BY SUE M. MORGAN
Staff Writer
FORT MONMOUTH — A radar device that helps soldiers in battle to find and trace enemy mortar rounds has gained national recognition for a group of Fort Monmouth scientists.
A device called Lightweight Counter Mortar Radar (LCMR) created by inventors in Fort Monmouth Command, Control, Communications, Computers, Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance program, (C41SR) was named one of the “Top Ten Greatest Inventions” by U.S. Army Material Command (AMC) earlier this month.
According to information released by the AMC, the LCMR has been used successfully by American soldiers fighting in Iraq to detect and track mortar rounds at ranges out of the effective mortar range of most weapons.
LCMR locates the firing weapon with “sufficient accuracy” to neutralize the shooter with either counterfire or airstrikes, the information released by AMC states.
Fort Monmouth’s C4ISR technicians were honored by AMC at an awards reception on June 8 in Tyson, Va.
AMC conducts its Top Ten Greatest Inventions program to reward researchers for their assistance in inventing practical devices to be used in battlefields.
While pleased to hear of Fort Monmouth’s latest honor, two area legislators seized the opportunity to reiterate support for keeping the local base operating despite a recommendation by the Pentagon to shutter it within two to six years.
U.S. Representatives Rush Holt (D-12) and Frank Pallone Jr. (D-6) pointed to the award as vindication of Fort Monmouth’s value to the military despite the Pentagon’s proposal to transfer its missions under the federal Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) process.
If the Pentagon’s plans are realized, most of the fort’s missions including C4ISR would be shifted to the Aberdeen (Md.) Proving Ground.
Holt and Pallone, co-chairs of the Monmouth County-based Save Our Fort Committee, argue such a move, and the resulting loss of “brain power” coming from civilian workers choosing not to move to the location, would ultimately put soldiers in harm’s way.
“This is proof positive that the work done here is saving lives and advancing our efforts to defeat al Qaeda, and its clones in Iraq, Afghanistan and elsewhere, in the war on terrorism,” Holt said in a press statement.
“It’s also another reminder of how misguided the Pentagon’s recommendation to close this base is, and why it’s imperative that we keep Team C4ISR together and working at Fort Monmouth.”
Pallone, who with Holt is leading the charge with the assistance of state, county and local officials to keep Fort Monmouth open, pointed to the invention of LCMR as an example of “exceptional work” done there.
The two legislators, in their advocacy efforts, have cited statistics showing that only 10 to 15 percent of the fort’s civilian work force, including scientists and engineers at C4ISR, could be expected to relocated if the base closes.
“This is more proof that Fort Monmouth is home to some of the most advanced and innovative workers in the United States Armed Forces,” Pallone said. “The idea that the Pentagon wants to break this winning team seems completely inappropriate to me.
“It’s a classic case of if it isn’t broke, don’t fix it,” he added.
Fort Monmouth’s C4ISR team has also assisted in creating devices designed to counteract “improvised explosive devices” or IEDs set by enemy forces, the two congressmen said.
“Blue Force Tracking” a process that helps to identify movements of allies and foes was also created with the assistance of scientists at the local base, the congressmen stated.
The nine-member BRAC Commission, appointed earlier this year by President George W. Bush, is presently reviewing the list of 33 military bases targeted by the Pentagon for closing.
On June 3, two BRAC commissioners toured Fort Monmouth as a part of the review process. However, those commissioners would not pledge that the local base will be spared when the final list of recommended closures is submitted to Bush for his review on Sept. 8.