RESEARCH [CONTINUED FROM PAGE 65]


The present RDC was chartered in 1972, and since then, it has initiated projects such as the Automatic Identification System, an international standard for communication of maritime navigation information, and Sector and Port Security Operations, which focuses on how better to secure U.S. ports from threats from above and below the water. The Coast Guard often conducts boardings of ships suspected of smuggling drugs, weapons, or other illicit items, and those boarding parties rely on technology developed by RDC to remain in close communication while dispersed through a vessel and to locate various types of contraband.


As budgetary constraints become increasingly common, the armed forces research laboratories have found it necessary and prudent to form partnerships, both among each other and with outside agencies and educational institutions. “With the preponderance of technology everywhere, there are so many problems that are too big for one organization, or even any one service,” says Perkins. “These days, the watchwords are communicate, coordinate, and collaborate.” By doing so, military laboratories will, no doubt, continue to pioneer game-changing technologies far into the future.
MO


— Mark Cantrell is a freelance writer based in North Carolina. His last feature article for Military Officer was “Full Throttle,” September 2012.


DECEMBER 2012 MILITARY OFFICER 79

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