- Joined
- Mar 22, 2015
- Location
- Untied States of America
The commandant of the Marine Corps has ordered troops to ditch high-tech gear in favor of maps and compasses, and at least one unit is taking him at his word.
Last spring, elements of 2nd Marine Regiment simulated a large-scale cyber attack during pre-deployment training in Twentynine Palms, California, forcing troops to return to analog methods of communication at various points — just the way they would if an enemy brought their network down.
Commandant Gen. Robert Neller has repeatedly discussed his desire to wean Marines off their dependence on technology, anticipating that a near-peer competitor may someday be able to interfere with networks and global positioning systems, rendering many of the Corps’ high-tech tools useless.
Marines, he said, should be able to plot their location on a paper map, not just monitor it on a Blue Force Tracker. And, he said, troops’ ubiquitous cell phones may create their own vulnerability.
“You’re going to live out of your pack. You’re going to dig a hole, you’re going to camouflage, you’re going to turn off all your stuff, and you’re going to sit there and try to sleep,” Neller said during an address at the Center for Strategic and International Studies last August. “And you’re going to try not to make any noise, and you’re going to have absolutely no signature. Because if you can be seen, you can be attacked.”
Ahead of their deployment last fall, the Marines of Special Purpose Marine Air-Ground Task Force-Crisis Response-Africa took Neller at his word.
https://www.defensetech.org/2017/06...-training-may-feature-simulated-cyber-attack/
Last spring, elements of 2nd Marine Regiment simulated a large-scale cyber attack during pre-deployment training in Twentynine Palms, California, forcing troops to return to analog methods of communication at various points — just the way they would if an enemy brought their network down.
Commandant Gen. Robert Neller has repeatedly discussed his desire to wean Marines off their dependence on technology, anticipating that a near-peer competitor may someday be able to interfere with networks and global positioning systems, rendering many of the Corps’ high-tech tools useless.
Marines, he said, should be able to plot their location on a paper map, not just monitor it on a Blue Force Tracker. And, he said, troops’ ubiquitous cell phones may create their own vulnerability.
“You’re going to live out of your pack. You’re going to dig a hole, you’re going to camouflage, you’re going to turn off all your stuff, and you’re going to sit there and try to sleep,” Neller said during an address at the Center for Strategic and International Studies last August. “And you’re going to try not to make any noise, and you’re going to have absolutely no signature. Because if you can be seen, you can be attacked.”
Ahead of their deployment last fall, the Marines of Special Purpose Marine Air-Ground Task Force-Crisis Response-Africa took Neller at his word.
https://www.defensetech.org/2017/06...-training-may-feature-simulated-cyber-attack/