DTN News: Armed Forces Foundation With Oshkosh Defense Announces Rumble With A Cause Sweepstakes Winners

DTN News: Armed Forces Foundation With Oshkosh Defense Announces Rumble With A Cause Sweepstakes Winners

Source: DTN News / Oshkosh Corporation

(NSI News Source Info) OSHKOSH, Wis. - June 2, 2010: The Armed Forces Foundation (AFF), together with Oshkosh Defense, a division of Oshkosh Corporation (NYSE:OSK), yesterday June 1., announced the winners of the custom-painted motorcycle grand prizes for the Rumble With a Cause sweepstakes. David Dingman, of Killeen, Texas, won the Army-themed bike and Skipper Lee Campbell, of Seguin, Texas, won the Marine Corps-themed bike. Dingman, a staff sergeant with the Army, and Campbell, a retired Marine with 14 years of service, received calls from Patricia Driscoll, AFF president and executive director, and Andy Hove, Oshkosh Corporation executive vice president and president, Defense, notifying them of their grand prize win. The winners will receive their motorcycles at a special event in the Washington, D.C. area that will be announced and posted at http://www.rumblewithacause.org/ in the coming weeks. The sweepstakes ended on April 15 and raised more than $150,000 for the AFF, which provides assistance to active and retired military members, as well as their families. “Thanks to the support of many people, including the two lucky winners, the Rumble With a Cause sweepstakes was a great success,” said Andy Hove, Oshkosh Corporation executive vice president and president, Defense. “We at Oshkosh believe strongly in giving back to the men and women who serve our country, whether they’re on the front lines or have returned home. The AFF does so much for military members and their families, and we are very happy to have been able to support the important services they provide.” With the support of Oshkosh, the AFF launched the Rumble With a Cause sweepstakes in October 2009. Oshkosh donated the two military-themed Harley-Davidson® Fat Boy® motorcycles as the sweepstakes grand prizes. Donations raised through the sweepstakes will support the AFF and its wide range of assistance to active and retired military members, and their families, including counseling, living expenses, funeral arrangements and housing improvements. While sweepstakes entries are no longer being accepted, those wishing to support the AFF and its many services can still make a donation through the Rumble With a Cause Web site at www.rumblewithacause.org or by texting AFF to 90999 to give $10. About The Armed Forces Foundation:

The Armed Forces Foundation (AFF) was established in 2001 as a national 501 (c) (3) non-profit organization. A part of the U.S. Department of Defense’s America Supports You program, AFF considers it their duty; honor and privilege to serve the needs of those that have bravely served our country. AFF issues direct aid to our wounded warriors, as well as active-duty, retired personnel, Guard, Reserve Components, and their families through a variety of programs. From financial assistance to morale, welfare and recreation, AFF’s dedication to our troops help them get back on their feet and care for their loved ones at home. For more information, please visit www.armedforcesfoundation.org. “Serving Those Who Serve” • 16 North Carolina Ave. SE, Washington, DC 20003 • T: 202.547.4713 • Tax ID No.: 75-3070368 • CFC # 12247 About Oshkosh Defense

Oshkosh Defense, a division of Oshkosh Corporation, is an industry-leading global designer and manufacturer of tactical military trucks and armored wheeled vehicles, delivering a full product line of conventional and hybrid vehicles, advanced armor options, proprietary suspensions and vehicles with payloads that can exceed 70 tons. Oshkosh Defense provides a global service and supply network including full life-cycle support and remanufacturing, and its vehicles are recognized the world over for superior performance, reliability and protection. For more information, visit www.oshkoshdefense.com. About Oshkosh Corporation

Oshkosh Corporation is a leading designer, manufacturer and marketer of a broad range of specialty access equipment, commercial, fire & emergency and military vehicles and vehicle bodies. Oshkosh Corp. manufactures, distributes and services products under the brands of Oshkosh®, JLG®, Pierce®, McNeilus®, Medtec®, Jerr-Dan®, Oshkosh Specialty Vehicles, Frontline™, SMIT™, CON-E-CO®, London® and IMT®. Oshkosh products are valued worldwide in businesses where high quality, superior performance, rugged reliability and long-term value are paramount. For more information, log on to www.oshkoshcorporation.com.

