Open Source Software In the Military 91
JohnMoD writes With the advent of forge.mil, etc. the military seems to be getting on board with free and open source software. A working group meeting is going to be held at Georgia Tech in Atlanta, August 12-13, 2009. There's a pretty good lineup of speakers including a Marine from the Iraq-Marine Expeditionary Forces, who was on the ground and saw the agility open source gave to him and his soldiers. A number of OSS projects are going to be meeting there: Delta 3D, OpenCPI, FalconView, OSSIM, Red Hat, etc. Looks like there will be some good discussions."
You would think that it is only the Americans... (Score:1, Insightful)
Who are fighting in Iraq & Afghanistan.
There are soldiers from many other countries who are fighting right alongside the US Forces.
Personally, I regret the loss of the lives of any service personell regardless of which country they are from.
Re:Killing code? (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:WOW (Score:4, Insightful)
It is funny that people assume that open source means more secure. It means more potential for security, since you can undertake an enormous, in-depth code review, but given the amount of code in some projects (the Linux kernel, Apache, etc.), that is not something that is likely to happen.
Just because you're not doing it, don't presuppose that nobody is. The code review of all the major pieces is ongoing, extensive and in-depth. It's done for a lot of reasons: motivated self interest on the part of organizations with large user bases (NSA, .mil, governments, large corporates), product development (all the commercial vendors), security professionals (for experience props) and others.
Stuff does occasionally get through, but it's almost always pointed out and fixed right away.
One downside of commercial software is that code audits can only be done by two groups: the vendor and the black hats.
Sorry, youngster (Score:3, Insightful)
"Basically I have no chance of attaining any leadership skills"
I fear that you don't understand what "leadership" is. If you wish to learn about leadership, and you are not learning, that is your failure, not the failure of the military, the boy scouts, an employer, or even your parents. I would ask first, how many courses are you enrolled in? If you answer "none", then it is obvious that you DON'T wish to learn leadership, but instead, you only want to bellyache about the military. Which is fine with me - we earn the right to bitch by serving. But, for your own good, you do need to be honest with yourself.
As for attaining a "leadership position" - that is another subject entirely. The best leaders, of course, are good followers. Are you a good follower? Do you work hard to make your mates and superiors look good? Do you support your juniors? Are you always there, willing to do whatever it takes? Do you volunteer to "go the extra mile"?
If so - maybe you really are in the wrong MOS. Maybe even the wrong branch of military. The Navy does things considerably different than the Army - you might consider a tour with the fleet after your army service.
I have one son in the Army, one going into the Navy. If they switched places, I don't think either would be happy - it all depends on the individual's aptitude, personality, etc.
But, please, let's not blame the Army for a failure to learn a skill. You can learn if you wish to learn. Demonstrating that skill is the path to advancement, not bitching about the lack of a skill.
TCP/IP was military (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:I'm in the Military, (Score:3, Insightful)
Never mind what he's done, can I have your recipe for acronym soup?
Re:Patriot == bigot (Score:2, Insightful)
If your wife hates all other women and you love your wife enough to believe in every ideal she believes in without question, then yes you hate all other women.
If you follow your country blindly while it creates war with others over possibly meaningless matters or when there are other options besides war and you never once question it then you are a bigot.
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dunno.
Re:The only important thing to say (Score:2, Insightful)
Similarly, I appreciate the concept of non violent resistance, and think it is one of the bravest stances a person can take. However, I will choose to stand against fatigue-wearing bullies, whatever color their fatigues may be. And I choose to use the sharpest sword I can lay my hand on to do it.