In March 2012, the Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition, Technology, and Logistics requested that the Defense Science Board develop recommendations for technology investments that would enable the Department of Defense to maintain capability superiority in 2030. The Board assembled a study composed of national leaders in science and technology who explored required capabilities, global technology, and the principles of experimentation. This book recommends some specific investments for the Department that are focused on high-leverage technologies that the study judged are not adequately pursued today. The book also discusses priorities for the 21st century defence in sustaining United States global leadership.

While many Civil War reference books exist, there is no single compendium that contains important details about the combatant states (and territories) that Civil War researchers can readily access for their work. People looking for information about the organization, activities, economies, demographics, and prominent personalities of Civil War states and state governments must assemble data from a variety of sources, and many key sources remain unavailable online.
This volume, the first of six, provides a crucial reference book for Civil War scholars and historians, professional or amateur, seeking information about individual states or groups of states. Its principal sources include the Official Records, state adjutant-general reports, legislative journals, state and federal legislation, federal and state executive speeches and proclamations, and the general and special orders issued by the military authorities of both governments. Designed and organized for easy use, this book can be read in two ways: by individual state, with each chapter offering a stand-alone skeletal history of an individual state's war years, or across states, comparing reactions to the same event or solutions to the same problems.

The Department of Defense (DOD) acquires goods and services from contractors, federal arsenals, and shipyards to support military operations. Acquisitions is a broad term that applies to more than just the purchase of an item of service; the acquisition process encompasses the design, engineering, construction, testing, deployment, sustainment, and disposal of weapons or related items purchased from a contractor. As set forth by statute and regulation, from concept to deployment, a weapon system must go through a three-step process of identifying a required weapon system, establishing a budget, and acquiring the system. One of DOD's main efforts to improve acquisitions is the Better Buying Power Initiative. This book provides an overview of the process by which DOD acquires weapon systems and discusses recent major efforts by Congress and the Department of Defense to improve the performance of the acquisition system.

The US Marine Corps has been a key part of the US presence in a host of combat zones in the first years of the 21st century, from Iraq to Afghanistan. With a front-line strength of over 200,000 active-duty personnel, the USMC is significantly larger than the entire armed forces of some countries. It fulfils a vital component of the United States' military capability, uniquely being able to deploy a combined-arms task force to almost anywhere across the globe in a matter of days. The infantry role is at the heart of USMC thinking; all Marines are trained as riflemen, and other components of the USMC, such as Marine aviation, have always been tasked first and foremost with supporting the infantry on the ground.
While sharing some weapons systems with the US Army, US Navy, and US Air Force, the Marine Corps has developed its own distinctive approach to matters of dress, personal equipment and armament. Since the year 2000 the "profile" of the Western combat infantryman has changed greatly. The most important trends are a new generation of camouflage clothing, body armor, personal electronics, and night-vision equipment, which have transformed the appearance and capability of the individual rifleman. Another trend is the increased presence of women on the battlefield, which has design implications. The men and women of the USMC have been at the forefront of these developments, utilizing innovative items of dress and equipment during their extensive service in a range of challenging environments across the world.
Featuring specially commissioned full-color artwork and detailed photographs, this book explores the USMC's key contribution to the development of the combat infantry soldier's clothing and personal equipment in the 21st century.

In 2009, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) released the report Warfighter Support: Independent Expert Assessment of Army Body Armor Test Results and Procedures Needed Before Fielding, which commented on the conduct of the test procedures governing acceptance of body armor vest-plate inserts worn by military service members. This GAO report, as well as other observations, led the Department of Defense Director, Operational Test & Evaluation, to request that the National Research Council (NRC) Division on Engineering and Physical Sciences conduct a three-phase study to investigate issues related to the testing of body armor materials for use by the U.S. Army and other military departments. Phase I and II resulted in two NRC letter reports: one in 2009 and one in 2010. This report is Phase III in the study.
Testing of Body Armor Materials: Phase III provides a roadmap to reduce the variability of clay processes and shows how to migrate from clay to future solutions, as well as considers the use of statistics to permit a more scientific determination of sample sizes to be used in body armor testing. This report also develops ideas for revising or replacing the Prather study methodology, as well as reviews comments on methodologies and technical approaches to military helmet testing. Testing of Body Armor Materials: Phase III also considers the possibility of combining various national body armor testing standards.

