Defense Tech: Urban Combat Skateboard


	Subscribe via RSS


	Archives by Date
		June 2009 May 2009 April 2009 See all Archives


	Archives by Category
		'Canes Afghan Update Ammo and Munitions Armor Around the Globe Av Week Extra Axe in Iraq (and Elsewhere) Bizarro Blimps Blog Bidness Body Armor Blues Bomb Squad Brownshoes in Action Bubbleheads, etc. Cammo Green Catch the "Buzz" Chem-Bio Civilian Apps Cloak and Dagger Commandos Comms Contingency Ops Cops and Robbers Cyber-warfare Data Diving Defense Tech Poll Defense Tech Radio Dissent Tech Door Kickers Drones DT Administrivia Eat DT's Dust Extra! Extra! Eye on China Fast Movers FCS Watch Fire for Effect FOS Files Friday Funnies Gadgets and Gear Going Green Grand Ole Osprey Ground Vehicles Guns Homeland Security In the Weeds with Eric Info War Iraq Diary Jarhead Jazz JSF Watch Just War Theories Lasers and Ray Guns Less-lethal Logistics Los Alamos and Labs M4 Monopoly Medic! Mercs Missiles Money Money Money Most Wanted MRAP Edge Net-Centric Nukes Old Skool Our Shrinking Planet Planes, Copters, Blimps Podcast Politricks Polmar's Perspective Popular Mechanics Rapid Fire Raptor Watch Red Team Retro-Futuro Robots Roll Your Own Sabra Tech Ships and Subs Snipertech Soldier Systems Space Special Ops Star Wars Strategery Stray Trons Tactical Development Terror Tech The Deadlies The Defense Biz The Peoples' Site The Sunday Paper The Tanker Tango The View from Av Week Those Nutty Norks Training and Sims Trimble on the Case Video Lounge War Update Ward'z Wonderz You can run... See all Archives


	Newsletters


Edited by Christian Lowe \| Contact

Urban Combat Skateboard

Happened across this pic while browsing. I can't direct link to the captioned version, but here's the super-sized version at the Defense Visual Information Center. Here's the caption:

LCPL Chad Codwell, from Baltimore, Maryland, with Charlie Company 1st Battalion 5th Marines, carries an experimental urban combat skateboard which is being used for maneuvering inside buildings in order to detect tripwires and sniper fire. This mission is in direct support of Urban Warrior '99.

An. Urban. Combat. Skateboard.

Laugh, if you want, but it's the only vehicle from Future Combat Systems to be fielded so far.

I also see it was "experimental". This must have been in Darpa's lean years. Was this was before the military starting buying commercial parts? Back when the Pentagon shopped at rummage sales?

And I'm fuzzy on this whole "detecting trip wires and snipers" tactic, here. I mean, you'd detect them, all right. I'm no military strategist, but you don't need a skateboard to set off booby-traps and get shot at.

I can see it now: "Lance Corporal, go see if that hallway is rigged to blow. Yeah. Just roll down it. Fast. Ever see 'Behind Enemy Lines'? Outrun the explosions like Owen Wilson did in the movie. And draw any sniper fire, while you're at it..."

The skateboard doesn't appear to be armored, though, and I can already hear Rummy going on about how you go to war with the skateboard you have, not the skateboard you want. Which is too bad, because there are some real bitchin' decks out there this year. (The board this Marine has is not one of them.)

Ahem. Seriously now. To be honest, if that photo and caption hadn't come from the DoD I'd think it was a joke. I almost should go check Snopes on this one. Does anyone have any info on the urban combat skateboard? I looked around a bit but got bupkes.

