This week on Weapons and Warfare, the team addresses the urgent issue of suicide among active duty and former service members. Dr. Kari Thyne, a psychologist, and Dr. John Edgar Caterson, a psychiatrist, shared insights into the factors contributing to this crisis.
Join Host Ryan Robertson as he explores the mental health challenges faced by those who have served our country and the efforts to bring hope and healing to service members and their families.
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Also featured in this episode:
- Report highlights Navy SEAL candidates falling ill during training.
- NATO conducts exercises without U.S. forces.
- POTUS weighs in on new Air Force One delays.
- Weapon of the Week: An in-depth look at the Bell 505, a cutting-edge light helicopter that combines advanced technology with versatility and efficiency.
If you or a loved one needs support, the following resources are available:
You can subscribe to the Weapons and Warfare podcast on the platform of your choosing here.
[RYAN ROBERTSON]
HELLO AND WELCOME TO WEAPONS AND WARFARE; FOR STRAIGHT ARROW NEWS I’M YOUR HOST, RYAN ROBERTSON. JUST AHEAD ON THIS WEEK’S EPISODE…
DESPITE THE MILLIONS OF DOLLARS SPENT EVERY YEAR ON PREVENTION EFFORTS, THE NUMBER OF ACTIVE DUTY SERVICE MEMBERS AND VETERANS TAKING THEIR OWN LIVES KEEPS GOING UP. TO EXPLORE SOME OF THE REASONS WHY AND SOME AVENUES FOR OPTIMISM, I VISIT WITH TWO EXPERTS IN THE FIELD OF MENTAL HEALTH AND WHAT THAT MEANS TO TODAY’S WARFIGHTERS.
PLUS, A DEFENSE CONTRACTOR INKS A DEAL FOR AN AUTONOMOUS PLATFORM THAT COULD PLAY A BIG ROLE IN AMERICA’S NEXT CONFLICT. BUT FIRST, WE’VE GOT SOME HEADLINES YOU MAY HAVE MISSED.
NAVY SEAL CANDIDATES KNOW THEY FACE CONSIDERABLE CHALLENGES AND LONG ODDS WHEN THEY SIGN UP FOR THE JOB, BUT CHANCES ARE THEY DIDN’T COUNT ON THIS.
A REPORT FROM THE DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE’S INSPECTOR GENERAL REVEALED CANDIDATES OFTEN TRAIN IN SEWAGE-CONTAMINATED WATERS NEAR CORONADO, CALIFORNIA, RESULTING IN NUMEROUS CASES OF GASTROINTESTINAL ILLNESSES. ACCORDING TO THE REPORT, BETWEEN FEBRUARY AND SEPTEMBER OF LAST YEAR, 76% OF WATER QUALITY TESTS SHOWED BACTERIA LEVELS EXCEEDED STATE SAFETY STANDARDS. YET, THE NAVAL SPECIAL WARFARE COMMAND ONLY RELOCATED 5% OF TRAINING EVENTS DESPITE PUBLIC HEALTH ADVISORIES.
MORE THAN 1,100 CASES OF ACUTE GASTROINTESTINAL ILLNESS WERE REPORTED AMONG TRAINEES FROM JANUARY 2019 TO MAY 2023. RECOMMENDATIONS WERE MADE FOR BETTER MONITORING AND RESPONSE TO POLLUTION, WHICH THE COMMAND AGREED TO IMPLEMENT. THE ISSUE IS COMPOUNDED BY LONG-STANDING SEWAGE PROBLEMS FROM TIJUANA, MEXICO, WHERE INFRASTRUCTURE CAN’T KEEP PACE WITH POPULATION GROWTH. EFFORTS TO IMPROVE WATER TREATMENT ARE UNDERWAY, BUT SIGNIFICANT CHALLENGES REMAIN.
NATO IS TESTING ITS ABILITY TO RAPIDLY DEPLOY ACROSS EASTERN EUROPE — WITHOUT DIRECT U.S. ASSISTANCE — AS WASHINGTON SHIFTS ITS APPROACH TOWARD EUROPEAN DEFENSE AND THE WAR IN UKRAINE.
