Kenneth Krieg, Pentagon acquisition chief, has asked the Defense Science Board to form a task force on directed energy. The request, outlined in an Oct. 30 memo, asks the DSB to review current uses of DE in the Defense Department and other organizations and find out how to “weaponize” DE systems. Krieg also wants the task force to examine vulnerabilities “in regards to offensive use of DE weapons” and study the legal, treaty, and policy issues that could affect use of DE. Krieg expects to see the DSB report by May 31.
Retired Col. Carlyle "Smitty" Harris, known for introducing the "tap code" by which American POWs in North Vietnam could surreptitiously communicate with one another, died July 6. Harris was brutalized by the North Vietnamese over almost eight years of captivity.