--cross-posted by Murdoc

Comments

nike shoes,men's nike shoes,women's nike shoes,
nike football shoes,nike shox shoes, men's nike shox, women's nike shox, nike airmax shoes, nike airmax 180, nike airmax 2003, nike airmax 2009, nike airmax 360, nike airmax 87, nike airmax 88, nike airmax 89, nike airmax 90, nike airmax 91, nike airmax 90, nike airmax 95, nike airmax 97, nike airmax tn, nike air stab shoes, nike air yeezy shoes, nike airmax ltd, Air Jordan 1 , Air Jordan 10 , Air Jordan 11 , Air Jordan 11.5, Air Jordan 12 , Air Jordan 13, Air Jordan 14 , Air Jordan 15.5, Air Jordan 16, Air Jordan 17, Air Jordan 18, Air Jordan 19, Air Jordan 2.5, Air Jordan 20+AF1, Air Jordan 23, Air Jordan 24,Air Jordan 25, Air Jordan 3, Air Jordan 4, Air Jordan 4.5+13 Fusion,Air Jordan 5, Air Jordan 6, Air Jordan 6+AF1 Fusion, Air Jordan 7 , Air Jordan 8 , Air Jordan 9, Air Jordan Embroidery 4.5, Air Jordan Fusion 11+23, Air Jordan Fusion 12, Air Jordan Fusion 23, Air Jordan Fusion 5, Air Jordan Gold, Air Jordan Fusion 9, Air Jordan Six Mixed One, Air Jordan Three Mixed One, Air Jordan+Obama 11.5, Jordan Six Rings+Obama, Air Jordan Six Rings 11, Jordan True Flight

Posted by: any at June 20, 2009 08:55 AM

W.I.C.K.E.D
ADD ME EVERY ONE

Posted by: athurber at April 7, 2009 01:17 PM

so is that shit true or not cuz if not than why would it be on here ???

Posted by: christine feehan at September 12, 2008 02:01 PM

so is that shit true or not cuz if not than why would it be on here ???

Posted by: christine feehan at September 12, 2008 02:01 PM

Was in the Corps from 82-89. My Lt. didn't like my riding the board onbase to the gym in my shorts & Special Svcs T. Dropped me a letter saying: "After intensive searching of M.C. regs, I find no-were that it says Marines in uniform may ride skateboards. Therefore from this time out if you are found riding a skateboard while in uniform, you shall be brought up under disciplinary action. Signed; Lt. "*moron*" "
Sooo, yupppers, Marines DO ride Skateboards!!!

Posted by: Scott at April 14, 2007 03:38 PM

too bad for you now, ludwig.

chaos - is the only true answer.

Posted by: charley at December 21, 2006 07:51 AM

Make love not war !!! Skateboarding is a peace activity...

Posted by: Ludwig pop at August 28, 2006 04:06 PM

Sorry guys...there is a "plausable" explination. What the Marine does is lay on his stomach on the board. Makes it easier to move around with his eyes at shin-level where tripwires are usually placed. He can then move forward or back using his hands. Of course, this requires a flat level floor like inside buildings. Still, I have to wonder what that "soldier" thinks of going into combat with a "boogey board"...?

Posted by: folkwulfe at July 25, 2006 08:41 PM

Actually was'nt "BLAMING" the army also didnt have to resort to whining and name calling the question was "is the pic real?" the execise was fielded om oakland Ca . wanna here the reports on what they learned or just the news reports or maybe the collage piss and moan part ... research the "jungle boots" they are authorised in the USMC the other nice comfortable boots that the other guy has are not its not an insult its a fact nice boots comfortable look to last long can we have them "no " I was wrong on the nametag though the airwing does use them never knew that I was not in the wing the cover is not , as for Why I even brought up CAX is because the Marine's rarely if ever get experimental gear hell we love to get the Army cast offs .. the Army on the other hand has A huge experimental regiment that constantly participates in Cax exercises why because they are a large well funded Group with Cool stuff if the Army likes it maybe we get it in 5- 10 years so the Idea was .. hmmm some non-Marine folks some cool gear , mayeb jsut maybe thins is a picture from some other execise as for the Camera It was a theory on how it could still be jsut some Jar head with his personal board yet still get in DOD files with that caption , if the base paper ran an article the pic would be DOD and the caption and article would be kept, but hey your right the whole world is out to insult the Army and every theory no matter how plausible or innocently presented must be wrong if it did'nt come from you
Semper FI

Posted by: rvstick at April 17, 2006 10:19 AM

Third Tour Chuckehead wrote:

"You can also tell by the Hollywood way the soldier is holding his weapon (oh, GUN, sorry) because a Marine would rather someone take his weapon than ever look that silly in public."

Uh-huh. Do your homework. Urban Warrior 99 wasn't a joint exercise, it was all USMC, baby.

