Warfighters surface new technology with Agile Bloodhound '12

US Marine Corps News

By Cpl. Isis M. Ramirez | November 21, 2012

The U.S. Marine Corps Forces, Pacific Experimentation Center hosted their second technological integration and demonstration event, Agile Bloodhound 2012, at the Officers’ Club here Nov. 16 in order to highlight research and development efforts and associated technologies that support expeditionary war fighters.

The Office of Naval Research sponsored the event so different entities could demonstrate the technologies that could increase efficiency when sending intelligence and information to Marine riflemen.

“What we are doing is demonstrating a number of integrated science technologies, science technology projects in the area of intelligence surveillance reconnaissance, C4 (command, control, computers and communication) and also human social cultural behavioral sciences,” said Jon C. Moniz, program officer for expeditionary warfare C4 at ONR. “There’s a big initiative to be able to provide relevant information much faster to the lower-echelon warfighters.”

Col. Nathan I. Nastase, commander of 3rd Marine Regiment, 3rd Marine Division, attended the day-long demonstration, acting as the representative of the Marine riflemen.

“I have 3,500 hardcore, steely-eyed Marine infantrymen out here, I’m the proud (commanding officer) of those guys ... at the end of the day that’s five or six levels below the MarForPac Experimentation Center,” Nastase said. “So, there are a lot of obstacles there between good ideas, hardcore science and technology, research and development. It’s a long way down that chain until it actually gets in the hands of the guy who really needs it.”

Agile Bloodhound presented the perfect chance to introduce relevant technology to the hands that would be using it.

“There are a lot of stakeholders with different perspectives that are trying to work together on this,” Nastase said. “All of this goes to serve the rifleman on the ground. The benefit of our interaction at this level is to provide a venue for all of these different organizations to try some of this stuff out before it goes into full production.”

The scope of technology introduced at the event ranged from items like self-adapting radio prototypes, tagging, tracking and locating technologies, small-unit decision aids, and even adaptable antennas. All technology improvements were designed to enhance communication capabilities for warfighters.

“We have the opportunity to move intelligence products quicker through automated means to the warfighter, instead of the usual method of going through an intelligence analyst and taking hours to do it,” Moniz said. “We’ve been working with the MEC for over eight years now and it’s been a very good partnership.”

He added that having a platform to present the technology directly to its users is extremely beneficial.

“It allows us good access to the operational forces and the ability to show off our science and technology products much earlier in the cycle than we traditionally would.”