The Networks are Social

Wired has an article that implies that the problem the Americans are having in Iraq is that they have relied too much on electronic networks rather than social ones. I'm not sure I buy their argument but the article is interesting nonetheless. The brief section on the US Army psych ops sergeant was very interesting:

Colabuno's early efforts to persuade the population were just as subtle. He shows me a collection of his early posters, tabloid-sized pages laid on a table. Against a flaming background, a terrorist holds a child. The text asks why the parents of Fallujah would let insurgents harm their kids. Wrong move. This is a culture based on shame and honor; now you've just called the parents inadequate. Plus, the piece is just too on the nose, too blatant. The best propaganda is sneaky.

History: WWI Ship Camouflage

Dark Roasted Blend has a blog posting with plenty of pictures about the vibrant camouflage schemes used on ships during the First World War. Some of them seem like they'd make the ships much easier to spot but I can see how they would make it harder to do rangefinding or determine the ship's heading.

French Navy recuits in Second Life

Aviation Week reports that the French Navy has opened a recruiting station in the online video game Second Life. There are some pictures of the "virtual frigate" that they have created in the game.

Submarine rescue training

The Australian has an article about a submarine rescue exercise called Pacific Reach. The exercise involved the British, Canadian, Italian and South Korean navies. The article has some details on the Royal Australian Navy's submarine service.

Canadian Reservists in Sierra Leone

The Toronto Star has an article about a group of Canadian reservists who are in Sierra Leone training the local army.

Canadian Air Force helps out

The Torch has a post about how the Canadian Air Force assisted the US Air Force when the US grounded some models of the F-15 fighter. Canadian CF-18s flew patrols over the Alaskan coast for two weeks in November.

One of the comments to the post is interesting as it points out how the grounding of the F-15 fleet highlights the problem of having only one type of aircraft in a particular role. This is similar to how, if you only grow one type of crop, you are very vulnerable to plant diseases.

New US Anti-Swimmer Grenade

Danger Room has a short article about a new American grenade designed to defend ships and shore facilities against divers. The grenade looks a bit large in the photo but I wouldn't imagine troops will be carrying them in their pockets.

More on robots at sea

Popular Mechanics has an article about small robotic boats and how they might be used to fight piracy. There are some nice photos of the vessels.

The U-2 makes a comeback

US News and Daily Report has an article about the U-2 spy plane. Despite the current trend towards unmanned aerial vehicles, the Cold War era aircraft is being increasingly used to gather intelligence against modern enemies. The number of U-2 flights is up 20% in the last two years.