There's an iPhone App For That............

[hammAR]

Targeting the Taliban? There's an iPhone App For That

An iPhone app that tracks down the Taliban has been developed by a U.S. soldier -- who put $26,000 of his own money into the project.

The idea for a smartphone application to assist soldiers in combat came to Capt. Jonathan J. Springer in a dream last July, he said Monday. The 31-year-old, from Fort Wayne, Ind., has worked with programmers ever since to make the idea a reality.

Tactical Nav, which is expected to be available through Apple’s App Store next month, assists soldiers in mapping, plotting and photographing waypoints on a battleground and conveying coordinates to supporting units.
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“Since day one, I always believed that smartphones could be utilized by the U.S. military for combat purposes,” he said.

“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.


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[DeanC]

But who controls the cell towers in Talibanistan? Couldn't they use the data to target where the cell phone users are?

[westberg]

I can imagine it going something like this............ring ring hello this is____! mom? Mom why are you calling? Mom I don't have time right now to hear about my sisters prom! Because I'm in firefight! Ok I will call you back in ten minutes! bye love you.

[gyrfalcon]

This guy just made an application to make money off the tacticool people who own ipads/phones if you ask me.

[DeanC]

This guy just made an application to make money off the tacticool people who own ipads/phones if you ask me.

[tman]

But who controls the cell towers in Talibanistan? Couldn't they use the data to target where the cell phone users are?

Tactical Nav, which is expected to be available through Apple’s App Store next month, assists soldiers in mapping, plotting and photographing waypoints on a battleground and conveying coordinates to supporting units.

It's more like a GPS than a Taliban Tracker...

[gyrfalcon]

It's more like a GPS than a Taliban Tracker...

Did you buy it?

[mnmike59]

But who controls the cell towers in Talibanistan? Couldn't they use the data to target where the cell phone users are?

oops Forgot about that small detail.

[tman]

It's more like a GPS than a Taliban Tracker...

Did you buy it?

I'm strictly Android. Haven't looked for it in the Marketplace yet.

[DeanC]

It's more like a GPS than a Taliban Tracker...

Does it use anonymous satellite GPS or the non-anonymous cell tower technology?

[farmerj]

couple days late in the news dept there....

http://www.army.mil/-news/2010/05/27/39 ... tlefields/

WASHINGTON (Army News Service, May 27, 2010) -- The Army is considering the use of smartphones in an effort to increase effectiveness and efficiency in both the administrative and operational environments.

"Connecting Soldiers to Digital Applications" is a two-phase initiative with about eight pilots that are designed to determine the value of using commercial smartphone technology in administrative tasks and tactical operations.

"We want to determine if there is value added (with the use of smartphones) in doing administrative tasks and for delivering training content to our Soldiers," said Ed Mazzanti, deputy director of requirements integration within the Army Capabilities Integration Center.

Phase one of CSDA is focused on assessing the value of using smartphones for administrative tasks using digitized training content modules in the form of instructional videos, games, presentations and interactive instruction.

"The big effort right now is to see how much of the training content we currently have in digitized form can we make useful on a smartphone screen," said Mazzanti.

Phase two of CSDA is the tactical employment of the smartphones to determine if they are useful in an operational environment.

"...There is a lot of utility...that could be brought together in some very useful ways for the Army in a tactical environment," Mazzanti said.

Rumor is they want to add it to the Clothing Issue and then reimburse the individual soldier for the monthly service charge. C&C would have instant access to the soldiers to relay news/orders/information

http://swampland.blogs.time.com/2010/09 ... -army-now/

Soldiers will not only get the phones for free -- Uncle Sam will also pick up the monthly bill. But the troops will have to return them once they've finished their training, at least in the pilot program. "In the future, soldiers could potentially keep the phone for their entire Army career," an Army official said Wednesday. They might also get extra money to help pay the monthly charges.

The growing "Apps for Army" library (A4A, in Army-speak) include the Soldier's Blue Book -- the basic details of the service -- physical training and first aid manuals, an app detailing the seven Army values -- loyalty, duty, respect, selfless service, honor, integrity and personal courage -- and a "mood tracker" that lets a soldier monitor his or her psychological well-being. If the soldier is too despondent to report to P.T., there'll be an app to submit a sick-leave request. (More on Time.com: See 10 iPhone apps to help keep you healthy)

Read more: http://swampland.blogs.time.com/2010/09 ... z1C5veEx8P

http://ciog6.army.mil/AppsfortheArmyCha ... winnerlist

[White Horseradish]

And you can mount the whole thing to your gun:

http://www.wired.com/gadgetlab/2009/01/gun-mount-and-s/

[WWJD]

can you hear me now?

[Heffay]

Reach out and touch someone?

[gyrfalcon]

But who controls the cell towers in Talibanistan? Couldn't they use the data to target where the cell phone users are?

I would be more concerned with who owns the actual cellphones and how the data is protected. The Taliban generally know where soldiers are as they stick out like sore thumbs. The US Military has pretty much taken control of all/any of the infrastructure in Iraq/Afghanistan.