THE SIX-WEEK STEADFAST DART 2025 EXERCISES ACROSS BULGARIA, ROMANIA AND GREECE ARE TAKING PLACE AS RUSSIA’S INVASION OF UKRAINE HITS THE THREE-YEAR MARK.
THE EXERCISES INVOLVE SOME 10,000 TROOPS FROM NINE NATIONS AND REPRESENT THE LARGEST NATO OPERATION PLANNED THIS YEAR.
[LT. GEN. LORENZO D’ADDARIO (ITALY), COMMANDER ALLIED REACTION FORCE]
“NATO wanted to have a force that is ready, that is flexible, that can operate across the five domains — air, sea, land, but indeed cyber and space — in a way that ensures that it answers to the requests of defending the alliance, but also deterring.”
[RYAN ROBERTSON]
THE U.S. ABSENCE FROM THE EXERCISES COMES AS EUROPEAN NATIONS SCRAMBLE TO BUILD GREATER MILITARY SELF-SUFFICIENCY OVER THEIR CONCERNS ABOUT THE TRUMP ADMINISTRATION’S COMMITMENT TO COMMON DEFENSE AND DEMANDS FOR INCREASED EUROPEAN MILITARY SPENDING.
A SPOKESPERSON FOR THE TRUMP ADMINISTRATION SAYS THE PRESIDENT RECENTLY TOURED A BOEING JET TO HIGHLIGHT DELAYS IN DELIVERING A NEW AIR FORCE ONE AIRCRAFT.
THE PRESIDENT NEGOTIATED WITH BOEING FOR A PAIR OF 747-8s DURING HIS FIRST ADMINISTRATION, BUT THE PLANES ARE NOW YEARS BEHIND SCHEDULE.
THE TWO AIRCRAFT WERE EXPECTED TO BE DELIVERED IN DECEMBER OF LAST YEAR, BUT BOEING PUSHED DELIVERY UNTIL AT LEAST 2027 OR 2028.
ACCORDING TO MULTIPLE AVIATION WEBSITES, THE AIRCRAFT THE PRESIDENT VISITED AT PALM BEACH INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT IS A 12-YEAR-OLD PLANE FORMERLY OWNED BY QATAR’S ROYAL FAMILY AND NOW OPERATED BY A COMPANY IN THE ISLE OF MAN.
[RYAN ROBERTSON]
WHEN IT COMES TO PREVENTING SUICIDE AMONG ACTIVE DUTY MILITARY MEMBERS AND VETERANS, THE NUMBERS DON’T ADD UP.
THAT’S THE MESSAGE FROM THE VETERAN’S ADVOCACY GROUP GRUNT STYLE FOUNDATION. ACCORDING TO A PRESS RELEASE FROM THE FOUNDATION, THE VA RECEIVED AN ESTIMATED $571 MILLION FOR SUICIDE PREVENTION EFFORTS IN FISCAL YEAR 2024, AND IT REQUESTED EVEN MORE MONEY FOR THIS FISCAL YEAR.
IN ADDRESSING THE PROBLEM, MARINE CORPS VETERAN AND FOUNDATION PRESIDENT TIM JENSEN SAYS,
“Every day, we lose 17 of our brothers and sisters to suicide. That’s not just a statistic; those are our friends, our battle buddies, our family members. The VA’s current budget allocates approximately $570 million specifically for suicide prevention initiatives, yet the crisis continues to worsen.”
ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THE MILLIONS OF DOLLARS BEING SPENT ARE MORE THAN 156,000 SERVICE MEMBERS AND VETERANS WHO TOOK THEIR OWN LIVES OVER THE LAST 20 YEARS.
TO BETTER UNDERSTAND WHY THIS CONTINUES TO HAPPEN, THIS PAST NOVEMBER I SAT DOWN WITH DR. KARI THYNE, AN AIR FORCE VETERAN AND THE ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR OF INTERDISCIPLINARY STUDIES AT JOINT SPECIAL OPERATIONS UNIVERSITY, AND DR. JOHN EDGAR CATERSON, A FACULTY MASTER INSTRUCTOR ALSO AT THE JOINT SPECIAL OPERATIONS UNIVERSITY.
