"Enhanced Human Operations" Terrify Pentagon

[stromboli]

http://www.popularmechanics.com/military/research/a18574/enhanced-human-operations/

U.S. adversaries are already working on something America is reluctant to: Enhanced Human Operations (EHO).

EHOs entail modifying the body and the brain itself, creating what some have called "super soldiers." At a press conference laying the Defense Department's future research and development strategy on Monday, Deputy Defense Secretary Bob Work warned that America would soon lose its military competitive advantage if it does not pursue technologies such employing artificial intelligence.

"Now our adversaries, quite frankly, are pursuing enhanced human operations, and it scares the crap out of us," Work said.

Altering human beings from the inside to more effectively fight in combat presents ethical dilemmas for American scientists and military planners. Work says those ethical concerns typically don't apply to authoritarian governments like Russia's or China's, but their lack of hesitation in developing EHOs may force America's hand.

"We're going to have to have a big, big decision on whether we're comfortable going that way," Work admits.

What sort of enhancement are we talking about? As yet, the Pentagon has not been specific, but we can infer several likely human mods from previous work done by DARPA, and our own imagination.

Exoskeletons

As early as 1985, retired four-star Army General Paul F. Gorman sketched out a "SuperTroop" exoskeleton for DARPA that would protect soldiers from chemical, biological, electromagnetic, and ballistic threats, including direct fire from a .50-caliber bullet. Audio, visual, and haptic (touch) sensors were part of the design.

More recently, the Navy has explored the use of exoskeletons for lifting heavy loads and enhancing shipboard firefighting/damage control operations. In 2013, DARPA partnered with U.S. Special Operations Command on a light exoskeleton suit called TALOS (Tactical Assault Light Operator Suit). Every time the discussion comes up, someone mentions Iron Man.

Drugs and Vaccines

You could argue that humans have already been boosted, at least primitively. ISIS and other terrorist organizations have an extensive history of handing their fighters hallucinogens and other drugs to bolster their savagery.
Apparently DARPA's Defense Sciences Office (DSO) investigated a mind-altering pain vaccine. Once injected into a soldier who had been shot, the vaccine would theoretically reduce the pain from inflammation and swelling. After 30 seconds of agony, the soldier would feel no pain for 30 days. As long as the bleeding was contained the soldier could keep fighting.

The government's research into halting the bleeding yielded another program that involved injecting millions of microscopic magnets into a person, which could later be brought together into a single area to stop bleeding with the wave of a wand.

DARPA has also studied whales and dolphinsâ€"mammals that don't need to sleep in long chunks like humans doâ€"as inspiration for creating a soldier who requires little to no sleep for a week or more. Whales and dolphins independently control the left and right lobes of their brains, keeping one alert while the other sleeps. It's not known if DARPA scientists made any progress with human lobe control, but they did explore powerful anti-sleep drugs like Modafinil.

Brain Implants

Enhancing soldiers' endurance isn't limited to exoskeletons. Under a program called the Brain-Machine Interface, DSO investigated how brain implants improve cognitive ability. Scientists sought to implant a computer chip in a rat's brain to see if they could remotely control the animal's movements. If success could be replicated in humans, it might eventually lead to remote guidance or control of a human being on the battlefield. Seriously. The program also explored the possibility of enabling soldiers to communicate with each other by thought alone.

Enhanced Human Operations would also theoretically include psychological or cognitive programming. Again, it could be argued that humans have long been psychologically programmed for war, from Nazi soldiers to Al Qaeda terrorists. But brain implants that trigger specific thought patterns or even instructions might be in the cards. So too might be extending the human being as an information, surveillance, and reconnaissance node by infusing the body with a variety of sensors and communications relays.

The possibilities for EHOs may be limited only by our imaginationâ€"and how much our own creations scare the crap out of us.

From  an old sci fi buff, this is nothing new. I read about exoskeletons back in the 60s, and brain enhancement- combat driven uppers like amphetamines have been around since WW2. What is scary is not just an amped soldier, but an amped soldier with enhanced capabilities- think Iron Man and you get the idea. No flying suits likely for awhile, since the energy required to elevate that much weight isn't feasible at this point, but a soldier on the battlefield carrying everything from automatic weapons to explosive launch weapons and made to be near unkillable is a very scary thought.

Not to mention the ethical aspects in a democracy vs a more totalitarian government like China. Shit's getting nasty.

