar and wind energy, with a battery backup for use during the night or when winds are calm. And the units are designed to run for years with little maintenance, the newspaper said.

Depending upon its configuration, SkyBuilt's Mobile Power Station can generate up to 150 kilowatts of electricity."

Proposed U.S. Army BattleBox 1: 18 Scale models by the 1st TSG (A)