From a quick Google search:

http://www.specialoperations.com/Focus/Regional/Urban/Default.html

"DURING URBAN WARRIOR 99 (AWE)Marines in the 15th Heavy Guns Platoon arrive from the USS Bonhomne Richard LHD 6. The Marines are equipped with the new "Force Protection Clothing/Experimental Urban Camouflage Uniforms". Urban Warrior is an experimental effort to prepare Marines for the urban battlespaces of the 21st century. It focuses on the development of new operational concepts, tactics, techniques, procedures and technologies. (U.S. Navy photo by Photographer's Mate 3rd Class Eric Logsdon) (Webmaster's Note: USMC units are not considered SOF by the Department of Defense. They are included here due to their growing expertise in the field of Urban Warfare.)"

Hey, looky there, Cletus, them Marines got jungle boots on their feet, just like the skate punk. And you know that ain't Army because, experimental uniform or not, Army would have the cat-eye helmet band on them Kevlars.
As for the boots not being issue? IT'S A FIELDING EXPERIMENT. The skateboard wasn't issue, either, now was it?

(Presumably, the Navy's taking the photos because Marines can operate cameras about as well as they can post intelligently on the web.)

Nice try blaming it on the Army, you chucklehead. Next time do your homework.

Posted by: Attention Marine Chuckleheads at April 17, 2006 02:12 AM

Imagine trying to push one down towards a door and watch it go off course and bounce off some random wall.

"Doh!"

Perhaps it comes with a cord for easy retrieval?

But yeah, RCs are probably the best way to trigger trip wires. Couldn't you put a little antenna thing protruding from the top of said RC if you really needed to trigger tripwires? Perhaps the triangular "jagged blade" thing you sometimes see on WW2 U-Boats?

Posted by: Charles at April 16, 2006 05:10 PM

Look, you idiots, you don't ride the skateboard down the hall looking for tripwires, you roll it by its self, then retrieve!

Posted by: al at April 16, 2006 01:32 AM

A Marine is not a soldier.

Posted by: Miriam at April 16, 2006 12:54 AM

thats the stupidest shit i've ever seen

all they did was paint it green

ATTACK

Posted by: luke at April 16, 2006 12:30 AM

*so ticked off by Army Guy that I forgot to say...*

You can also tell by the Hollywood way the soldier is holding his weapon (oh, GUN, sorry) because a Marine would rather someone take his weapon than ever look that silly in public.

As to the function of the board, I think the idea is to roll it along with a big rock or empty ammo-can or something, so it hits the tripwires and causes any itchy-fingered or nervous enemy to shoot at it (kind of like the old "put helmet on stick and raise over wall" trick).

I sincerely doubt it would get past the suggestion box at the USMC Future Ops office... likely because 1. it's silly, and 2. we always get stuff the Army threw away and fix it and then do better operating it anyway, Marines would never have enough money to invent something that superfluous. (Well, okay, I'll give you the Osprey.)

Posted by: 3rdTour'sACharm at April 15, 2006 06:08 PM

No way that's a Marine.

Gotta be a soldier - he's wearing sad old camo and dirty boots and looking like a complete doofus while his chunky SSgt has a disgustingly slouchy cover (oh, HAT, sorry) in the background... then yeah, it's the Army.

FYI, Army Guy, I saw more of your officers insisting on wearing garrison (brass) rank and being saluted, that I noticed among Marine officers ever. Try 3 Joint OEF/OIF tours inside of 3 years, you'll see whose officers are more likely to get shot -- if not from their silly shiny ranks and saluting, than from their people never cleaning the rifles, falling asleep on guard duty, reading books while driving convoy, etc.

Posted by: 3rdTour'sACharm at April 15, 2006 06:02 PM

I disagree, they could be navy, but there is not a Soldier in that picture.

The other dead give away is the shiny rank worn on both collars. That is a Sailor/Marine thing, not army. We wear a Branch Insignia on one side and subduded rank on the other.

Posted by: Army Guy at April 15, 2006 10:06 AM

Urban explorers have been using drain boards for years.

http://www.actionsquad.org/ulands24.htm

If you need to traverse a long tunnel, or move gear through one it can't be beat.