[drunkenshoe]

OK, they want us to believe that there are enhanced human operations going on in the world to create super soldiers, but federal state and government(s) of USA has nothing to do with such experiments at their home and it just scares the crap out fo them?

And these experiments are just easy to do in and by 'authoritarian' states, but not in/by the US govs? Right.

Just the wikipage on highly illegal human experiences has been done in the USA is enough to give a nightmare. Not the mention what is done around the world by US companies. I blieve H. Clinton tried to apologise for one in Guetemala in 2010. Just Boston Uranium experiments or what is done in Vietnam don't tell you anything?

Can you imagine the ones that got covered? Esp. in military defense and offense level in this age?

So I am hoping you are aware how highly toxic bullshit this article is, right? Especially with its "we are innocent and scared they are just pushing our hand, snif sniff" bullshit. Give me a break.

[Baruch]

The Pentagon has been on this since 1950 and LSD experiments.  The robot  pack mule ... but rejected by the Marines because it is too noisy.  See, robots aren't the answer to everything.  But the use of autonomous killer bots on the battlefield (see AI driven IEDs like an army ant swarm) is probably already deployed.  Also energy weapons (microwave) against civilian protestors has already been developed.  Y'all don't know anything classified, and I am only aware of what has leaked out (but it is just conspiracy, we actually still use smooth bore muskets).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=arIJm2lAfR8

[josephpalazzo]

Ha, Santa has been using those robots for quite a while...

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3371369/Boston-Dynamics-reveals-Santa-s-robot-reindeer.html

[stromboli]

Navy, 1968-1972. The shit that we were using like Satnav and multiple positioning from LORAN and other systems made it possible to locate the ship within less than half a meter accuracy. Wasn't until the 90's that technology found its way to civilians. Some of the steels used in ships and later in aircraft I worked on became news years after it was deployed at sea or in the air.

I am confident that right now the US has an advanced weapons system in development that involves enhanced soldiers and other equipment. We have rail guns on ships now. There are planes with lasers that can shoot down incoming missiles. There is anther system for using lasers to knock out satellites.

There is also now in existence a system for invisibility cloaking that is close to completion.

http://www.digitaltrends.com/cool-tech/new-invisibility-cloak-device-can-hide-almost-anything/

And this is what they are talking about. There is more stuff they aren't.

[Baruch]

Anything talked about, is either old news or a non-functional psyop (like Star Wars under Reagan).  The really good stuff is not talked about.

[GSOgymrat]

Perhaps a shadow government agency is enhancing soldiers with alien biology or tech!

Clinton plans to investigate Area 51, UFOs if elected

http://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/clinton-plans-to-investigate-area-51-ufos-if-elected/ar-AAgl3H5?ocid=spartandhp

Reporter Daymond Steer asked Clinton about the topic in 2007, and revived the issue when she visited the paper’s headquarters for an editorial board meeting. “Yes, I’m going to get to the bottom of it,” she told Steer enthusiastically.

Steer asked Clinton about her husband Bill Clinton‘s comments in 2014 that he “wouldn’t be surprised” if we’ve already been visited by aliens.

“I think we may have been [visited already]. We don’t know for sure,” she responded.


What weird times.

[stromboli]

Honestly I think that is stupid. The only thing going on at Area 51 is advanced Air Force research. The smart people know the alien corpses are kept at a base in Ohio.

[Hydra009]

Clinton plans to investigate Area 51, UFOs if elected

Plot twist:  Area 51 is all about spyplanes and stealth bombers, not aliens.

[Baruch]

Honestly I think that is stupid. The only thing going on at Area 51 is advanced Air Force research. The smart people know the alien corpses are kept at a base in Ohio.

The aliens were found decades ago by Japanese sushi chefs, while they were still fresh ... the bones are picked clean by now ;-)

[Nonsensei]

There is no fucking way the US military will allow a foreign power to attain a military asset that they cannot counter. Its why we spend half a trillion dollars a year on defense.

[Baruch]

In theory yes, but in practice most things people do don't work, including what DoD does ... or the Russians.  That is when things get interesting.  But it is best to avoid that kind of "interesting".

[Solomon Zorn]

Have no fear! Super-Soldier serum creates heroes! Just look what it did for weakling Steve Rogers!

[PopeyesPappy]

CRISPR-Cas 9

[drunkenshoe]

By the way, what happened to that huge laser weapons that were supposed designed to hit from the space? It was very popular some time ago. Almost all the high tech/science mag had something on it.