First implemented as a pilot program in 2014, the Veterans Benefits Administration’s Warrior Training Advancement Course (WARTAC) boasts more than an 85 percent hiring rate, with hundreds of Veterans having graduated the program since its inception. Warrior Mentality. The MAW system borrows from several different schools of training—powerlifting, bodybuilding, and even CrossFit—but it’s much more calculated than simply combining different styles in random fashion.“Everything in the program has a distinctive purpose,” says Wenning.
Five years ago, Major Mark Ivezaj went searching for a better training program for the men under his command in Alpha Company, 3rd Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment, one of the most elite units in the U.S. Army. He found that program and more under the guidance of world-class powerlifter Matt Wenning, who at the time was training at legendary Westside Barbell in Columbus, OH. Wenning transformed Ivezaj's Rangers into a stronger, more athletic group of soldiers while also reducing injuries by an astounding 64 percent.
Welcome to the United States Air Force. Learn about great opportunities for enlisted airmen, officers and health care professionals. The mission of the Warrior Care and Transition (WCT) is to develop, coordinate and integrate the Army's Warrior Care and Transition Program (WCTP) for wounded, ill and injured Soldiers, Veterans and their Families or Caregivers to promote success in the force or civilian life. The Army is training smarter now, and utilizing the best methods known to man.” The following is a three-week sample of the MAW program. Exercise variations are introduced every four weeks. Land Warrior Integrated Soldier System. Weight 4.5lb. Wireless local area network antenna. The US Army Land Warrior is an integrated fighting system for individual infantry soldiers that gives the soldier enhanced tactical awareness, lethality and survivability. Kaiser Electro-Optics Inc, Omega Training Group, PEMSTAR, PEMSTAR.
But why stop with the Rangers?
Ivezaj is currently operations officer for the 4th Infantry Division, 4th Brigade Combat Team at Fort Carson, Colorado, a unit with a non-deployable injury rate of 18 percent. This number needs to go down, and fitness levels across the board need to be brought closer to those of the Alpha Company Rangers. 'Current Army fitness doctrine and facilities,' says Ivezaj, 'do not prepare soldiers sufficiently to conduct full-spectrum operations in general, and specifically in the mountains of Afghanistan.'
Based on Wenning's success with Alpha Company, the Army contracted him to create a similar routine for 4-4 IBCT that's been dubbed the Mountain Athlete Warrior program. The idea is to find a better alternative to the Army's obsolete physical training regimen, and to create a formidable force of elite athlete soldiers to populate the United States military.
MAKING WAVES
The MAW program combines multiple training styles to create a more well-rounded athlete. Think of it as a buffet line at a cafeteria. Some items you'll put on your tray. Others you'll leave for someone else. 'How we select from that cafeteria,' says Wenning, 'is not by choosing things we like, but by choosing things we need.'
Effective soldiers need many things. The balance and endurance to climb up the side of a mountain on uneven terrain. The overall speed and athleticism to sprint quickly during battle, duck and cover, then sprint again. The strength and power to drag an injured soldier 100 yards or more to safety. The MAW program addresses these areas in three-week cycles, with a different emphasis each week.
WEEK ONE (Stability):
Exercise difficulty increases through adding some form of instability to the mix, whether it's dangling kettlebells from elastic bands, performing one-legged movements to compromise balance, or both.
WEEK TWO (Strength):
The surfaces and resistances are no longer unstable, but the weights are as heavy as you can handle. Highlights of this phase include one-rep maxes in the deadlift, and three-rep bench press maxes.
WEEK THREE (Conditioning):
The exercises here aren't difficult because of the amount of weight being used, but because of the number of reps prescribed: dragging sleds non-stop for two minutes, and 50-rep sets of box squats, for example.
The fourth week is an unloading period where volume and intensity decrease. 'It lets the body recover and 'soak in,' so to speak, all the new stimuli we've applied,' says Wenning. After this, the program starts over again at Week One, using the same philosophies but different exercises.
WARRIOR MENTALITY
The MAW system borrows from several different schools of training—powerlifting, bodybuilding, and even CrossFit, but it's much more calculated than simply combining different styles in random fashion. 'Everything in the program has a distinctive purpose,' says Wenning. 'Nothing is there as a space filler.'
