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NEWS YOU CAN USE


Nominate a Hero


Nominations for MOAA's Community Heroes Awards are being accepted now through Aug. 1. The awards, which


this year recognize caregivers of the wounded military and veterans’ populations from the Washington, D.C., metro area, will be presented Oct. 30 at a


Biometrics Aid in Enemy ID


I


n March and April, servicemembers continued an ongoing effort to collect biometric data on the Afghanistan population. Biometric systems, such as those used to identify Kosovan workers in refugee camps in 2001, have evolved to be more portable, more useful in verify- ing identities, and a critical weapon to combat terrorism. “In today’s counterinsurgency environ- ment, the enemy has shown us the abil- ity to hide in the populous,” says Andy MacLennan, a biometric trainer for Booz Allen Hamilton. “They look like the people, talk like the people.”


PHOTOS: ABOVE, SGT. TREY HARVEY, USA; RIGHT, NEAL IWAN


For biometric scanning to be effective, servicemembers must capture the unique identifying features of a person, and this information is compiled into a census-like database. The end result: Enemies are easier to identify. When cached weapons are found, they can be scanned for fingerprints, which then are searched against a da- tabase. A positive match links an insur- gent’s face and name to the weapons. “There are more enemies getting pros- ecuted using biometrics than there are getting shot with rifles,” MacLennan adds. — Staff Sgt. Lewis Hilburn, USA


gala during the associa- tion’s annual meeting. Individual or group


caregivers operating in civilian, government, or military capacities are eligible for the award, and multiple awards will be given. To learn more about


the awards and to nominate an outstand- ing caregiver, visit www.moaa.org/hero.


JULY 2012 MILITARY OFFICER 21


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