Wednesday, July 18, 2007

New Prosthesis Could Help Keep Troops in the Fight

By Fred W. Baker III
American Forces Press Service

July 18, 2007 – A new prosthesis under development will give servicemember amputees more flexibility and help them better perform their
military jobs if they choose to stay on active duty. A preview of the new technology yesterday at Walter Reed Army Medical Center drew key staff and several servicemember amputees. The open forum allowed users to see improvements in prototype form and ask developers questions or offer suggestions.

In 2006, Otto Bock HealthCare, a global provider of prosthetic components that started out providing devices for German World War I veterans in 1919, began developing a prosthetic knee system that is an upgrade to its already popular C-Leg. It was awarded a three-year $1 million contract to develop a leg that will allow more servicemembers to stay on active duty if they choose to.

The prosthesis is for above-the-knee amputees and uses a microprocessor to control the knee's hydraulic functions and anticipate the wearer's actions and make changes in real time.

This will give servicemembers greater flexibility to change speeds or directions without sacrificing stability.

The project began in 2006, and developers are through the prototype development. Barring any technical problems, the new prosthesis should be available to servicemembers in 2009.

Mobility will be improved, allowing more movement without the user having to concentrate on the knee, said Hans-Willem van Vliet, the program manager.

The new system will have more sensors, a faster hard drive, more memory, and will provide smooth transitions between movements such as level-ground walking, climbing stairs, and running.

It also will allow servicemembers the ability to turn around while walking and walk backward in one fluid movement, something that is not possible with the current C-Leg. It will adapt automatically between walking speeds and gaits, Vliet said.

He emphasized that engineers have not simply improved the C-Leg, but have completely rebuilt the
technology on the inside.

Engineers also are working to stretch battery life to 50 hours on one charge. This will give servicemembers on long road marches the duration they need to reach a power supply for recharging.

Requirements also call for making the system salt-water resistant, a difficulty with the onboard computer systems. They also are planning a remote control, about the size of a car-lock remote, that will allow the user to switch among as many as 10 modes with the click of a button.

The current C-Leg allows servicemembers two operating modes: one for walking and one for bicycling or another activity. To switch between modes, the wearer has to swing the leg forward in a jerky fashion. In some instances the user may not be able to switch modes because of limited movement. Reprogramming a mode requires a visit to a technician.

Air Force Lt. Col. Andrew Lourake, a pilot at Andrews Air Force Base, Md., is the first above-the-knee amputee to return to active duty as a pilot. He was fitted with a C-Leg five years ago. Lourake said he could not do his job without the C-Leg because it allows him to switch between walking and flying modes. Still, he said, he is impressed with the new design and plans to be one of the first to own one, even if he has to pay for it out of his own pocket. The current C-Leg costs about $30,000. The new system is expected to cost about the same.

"I'm excited. It has a lot of the stuff that I asked for a couple of years ago. It's huge in functionality and active living," Lourake said.

Right now, he has to reprogram his second mode from flying mode to bicycling or running. With the new leg, he won't have to make as many visits to his prosthetic technician.

"I'll have everything right in the leg, and I'll never have to touch the computer again," he said.

Program Helps Disabled Vets Get Defense Business Contracts

By Gerry J. Gilmore
American Forces Press Service

July 18, 2007 – Thousands of disabled military veterans have enrolled in a governmentwide program that's designed to help them succeed in new careers as business owners, a Defense Department official said here today. The Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business Office was established at the Pentagon by an October 2004 presidential executive order and federal legislation that stipulates 3 percent of all annual military contracting will go to small businesses operated by service-disabled veterans, Anthony R. Martoccia, director of the office of small business programs at the Pentagon, told veterans' service organization members during a conference call today.

Military contracting officers in the field are on the lookout for disabled-veteran-owned businesses to provide services for the government, Martoccia said.

There is "a strong focus" by Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates and other senior officials to ensure the program is fully implemented, Martoccia noted.

More than 24,000 servicemembers have been wounded or injured on duty since the global war against
terrorism began on Sept. 11, 2001, Martoccia said. Many of these veterans have had to leave the military due to disabling injury, he noted.

The SDVOSB program is geared toward helping disabled veterans establish second careers as entrepreneurs who do business with the Defense Department, Martoccia said. The program, he added, is open to disabled veterans from all the nation's wars and all branches of military service.

"There's a lot of work out there, obviously, and there's a lot of opportunity," Martoccia said. Last year, the SDVOSB program registered more than 5,000 businesses. Today, disabled-veteran-owned businesses account for more than $1 billion in government contracts.

The Pentagon is putting the word out to
military contracting officers about the government-wide goal to award 3 percent of contracts to businesses owned by disabled veterans, Martoccia said.

"A lot of these companies can really get some business with the federal marketplace," he said.

Gates Asks Congress to Transfer More Funds to MRAP Program

By Donna Miles
American Forces Press Service

July 18, 2007 – Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates yesterday asked Congress for approval to transfer nearly $1.2 billion to the Mine Resistant Ambush Protected vehicle program to get an estimated 3,500 of the vehicles to Iraq by the year's end, defense officials announced today. The funds, to be added to almost $4 billion already programmed for MRAPs this year, will speed up the timetable for getting deployed troops the best armored vehicles possible, said John Young, director of defense research and engineering and chairman of the Defense Department's MRAP task force.

By reprogramming an additional $1.2 billion to the program, the department can sign contracts for an additional 2,650 MRAPs, Young told Pentagon reporters today. This will bring the department's total MRAP order to 6,415.

Nearly three-quarters of those MRAPs are slated for delivery by Dec. 31. "By the end of the year, we hope to have delivered 3,935 vehicles," he said.

