The Program Executive Office for Ammunition’s Enhanced Performance Round program shaved off greater than $20 million dollars in a price engineering project aimed toward renovating the bullet production lines and improving the program’s purchasing strategies. The M855A1 Enhanced Performance Round, or EPR, is the latest member of the Army’s small-caliber family of munitions fired from the 5.56mm family of weapons. It’s replacing the M855 cartridge. The M855A1 EPR’s new bullet design provides Soldiers with better hard-target penetration and more consistent soft-target performance at increased distances. Additionally, as it is lead-free, the M855A1 allows training exercises to occur on ranges where... Read More »

U.S. Special Operations Command wants its operators to be protected with what it informally calls an Iron Man suit, named after the fictitious superhero. In September, U.S. Special Operations Command, called SOCOM, made a Broad Agency Announcement for proposals for prototypes of the Tactical Assault Light Operator Suit, or TALOS. The goal of TALOS is to produce ballistic protection to big Operations Forces, together with fire-retardant capability, said Michel Fieldson, TALOS lead, SOCOM. “We sometimes confer with it because the Iron Man suit, frankly to draw the notice, imagination and excitement of industry and academia,” he said. “We’re hoping to... Read More »

Soldiers from 1st Battalion, 14th Field Artillery, held a ten-day exercise, Sept. 22 through Oct. 1, with the host nation’s 97th Heavy Artillery Regiment, within the United Arab Emirates. The live-fire exercise tested joint capabilities for the primary time between both units that operate the M142 High Mobility Artillery Rocket System, referred to as HIMARS. The event began with a seven-hour, 280-kilometer convoy to UAE’s live-fire complex inside the southern part of the rustic where the rockets were fired. Because it was the primary time U.S. forces have fired the HIMARS inside the UAE, the 1-14th FA “Steel Warriors” used... Read More »

Airmen applying for tuition assistance in fiscal 2014 will see several changes in both eligibility for and administration of this system. Due to those changes, the appliance window for classes beginning on or after Oct. 1 is not going to open until Sept. 9 to permit for system updates. This program is applicable to protect and Reserve only after they are activated. The cornerstone of the Air Force’s FY14 program would be supervisor involvement. Airmen who apply for TA may be required to acquire supervisor acclaim for all requests. Supervisors may deny requests for Airmen in any level of upgrade... Read More »