From the Crows' Nest

In this episode, host Ken Miller welcomes a group of young engineers from NAVAIR at Naval Air Station Patuxent River, Maryland. In recent years, the local Association of Old Crows chapter at NAS Pax River coordinates the visit of a group of early career young engineers to the annual AOC Symposium and Convention in Washington, DC. Ken sits down with three representatives from this group - Troy Robinson, Kyle Robinson-Jordan, and Kaylee Arceo – to talk about their unique education and career journeys and the impact they can have on their field at NAVAIR.  Let us know what you think of From the Crows’ Nest! The Association of Old Crows wants our podcasts to serve you, our audience, in the best ways possible. Please take just a few minutes to complete our 2022 listener survey, because your opinion is very important to us. Thank you!

In this episode, host Ken Miller welcomes guest, Dr. Karen Zita Haigh. She is an author, speaker, and consultant on Cognitive Electronic Warfare and Embedded Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning (AI/ML). She recently co-authored a new book, Cognitive Electronic Warfare: An Artificial Intelligence Approach. They discuss how cognitive systems and artificial intelligence (AI) can be used in electronic warfare (EW) and how these new technologies force us to rethink our underlying assumptions about a conflict environment. Let us know what you think of From the Crows’ Nest! The Association of Old Crows wants our podcasts to serve you, our audience, in the best ways possible. So please take just a few minutes to complete our 2022 listener survey because your opinion is very important to us. Thank you!

In this episode, host Tala Alshaboot fills in for usual host Ken Miller to talk about a topic that has become the focal point of world news the past few days. Tala sits with JED editor, John Knowles to talk about the unfolding of the Russia-Ukraine conflict and what that means for the state of EMSO, the possible implications of the conflict on the U.S., and the likelihood of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine extending to space.

In this episode, host Ken Miller shares with the listeners a special discussion that took place at AOC 2021, the 58th Annual AOC International Symposium & Convention. The discussion covered the rise of the Taliban, Global Security, and Counterterrorism 20 years after the beginning of Afghanistan and Iraq. EMSO is central to combat operations across all warfighting domains and is quickly becoming the backbone of Global Security. The discussion was moderated by Dr. Douglas Ollivant, Senior National Security Studies Fellow at the New America Foundation and Managing Partner at Mantid International. The panel also included: Ambassador Douglas Lute, former United States Permanent Representative to the North Atlantic Council, NATO’s standing political body, Mr. Mark Kimmitt, former Assistant Secretary for Political-Military Affairs under President George W. Bush, and Mr. Peter Bergen, journalist, documentary producer, Vice President for Global Studies & Fellow at New America, and CNN national security analyst. 

In today’s episode, podcast host Ken Miller and CAPT David J. Rueter, US Navy, Program Manager for NAVAIR PMA-234, discuss the progress and future of the Next Generation Jammer (NGJ), the Navy’s state-of-art replacement for the venerable ALQ-99 Jamming Pod currently used on EA-18G Growlers, and the EA-6B Prowlers before that. Ken and CAPT Rueter also discuss today’s dynamic threat environment and what the NGJ brings to the fight, including each of the three NGJ increments: mid-band, low-band, and high-band. Thank you to our episode sponsor, Raytheon Intelligence and Space.

Directed energy (DE) weapons are changing how we think about electromagnetic spectrum operations (EMSO). High tech innovations are more rapidly moving DE systems from the lab to the field and into the hands of our warfighters. In this episode, podcast host Ken Miller sits with Mr. Mark Neice, Executive Director of the Directed Energy Professional Society, or DEPS. Ken and Mark discuss some of the progress in DE from the past year as well as exciting new advances on the horizon in 2022 and beyond. Specifically, Ken and Mark talk about advances in DE for counter UAS capabilities and the progress of other systems, including the Navy’s ODIN, HELIOS and Laser Weapon System Demonstrator (LWSD), the Army’s DE Mobile SHORAD (M-SHORAD) capability, and the US Air Force’s THOR system. Ken and Mark also discuss the universal application of directed energy and electromagnetic warfare and the importance it holds for DoD and the future of warfighting.

In this first episode of 2022, host Ken Miller sits with special guest, Col. Christopher “Trigger” Fernengel, the Commander of Space Delta 3, Space Operations Command, Peterson Space Force Base, Colorado. They discuss Space Delta 3 and how it executes premiere Space Electromagnetic Warfare through sustainable operations to dominate the space domain. Col. Fernengel the vision of where and how space force is going to employ innovation and be a “pathfinder” to drive decisions to all force levels to gain agility necessary to win the future fight. Ken and Col. Fernengel highlight how you can't have space superiority without electromagnetic spectrum and vice versa and Col. Fernengel elaborates on the dependent and interwoven nature between EMS operations and space operations that cannot be understated. To learn more about today’s topics or to stay updated on EMSO and EW developments, visit our homepage. 

Ken and special co-host Tala Alshaboot sit down with Jesse "Judge" Bourque, AOC Board of Directors, to wrap-up the third and final day of the 58th International Symposium and Annual Convention. Ken, Tala, and Judge give highlights from the sessions that included Lt. Gen. Clinton Hinote, Deputy Chief of Staff for Strategy, Integration and Requirements, U.S. Air Force, and Mr. Terry Mitchell, Principal Cyber Advisor, Office of the Under Secretary of the Army. For their closing address, Ken, Tala, and Judge give their overall thoughts on AOC2021.To learn more about the 58th International Symposium and Annual Convention and today’s topics and to stay updated on EMSO and EW developments, visit our website.

Military and government agencies worldwide are eying 5G for its potential to revolutionize their communications. However, while the immense advantages are clear, many obstacles need to be considered to bring about new technological advances while securing communications. Host Ken Miller sits with Mr. Bryan Clark, Senior Fellow, Hudson Institute at the 58th International Symposium and Annual Convention to discuss how 5G is revolutionizing the military and government organizations, 5G challenges and how to mitigate them, and the future, 6G. Mr. Clark delivers his take on the topic and the main message he wants to deliver to the audience. To learn more about the 58th International Symposium and Annual Convention and today’s topics and to stay updated on EMSO and EW developments, visit our website.Thank you to our episode sponsor, Anritsu. 

Host Ken Miller sits with with Lt. Gen. S. Clinton Hinote, Deputy Chief of Staff for Strategy, Integration and Requirements, U.S. Air Force at the 58th International Symposium and Annual Convention. Ken asks Lt. Gen. Hinote to expand on his vision and the message he wants to deliver from his keynote session. To learn more about the 58th International Symposium and Annual Convention and today’s topics and to stay updated on EMSO and EW developments, visit our website.Thank you to our episode sponsor, Anritsu.