Just for info. All US Army soldiers in Afghanistan to switch to Multicam camo uniforms. I guess the "Universal Camouflage Pattern" that was issued out a few years back wasn't very popular. Press release dated Feb 20.

US Army press release

Multicam during demo:



Universal Camouflage Pattern:




Edited to fix link and add UCP photo

it was widely joked that the only place that the ACU camou was effective is in was on crushed gravel, and that the camou actually made them stand out in A'stan...well the multicam looks good, some of the pics show its really effective

Wait, other than the multicam camo, i noticed that one of the soldiers in the first pic is holding some sort of joystick.
Is it part of the US Land Warrior system?

That's not a joystick, it is infact an actual xbox 360 controller being use to control some EOD robot I believed. Read about it somewhere else.

* Not joking.

Here's a better shots of the X-box360 controller modified for used with the EDO Robot



That’s a pretty awesome picture, is it not? It’s the Army’s latest bomb seeking robot which explores houses for explosives and trip wires, keeping actual soldiers out of harms way. It’s DNA is an amalgam of an Xbox 360, a Roomba, and Nintendo’s R.O.B. the Robot.

“Spec. Ronald Wagle is a 23-year-old video gamer turned grunt… The handheld gizmo he uses to control a robot “is almost exactly the same as an Xbox [360] controller,” he said.

Wagle uses the controller to deftly steer the robot, whose camera-equipped head gives it more than a passing resemblance to the R2-D2 robot in Star Wars, to check buildings in the village for weapons, including trip wires that could set off an improvised explosive device.

The robot, built by iRobot Corp., the same company that makes the Roomba vacuum cleaner, features cameras that can see in daylight and dark, has flexible treads that allow it to climb stairs, and radio links…”

I really hope the trigger buttons control gatling guns on its arms, but unless they’re really well hidden, I doubt it.

Army Navigates Bomb Hunting Robot via Xbox 360 Controller

oh my goodness, and I thought all the while it was just a very good practical joke :ph43r:

read http://defensetech.org/2010/02/16/how-many...iers-do-you-see

the effect of multicam. from the author there is 4 soldiers in the photo.

http://www.army.mil/-images/2010/02/12/641...2-12-060213.jpg

aww come on, the other two are standing behind the left guy. you call that camouflage? didn't the SAF teach you Camouflage and Concealment? Camouflage means you are hard to see even when standing in plain, unobstructed view. Concealment means standing behind something that will prevent the enemy from seeing you, even if you are buck naked :lol: :lol: :lol:

hahahah my corporal only taught me CB leaves nia lei , that the only part i listen hahah :ph43r:

okok serious abit I looked at the last soldier against the background the camo does kick in.

CB leaves is call distraction ;D)

I seen an episode of Ross Kemp Return to Afghanistan where a UAV is controlled by a game controller (XBOX 360, IIRC). I try to get a vidcap from that episode.

actually its good to use these commercial controllers, since a lot of R&D had been put in to understand how the controller interacts between the player and the controlled object.

worth noting is that the BX's driver control is literally a steering wheel, which is a lot better than the SM1 and the Ultra's two sticks...

speaking of gaming technology, has anyone played Operation Flashpoint/Battlefield series of games? the BMS strongly reminds me of the target identification/designation systems used in those games...press a button while the cursor is aimed at the enemy and everyone on your team up the hierarchy knows whats in front of you (Enemy infantry/tank/battle walker spotted!) so yes, the gaming industry does have positive externalities to the military industry :)

maybe someday in order to reload we just need to point our gun out of our view and shoot once :P

about the Multicam, I always wondered why didn't a digital version of it come out...

CB leaves is also attract mosquito...this is the other reason why its called CB leaves :lol:

if you go enough days without bathing, no mosquitoes will come. :P