Archive | Bloggers Roundtable

DoDLive Bloggers Roundtable: Discover a Time Capsule from 1812

Filed under Bloggers Roundtable by glenn.selby on October 17, 2011 at 8:40 am {no comments}

Dr. Bob Neyland, Navy underwater archaeologist

The USS Scorpion was a ship that was part of the Chesapeake Flotilla in the War of 1812. Thanks to a partnership between the US Navy/Naval History & Heritage Command, the State of Maryland Trust, and the Maryland department of transportation, a talented team lead by Dr. Bob Neyland, an underwater archaeologist for the Navy, had the opportunity to dive into an investigation of this rich piece of history.

This shipwreck was originally discovered in the late 1970s and was determined to be a Navy ship used by Cmdr. Joshua Barney in the 19th century. Looking toward the upcoming bicentennial of the War of 1812, this ship was selected for further underwater investigation because it is one of the few War of 1812 shipwrecks whose location is known.

Over the summer, the archaeologist and his team found that the ship is exceptionally well preserved. The decking and upper works are still in place, and the wreck provides a unique glimpse into early naval architectural plans.

Preliminary research and excavation has uncovered artifacts from a surgeon’s chest, sailors grog cup, sail rigging, and galley equipment. There is plenty to continue to reveal in this story, and in all likelihood the ship’s equipment and provisions are on board as well. Thus, it is a naval time capsule from the War of 1812.

The findings from the site will be accessible to the public during the bicentennial commemoration. Located along the Star Spangled Banner Trail, the ship site is only 30 minutes from Washington DC, 20 minutes from Annapolis, and 45 minutes from Baltimore.

To check out their adventures in discovering history so far, click here.

On Wednesday, Oct. 19, we hosted Dr. Neyland on a DoDLive Bloggers Roundtable to discuss the excavation of the USS Scorpion.

Joining us on the call were Chuck Simmins, of America’s North Shore Journal; and John McCandless, of the Navy Log Blog.

Listen to the audio.

Read the transcript.

DARPA’s UAVForge Begins to Take Off

Filed under Bloggers Roundtable, DoD News by glenn.selby on October 12, 2011 at 12:49 pm {one comment}

On Friday, Oct. 7, Jim McCormick, a program manager at the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), participated in a DoDLive Bloggers Roundtable to discuss UAVForge, a global crowd sourcing competition underway to design, build, and manufacture the next generation of small unmanned air vehicle (UAV) systems. These UAVs will be small enough to fit in a rucksack, and can conduct surveillance from a distance, in line with the military’s changing needs.

Mr. McCormick explained that the real focus of the program is innovation – “We seek to lower the threshold to entry for hobbyists and citizen scientists, hoping to yield greater innovation, shorter timelines, better performance and more affordable solutions.”

Through an elimination process, the top 10 teams will be given the opportunity to participate in a fly-off and compete for the grand prize of $100,000 prize, the chance to demonstrate their vehicle in an operational exercise, and to participate in the manufacturing phase to produce a liminted number of vehicles based on their designs.

If you have an idea for the next generation of UAVs don’t worry! Phase 1 of the competition is still in progress. You can submit concept videos from October 19-October 25 with the first round of voting between October 27 and November 2.

For more on UAVForge and to see videos check out www.uavforge.net.

DoDLive Bloggers Roundtable: Maj. Gen. Thomas W. Spoehr

Filed under Bloggers Roundtable by glenn.selby on October 12, 2011 at 8:49 am {2 comments}

Maj. Gen. Thomas W. Spoehr, United States Forces – Iraq, Deputy Commanding General for Support

We recently held a DoDLive Bloggers Roundtable with Maj. Gen. Thomas W. Spoehr, United States Forces – Iraq, Deputy Commanding General for Support, on Thursday, Oct. 13.

Maj. Gen. Spoehr discussed the ongoing reposture efforts, particularly the redeployment of troops and equipment during the last 90 days of the Security Agreement, which officially began 1 Oct. He also spoke about quality of life for troops and questions about USF-I’s ability to react to a possible request from the Government of Iraq to extend U.S. troop presence beyond 2011.

For more information on this topic, read the Defense.gov story, “U.S. Forces Have Met All Obligations in Iraq, General Says”

Joining us on the call were Chuck Simmins, of America’s North Shore Journal; Spencer Ackerman, of Wired.com; Dale Kissinger, of Military Avenue; Walter Pincus, of the Washington Post; and Dan Froomkin, of The Huffington Post.

Read the full transcript.

DoDLive Bloggers Roundtable: UAVForge

Filed under Bloggers Roundtable by glenn.selby on October 6, 2011 at 10:14 am {3 comments}

Jim McCormick, program manager at the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA)

On Friday, Oct. 7, Jim McCormick, a program manager at the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), joined a DoDLive Bloggers Roundtable to discuss UAVForge, a global crowd sourcing competition underway to design, build and manufacture advanced small unmanned air vehicle (UAV) systems. The goal of UAVForge is to facilitate the exchange of ideas for small UAVs among a loosely connected international community of innovators of every kind–scientists, engineers, students, remote-control aircraft hobbyists, citizen scientists and dreamers–united through common interests and inspired by innovation and creative thought.

For more on UAVForge and to see videos check out www.uavforge.net.

Joining us on the call were Sharon Weinberger from Popular Mechanics, Jared Serbu from FED News and Chris Ford from CNN.

Listen to the roundtable audio here.

Read the transcript.

DoDLive Bloggers Roundtable: Maj. Gen. Walter M. Golden, Jr.

Filed under Bloggers Roundtable by glenn.selby on September 29, 2011 at 12:32 pm {2 comments}

Maj. Gen. Walter M. Golden, Jr., Deputy Commander for Police, NATO Training Mission-Afghanistan

On Thursday, Sept. 29, 2011, we held a DoDLive Bloggers Roundtable with Maj. Gen. Walter M. Golden, Jr., Deputy Commander for Police, NATO Training Mission-Afghanistan.

Maj. Gen. Golden discussed four items: the four Afghan National Police pillars, the equipment that they will be receiving over the next eight months, how the Coalition is trying to obtain balance, quality and sustainment and finally the transition of the ANP to Afghan control.

Joining us on the call were Chuck Simmins, of America’s North Shore Journal; Paul McLeary, of Defense Technology International; Gail Harris, of the Foreign Policy blog; and Anand Choudhuri, of Registan.net.

Listen to the audio.

Read the transcript.