Posted by: Al Severance at April 15, 2006 05:48 AM

these actually are not all marines first tip off was the boots the 3 stage leather was never allowed the army had them... very comfy and we asked but no...
second the uniforms were the same back then everyone got the good old milspec cami but the army wears the name tag and sometimes the billet over the chest pocket notice the officer to the right in picture so at the least its a CAX
the cover was a throw but I saw a lot of Army boot lts do the same "I am gungie I should have been a marine garbage" but the cover have 2 seams missing so the 5 point pressing is just starch

also we did get to play with belly boards but they really looked more like those sqaure omni directional things we all scootered around on in kindergarden gym and the crunched fingers did'nt seem worth it
My vote someone had a board and tried to find any way possible to get five minutes of sweet homes memories and some base newspaper got a pictures its all DOD files if shot with a base Camera

Posted by: RVstick at April 15, 2006 01:24 AM

I can see the idea of a belly roller, but I agree with the comment about the wheels and deck size... too small. Plus, the wheels are to hard as well. Larger, softer wheels would be better for sound and gravel and debri.

Rolling it into a room for trip wires? You can buy remote controlled cars for less then a skateboard and have 1000 times more control. So while you could improvise a tactic such as this, I doubt this was a sanctioned reseach option.

Judging from the Tail & Rail slide markings on the board this board is used for recreational use. If it was truly a research project, I doubt they would say, oh yeah, and taking it out and have fun.

On the other hand, the Trucks and kingpin are covered with black tape... that seems odd.

I would guess from the hasty paint and tape cover job , the skate is this dudes personal property, the picture was taken in '99 during a war games type exercise, and his unit improvised the use of this skate and a bellyroller. They lost the games, and most of his unit died over in Iraq four years later. He now blames himself for their death, because he was too busy building a ramp instead of being at his lookout post.

Posted by: Snake Eyes at April 14, 2006 11:07 PM

Obviously a marketing ploy.

Prospective Marine/high school dropout: "So what is the life of a Marine like?"

Marine Recruiter: "Aw, sick man. We go around skateboards and shoot at people."

PM/HSD: "Sweet. Sign me up."

Posted by: Son Nguyen at April 14, 2006 05:53 PM

I just have to say that the army would be stupid to use them there trick skate boards for that kind of thing, the wheels are tiny, so ya, any rocks or sort of bumpy ground would make it insanely loud and barely move

theyd have to get some old school or long boards
then they could get some sick 80mm wheels thatd go over anything sooo smooth and quietly

far more effiecient in my opinion

Posted by: alex at April 14, 2006 05:00 PM

If these thing do get implemented some day, don't suprised to see they cost taxpayers at least 10 grand a piece (because they retail for around $100 to us civilians).

Posted by: jozzo at April 14, 2006 04:30 PM

They would use them to slide up to doorways and/or along floors checking for wires.

They would allow you a lower than normal shoot angle while the enemy/perp is looking for you to appear at normal height/standing. It also has the added benefit of allowing you to be rolling into and out of a doorway by a second person, which would be much less clumsy than trying to manuever yourself.

Posted by: Shawn B. at April 14, 2006 03:35 PM

They are Marines, but the pic is from '99.

Posted by: amb at April 14, 2006 02:59 PM

Those are indeed Marines in the photo. You can tell by their covers.

Posted by: Damage at April 14, 2006 01:04 PM

They are Marines, you can tell by their covers. It was an old picture so they are still in the old school camo.

As far as the skateboard making it into service, I have yet to see it and that test was 7 years ago.

Posted by: Army Guy at April 14, 2006 11:54 AM

For tripwires, they're using spray string last I heard.

Posted by: abb3w at April 14, 2006 11:43 AM

Bones Brigade lives on.

So yes, it looks like 99 and more army than marine.

It'd be easy to get skate companies involved. Just look at some names and you'll know.

Independent.

Also, great note on hand to hand.

At worst, make decks out of carbon, grip tape top is rubberized, and let it interface with an Alice frame easily enough. It can save a lot of energy in urban areas (versus walking). Energy savings is key, it's cheap, and effective. (

blank maple deck $9
trucks 10$ for 2
Wheels 2$ a piece (4)
Sk8 or die, priceless

27$ per urban attack soldier
sounds a lot cheaper than a robot.

Posted by: ds4 at April 14, 2006 11:41 AM

I don't even think those are marines in the picture. Uniforms don't look right. Army wears camo like that with the smooth ameba like forms. Marines wear digi's with digital camo, heavily pixelized.

Posted by: jay at April 14, 2006 11:29 AM

Charlie don't skate!

Posted by: machinelf at April 14, 2006 11:10 AM

they probably don't ride the board through the wires. my guess is that they just push it across the room by itself and see if it hits anything along the path.

