This is actually a set of devices that are used in unison to provide the end to all friendly fire.

The device at it's core is for troop location. I concieved it soon after the first Gulf War (Operation Desert Storm) as I saw the need for field commanders to access quickly and absolutly, data about the exact geographic location and status of every man or woman on the battle field.

The anti-friendly fire part of the device came after all of our boys were lost to it in that war. More have been lost in this one, and this is needed now!

The End to All Friendly Fire

As mentioned above, this device is based on one I called the "Troop Locator". Basically the idea was to have a device that was able to broadcast a signal to notify others where it was at, and on the outside, the physical status of the user.

I wondered where was the best place to locate this device, which is actually a key question. A device located on the person somewhere, could be stripped off if the soldier was captured. A device that was implanted in the form of a computer chip complete with transponder however, smacks of big brother, and would not be readily accepted.
The best way to implement it is probably, either covertly, that is to say slipped into vaccinations that are routinely recieved anyway (which would of course undermine an individuals rights to choose, which the supreme court just ruled out anyway by reinstating these involuntary vaccinations) or fairly transparently worn. The latter is the embodiment which I will discuss, because although the other may be more efficient, and less discript, it is also in many peoples view, inheriently "evil"

The device, for demonstrative purposes, would be installed into something that is individual to the soldier, and not likely to be removed in the case of capture. The most likely candidates for these types of items, are shirts, and boots. I have seen several videos of the POWs taken by Iraq during the first gulf war, and the individual in every case was wearing his GI shirt, as well as boots.

Back to the point, the device is implanted into the attire of the GI, and is specific to that GI. The designation "Smith" shouldn't be used, as there are probably many a "Smith" on the field, a probable solution would be the serial number of the GI, as believe it or not this is all that the field commanders give a damn about anyway. Officers would have a small ensignia, matching thier designation to the left of thier serial number on the display screen.

The system should be implemented with redundant backups, that is to say, if a tag is implaneted in the tag of the shirt, a matching tag should be placed into the sole of a boot, or both boots. The device could have information wirelessly "written" to the memory at time of issue, for instance, normal physical heart rate etc. as well as the serial number.

Let's get to the goods on the "Troop Locator".

This is the GI with the troop locator implanted into the colar of the shirt

This device would allow field commanders, and even the president, via sattellite of course, be able to watch what is happening on the battlefield in real time. The display could be overlayed onto a topographical, relief, or 3D map. Tanks, helicopters, and planes, could also house a similar type of device, and many of them probably already do.
This allows the field commanders to switch between "layouts" and "feeds" of different tactical squads etc. and see thier status and position in relation to way points, targets, and each other. This gives the commanders better real time information, and they are able to direct our troops better, which means less casualties, as well as faster and better results.

How would such a signal be picked up? Where would the power to link to a sattelite come from while within a boot?
Well, first of all the signal doesn't need to be picked up by a sattelite in order to give exact position, and second of all it could be a passive system. Because it doesn't need to connect to a sattelite, the device could be very small, that is why an injectable chip was mentioned above as a possible embodiment, because it could litteraly be that small.
If it were made as a passive system, then it would require little or no power to be installed with it, a carrier wave that was sent to "find" the device would give it the power it needs wirelessly from a distant location, to perform a simple report function.
In addition, there are a variety of "shock", vibration, or heat differential based power production devices that exist that I have designed, as well as a plethera of this type of power production devices that have been designed by other competent individuals. Any of these (if manufactured at the right architecture size) would provide adequate power for these devices

It doesn't use a sattelite? Hell no! There is really so little that you actually need sattelites for, and this is not one if those things.
My preffered embodiment involves two radio "outposts" for each zone of control. The range of these outposts of course depends on design, but many command centers are within a few miles of the actual contested area. There are typically many of these, so two at each center, covers the battlefield even with only a short range.
These "outposts" are connected to the output equipment located within the command center. This is where the output is visually recognized by the field commanders. The position of the GI is determined by a simple math equation reffered to as "triangulation" The outposts are the two known points, and the signal strength of the troop locator becomes the third part of the triangulation equation. Because the position id the outposts is a known GPS position, the "estimated" GPS position coordinates, can be overlayed by software during rendering in the visual output equipment.

But beyond all that, cut to the chase man! How do you end all friendly fire? Well the implementation of the troop locator is key, and that is why I have gone to the trouble of trying to explain it better. The reason why it is key is that is essential that there be somewhere on every GI, a device that is capable of identifying them, because it would also be capable of detering unwanted fire from hitting them.

This is the GI with the troop locator, the zone of control is highlighted

Continue to the next page for the description and more images

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