Army launches video pitch for futuristic weapons program
The Army's crown jewel of transformation and network-centricity, the $120 billion Future Combat Systems, is under assault on Capitol Hill. FCS is intended to network soldiers and commanders with sensors, unmanned vehicles, a satellite-based Internet in the sky, and new vehicles, weapons and communications devices. Now, to tout the program and stave off funding cuts, the Army and its contractors are revving up a public relations offensive with DVDs, online videos and a video game reminiscent of the recruiting sensation, "America's Army."
For example, "Safehouse," a video released on the Army's FCS Web site in October 2006, promotes FCS not only as the ultimate in network-centric warfare, but as a lifesaver, too.
It opens with an Army sergeant working in a clinic in a Southeast Asian village. A woman rushes in carrying her unconscious daughter. The sergeant slaps sensors on the child and, using a laptop, gets a fast meningitis diagnosis from the United States. The video continues as soldiers using unmanned aerial and ground vehicles, sensors and high-tech communications gear track and capture Salandeo, a narcoterrorist.
See the video below:
Regen Wilson, SAIC spokesman, says the game was de-signed to let troops have a taste of what FCS will be like. SAIC has handed out more than 24,000 copies of the game.
Also on the FCS Web site is a debunking section called Myths and Realities. "The problem is not that the Army or FCS is too expensive; it is that some in our country seem to balk at what is historically imperative for our national defense," it warns.
COMMENTS
- The things that the Military comes up with saves all of out lives and keeps the United States on top and more powerful than it's enemies. Health care is an issue, but so is National Security! Zach Posted May 17, 2008 6:11 PM
- Please correct me if I am wrong. Is SAIC the same company that the Federal Bureau of Investigation contracted with for purposes of design and implementation of their failed “virtual case file” system to the tune of over $100 million? Please stop the budgetary hemorrhaging! Joe Customs - 1789 Posted January 9, 2007 3:27 PM
- The hundreds of thousands of people in the United States who can't afford basic health insurance may find it difficult to understand that the Army needs a new toy. We have commercial satellites that provide Internet access just about anywhere. The European Union is launching satellites that will provide extremely accurate location information anywhere in the world. Even the poorest countries seem to have cell phone service. The army doesn't need its own private system when it can use the same systems as everyone else. Stop wasting money. Robert M. Posted January 11, 2007 7:41 AM
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