09:03 GMT, October 29, 2009 Ottawa, Ontario | General David Petraeus, Commander of U.S. Central Command, told infantry soldiers September 22 that rising violence in Afghanistan is “very concerning,” but it must be kept in perspective.

Gen Petraeus told the 2009 Infantry Warfighting Conference at Fort Benning, Georgia that the 60 percent increase in violence over the last year “reflects the resilience and the growth of the Taliban.” Violence is believed to be fuelled by illegal narcotics money and other criminal activity.

The general cautioned that the scale of violence must be kept in perspective. “That is not to say in any way that the violence is not very, very significant … [but] it is a heck of a lot less than [it was at] the height of violence [in 2006] in Iraq.”


British Army acquires surveillance and target acquisition system

The British Army will acquire a state-of-the-art surveillance and target acquisition (STA) system for dismounted infantry as part of its Future Integrated Soldier Technology (FIST) program.

The STA system includes a suite of high-performance weapons sights, observation equipment and target location systems. New thermal sights will allow soldiers to conduct surveillance and engage targets in all weather and light levels, including zero light where normal night sights would be ineffective.

STA thermal imaging improves the ability to see through optical camouflage, enhancing soldiers’ ability to conduct low-level change recognition of concealed weapon and IED thermal signatures.

The first deliveries of the STA system are scheduled for November 2010, with deliveries to Afghanistan set for early in 2011.


Florida company to combat illiteracy in Afghan National Army

About 90 percent of those who join the Afghan National Army are illiterate, according to U.S. officers involved in their training. The lack of basic reading skills slows progress in an already short 10-week training course because recruits cannot read maps or understand the army’s code of conduct. It also increases the difficulty of building a solid core of NCOs, the backbone of every successful army and those who are responsible for conveying a commander’s written orders to the troops.

United States Major-General Richard Formica told The Associated Press that the high illiteracy rate is not a “show-stopper,” but “particularly becomes a challenge for those we want to advance to become NCOs because the higher you get in rank and responsibility, the more expectation there is that you can read and write at some basic level.”

Pulau Electronics Corporation of Orlando, Florida, is a private company that has been hired to run a literacy program. It aims to make 50 percent of troops functionally literate within the first year of the program. Company official Joe Meglan said the target “is for them to be able to write their name and their weapon’s serial number.”


Antenna system to help Spanish Army in national emergencies

Spain’s emergency military unit, Unidad Militar de Emergencias (UME), has added three orders for NewSwift antenna systems to the 17 mobile satellite terminals previously ordered, according to a report in Military and Aerospace Electronics.

The specialized UME, formed in 2005, is part of the Spanish Army and provides the first line of response to any national emergency. Each of its mobile terminals incorporates a monitoring and control system that can be managed remotely from UME headquarters through a hub station near Madrid.

The Spanish Army asked for a user-friendly system that can be operational in the shortest possible time. The unit’s integrated satellite terminal system features a carbon fibre antenna for strength and portability. It is configured for X-band with Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) for baseband data and voice.


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International update compiled by Paul Mooney

This article is part of an ongoing series of military updates on international matters relevant to the Canadian Army.