WE EDITED OUR CONVERSATION DOWN FOR TIME PURPOSES, BUT THE ENTIRE THING WILL BE AVAILABLE IN FULL ON THE WEAPONS AND WARFARE YOUTUBE CHANNEL.
WITH THAT, HERE’S THIS WEEK’S DEBRIEF.
[RYAN ROBERTSON]
ALL RIGHT. DR CARRIE TYNE. DR JOHN EDGAR CATTERSON, JE YOU GO BY WITH YOUR FRIENDS, HOPEFULLY I CAN CALL YOU THAT OVER THE COURSE OF OUR CONVERSATION. WANT TO THANK YOU BOTH SO MUCH FOR JOINING ME TODAY. WE ARE TALKING ABOUT SUICIDES IN THE MILITARY. THE ANNUAL REPORT ON SUICIDES JUST CAME OUT 2023 SLIGHTLY HIGHER THAN 2022, BUT THE ACTIVE DUTY NUMBERS HAVE SHOWN AN INCREASE FOR THE LAST DECADE OR SO. DR CATTERSON, IF YOU COULD, WHY DO YOU THINK THOSE NUMBERS, DESPITE THE EFFORTS TO COUNTERACT THIS? WHY DO YOU THINK THERE’S BEEN A STEADY INCREASE IN ACTIVE DUTY SUICIDES OVER THE LAST DECADE.
[DR. JOHN EDGAR CATERSON, FACULTY MASTER INSTRUCTOR, JOINT SPECIAL OPERATIONS UNIVERSITY]
“You know, I think it’s, you know, kind of like compound interest, you know, with all the things that the military has been through in the 20 year, you know, G wat, Global War on Terrorism, and even as we’ve kind of ramped down on that, just like anything else that would that impacts us in the area of our mental, our emotional, our spiritual health, it catches up with us. And I think that you know, the traditional approaches that we’ve used to combat military suicide has not had the impact that we were hoping that would have.”
[RYAN ROBERTSON]
DR THYNE I WANT TO BRING YOU IN HERE REAL QUICK WHEN WE’RE TALKING ABOUT MORAL INJURY, AND OBVIOUSLY THE BOTH OF YOU WORK IN THE SPECIAL OPERATIONS COMMUNITY, BUT IT’S NOT, AS YOUR TIME IN THE AIR FORCE HAS SHOWN, IT’S NOT JUST NECESSARILY SPECIAL OPERATORS DURING DEALING WITH MORAL INJURY. IT COULD BE ANYBODY FROM ANY SERVICE. WHAT ARE SOME CASES OF MORAL INJURY THAT YOU’VE SEEN THAT HAVE IMPACTED A SOLDIER’S MENTAL DISPOSITION? AND I’M NOT NECESSARILY LIKE SAYING, YOU KNOW, GIVE ME SPECIFICS, BUT LIKE, IN GENERAL, WHAT ARE SOME CASES OF SOME MORAL INJURY THAT MIGHT HAVE OCCURRED THAT AREN’T NECESSARILY SPECIAL OPERATOR, I HAD TO KILL THIS PERSON TO GET THROUGH A DOOR, KIND OF THING? BUT JUST MORE GENERAL, YOU KNOW, WIDER SCALE THINGS.
[DR. KARI THYNE, ASSOC. PROF. OF INTERDISCIPLINARY STUDIES, JOINT SPECIAL OPERATIONS UNIVERSITY]
“Sure we, in fact, we just talked about it, and I’m I’m actually briefing Dr catterson’s work, so he’ll jump in if I get it wrong. But what the research is showing is that moral injury can be caused by a variety of things, like you’ve said, witnessing things. It’s not just in in the doing of things. It’s witnessing others violate their moral values, beliefs and principles. So the number one cause of moral injury is actually witnessing the moral failure of leaders. So that when, when we when we’re out and about and talking to people, that’s what they are reporting. So there is a misstep or a mismatch between what people are expecting to see from their leaders and what they are seeing from their leaders. And part of our education lesson is to try and to let leaders know they they know, but to remind them that they are constantly being watched for what they do and for what they don’t do by everyone around them, whether they realize it or not, and their actions can can very, be very impactful to those Around particularly, particularly when they’re failing to meet or actually violating, on purpose, a moral code.”