DTN News: U.S. Department of Defense Contracts Dated June 1, 2010

DTN News: U.S. Department of Defense Contracts Dated June 1, 2010 Source: U.S. DoD issued June 1, 2010 (NSI News Source Info) WASHINGTON - June 2, 2010: U.S. Department of Defense, Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense (Public Affairs) Contracts issued June 1, 2010 are undermentioned; CONTRACTS NAVY ~Global Defense Technology & Systems, Inc., Frederick, Md., is being awarded a $94,919,758 maximum contract value firm-fixed-price, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract with a maximum ordering quantity of 500 expeditionary water purification systems. The initial delivery order is for three systems, and is valued at $1,116,000. Work will be performed in Frederick, Md., and is expected to be complete by May 31, 2015. Contract funds will not expire by the end of the current fiscal year. This contract is a full and open competition with two offers received. The Marine Corps Systems Command, Quantico, Va., is the contracting activity (M67854-10-D-5034). ARMY ~Oshkosh Corp., Oshkosh, Wis., was awarded on May 24 a $66,915,870 firm-fixed-price contract for the procurement of 22 engineering change proposals to incorporate into 421 Mine Resistant Ambush Protected All-Terrain Vehicles. Work is to be performed in Oshkosh, Wis., with an estimated completion date of May 31, 2012. Five bids were solicited with five bids received. TACOM, CCTA-ADC-A, Warren, Wis., is the contracting activity (W56HZV-09-D-0111). ~General Dynamics Land Systems, Inc., Sterling Heights, Mich., was awarded on May 25 a $45,633,519 firm-fixed-price contract to procure 980 stabilized commanders weapons stations. Work is to be performed in Lima, Ohio, with an estimated completion date of Feb. 28, 2013. One bid was solicited with one bid received. TACOM- Warren, CCTA-AHL-C, Warren, Mich., is the contracting activity (W56HZV-06-G-0006). ~General Dynamics Land Systems, Inc., Sterling Heights, Mich., was awarded on May 25 a $45,517,686 firm-fixed-price contract to procure 261 stabilized commanders weapons stations. Work is to be performed in Lima, Ohio, with an estimated completion date of Feb. 28, 2013. One bid was solicited with one bid received. TACOM- Warren, CCTA-AHL-C, Warren, Mich., is the contracting activity (W56HZV-06-G-0006). ~Critical Solution International, Inc., Carrolton, Texas, was awarded on May 24 a $40,601,966 firm-fixed-price contract for 10 vehicle-mounted mine detectors (VMMD) without mine detonation trailer systems (MDTS); 11 VMMD with MDTS; and accompanying handoff training, OPNET training, and maintainer training classes. Work is to be performed in Gauteng, South Africa, with an estimated completed date of Dec. 21, 2012. One bid was solicited with one bid received. TACOM-Warren, CCTA-ADC-B, Warren, Mich., is the contracting activity (W56HZV-08-D-0001). ~Protective Products Enterprises, Sunrise, Fla., was awarded on May 24 a $35,850,000 firm-fixed-price contract for 60,000 improved outer tactical vests in universal camouflage pattern, “IAW Product Description No. FQ/PD 07-05E,” dated April 23, 2010. The vests are to be delivered within 120 calendar days after the first article testing approval letter. Work is to be performed Sunrise, Fla., with an estimated completion date of Nov. 27, 2010. Eight bids were solicited with two bids received. Research, Development & Engineering Command Contracting Center, Aberdeen Proving Ground, Md., is the contracting activity (W56HZV-07-D-M112). ~GM GDLS Defense Group, LLC, Sterling Heights, Mich., was awarded on May 25 a $29,131,606 cost-plus-fixed-fee contract for action funds of 14 additional Stryker Double-V Hull prototype vehicles for government ballistic testing, performance/durability testing, and logistics demonstration. Work is to be performed in Sterling Heights, Mich. (41 percent); and London, Canada (59 percent), with an estimated completion date of Nov. 30, 2011. One bid was solicited with one bid received. TACOM, CCTA-AI, Warren, Mich., is the contracting activity (W56HZV-07-D-M112). ~CTA Construction Co., Inc., Boston, Mass., was awarded