Fog Of War: How Political Pressure Has Unraveled Army Radio Plans, Putting Soldiers At Risk (From Forbes)

Ten years ago, the Army awarded a contract for development of handheld and manpack radios that would greatly enhance the situational awareness of soldiers at war.  The “software-reconfigurable” radios would link troops to the full resources of the joint force, delivering the kind of functionality in the field that civilians have come to expect from their smart phones.  But politics has intervened to delay full-rate production of the new radios, meaning most soldiers will have to wait until after President Obama has left office to get state-of-the-art communications.  This inevitably will put the lives of many brave warfighters at risk.  I have written a commentary for Forbes here.