This report reviews and updates the 2002 National Research Council report, Technical Issues Related to the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty (CTBT). This report also assesses various topics, including: the plans to maintain the safety and reliability of the U.S. nuclear stockpile without nuclear-explosion testing; the U.S. capability to detect, locate, and identify nuclear explosions; commitments necessary to sustain the stockpile and the U.S. and international monitoring systems; and potential technical advances countries could achieve through evasive testing and unconstrained testing. Sustaining these technical capabilities will require action by the National Nuclear Security Administration, with the support of others, on a strong scientific and engineering base maintained through a continuing dynamic of experiments linked with analysis, a vigorous surveillance program, adequate ratio of performance margins to uncertainties. This report also emphasizes the use of modernized production facilities and a competent and capable workforce with a broad base of nuclear security expertise. Table of Contents Front Matter EXECUTIVE SUMMARY SUMMARY 1 SAFETY, SECURITY, AND RELIABILITY OF THE U.S. NUCLEAR WEAPONS STOCKPILE 2 TECHNICAL MONITORING CAPABILITIES AND CHALLENGES 3 SUSTAINING U.S. TECHNICAL CAPABILITIES UNDER THE CTBT 4 POTENTIAL TECHNICAL ADVANCES FROM NUCLEAR-EXPLOSION TESTING 5 COMPLETE LIST OF FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDATIONS APPENDIX A Committee on Reviewing and Updating "Technical Issues Related to the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty" (CTBT) APPENDIX B List of CTBT Committee and Seismology Subcommittee Meetings APPENDIX C The U.S. National Capability to Monitor for Nuclear Explosions APPENDIX D Monitoring Areas of High Interest APPENDIX E Dealing with Evasive Underground Nuclear Testing APPENDIX F Issues Related to Containment of Radioactivity APPENDIX G U.S. Satellite Nuclear Detonation Detection Capability: Options and Impacts APPENDIX H Satellite-Based Challenges and Solutions APPENDIX I References APPENDIX J List of Acronyms APPENDIX K Glossary of Key Terms from the 2010 CTBT NIE

Records show that the Chinese invented gunpowder in the 800s. By the 1200s they had unleashed the first weapons of war upon their unsuspecting neighbours. This extraordinarily ambitious book traces the history of that invention and its impact on the surrounding Asian world - Korea, Japan, South East Asia and South Asia - from the ninth through the twentieth century. As the book makes clear, the spread of war and its technology had devastating consequences on the political and cultural fabric of those early societies although each reacted very differently. The book, which is packed with information about military strategy, interregional warfare and the development of armaments, also engages with the major debates and challenges traditional thinking on Europe's contribution to military technology in Asia. Articulate and comprehensive, this book will be a welcome addition to the undergraduate classroom and to all those interested in Asian studies and military history.

The 19th century was the century of the bayonet, and this book is probably the most complete guide to the correct use of the weapon as it was fixed to the newly introduced British magazine rifle in 1890. Alfred Hutton, whose other works include the aptly titled 'Cold Steel' gives an expert guide to offensive and defensive bayonet lunges, parries and positions, together with glossaries of English, French and Italian terms used in bayonet fencing. Profusely illustrated, this is surely the definitive guide to a weapon which has stubbornly retained its place in the military armoury from its introduction in the 18th century right up till today.This offer expires 21 December 2007

The Canadian government's 1983 decision to allow U.S. cruise missile testing in this country resulted in intense political fallout. The controversial program was kept quiet for as long as possible, but when key secrets were leaked, the powers that be faced harsh criticism from activists, opposition parties, Washington, and the Canadian public. Using recently declassified documents from the highest levels of government, political insider John Clearwater asserts that both Trudeau and Mulroney viewed the cruise missile program as essential to maintaining good relations with the United States. In this highly charged, uncompromising analysis, Clearwater contends that cabinet made important decisions based on relatively little information and took major steps to maintain the secrecy surrounding the testing in an attempt to prevent the public from mounting an effective opposition. Just Dummies is a finely crafted and unflinching examination of the politics and history of cruise missile testing in Canada. Clearwater's insider expertise, backed up with military and political documents from both Canada and the United States, provides readers with a unique perspective on this highly contentious issue.