on May 25 a $23,786,712 firm-fixed-price contract for commercial and institutional building construction, Massachusetts National Guard Joint Force Headquarters, Hanscom Air Force Base. Work is to be performed in Bedford, Mass., with an estimated completion date of Nov. 23, 2011. Fifteen bids were solicited with four bids received. National Guard Bureau, USPFO-MA, Milford, Mass., is the contracting activity (W912SV-10-C-0101). ~Oakland Construction, Salt Lake City, Utah, was awarded on May 27 a $22,041,000 firm-fixed-price contract for the construction of F-22 radar cross section test facility, Hill Air Force Base. Work is to be performed in Hill Air Force Base, Utah, with an estimated completion date of Dec. 14, 2012. Bids were solicited on the World Wide Web with eight bids received. U.S. Army Engineer District, Sacramento, Calif., is the contracting activity (W91238-10-C-0023). ~Foster-Miller, Inc., Waltham, Mass., was awarded on May 24 a $21,814,805 firm-fixed-price contract to procure 651 spall liner kits for the RG-31 vehicle platform to support ongoing route clearance vehicle missions in both Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom. An urgent and compelling justification and authority was approved, and this is a DX-rated program. Work is to be performed in Waltham, Mass., with an estimated completion date of Sept. 30, 2010. One bid was solicited with one bid received. Letterkenny Army Depot, Chambersburg, Pa., is the contracting activity (W911N2-10-C-0036). ~Raytheon Co., Andover, Mass., was awarded on May 25 a $21,327,812 firm-fixed-price contract for the delivery of spares for Taiwan PAC-3 configuration upgrade, and Kuwait Patriot radar upgrade confidential spares. Work is to be performed in Andover, Mass., with an estimated completion date of June 30, 2013. One bid was solicited with one bid received. U.S. Army Contracting Command, Aviation & Missile Command Contracting Center, Redstone Arsenal, Ala., is the contracting activity (W31P4Q-09-G-0002). ~Oshkosh Corp, Oshkosh, Wis., was awarded on May 27 a $20,829,704 firm-fixed-price contract for 1,400 Check-6 rear view sensor systems on the Mine Resistant Ambush Protected All-Terrain Vehicle. Work is to be performed in Oshkosh, Wis., with an estimated completion date of May 31, 2012. Five bids were solicited with five bids received. TACOM, CCTA-ADCA, Warren, Mich., is the contracting activity (W56HZV-09-D-0111). ~GM GDLS Defense Group, LLC, JV, Sterling Heights, Mich., was awarded on May 25 a $19,925,190 cost-plus-fixed-fee contract for command, control, communications, computers, intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance engineering support for the Stryker family of vehicles. Work is to be performed in Sterling Heights, Mich., with an estimated completion date of May 31, 2011. One bid solicited with one bid received. TACOM Contracting Center, CCTA-AI, Warren, Mich., is the contracting activity (W56HZV-07-D-M112). ~Caterpillar, Inc., Mossville, Ill., was awarded on May 27 a $18,129,057 firm-fixed-price contract for 15 motorized graders with Type A kits; one lot extended warranty for 15 graders; 48 motorized graders with Type A kits; one lot extended warranty for 48 graders; three motorized graders with Type B kits; and 27 motorized graders with Type B kits. Work is to be performed in Mossville, Ill., with an estimated completion date of Nov. 30, 2012. Bids were solicited via the Federal Business Opportunities Web site with two bids received. TACOM-Warren, CCTA-ADE-C, Warren, Mich., is the contracting activity (W56HZV-08-D-0037). ~Northrop Grumman Systems Corp., Linthicum, Md., was awarded on May 24 a $17,100,000 cost-plus-fixed-fee contract for the high altitude lidar operations experiment that will conduct a 3-D data collection of locations outside the contiguous U.S. to support a range of pressing warfighter needs. Work is to be performed in Linthicum, Md. (97 percent), San Diego, Calif. (2 percent), and Columbia, Md. (1 percent), with an estimated completion date of March 11, 2011. One bid was solicited with one bid received. