FIELD STRATEGIES
January 29, 2024
This past week has brought some disheartening news for our nation's involvement in the peripherals of the Israel-Gaza war, and I'm growing just a little concerned about our military response. Don't worry, I'm not planning to introduce politically-themed commentary into my website here (…that'll come later on my corresponding blog). I'm simply proposing a few tech and alternative strategies in light of what I've seen in the past week. And again, I'm posting this in haste, so I won't be including many diagrams and such today.
DENY ENTRY TO DRONES WITHOUT AN ENCRYPTED RE-ENTRY SIGNAL - Just yesterday on NBC, I heard that in the drone strike that killed American service members located in the Jordan-Syria outpost, the rebels apparently had been surveilling the movements of those on base, and they timed the launch of their attacking drone to coincide with the re-entry of an American drone. Isn't there a way to configure all the drones America's military uses in the field so that they emit an encrypted signal upon re-entry? That way, if a drone begins to approach on radar that isn't providing that specific signal, our military knows it's a hostile entity and it can be immediately shot down before any harm is done. And please consider using satellite, infrared, and other options to keep tighter tabs on these attacking rebels. When you're surrounded by enemies on a battlefield, you should know and recognize all of their movements and attack times & patterns.
Last week, I heard our military suspended the search for Navy Seals that had been lost at sea in a gun-seizing operation aboard a vessel. It's a tragic loss and we have to strive to avoid such casualties in the future.
1) THE USE OF TRACKING BEACONS IN CERTAIN OFF-SHIP OPERATIONS - There are beacons available in the commercial market that transmit to extraordinary ranges (from 200 - 600 ft), and some are even shockproof & waterproof. Although I'm not sure what type of wireless signal these employ (since bluetooth is usually limited to a 30 ft range and RFID is far less), what if service members that engage in these kind of operations are outfitted with a similar type of beacon, just in case they do fall overboard? Clearly, such beacons usually don't incorporate encrypted signals, so they couldn't be used in covert operations. And I know there are some out there who will take this to the next step and propose that we simply embed chips under the skin of our military members. I'm adamantly opposed to such implanted chips. (Not only would that be an unacceptable invasion of privacy, but it would be the beginning of even darker things…) My intent here is to suggest a way to quickly find a missing service member before a signal is lost or before tragedy strikes.
2) MEASURES OF PREVENTION - The military possibly already employs some of the following tactics, so these suggestions may be superfluous. But when service members board a foreign vessel, are they tethered in any way during extreme weather? Do they wear life jackets (for even the strongest swimmers can be overcome in rough waters…)? And are the surrounding currents studied & evaluated before a single person boards? That way, in the event that someone does fall overboard, rescue boats can already be in the positions where the currents would logically carry a stray individual.
I realize it's a bit presumptuous for me to offer these recommendations, as I'm not a military strategist and I have no training in related fields. But I just had to speak up in light of some of what I've been seeing. As I've stated before, I won't use what I have for weapons of war or destruction. Yes, it's true that the ideas I've outlined here could serve military purposes (although not exclusively) in search & rescue missions, as well as in preventative and protective tactics. However, when there's even a remote possibility of saving a life with proposals such as the ones above, how can I stay silent?