[RYAN ROBERTSON]
THE STIGMA THAT’S OFTEN ASSOCIATED WITH GETTING TO GETTING MENTAL HEALTH AND ASKING FOR HELP. THE THE ANNUAL REPORT SHOWED THAT THE NOT THE MAJORITY, BUT A LARGE NUMBER OF FOLKS WHO HAD, YOU KNOW, HAD HAD COMMITTED SUICIDE WITHIN WITHIN A YEAR OR WITHIN 90 DAYS OF THEIR COMMITTING SUICIDE, HAD HAD SOUGHT SOME KIND OF MENTAL HEALTH. THEY’D BEEN DIAGNOSED WITH A BEHAVIORAL, EMOTIONAL PROBLEM. THEY HAD, YOU KNOW, SPENT TIME IN AN IN TREATMENT FACILITY, MAYBE. SO THERE’S, IT WASN’T, IT WASN’T A MAJORITY, BUT IT WAS A LARGE NUMBER OF FOLKS, BUT THEY THEY STILL WENT THROUGH WITH THE ACT, RIGHT? WHAT’S, WHAT’S THE DISCONNECT THERE AND AND HOW DO WE OVERCOME THAT?
[DR. JOHN EDGAR CATERSON, FACULTY MASTER INSTRUCTOR, JOINT SPECIAL OPERATIONS UNIVERSITY]
“There is a distinction between the two. I mean, PTSD is really kind of like a startle reflex. It’s a memory loss. It’s, it’s, fear flashbacks that come versus moral injuries. Is is more nuanced than sorrow, grief, regret, shame, alienation and even disgust. And so when we, when we put in simple terms, even you know, when we train on this all the time, all throughout our courses. Uh. Whether it’s the pre command course or in the Chapman courses, or in any of our orientation courses for or in the advanced one at the senior listed Academy, is that you’re looking at PTSD is really kind of like a traumatic threat to a personal well being, right? Versus moral injury is a traumatic violation of personal values, right? So, and this is going to nuance itself as you move towards suicide ideation, PTSD is based on fear and adrenaline, versus moral injury is based on morals and ethics, right? And you’re looking at physical or psychological wound for PTSD versus really an invisible or a soul wound, even some would say a spiritual wound is what moral injury is. And moral injury can be a precursor to suicide, but PTSD can result from moral injuries.”
[RYAN ROBERTSON]
WHEN WE’RE TALKING ABOUT FOLKS MIGHT HAVE SOUGHT OUT HELP, BUT BECAUSE OF A LACK OF, I’M JUST GONNA SAY, LACK OF KNOWLEDGE ON THE FRONT LINES FOR THE PEOPLE NEEDING HELP, THEY DIDN’T RECOGNIZE NECESSARILY, THAT PERSONAL DISGUST WAS SUCH A HUGE FACTOR IN THAT SO MAYBE THAT’S WHY, EVEN THOSE IN 2023 A LARGE NUMBER OF PEOPLE DID SEEK OUT HELP, BUT STILL WENT ON TO COMMIT SUICIDE. MAYBE IT’S BECAUSE THE THE KNOWLEDGE THAT PERSONAL DISGUST WAS SUCH A CATACLYSMIC FACTOR WASN’T YET PART OF THE INSTITUTIONAL KNOWLEDGE. IS THAT ACCURATE? DR TYNE, I SEE YOU NODDING ALONG.