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, Arlington, Va., is the contracting activity (HR0011-10-C-0114). ~Oshkosh Corp., Oshkosh, Wis., was awarded on May 27 a $10,385,095 firm-fixed-price contract for 698 Check-6 rear view sensor systems on the Mine Resistant Ambush Protected All -Terrain Vehicles. Work is to be performed in Oshkosh, Wis. (50 percent), and McConnellsburg, Pa. (50 percent), with an estimated completed date of May 31, 2012. Five bids were solicited with five bids received. TACOM, AMSCC-TAC-ADCA, Warren, Mich., is the contracting activity (W56HZV-09-D-0111). ~Oshkosh Corp., Oshkosh, Wis., was awarded on May 27 a $15,458,616 firm-fixed-price contract for 1,039 Check-6 rear view sensor systems on the Mine Resistant Ambush Protected All -Terrain Vehicles. Work is to be performed in Oshkosh, Wis., with an estimated completion date of May 31, 2012. Five bids were solicited with five bids received. TACOM, AMSCC-TAC-ADCA, Warren, Mich., is the contracting activity (W56HZV-09-D-0111). ~AM General, LLC, South Bend, Ind., was awarded on May 25 a $6,815,223 firm-fixed-price contract to add 50 High Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicles to contract. Work is to be performed in Mishawaka, Ind., with an estimated completion date of Dec. 31, 2010. One bid was solicited with one bid received. TACOM Warren, CCTA-ATA-C, Warren, Mich., is the contracting activity (DAAE07-01-C-S001). DEFENSE LOGISTICS AGENCY ~TW Metals, Inc., Carol Stream, Ill., is being awarded a maximum $50,000,000 fixed-price with economic price adjustment, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract for heat-treated aluminum sheet and plate stock. There are no other locations of performance. Using services are Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps, and federal civilian agencies. The original proposal was Web-solicited with five responses. The date of performance completion is May 31, 2012. The Defense Supply Center Philadelphia, Philadelphia, Pa., is the contracting activity (SPM8ES-10-D-0010). ~Camel Manufacturing Co.*, Pioneer, Tenn., is being awarded a maximum $5,261,079 fixed-price with economic price adjustment, total set-aside contract for modular command posts. There are no other locations of performance. Using services are Army, Navy, Air Force, and Marine Corps. The original proposal was solicited via the Defense Logistics Agency Internet Bid Board System with four responses. The date of performance completion is Oct. 31, 2011. The Defense Supply Center Philadelphia, Philadelphia, Pa., is the contracting activity (SPM1C1-10-D-1050). MISSILE DEFENSE AGENCY ~The Boeing Co., Seattle, Wash., is being awarded a sole-source cost-plus-award-fee modification for $40,222,995. Under this contract, Boeing will continue post-flight experiment Laser 01 work with additional missile engagement scenarios and flight testing to include all required support. The work will be performed in Seattle, Wash., and at three California locations: Edwards Air Force Base, Sunnyvale, and Redondo Beach. The performance period is from June 2010 through September 2010. Fiscal 2010 research, development, test and evaluation funds will be used to obligate $20,000,000 for this effort. The Missile Defense Agency is the contracting activity (F29601-97-C-0001). ~Torch Technologies, Inc., Huntsville, Ala., is being awarded a Phase III Small Business Innovation Research indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity cost-plus-fixed-fee contract (HQ0006-10-D-7092) with a maximum value of $9,709,503. Under this contract, Torch Technologies will conduct research and development on algorithms, operational software, and a new concept of operations for space and airborne infrared tracking systems and missile defense radars, supporting the Ballistic Missile Defense System. The work will be performed in Huntsville, Ala., with a five-year period of performance from June 2010 through June 2015. Research, development, test and evaluation funding fiscal 2010 will be used to incrementally fund the fiscal 2010 effort in the amount of $1,075,000. The Missile Defense Agency is the contracting activity. *Small business