Wenning designed the workouts using feedback from officers and enlisted personnel to address those military-specific skills that needed to be developed. They also provided statistical injury analyses of the most common causes of medical disability among soldiers—namely their shoulders, lower back and knees. Problems that, if minimized, could potentially save the military a substantial amount of money in addition to improving battlefield performance.
The program can easily be individualized based on soldiers' fitness levels and training experience. The sample workouts starting on page 84 are for more advanced athletes, but Wenning implements beginner and intermediate versions. which entail lower volume and intensity, as soldiers work their way up to elite status. In other words, workouts are adjusted to the individual, not the other way around.
A lack of necessary training equipment, even when troops are deployed, won't be an issue. According to Ivezaj, the MAW program is designed to be 'fully functional' without a fitness center in an 'austere environment.' Each company will have an MAW equipment package that follows them wherever they go, contained in a storage pod. This includes everything soldiers need to get their workouts in: barbells, bumper plates, plyometric boxes, kettlebells, tires and sleds.
One thing you won't see a lot of in this program is long-distance running, which was an Army staple for decades that's being replaced by exercises like tire flips, kettlebell swings, and sled drags. These activities combine speed with added resistance, mimicking the demands of modern-day warfare better than jogging in a T-shirt and shorts.
Thanks in part to Wenning, the antiquated Army Physical Fitness Test could very well disappear in the near future. The APFT is the traditional measuring stick of military fitness, consisting of a two-mile run, two minutes of push-ups, and two minutes of sit-ups. In changing these parameters to include a more thorough evaluation of strength, power and speed, soldiers will be required to become better all-around athletes.
'Being quick with equipment will require lifts of 2.5 times body weight on squats and deadlifts, and a minimum of 1.5 times body weight on bench press to ensure enough mass, ligament, and tendon strength to support proper speed training,' says Ivezaj, providing a glimpse of what a new and improved APFT might encompass. 'A 400-pound deadlift should be average among soldiers.'
'What we're trying to do with these workouts,' says Wenning, 'is not only to design a program that's smarter, but something that's way more transferable than the old days of running two miles and doing push-ups and sit-ups. That stuff just doesn't help on the battlefield anymore. Why use a dated system when we can use something that's better and more performance oriented, and treat the guys like athletes rather than just plain soldiers? The Army is training smarter now, and utilizing the best methods known to man.'
WARRIOR WORKOUTS
Below is a 3-week sample of the MAW program. Exercise variations are introduced every four weeks. 'This is really an example of how you could lay it out,' Wenning says. 'We want the soldiers to think for themselves. They're going to walk into a weight room-whether they're overseas or at another gym-and some of this equipment may not be available, so they're going to have to learn to improvise.'
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The Land Warrior is an integrated fighting system for USA infantry soldiers.
The US Land Warrior is an integrated fighting system for individual infantry soldiers which gives the soldier enhanced tactical awareness, lethality and survivability. The systems integrated into Land Warrior are the weapon system, helmet, computer, digital and voice communications, positional and navigation system, protective clothing and individual equipment. The Land Warrior system will be deployed by infantry, and combat support soldiers, including rangers, airborne, air assault, light and mechanised infantry soldiers.
Land Warrior future soldier programme
The US Army launched the Land Warrior programme in 1994. An engineering and manufacturing development contract was awarded to Raytheon Systems, then Hughes Aircraft Company. Plans were drafted to build an initial capability (formerly Land Warrior Block 1) and then a Land Warrior Stryker Interoperable (formerly Land Warrior Block 2).
In February 2003, a contract was awarded to General Dynamics Decision Systems (now General Dynamics C4 Systems) to enhance the Land Warrior system with integration to the US Army digital communications, interoperability with the Stryker Brigade Combat Vehicle and a system weight reduction.
The industrial team led by General Dynamics C4 Systems includes General Dynamics Land Systems, Computer Sciences Corporation, Kaiser Electro-Optics Inc, Omega Training Group, PEMSTAR, PEMSTAR Pacific Consultants and Thales Communications.
The first Land Warrior Stryker Interoperable systems (Mounted Warrior) were delivered in 2005 for testing and assessment.