[DR. KARI THYNE, ASSOC. PROF. OF INTERDISCIPLINARY STUDIES, JOINT SPECIAL OPERATIONS UNIVERSITY]
“When I was in they used to give us these yellow cards, and it was, you know, how, how will you know if someone’s going to commit suicide? And it’s, it had things like they’re giving away their valued personal possessions. You know, they seem withdrawn. And so it was a laundry list of things, but I’m not sure I would really be what it brought into focus for me was that unless it’s someone I work very closely with meaning day, each day I am working with this person. I don’t really know if there’s a dramatic change in their demeanor or a subtle change in their demeanor, or if they’re giving away their valued personal possessions, and certainly everyone didn’t exhibit all of these traits. So as far as effectively helping me prevent suicide. I’m not sure that that it did that for me, so, but I like the card, and I like the idea behind the card now that I’m on the other side of it, and you can see things once you’re out of the military that you couldn’t see when you were in no matter how thoughtful or educated you are. We just have some sort of professional and personal blinders on that drop when you get with the benefit of perspective. So when I heard Dr Catterson and another member of his team brief this, I thought, this is the word that needs to get out to the force. This is that yellow card. So if you hear people expressing anger, guilt and shame, be a good friend. Listen to them. They’re processing and trying to deal with something that is very important to them. So lend an ear. But if you hear people expressing anger, guilt and shame, along with personal disgust, drop what you are doing and go to them immediately, because people tend to resolve feelings of personal disgust by killing themselves. And that’s something that I I can say as an educator in front of a wide variety of audiences, and that’s something concrete that people can latch on to, and they’re like, ah, that’s something I will recognize. I will recognize people talking about their actions with personal disgust, even if I am transiting the area and I can do something about that, or I can go circle back around to people who know this person and so. But the other side of that is that organizational change or cultural change, takes 10 to 15 years. So it’s not something even as trite as it is, even if we put it on bumper stickers and we and we splattered the Department of Defense with it, it’s not something that is going to change our organizational culture in a meaningful way without other partnered initiatives and kind of a widespread focus on it. And so part of this, there’s an element of time that we are just going to have to work through.”
[RYAN ROBERTSON]
DOCTOR THYNE. DOCTOR CATTERSON, THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR JOINING ME TODAY. IS THERE ANYTHING ELSE THAT EITHER OF YOU WOULD LIKE TO ADD TO THE CONVERSATION, A QUESTION I DIDN’T ASK YOU FEEL LIKE NEEDS TO BE ANSWERED?
[DR. JOHN EDGAR CATERSON, FACULTY MASTER INSTRUCTOR, JOINT SPECIAL OPERATIONS UNIVERSITY]
“No, you’ve done a great job, but just so that there’s a preview, you know, we’re hoping by next summer, you know, two, two of the works that we’re involved in, one is called the invisible enemy, will come out, which looks at a moral injury, typology and treatment. As it looks at everything we’ve been talking about today to continue of looking at ethics, ethics training, moral training, that moves into to addressing head on moral injury, PTSD and suicide, ideation, all that stuff. And the other one is that we’re trying to get finished up is the invisibility cloak, which is the work that Dr time has pioneered that gives that pre pre emphasis as well. Because we even the titles of both of those invisible enemy invisibility cloak, they are intriguing, and we do think that they, they will be useful for for the for the team of developing the pre, pre”
[DR. KARI THYNE, ASSOC. PROF. OF INTERDISCIPLINARY STUDIES, JOINT SPECIAL OPERATIONS UNIVERSITY]
“I’m glad to have met you and your and your and your writer, Brett. Brett, I’m glad that you guys are working in this space, and I admire you for being part of the conversation and for bringing this to the forefront of other people who, who’s who? We need everybody or as many people. We need a coalition of the willing to take on this problem. And I do think it is a problem that we can, if not, solve, we can at least be a lot better at it.”
[DR. JOHN EDGAR CATERSON, FACULTY MASTER INSTRUCTOR, JOINT SPECIAL OPERATIONS UNIVERSITY]
“That’s right.”
[RYAN ROBERTSON]
I WANT TO THANK DOCTORS THYNE AND CATERSON FOR SITTING DOWN WITH US. I ALSO WANT TO ENCOURAGE YOU TO GIVE OUR FULL CONVERSATION A LISTEN. YOU CAN FIND THAT, IN VIDEO OR PODCAST FORM, ON THE WEAPONS AND WARFARE YOUTUBE CHANNEL.
FINALLY, IF YOU OR SOMEONE YOU KNOW IS STRUGGLING WITH MORAL INJURY OR YOUR MENTAL HEALTH, THE STORY BELOW WILL PROVIDE LINKS TO THE RESOURCES ON YOUR SCREEN.
[RYAN ROBERTSON]
FISCAL YEAR 2025 IS SHAPING UP TO BE A BIG ONE FOR THE U.S. ARMY’S FUTURE LONG RANGE ASSAULT AIRCRAFT PROGRAM, OR, AS YOU MAY KNOW IT, THE BELL V-280 VALOR.