DTN News: Turkish Funds Helped Group of Activists To Test Blockade

DTN News: Turkish Funds Helped Group of Activists To Test Blockade

Source: DTN News / By SABRINA TAVERNISE and MICHAEL SLACKMAN NY Times

(NSI News Source Info) ISTANBUL, Turkey - June 2, 2010: Since 2007, a small group of hard-core activists has repeatedly tried to sail cargo-laden ships into Gaza in an effort to thwart Israel’s blockade. But when the Free Gaza Movement teamed up with a much wealthier Turkish organization to assemble a flotilla, it became more than a nuisance, supercharged by the group’s money, manpower and symbolic resonance into what Israel sees as a serious and growing threat. After a botched raid that killed nine activists, an international uproar is intensifying pressure on Israel’s blockade. And the movement has hit on a strategy that, even when it fails in its aims, succeeds in tactical terms: the world sees Israel use military force against civilians. On Tuesday in a bustling neighborhood in Istanbul, the Turkish organization was celebrating a strange success. “We became famous,” said Omar Faruk, a board member of the group, Insani Yardim Vakfi, known by its Turkish initials, I.H.H. “We are very thankful to the Israeli authorities.” The group brought large boats and millions of dollars in donations to a cause that had struggled to meet its objectives. Particularly galling to Israel is the fact that the group comes from Turkey, an ally, but one whose relations with Israel have become increasingly strained. Israeli authorities say I.H.H. bolsters Hamas, which runs Gaza and which they see as doctrinally committed to destroying the state of Israel. It also charges that the group has links to Al Qaeda and has bought weapons, charges the group denies. The organization is financed entirely by donations, its members said, money that comes from Turkey’s religious merchant class, an affluent section of Turkish society that has brought the party of Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan to power. Inside the group’s tidy three-story office building in central Istanbul on Tuesday, women in colorful scarves brought money and were given receipts. The group bought three boats, including the Mavi Marmara, the one that was raided, from a company owned by the Istanbul city government for $1.8 million. The boats carried aid that included building materials — cement, tiles and steel, which Israel bans because it says they could be put to military means — worth about $10 million, members said. Mr. Faruk argues that his organization was crucial in helping to project Free Gaza’s cause. “We changed the balance,” he said. The Turkish group is a charity, members said, but the Israeli government’s public relations firm, the Israel Project, sent an Internet link to journalists with references to what it described as the group’s “radical Islamic, anti-Western orientation.” The link alleges that the group supports Hamas, in part through a branch it opened in the Gaza Strip, the charity it sends them and in meetings and speeches by Bulent Yildirim, its leader, and Hamas officials. Israeli authorities said the group had been raided in 1997 by Turkish authorities, who turned up weapons in one of their offices. Ali Adakoglu, another board member, said there had been a raid on the house of a member in 1997, but he argued that it was politically motivated, because that was the year of a Turkish military crackdown on Islamist groups. They denied that weapons had been found. “This is an Islamist charity, quite fundamentalist, quite close to Hamas,” said Henri J. Barkey, a professor of international relations at Lehigh University. “They say they do charity work, but they’ve been accused of gunrunning and other things, and their rhetoric has been inflammatory against Israel and sometimes against Jews.” The organization was founded in the early 1990s, first as a charity for the poor in Istanbul, Turkey’s largest city, and later for Bosnian war victims. It now runs charity and relief work in more than 100 countries, including Haiti and nations in Africa, according to the deputy director, Yavuz Dede. The Free Gaza Movement was formed in September 2006 by a group of passionate Palestinian supporters, most of whom had been barred from ever returning to Israel. The group says it receives most of its money in donations. “We asked ourselves, what can we do to make a difference?” said Greta Berlin, the group’s 69-year-old co-founder and spokeswoman. “We said, ‘Let’s sail a boat to Gaza.’ That was literally how it started.” At first, no one seemed to care much. Five times the Free Gaza Movement sailed from Cyprus, where they are based, to Gaza. Israel ultimately came to believe that a threat was evolving, fearing that ships coming into port could transport weapons. Israeli officials said they feared the prospect of Hamas being as powerfully armed as Hezbollah in southern Lebanon. The Free Gaza Movement has its roots in the International Solidarity Movement, another organization that sought to take direct action in defense of Palestinians, using nonviolent strategies to impede Israeli military actions in the occupied territories. Members would often act as human shields. In 2003, an Israeli Army bulldozer crushed to death an American woman, Rachel Corrie, who had kneeled in the dirt to prevent it from destroying a Palestinian home. It took the members two years to raise money necessary to buy the first two fishing boats, maintain and fuel them, Ms. Berlin said. But after that first landing, she said, the group quickly received enough donations to buy a small yacht, which they named Dignity. With the new boat, four more times Israel let the group dock at Gaza.