Posted by: name at April 14, 2006 10:43 AM

For years, the Swiss Army has been practicing on skateboards…

Posted by: Etaoin Shrdlu at April 14, 2006 10:34 AM

Not sure where you found this pic, but the caption "...Urban Warrior '99" implies that it was for an exercise from 1999 -- seven years ago.

Posted by: MBANavy at April 14, 2006 10:29 AM

"Typically combat zones are littered with debris. I can see that Marine skating along and then he hits a rock. He goes down and breaks am arm and now he's in the rear with the gear. Not exactly something I like to see my money spent on."

No way dude, y'see he ollies over all the rocks. Or maybe does a boneless.

Posted by: brendan at April 14, 2006 10:04 AM

Was a sailor, but played enough 'army' in my youth.

So, I'm thinking if I had to go quickly & low through a smoothly paved surface, I'd lie belly down on the board and scoot along; better than the slow hands & knees approach.

Whiskey Tango Foxtrot -- it could all be a hoax.

Posted by: gezortenplotz at April 14, 2006 09:37 AM

I was in the USMC back in the day. Dude, I would still be in if I could catch some humongous air and spray some lead while doing a 720. Man that would rock!

So you know what this means....
Urban Combat Marines will soon be wearing:
- Camo Vans (Classic slip-on, camo, black sole)
- Super Baggy knee buster camo shorts
- And classic oakley with non-reflective coatings on lenses and frame.

What's next? Are they going to be issueing beer bongs? ...Calling them "Hydration Unit For Expeditious Liquid Consumption?" (HUFELC)

Posted by: Rack at April 14, 2006 09:33 AM

Let me get this straight. Marines are burdened down with so much gear that they can't belly crawl effectively any more. And the solution they come up with to this problem is to give them another hunk of gear to manage under fire that adds MORE weight to their load.

I think I like the sensor pack idea better.

Still, "Urban Combat Skateboard" is now the coolest pseudo-military phrase since Grant Morrison invented the "Tactical Atomic Bullet" in the JLA comic books (http://www.flickr.com/photos/edwick/128229722/ to see it in action).

Posted by: Edward Liu at April 14, 2006 12:45 AM

Typically combat zones are littered with debris. I can see that Marine skating along and then he hits a rock. He goes down and breaks am arm and now he's in the rear with the gear. Not exactly something I like to see my money spent on.

Posted by: SRTMO at April 13, 2006 06:58 PM

i am so joining the marines now. shred half pipes and arabs, i don't need anything else... as long as they let me train in their 3d combat world, so i can sate my videogame addiction... and if they let me fly one of those unmanned aircrafts from time to time i could pretend i was at a park, on having picnic with my friends and family... have someone feed me a hot dog... it'd be perfect... oh to be in the marines...

Posted by: corporal booger at April 13, 2006 02:41 PM

I doubt it. You can get wheels in any color you want, so if this was a REAL project, I'd make the wheels camo.

Posted by: Nicholas Weaver at April 13, 2006 02:25 PM

"Skate or Die"? It's the twenty-first century--why not do both?

It doubles as a weapon; if you ever get into hand-to-hand combat you can whang someone over the head with it.

Posted by: DensityDuck at April 13, 2006 12:45 PM

Yeah, I'm thinking a substitute for belly-crawling. That or they just roll it into a room and hope it sets of tripwires.

Posted by: Adrian Forest at April 13, 2006 11:44 AM

Whoops, I guess I was guilty of thinking too much. I just showed this to a Reservist co-worker, who said that, due to the increased load, belly crawling is very difficult. The skateboard would be used to assit that.

Well.

Posted by: Ma3rk at April 13, 2006 10:31 AM

What I imagine is that it is some sort of sensor pack mounted on top of a skateboard, that is the rolled into a hot area (down the hall, into a room, etc). That way, you can eliminate the motor, guidance, most of the batteries. I really doubt the intent is for them to skate into combat, Y.T. like, as cool as the mental picture is.

Posted by: Ma3rk at April 13, 2006 09:58 AM

I've heard that the Corps is adept at selling the sizzle. Guess they're also shredding, for shizzle...

Posted by: JSAllison at April 13, 2006 09:13 AM

Urban Combat Skateboard

Comments

Post a comment