Future Force Warrior and Ground Soldier System
In February 2005, the US Army decided to merge the Land Warrior Advanced Technology Demonstration (ATD) programme with the Future Force Warrior (FFW) ATD, to enable more efficient spiral development of new technologies. The merged programme is managed by the US Army Natick Soldier Center with General Dynamics C4 Systems as prime integrator.
The FFW ATD is to develop the Ground Soldier System (GSS), the next generation of Land Warrior. It will transit mature technologies for insertion into Land Warrior programme before the end of the ATD.
Land Warrior and Mounted Warrior soldier systems
The US Army began operational assessment of the Land Warrior and Mounted Warrior systems in May 2006 with the 4th Stryker Brigade Combat Team (SBCT) at Fort Lewis, Washington. 440 Land Warrior systems and 147 Mounted Warrior systems were used in the assessment. The assessment concluded in September 2006 and was followed by limited user test.
In February 2007, the US Department of Defense announced the proposed cancellation of the Land Warrior programme. However, in June 2007, the 4th SBCT equipped with Land Warrior and Mounted Warrior systems were deployed to Iraq.
In July 2007, the Senate Armed Services Committee published a report recommending that the US Army review its decision to terminate the programme and funding may be restored. Funding issues have not been resolved, however Congress has made some appropriations for the programme.
In October 2007, the US Army announced that the Land Warrior system was being upgraded to make it up to 3lb lighter. The system will also include a Boomerang sniper detection system from BBN Technologies. In May 2008, the US Army reported that the weight of the Land Warrior systems deployed in Iraq had been reduced from 17lb to 10lb.
In May 2008, the US Army approved an operational needs to statement to equip an entire brigade combat team, the 5th Stryker Brigade Combat Team, with the Land Warrior system in 2009.
From October 2008, a number of Land Warrior systems are being assessed by the army evaluation task Force (AETF). AETF is tasked with the evaluation of technologies for the US Army’s future combat systems (FCS) programme. The US Army received 900 Land Warrior ensembles, 300 vehicle-integration kits, and associated equipment by October 2009.
In October 2009, General Dynamics C4 Systems was awarded a $50m multi-year contract to provide engineering and logistics support for the Land Warrior programme. The contract provides $19m for the first year and includes two optional years.
Land Warrior configurations
The system is modular and tailored for the soldier’s task and mission. The unit commander decides the components of Land Warrior that will be deployed for a mission.
The two main Land Warrior configurations are for the soldier and the squad leader. The soldier LW version includes a radio with short range inter-squad voice and data communications. A squad leader’s LW system includes a multi-band inter- and intra-team SINCGARS compatible radio, a keyboard and handheld flat panel display.
Fighting load vest
The soldier wears a fighting load vest for carrying and interfacing with the sensors and the computer. The soldier is able to adjust the load distribution from shoulders to hips while on the move. The electronic systems are connected and integrated via the ten-port hub installed on the body.
The soldier’s navigation system comprises a Global Positioning System (GPS) and a pedometer dead reckoning system that tracks the soldier’s position and is used when the GPS is unavailable, e.g. inside buildings.
The GPS uses five satellites and defines the soldier’s position to an accuracy of 10m.
The power system, either disposable or rechargeable batteries weighing 1.1kg (2.5lb), is installed on the body. The system provides between eight and 24 operating hours of power for the sensors and computer. The disposable batteries have longevity of four to 12 hours and the rechargeable batteries eight to ten hours. The US Army Communications-Electronics Command awarded Vitronics a contract in 2002 for the integration of power aware technologies into Land Warrior.
The Land Warrior computer is also installed on the body. The computer operates on Windows 2000 operating system and uses a 500MHz Intel Strong Arm processor. The battlefield software is installed on the computer. The sensor data is downloaded onto the computer.
A Multi-Band Intra and Inter Team Radio (MBITR), integrated into the vest allows voice communications between the infantry soldiers. The Land Warrior Squad Radio, supplied by Thales, is a SINCGARS compatible, eight-channel radio operating over 30MHz to 88MHz and the design is based on a repackaged commercially available radio, the PRC-6745 Leprechaun radio by Thales Communications. The soldier radio for the Land Warrior first spiral is the Raytheon MicroLight.