On the sixth attempt to land in Gaza, Israel decided that was enough. The shift came after Israel invaded Gaza in December 2008, saying it needed to retaliate after thousands of rockets had been fired into civilian neighborhoods. They loaded the boat with activists and headed to Gaza. It was dark and Ms. Berlin said that an Israeli ship rammed the boat three times, until it retreated to Lebanon. That ship eventually sank when it returned to port in Cyprus. The group raised more money and managed to buy a small ferry that could hold 30 passengers. This one they called The Spirit of Humanity. They tried three more times, with no success. On their last try, in July 2009, she said, Israel boarded the boat and detained the passengers. Israel never returned the ship, she said. “We were pretty dismayed because we had no boats and no money,” Ms. Berlin said. She said that former Malaysia officials and the Perdana Global Peace Organization, which describes itself on its Web site as opposed to war, helped them raise enough to buy two yachts and a cargo ship. Then they decided to team up with other groups to stage a multiship flotilla. The movement has grown into a diverse coalition of organizations and activists, often with little in common apart from opposition to the Israeli blockade of Gaza, making it difficult to generalize about its financing, views or radical connections, according to several analysts. Evan F. Kohlmann, a veteran terrorism analyst with Flashpoint Global Partners in New York, said American diplomats and politicians, Holocaust survivors and leftist writers all have offered their names, time or money to the cause, ignoring or oblivious to the role of others with more militant connections, he said. Ms. Berlin, the outspoken co-founder, is originally from Los Angeles. She was married for 14 years to a Palestinian, with whom she had two children, and for 14 years to an American Jew. She likes to joke and says that makes her the most qualified “anti-Semite.” But when she is not joking she says that her detractors in Israel are right, that she is not just pro-Palestinian, but does not accept Israel as a Jewish state, though she contends that is part of a larger philosophy that opposes all national borders. “You decide in your life what you are passionate about,” she said. “I happen to be passionate about the Palestinians who have had no rights since 1948.”

*Sabrina Tavernise reported from Istanbul, and Michael Slackman from Jerusalem. Scott Shane contributed reporting from Washington, and Sebnem Arsu from Istanbul.

Related News

*Israel Faces Pressure on Gaza After Raid (June 2, 2010)

*After Israel Raids Flotilla, U.S. Is Torn Between Allies (June 2, 2010)

*Rethinking the Gaza Blockade Is there a way to prevent attacks against Israel while providing humanitarian relief to the Palestinians?

DTN News: Glitch Shows How Much US Military Relies On GPS

DTN News: Glitch Shows How Much US Military Relies On GPS

Source: DTN News / By DAN ELLIOTT (AP)

