When the going gets tough, the Marines call tech support.
The U.S. military has artillery systems like the M777 that are light, yet far more accurate than any prior artillery system in military history. But, the key components of the new artillery systems are computers and they are as buggy as Windows Vista. Jarheads in the field can operate them, but they can't fix them when they malfunction, so the Marines spend lots of time on or close to the battlefield working with private contractors to try to make them work again.
Marine, SGT Timothy Caucutt, describes these contractors in a recent article in the Marine Corps Gazette as the real tech world pirates.
No one wears pocket protectors anymore.
ReplyDeleteEngineers no longer wear white shirts and ties.