Helmet
The 2kg (4.5lb) Land Warrior helmet provides ballistic protection and carries the main components of the soldier’s communications systems.
The Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN) antenna is installed in the helmet and connects via the hub to the MBITR radio carried in the soldier’s fighting load vest. The range of the radio is 1km within line-of-sight.
The helmet carries a Head-Mounted Display (HMD), which is positioned over the soldier’s dominant eye and provides command and control information and situational awareness.
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The display shows the video from the daylight video scope or the infrared thermal weapon scope mounted on the soldier’s weapon. It also shows satellite and topographical maps with friendly positions, updated every 30 seconds.
The soldier can switch screens using the select button on the stock of the rifle. The helmet-mounted display is used for zeroing the daylight video scope, capturing battlefield images and for sending and receiving data.
Rockwell Collins received a contract in January 2009 for 1,500 HMDs for Land Warrior systems. Rockwell Collins ProView S035 monocular has a colour super video graphics array with a 35° diagonal field of view.
Soldier control system
The Land Warrior control system is carried on the soldier’s body. This enables the soldier to interact with the menus in the helmet-mounted display. The control unit has a joystick for moving the cursor, and mouse buttons for menu selection on the helmet-mounted display. Three programmable buttons can be set to push-to-talk and for zeroing weapons.
A SIM (subscriber identity module) card reader identifies the soldier and controls access.
M4 Carbine
The Land Warrior infantry soldier is armed with an M4 Carbine, .223 caliber, with a 30-round magazine. The M4 Carbine operates in semi-automatic or three shot burst. The rifle is fitted with a Picatinny rail for mounting sights and a grenade launcher.
The daylight video scope (DVS) has a zoom with magnification 1.5x to 6x. The Land Warrior thermal weapon sight (TWS) from DRS Electro-Optical Systems Group, operating in the eight to 12 micron band, can be fitted on top of the M4.
In June 2005, DRS was awarded a contract by the US Army to produce a family of next-generation TWS, based on uncooled thermal imaging technology, for the M4 and other weapons. In November 2006, the US Army placed an order with DRS for 1,600 light, 3,900 medium and 2,000 heavy TWS II sights.
A multifunction laser measures the azimuth and range to the target and designates the target with a red dot.
Programmable control buttons on the weapon for push to talk, switch screens and take a picture commands, allow the soldier to carry out procedures without lowering the weapon. A quick disconnect weapon cable connects the weapon electronics to the hub.
The laser rangefinder and digital compass gives the soldier the range and direction of the hostile target. The data, coupled with the soldier’s own location (defined by his global positioning system), provide the soldier with accurate target location when he calls for indirect or support fire and for combat identification.
In October 2007, a contract was awarded to General Dynamics for the integration of the BBN Technologies Boomerang sniper-detection system. The Boomerang system consists of a number of small microphones which detect muzzle blast and a display giving precise distance and direction of the sniper.
Land Warrior software suite
The Land Warrior software suite contains six main software packages for weapon sights and for data. The mapping software package controls the display of satellite generated and topographical maps. The satellite image technology allows maps to be generated and viewed by the infantry soldier within ten minutes, compared to the six to eight-hour time delay currently experienced by front line soldiers. Friendly positions on maps are updated every 30 seconds.
The echelon selection control software allows the soldier to control the amount of data received, for example the positions of team members, squad or company. The software ensures that the soldier is not overloaded with data but receives the information needed for his mission and situation. The send image programme allows the soldier to capture and send battlefield images.
Mounted Warrior (Stryker vehicle integration kit)
In June 2005, General Dynamics C4 Systems was awarded a contract to provide up to 500 Land Warrior Stryker integration kits. Delivery of the assessment versions began in 2005.
When the Land Warrior soldiers are in the Stryker vehicle, the Vehicle Integration Kit allows voice, data and power communication via an umbilical connection.
Army Warrior Training Program
The Land Warrior soldiers in the Stryker vehicle can then communicate by voice and data to soldiers inside and outside the vehicle, to soldiers in other Stryker vehicles and, through the Stryker vehicle’s Force XXI battle command brigade and below (FBCB2) Appliqué, to the Army battle command system.
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