(NSI News Source Info) DENVER, U.S. - June 2, 2010: A problem that rendered as many as 10,000 U.S. military GPS receivers useless for days is a warning to safeguard a system that enemies would love to disrupt, a defense expert says. The Air Force has not said how many weapons, planes or other systems were affected or whether any were in use in Iraq or Afghanistan. But the problem, blamed on incompatible software, highlights the military's reliance on the Global Positioning System and the need to protect technology that has become essential for protecting troops, tracking vehicles and targeting weapons. "Everything that moves uses it," said John Pike, director of Globalsecurity.org, which tracks military and homeland security news. "It is so central to the American style of war that you just couldn't leave home without it." The problem occurred when new software was installed in ground control systems for GPS satellites on Jan. 11, the Air Force said. Officials said between 8,000 at 10,000 receivers could have been affected, out of more than 800,000 in use across the military. In a series of e-mails to The Associated Press, the Air Force initially blamed a contractor for defective software in the affected receivers but later said it was a compatibility issue rather than a defect. The Air Force didn't immediately respond to a request for clarification. The Air Force said it hadn't tested the affected receivers before installing the new software in the ground control system. One program still in development was interrupted but no weapon systems already in use were grounded as a result of the problem, the Air Force said. The Air Force said some applications with the balky receivers suffered no problems from the temporary GPS loss. An Air Force document said the Navy's X-47B, a jet-powered, carrier-based drone under development, was interrupted by the glitch. Air Force officials would not comment beyond that on what systems were affected. Navy spokeswoman Jamie Cosgrove confirmed the X-47B's receivers were affected but said it caused no program delays. At least 100 U.S. defense systems rely on GPS, including aircraft, ships, armored vehicles, bombs and artillery shells. Because GPS makes weapons more accurate, the military needs fewer warheads and fewer personnel to take out targets. But a leaner, GPS-dependent military becomes dangerously vulnerable if the technology is knocked out. James Lewis, a senior fellow at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, said the glitch was a warning "in the context where people are every day trying to figure out how to disrupt GPS." The Air Force said it took less than two weeks for the military to identify the cause and begin devising and installing a temporary fix. It did not say how long it took to install the temporary fix everywhere it was needed, but said a permanent fix is being distributed. All the affected receivers were manufactured by a division of Trimble Navigation Limited of Sunnyvale, Calif., according to the Air Force. The military said it ran tests on some types of receivers before it upgraded ground control systems with the new software in January, but the tests didn't include the receivers that had problems. The Air Force said it traced the problem to the Trimble receivers' software. Trimble said it had no problems when it tested the receivers, using Air Force specifications, before the ground-control system software was updated. Civilian receivers use different signals and had no problems. Defense industry consultant James Hasik said it's not shocking some receivers weren't tested. GPS started as a military system in the 1970s but has exploded into a huge commercial market, and that's where most innovation takes place. "It's hard to track everything," said Hasik, co-author of "The Precision Revolution: GPS and the Future of Aerial Warfare." The Air Force said it's acquiring more test receivers for a broader sample of military and civilian models and developing longer and more thorough tests for military receivers to avoid a repeat of the January problem. The Air Force said the software upgrade was to accommodate a new generation of GPS satellites, called Block IIF. The first of the 12 new satellites was launched from a Delta 4 rocket Thursday after several delays. In addition to various GPS guided weapons systems, the Army often issues GPS units to squads of soldiers on patrol in Iraq and Afghanistan. In some cases a team of two or three soldiers is issued a receiver so they can track their location using signals from a constellation of 24 satellites. Space and Missile Systems Center spokesman Joe Davidson said in an e-mail to The Associated Press that the system is safe from hackers or enemy attack. "We are extremely confident in the safety and security of the GPS system from enemy attack," he said, noting that control rooms are on secure military bases and communications are heavily encrypted. "Since GPS' inception, there has never been a breach of GPS," Davidson said. He added that Air Force is developing a new generation of encrypted military receivers for stronger protection. The military also has tried to limit the potential for human error by making the GPS control system highly automated, Davidson said. GPS satellites orbit about 12,000 miles above Earth, making them hard to reach with space weapons, said Hasik, the defense industry consultant. And if the GPS master control station at Schriever Air Force Base, Colo., were knocked out, a backup station at Vandenberg Air Force Base, Calif., could step in. Iraq tried jamming GPS signals during the 2003 U.S. invasion, but the U.S. took out the jammer with a GPS-guided bomb, Hasik said. The technology needed to jam GPS signals is beyond the reach of groups like the Taliban and most Third World nations, Hasik said. Jamming is difficult over anything but a small area. "The harder you try to mess with it, the more energy you need. And the more energy you use, the easier it is for me to find your jammer," Hasik said. More worrisome, Hasik said, is the potential for an accident within U.S. ranks that can produce anything from an errant bomb to sending troops or weaponry on the wrong course. In 2001, a GPS-guided bomb dropped by a Navy F-18 missed its target by a mile and landed in a residential neighborhood of Kabul, possibly killing four people. The military said wrong coordinates had been entered into the targeting system.

Related articles *Glitch shows how much US military relies on GPS The Associated Press *Glitch shows how much US military relies on GPS The Associated Press

*American Achilles Heel: GPS ThreatsWatch.Org