The technology of the Bin Laden operation

Imagine the President and his staff watching the operation live in the situation room, while the CIA director oversees the operation from Langley, VA.  I doubt the Seals had a camera man, so that almost certainly means they had helmet cams.  So, if they can have one helmet cam, couldn't the special ops folks have 2, or 4 cameras on their helmet?  What if each member of the team had 4 cameras and 4 support folks literally watching their backs!  The capability of just that one aspect is mind blowing.

Wifi (for lack of a better description) from the helmet cams to the helo.  Then to a satellite network to the US.  The fog of war is getting burned off with bright sunlight.

Then take the ability to fly through mountainous terrain, at night, with a very small moon.  Night helo flying has certainly reached the zenith.  Close formation, in a valley with as little visible light as possible.  I suspect the small amount of moonlight was just enough for them.   Amazing.  Wouldn't it have been fun to be on the team that provided the detailed mapping for their GPS? If we have satellites that can measure waves at sea, creating these maps could provide a finer degree of accuracy than imagined even 20 years ago.

It all started decades ago with night vision goggles.  And before that, the very first satellite we orbited took spy pictures.  So, in 2011, we set up surveillance on OBL's house without using drones because the President didn't want to take the chance of them detecting the drones.  Do you think we positioned the spy satellite so that it was in a direct line with a bright star, so OBL couldn't detect it?

Then there is that little technology of infra red.  I suspect that everyone moving in the compound was tracked by some infra red group.  The prospect of the level of this technology is pretty interesting.

It's enough to make me sorry I didn't study more, get a Ph.D in math and get involved in this sort of stuff.  Well, except there are not many people who have had more fun than I have!   LOL

Born in an Army hospital

I was born in Oak Ridge in 1947.  The town was still under the control of the Army, so  I was born in an Army Hospital by an Army Doctor.   My government run health care started at an early age.

I have had to laugh at background checks and US citizen questions.  I don't think you can get much more American than those of us born on the Manhattan Project reservations after being conceived in celebration of VJ-Day or the dropping of atomic bombs on Japan. 

Until the Army turned over the city, we were all treated by Army medical staff at no cost.   I always figured when the ultimate health physics report came out, citizens of Oak Ridge and kids born in Oak Ridge would be way out on top of the rest of the country, since we had government provided health care from the time we were born to the time we left home, or graduated from college.  First from the Army, then from our parents' Blue Cross/Blue Shield insurance.  In fact Dad still had a BC/BS insurance policy when he passed away.

Nothing beats great health care and good genes!  Thanks DOD for getting us off to such a good start.  Particularly with that fluoride experiment on our teeth we participated in at Cedar Hill school.