AFTER HITTING ALL THE MARKS FOR MILESTONE B, THE PROGRAM MOVED INTO THE ENGINEERING AND MANUFACTURING PHASE. THIS INCLUDES SIX PROTOTYPES, WITH THE FIRST FLIGHT EXPECTED IN 2026 AND INITIAL FIELDING BY 2030.
DESIGNED FOR A VARIETY OF MISSIONS LIKE AIR ASSAULT AND MEDICAL EVACUATION, THE TILT-ROTOR VALOR WAS CHOSEN TO ENHANCE THE ARMY’S H-60 BLACK HAWK FLEET WITH ITS LONG-RANGE, HIGH-SPEED CAPABILITIES.
BUT BEFORE A PILOT GETS THEIR HANDS ON THE V-280s CONTROLS, THEY’LL LIKELY HAVE TO TRANSITION THROUGH A TRAINING HELICOPTER.
RIGHT NOW THE ARMY TRAINS HELICOPTER PILOT CANDIDATES IN THE UH-72 LAKOTA. BUT THERE IS A PUSH TO MAKE THE BELL 505 THE TRAINER OF CHOICE. AND THAT’S WHY IT’S OUR WEAPON OF THE WEEK.
WITH MORE THAN 500 IN USE AROUND THE WORLD, THE BELL 505 IS A PROVEN PLATFORM THAT COULD BE USED TO PREPARE PILOTS IN WAYS THE UH-72 CAN’T.
[MATT DORRAM, SENIOR MANAGER, BELL TEXTRON]
“The current training aircraft. It does a lot of things for the pilot. It makes it makes pedal inputs for them automatically. It does other things automatically for them, which makes it easier to fly that aircraft. But that maybe isn’t such a good thing. When you’re training primary helicopter pilots, you kind of want them to understand all those fundamental what we call stick and rudder skills. And so this aircraft, if utilized in a future army training program, would allow the army to kind of go back to the future, I would call it, and get back to training those fundamental pilot skills in this aircraft.”
[RYAN ROBERTSON]
AT AUSA 2024 MATT DORRAM, A SENIOR MANAGER AT BELL TEXTRON, WALKED US THROUGH SOME OF THE REASONS WHY THE 505 COULD HELP PILOTS GET READY TO MOVE ON TO MORE ADVANCED AIRCRAFT LIKE THE V-280. ONE OF THE BIGGEST BENEFITS IS THE ABILITY TO PRACTICE AUTO-ROTATION LANDINGS.
[MATT DORRAM, SENIOR MANAGER, BELL TEXTRON]
“So it’s, it’s essentially turn off the engine, or more accurately, go to idle, which uncouples the rotor from the engine, and now it allows the airflow through the rotor system in the descent, the airflow is what’s turning the rotor system, and it preserves rotor rpm until the very bottom, where we train pilots to execute the landing with that remaining rotor rpm and to safely and effectively land the aircraft. And it’s a very, very, very repeatable, very safe maneuver when done correctly. And it’s a great confidence builder. It shows those pilots that, hey, if you ever lose all your power, this is how you put it on the ground safely. And everybody walks away.”
[RYAN ROBERTSON]
ANOTHER KEY FEATURE IS A GLASS COCKPIT. AND NO THAT’S NOT IN REFERENCE TO THE BIG WINDOWS ON THE FRONT OF THE CRAFT. GLASS COCKPIT MEANS THERE’S A CONTROL PANEL THAT USES DIGITAL DISPLAYS INSTEAD OF TRADITIONAL ANALOG INSTRUMENTS. INSTEAD OF A BUNCH OF DIALS AND GAUGES, THERE ARE LARGE SCREENS SHOWING IMPORTANT FLIGHT INFORMATION IN A CLEAR, EASY-TO-READ FORMAT.
[MATT DORRAM, SENIOR MANAGER, BELL TEXTRON]
“It’s got a Garmin 1000 cockpit, so a very, very modern glass cockpit that’s great for a modern training fleet, and it prepares pilots right away on working glass and going to their follow on whatever aircraft that might be.”
