In what will probably be made into a skit on Saturday Night Live (you heard it here first), the Taliban public relations team accidentally sent out its entire mailing list in an email last weekend.

Here I am scratching my head again…the Taliban have a public relations team?

Taliban spokesperson Qari Yousuf Ahmedi was forwarding an email from another Taliban spokesperson last Saturday, but much like your grandmother, he seemed to have confused the BCC (blind carbon copy which keeps emails addresses private) and the CC functions, and published the entire mailing list to everyone on it.

I wonder how long it takes that generous Nigerian Finance Minister from offering every Taliban a few million.

According to ABC News, about 400 names were on the mailing list, many of them journalists, but also a “provincial governor, an Afghan legislator, several academics and activists, an Afghan consultative committee, and a representative of Gulbuddein Hekmatar, an Afghan warlord.”

‘Hawkeye ‘paid his last respects his best friend, Marine Jon Tumilson by walking up to the casket, lying down in front of it, and heaving a sigh.

Navy SEAL U.S. Navy Petty Officer 1st Class Jon T. Tumilson was among the 30 American troops killed August 6 when Taliban insurgents downed their Chinook helicopter with a rocket-propelled grenade.

The heartbreaking photo taken by his cousin, Lisa Pembleton, who wrote on Facebook that Hawkeye was Tumilson’s loyal pet who wouldn’t leave his master’s side during the funeral in Rockford, Iowa.

“I felt compelled to take one photo to share with family members that couldn’t make it or couldn’t see what I could from the aisle,” Pembleton wrote.

Breaks my heart just a little.

[Cheers discovery.com]

Treehouse Brand Stores, who makes official clothing for many of Electronic Arts’ biggest franchises, is soon to release the Sam Sheppard commander hoodie.  Shipping will begin on March 21st, but you can pre-order the full zip hoodie for $88.

Unfortunately no word on when the Tali hoodie will be unveiled.

Look out America, the Taliban are breeding a whole new soldier in the mountains of Afghnistan, he’ll shoot your ankles right out from under ya.

One recognizes a man by the size of his gun, the Mini-Me Taliban and his AK-47…being chased all the time by people with bug spray got him so fed up he bought himself and gun.

The US Army is pushing to get precision mortars developed and deployed to the field in Afghanistan as soon as possible. ATK explains that its Mortar Guidance Kit converts mortar bodies into precision mortar rounds by replacing standard fuses in the mortar’s fuse well with a guidance kit.

Mortars are lighter and can be towed by a HMMWV or MRAP, or carried and fired from inside M113 or Stryker APCs, making them easier to deploy than heavier cannon artillery.

Check out this video of ATK’s GPS guidance kit for mortars, which was developed under a program called the Accelerated Precision Mortar Initiative and is designed to give each round  a 10 meter CEP accuracy at ranges of up to 11 miles.

[Cheers defenseindustrydaily.com]

Combat drones are usually controlled remotely by human pilots, but the X-47B can carry out extended missions controlled by a computer and is designed to fly faster and farther than existing jets, like the Predators and Reapers used in Afghanistan and is designed to take off from a U.S. aircraft carrier. Northrop Grumman is building the navy bomber under a $636 million contract awarded in 2007, but unfortunately, it will be years before the X-47B joins the naval air fleet, with the first tests on a carrier scheduled for 2013

So my little Taliban friends, if you thought getting shot at from that drone plane that just flew overhead without you even noticing was scary, wait till you feel the wrath a bomb sneaking up on your ass.

[Cheers nydailynews.com]

U.S. Army Capt. Jonathan J. Springer

Looking to get the Taliban…well now there is an app for that. U.S. Army Capt. Jonathan J. Springer, put $26,000 of his own money to fun Tactical Nav, which assists soldiers in mapping, plotting and photographing waypoints on the battle ground and conveying co-ordinates to supporting units.

Springer, who serves as a battalion fire support officer in eastern Afghanistan, said most soldiers use smartphones and this app has been designed specifically for them.

The U.S. Army Captain used a variety of armored vehicles, remote observation posts and harsh combat conditions to test the accuracy of his invention, which can also be used to direct artillery fire on enemy positions or call in helicopter support.

“Basically, the issue was the fact that these smartphones were being untapped by the army and I was motivated and determined to change that, even if it cost me my own money out of pocket to do so,” he added.

The app is expected to be available through Apple’s App Store next month.

Great now the Taliban can download it and use it.

Later this month a British Parachute Regiment stationed in Afghanistan will be using a progressively new device which can pinpoint the exact location of enemy (in this case Taliban) snipers over a half a mile (1000 yards) away.

The 4-inch square shaped device weighs 11 oz and sits comfortably on a soldiers arm. Using a shoulder sensor which can pinpoint the enemy shooters grid coordinates; troops are able to fire back at any hostiles instantly with great accuracy. Incoming shot announcements are heard from either a built-in speaker or through an earpiece.

Mark Sherman, vice president and general manager of Boomerang at BBN, claims the system provides 360-degree coverage with no false alarms. The sensor is also motion-compensated, meaning it can maintain the relative location of the shooter for up to 60 seconds while the soldier runs, rolls, ducks or spins to take cover.

On top of all that, the tiny device can also communicate with Joint Tactical Air Controllers to forward exact location of the enemy to fighter pilots for an air strike

The new lightweight design of the Boomerang Warrior X, the idea for which came directly from soldier feedback to QinetiQ’s SWATS system, which is capable of stopping a vehicle weighing up to 5,500 lb travelling at speeds up to 30 mph within 200 feet and non-lethality.

According to the Dailymail, each unit – known officially known as the Compact Soldier Worn Shooter-Detector System – costs $15,000 (£10,000). An initial 1,000 have been ordered for British troops in Afghanistan’s southern Helmand province. If trials are successful, more soldiers will be issued with it later this year.

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