Beatrice1000 Resource Specialist
Joined: 10 Aug 2004 Posts: 1179 Location: Minneapolis, MN
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Posted: Fri Mar 25, 2005 9:23 am Post subject: THE BUFFALO – new equipment against IEDs |
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More robotics, yeah!! (small is good -- but I sort of like the idea of “monstrous proportions” too....)
"Buffalo added to 256th arsenal" (March 24, 2005)
Spc. Erin Robicheaux, 256th Brigade Combat Team Public Affairs
CAMP TIGERLAND, Baghdad -- A new Soldier has been initiated into the Tiger Brigade family and taken up residence with the 1088th Engineering Battalion. The Buffalo is the most recent equipment to defeat improvised explosive devices and just like its name suggests, the 23-ton machine is made of monstrous proportions, and appears to be virtually unstoppable. It is a heavily-armored vehicle designed for route clearance, giving patrols a closer look at suspected IEDs. This way it can be confirmed that an IED is present before bringing an Explosive Ordnance Disposal team onto the scene. First Lt. Cecil Piazza of Company A, 1088th En. Bn., has played an active role in bringing the new addition to the 256th Brigade Combat Team. He explained how the machine works. “It (the Buffalo) is equipped with a 30-foot extension, called an Ironclaw, which is operated from within the vehicle. Once an IED is spotted by a route clearance team, it can be investigated without getting physically on the ground to look at it.” CONTINUED
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“Soldiers Use Robots to Keep Streets Safe”
By Sgt. Christina Rockhill / 1st Cavalry Division Public Affairs
A soldier of Company A, 91st Engineering Battalion, uses the multi-functional advance remote control, or “MARC Bot,” to patrol the streets of Baghdad for improvised explosive devices. U.S. Army photo by Sgt. Christina Rockhill
BAGHDAD, Iraq, Aug. 10, 2004 — Soldiers from the 1st Cavalry Division are using technology to their advantage. They have been using robots from the Rapid Equipping Force to help them on their patrols. Soldiers of Company A, 91st Engineer Battalion, have been using the multi-functional advanced remote control or “MARC Bot” on their daily patrols to sweep the streets of Baghdad for improvised explosive devices. The robots, which resemble a large remote controlled car, have all-terrain wheels and a retractable arm with a wireless camera attached to it. The operator uses a remote control to navigate the robot closer to a possible bomb. Then, by watching a monitor on the controller, the operator can determine whether or not it is an improvised explosive device. CONTINUED
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“Troopers Clear Sadr City of Explosives”
By Spc. Jan Critchfield, 122nd Mobile Public Affairs Detachment
(CAMP PATRIOT, Baghdad, Iraq Nov. 10, 2004)
A U.S. Army explosive ordnance disposal soldier of the 766th Ordnance Company watches as a robot makes its way toward a target during a mission in eastern Baghdad, Iraq. The robot is carrying an explosive charge used to destroy a potential improvised explosive device. U.S. Army photo by Spc. Jan Critchfield
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“‘Matilda’ Lends a Hand in Afghanistan”
By U.S. Army Spc. Steve Marroni, 109th MPAD.
U.S. Army Spc. Nathan D. Lindemuth (left) and Pfc. Larry L. Woodson, assigned to Charlie Company, 27th Engineers Battalion, 82nd Airborne Division, replace the batteries in the Mesa Associates' Tactical Integrated Light-Force DeploymentAssembly (MATILDA) during a training session. U.S. Army photo by Sgt. 1st Class Milton H. Robinson
BAGRAM, Afghanistan, March 5, 2003, Army News Service — MATILDA, a robot, has leant it's helping hand, or more appropriately, helping claw, to law enforcement agencies for several years. Now it's aiding the U.S. military in Afghanistan. MATILDA is affixed with a retractable arm and claw. It can find booby traps, search caves, tunnels and buildings and haul a pretty good load for being the size of a small dog. The robot's name stands for Mesa Associates' Tactical Integrated Light-Force Deployment Assembly, and several are in use in by units such as the 27th Engineer Battalion of Fort Bragg, N.C. CONTINUED
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