[RYAN ROBERTSON]
THE IDEA IS TO MAKE IT SIMPLER FOR PILOTS TO ACCESS THE INFORMATION THEY NEED AT A GLANCE, IMPROVING SAFETY AND EFFICIENCY.
ANOTHER BENEFIT TO THE 505 IS IT’S A PROVEN PLATFORM, ESSENTIALLY READY TO GO OUT OF THE BOX.
[MATT DORRAM, SENIOR MANAGER, BELL TEXTRON]
“We make a lot of these aircraft today, over 100 a year in our current production line. So we’re selling these aircraft very rapidly. It’s not only a great training machine, and other foreign militaries are already recognizing the training value of this. We have military training fleets popping up all around the world. They’re buying six, eight, ten, twelve, forty, for their training fleets. And so it’s very much, you know, on the rise as a military trainer.”
[RYAN ROBERTSON]
WHILE THE ARMY STILL ISN’T OFFICIALLY CONFIRMING IT’S USING THE 505 AS A TRAINER FOR THE V-280 VALOR, THERE’S A LOT OF REASONS WHY THE NATION’S LARGEST SERVICE BRANCH MIGHT. INCLUDING ONE THAT WILL APPEAL TO THE PARENT CROWD. MORE SEATING.
[MATT DORRAM, SENIOR MANAGER, BELL TEXTRON]
“The back seat in this aircraft is kind of a stadium seating, and the rear center seat allows the non flying student pilot to sit there and watch instructor pilot and student pilot go through and do all the maneuvers and they can they get to see and hear it all with great visibility. And for me as an instructor pilot, that seat is really valuable as a training training training helicopter. They learn as much in that middle back seat as they probably do up front”
[RYAN ROBERTSON]
OF COURSE, THE BIG QUESTION, ESPECIALLY IN LIGHT OF THE NEW ADMINISTRATION’S FOCUS ON COST-CUTTING, IS THE PRICE TAG. THE PUBLICLY AVAILABLE NUMBER FOR A 505 IS AROUND $2 MILLION. WHICH SOUNDS LIKE A LOT, UNTIL YOU CONSIDER IN 2020, THE ARMY PAID A LITTLE MORE THAT $122 MILLION FOR 15 UH-72s, WHICH AVERAGES OUT TO A LITTLE MORE THAN $8 MILLION PER AIRCRAFT.
[RYAN ROBERTSON]
IT’S TIME NOW FOR A COMMS CHECK, AND WE HAVE A NEW DEVELOPMENT IN A STORY WE’VE BEEN FOLLOWING FOR A WHILE.
EPISCI, THE SAN DIEGO-BASED STARTUP WORKING IN ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE AND AUTONOMY SOFTWARE, FINALLY HAS A BUYER, AND THIS TIME IT LOOKS LIKE IT’S GOING TO STICK.
WE FIRST INTRODUCED YOU TO EPISCI LAST MARCH IN A DEBRIEF ON THEIR WORK WITH AI PILOTS.
THEN, IN MAY, THEY WERE PART OF THE X-62-A VISTA PACKAGE, ESSENTIALLY A MODIFIED F-16-D, THAT THEN SECRETARY OF THE AIR FORCE FRANK KENDALL TOOK FOR A RIDE TO EXPERIENCE AUTONOMOUS FLIGHT FOR HIMSELF.
FAST FORWARD TO JUNE WHEN BOSTON-BASED MERLIN LABS ANNOUNCED THEY WERE ACQUIRING EPISCI, BUT THAT DEAL EVENTUALLY FELL THROUGH.
WHICH BRINGS US TO THE NOW AND THE ANNOUNCEMENT FROM ANOTHER PLAYER IN THE AI SPACE, APPLIED INTUITION, THAT THEY HAVE ACQUIRED EPISCI.
BASED OUT OF MOUNTAIN VIEW, CALIFORNIA, APPLIED INTUITION WAS OPERATING ALMOST EXCLUSIVELY IN GROUND-BASED AI EFFORTS. IN A PRESS RELEASE ANNOUNCING THE DEAL, CO-FOUNDER AND CEO, QASAR YOUNIS SAID…
“This acquisition marks a pivotal moment for Applied Intuition and the larger defense ecosystem. Integrating EpiSci’s technology into our arsenal of defense products reinforces our country’s military efforts on land, air, sea, and space—strengthening our national security and Applied Intuition’s position as a leading defense autonomy company.”
