Around the Army

By Army News ServiceJuly 31, 2013

FORT BENNING, Ga., (July 31, 2013)

'THE STANDARD IS THE STANDARD'

WASHINGTON -- Integrating women into combat roles may require adjustments in recruiting efforts, the assignment process and other policies, said the Army's deputy chief of staff for personnel.

Lt. Gen. Howard B. Bromberg, Army G-1, spoke July 24, before the House Armed Services Committee, subcommittee on military personnel.

Members of the subcommittee asked representatives from all four services and the Special Operations Command about plans for opening combat specialties that are currently closed to women.

One lawmaker asked about the process for validation of physical standards, something the military is looking at now as it moves toward opening combat roles to women.

"All Army courses that award occupational specialties have associated physical requirements," Bromberg said.

A study currently underway will determine which tasks are scientifically necessary, how the tasks are performed, what skills are necessary to perform the tasks, how to train Soldiers to complete the tasks and when to test Soldiers for their ability to perform those tasks, Bromberg said.

Lawmakers were also concerned about claims that physical standards were being lowered in order to allow women into military occupation specialties, known as MOSs.

Bromberg said that after the validation process, there will be scientific data to back the raising or lowering of a standard.

"We'll just have to lay the facts out," he said. "The standard is a standard."

ARMY EXTENDS GLOBAL INFORMATION GRID NEWTWORK TO COMPANY LEVEL, BELOW

ABERDEEN PROVING GROUND, Md. -- As the U.S. mission in Afghanistan changes and forces conduct more dispersed operations, new tactical communications equipment for vehicles at the company level will help extend the network over vast distances to keep Soldiers connected and commanders informed.

Currently installed on mine-resistant, ambush-protected all-terrain vehicles, as part of the Army's mobile Warfighter Information Network-Tactical, or WIN-T, Increment 2 network, the Soldier Network Extension, or SNE, will extend the network down to the company level for the first time.

With this "extension," company formations can now be geographically dispersed across large distances, away from their battalion headquarters, and still retain the network connectivity and situational awareness needed to command from disparate locations.

"Having the SNE down at the company level facilitates the dissemination of real-time situational awareness throughout the entire maneuver brigade combat team formation by restoring lower tactical internet (TI) radio networks, sometimes limited by distance or terrain features," said Lt. Col. Lamont Hall, product manager for WIN-T Increment 2. "It's critical to keep those lower TI radio networks connected into the network and ensure commanders can see and understand what is happening on the battlefield."