Factoring in the time required to equip those vehicles with jammers, communication equipment and other gear and to deliver them to the theater, Young estimated that about 3,500 of the MRAPs will be in Iraq by Dec. 31.

Meeting last night with the House and Senate Armed Services and Appropriation committees, Gates emphasized the importance of getting the V-hulled vehicles that deflect underbelly blasts to the combat zone as quickly as possible, Pentagon Press Secretary Geoff Morrell said.

Gates told Congress "time is of the essence," because "every month troops go without MRAPs could indeed cost lives," Morrell said. "The secretary came away from his meeting confident that Congress recognizes the urgency of this request, and he is hopeful they will quickly approve it," he said.

Congress already has shown solid support for MRAPs. The legislators added $1.2 billion to the department's initial $2.6 billion request for the program for fiscal 2007, Young said.

If approved, the fund transfer to the MRAP program will make it the Defense Department's third-largest acquisition program, he noted. Only the missile defense and Joint Strike Fighter programs will be bigger.

But dollars alone aren't enough to get MRAPs to the field, defense officials recognize. "There are no parking lots anywhere where we can go and buy lots of MRAPs," said
Marine Corps Brig. Gen. Michael Brogan, commander of Marine Corps Systems Command.

Another problem is that no existing production lines were equipped to pump out as many MRAPs as the department needs as fast as it needs them.

A joint Defense Department team is jumping through hoops to cut through those obstacles and move MRAP procurement as quickly as possible, Young said. "This is not being handled in a business-as-usual fashion," he said.

The Defense Department has dramatically compressed the normal contracting process, worked around the clock to test potential vehicles, and helped industry aggressively ramp up production capacity, Morrell told reporters.

Four companies currently produce MRAPs, and another may join the effort soon if its prototype model measures up, Brogan said. These companies are quickly increasing their production rates to keep up with demand.

But the MRAP task force's first challenge, Young said, was to make sure the materials and parts required for MRAPs were being produced at rates fast enough to keep up with production.

For example, the tire industry was able to produce only about 1,000 of the large, heavy-duty MRAP tires per month in June. To keep pace with plans to build about 1,300 MRAPs per month by December, at least 6,000 tires a month would be needed.

"We have taken steps to help two vendors increase their ability to build tires, and we are buying tires as fast as they can produce them so that we don't have a shortage," Young said. "And we have worked within the government to buy those tires as fast as they can be produced," Young said.

The task force faced similar issues with steel, axles, engines and other MRAP components, and is taking similar measures to ensure they're available, he said.

To help their efforts, Gates assigned the MRAP program a "DX" rating in June to ensure other defense programs don't interfere with MRAP production, said Young. DX ratings are reserved for top-priority defense acquisition programs.

"The DX rating provides MRAP the highest-priority access to components and materials if supplier capacity cannot meet the demand from all programs," Young explained.

Another challenge in MRAP acquisition is ensuring the vehicles produced are up to standard and provide the best protection possible, he said.

Testers at the
Army's Aberdeen Test Center, at Aberdeen Proving Ground, Md., are putting MRAPs through the paces, Brogan said. Working three shifts around the clock, they're evaluating prototypes to ensure they provide adequate ballistic protection and operate reliably.

In addition, troops who have served in Iraq are testing the vehicles under conditions designed to replicate the combat theater, he said.

As production capabilities increase, Morrell said, it's "imperative to take full advantage of that new-found capacity."

Troops in Iraq deserve nothing less than the very best armored vehicles possible, the officials said.

"Our troops battling improvised explosive devices deserve the very best protection available," Morrell said. "And right now, that is an armored vehicle with a raised chassis and a V-shaped undercarriage, features that make MRAPs better able to deflect blasts on roadside and deeply buried bombs."

Group Provides Troops Vital Link to Home

By Samantha L. Quigley
American Forces Press Service

July 18, 2007 – A Tennessee-based organization provides deployed servicemembers with a link to home and the gratitude of the American public through care packages and letters it sends. "Operation Troop Aid is ... striving to make a positive difference and inspire our armed forces by letting them know Americans stand with them," Mark Woods, the group's president, said.

Operation Troop Aid is a new member of America Supports You, a Defense Department program connecting citizens and corporations with
military personnel and their families serving at home and abroad.

The group's primary mission of sending servicemembers things they need is coupled with raising awareness about supporting the men and women defending the country, he said. The importance of that part of the mission is something to which he is attuned. Woods was deployed during the Sept. 11 attacks, according to the group's Web site.

Shortly after the attacks, he founded Operation Troop Aid. The Tennessee-based organization also has a branch in Virginia, though Woods hopes to expand Operation Troop Aid into a national organization.

The group accepts donations of cash or care package items, and also works with the entertainment industry to generate donations. To date, Operation Troop Aid has worked with Trick Pony, Nickelback, Hootie and the Blowfish, Leann Womack, Travis Tritt, the Beach Boys and Peter Frampton.

Other events, such as the "Punch Run for the Troops Benefit" scheduled for July 21, also help raise funds and donations for the group, he said.

For this event, bikers are invited to gather at the Harley-Davidson Shop in Hampton Roads, Va., where the ride begins. There, they can buy a punch card for $15. When each merchant listed on the card has punched it, the ticket holder earns a chance for a prize. At the last stop, participants can pack a box for the troops while they enjoy food and entertainment.

Woods expects to pack 500 care packages for troops that day.

"My dream is to turn (Operation Troop Aid) into the premier care package provider to deployed U.S. troops," he said on the group's Web site. "What better way to express our freedom than to reach out to the ones who provide it?"