UNDER THE AGREEMENT, EPISCI WILL NOW OPERATE AS A WHOLLY-OWNED SUBSIDIARY OF APPLIED INTUITION. EPISCI CO-FOUNDER AND CEO BO RYU, ALONG WITH CO-FOUNDER TAMAL BOSE AND THE ENTIRE EPISCI TEAM JOINED APPLIED INTUITION.
[RYAN ROBERTSON]
ALRIGHT FOLKS, THAT’S GOING TO DO IT FOR US THIS WEEK ON WEAPONS AND WARFARE. YOU CAN LET US KNOW WHAT YOU THOUGHT OF THE SHOW BY COMMENTING ON OUR SOCIAL MEDIA FEEDS OR SENDING US AN EMAIL…WEAPONS AND WARFARE AT SAN DOT COM.
WE’D LOVE TO HEAR FROM YOU, AND WE’D REALLY APPRECIATE YOU GIVING US A LIKE AND SUBSCRIBE.
FOR THIS WEEK’S WRAP–I WANT TO ADD TO OUR DEBRIEF TOPIC JUST A LITTLE–AND PUT THE NUMBER OF MILITARY SUICIDES INTO ANOTHER PERSPECTIVE.
THERE ARE RIGHT AROUND 2 MILLION ACTIVE DUTY, GUARD AND RESERVISTS IN THE UNITED STATE MILITARY RIGHT NOW. THAT’S BIGGER THAN MOST OF THE WORLD’S LARGEST RETAILERS AND EMPLOYERS–
BUT IMAGINE IF, IN THE LAST 20 YEARS, MORE THAN 30,000 EMPLOYEES AT ONE OF THOSE MAJOR FORTUNE 500 COMPANIES DIED BY SUICIDE…WOULD WE HANDLE THE PROBLEM ANY DIFFERENTLY?
HONESTLY, I’M NOT SURE–BUT I HAVE TO IMAGINE THERE WOULD BE A LARGE PUBLIC OUTCRY AND A DEMAND TO KNOW WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON?
SO WHERE’S THE OUTCRY WHEN IT COMES TO OUR VETERANS? WHY ARE THE CALLS FOR ACTION MOSTLY COMING FROM JUST VETERANS–AND NOT THE PUBLIC AT LARGE? THE EVERY DAY PEOPLE WHOSE LIVES WERE PROTECTED BY THE PEOPLE NOW LOSING THEIR OWN.
AS DOCTORS THYNE AND CATTERSON TOLD US EARLIER–THERE’S A LOT OF WORK GOING INTO FIXING THE PROBLEM, BUT THERE’S PLENTY MORE TO DO, AND IT CAN START WITH YOU. SURE, WRITE YOUR CONGRESSPERSON IF YOU FEEL SO COMPELLED–BUT ALSO WRITE YOUR FRIENDS. CALL THAT PERSON YOU KNOW WHO SERVED AND ASK THEM HOW THEY’RE DOING. SIMPLE ACTS OF KINDNESS CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE…JUST LETTING FOLKS KNOW YOU’RE THINKING ABOUT THEM. SO BE THE DIFFERENCE.
IF YOU OR SOMEONE YOU KNOW IS STRUGGLING WITH SUICIDAL THOUGHTS, THERE IS HELP. WE HAVE CONTACT INFORMATION FOR GROUPS THAT CAN HELP POSTED ON THIS STORY ON OUR WEBSITE SAN.COM AND ON THE STRAIGHT ARROW NEWS APP.
IF YOU’RE STRUGGLING, PLEASE ASK FOR HELP. YOUR LIFE MATTERS.
FOR SENIOR PRODUCER BRETT BAKER, VIDEO EDITOR BRIAN SPENCER, AND GRAPHICS ARTIST DAKOTA PITEO, I’M RYAN ROBERTSON WITH STRAIGHT ARROW NEWS SIGNING OFF.
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