U.S. Army Tries Out Semi-Rugged GoBooks

By MEGAN SCULLY

The desert environment and on-the-move nature of recent operations wreaked havoc on the U.S. Army's laptop computers, many of which were designed more for the office than for command, control and communications on the battlefield. The experience led the service on a hunt for combat-ready computers.

Within the U.S. Army's 3rd Infantry Division, which led the march to Baghdad last spring, deployed troops ate through 30 percent of their 2,500 laptops, often damaging them beyond repair. In some cases, desert sand infected the computers drives; in others, the laptops were not secured in protective cases and were damaged during trips over the rough Iraqi terrain.

"When we broke down and moved, a lot of times we had to pack up pretty quickly," said Lt. Albert Wolchesky, a system integration officer at Fort Stewart, Ga., who deployed to Iraq with the division. The computers "weren't packed the way they ideally would be — in a laptop case, a secure location. … The sand, the amount of shaking around, tossing around, made them fail."

The division used more than a dozen different kinds of computers, including several Dell and Hewlett-Packard models. The Army even purchased 200 Panasonic Toughbook CF48 computers, but none worked well in the tough Iraqi terrain, said Maj. Mark Walworth, the division 's automation officer.

Even the Toughbooks, designed to withstand more abuse than a conventional laptop, were infested with sand. Monitors, in particular, became a problem for deployed computers as any pressure could damage the screens.

"They just didn't hold up over there," Walworth said. "That's what prompted us to look for a ruggedized or a semi computer."

Rugged vs. Semi-Rugged

Rugged computers are essentially indestructible; even data ports are protected with panels that must be unscrewed. But this kind of protection makes them unwieldy to operate, which led Army officials to fully-rugged computers, which protect data ports and vulnerable areas with shields that can be easily removed or propped open.

After considering various options, the Army bought 2,200 rugged* Itronix GoBook II computers in November. The $11 million contract, which includes some Army-specific accessories and an extended warranty, comes to nearly $5,000 per computer — twice as much as what the division paid for its other laptops, Walworth said.

The Itronix computers, housed in die-cast magnesium cases, have tight seals that protect the systems during heavy downpours or sandstorms. They also feature cooling and heating systems that allow the GoBooks to operate in extreme temperatures between minus-10 and 140 degrees Fahrenheit.

To test their durability, Itronix officials have blasted the computers for 10 minutes with water flowing at 40 pounds per square inch — the same rate as a fire hose, said Vince Menzione, the company's vice president of the public sector. The computers have been dropped 26 times from a height of 3 feet onto a concrete floor covered in plywood. The computers were scanned tiny particles, such as talcum powder, to ensure the seals would keep sand out.

"They just don't have the same issues with sand egression, water egression" as other laptops do, Menzione said.

Wireless Links

Designed to connect to any network that its users come across, the GoBooks can exchange data in three wireless protocols: Fi, Bluetooth and wide area networks like the GPRS cellular circuits.

The company claims the GoBooks can run up to six hours on a single charge. The computers also feature a removable hard drive to improve information security and a Mobile Intel Pentium 4 Processor-M that runs at 1.7 GHz, or gigahertz.

The 3rd Division returned to the United States before the new laptops could be used in Iraq, but both division and nondivision troops at Fort Stewart have been pleased with them so far.

The Army's first chance to run the computers through the rigors of combat will occur during a division command post exercise at Fort Stewart this month.

In January, division officials will be able to see firsthand how well the computers operate in the desert environment during brigade rotation at the vast National Training Center at Fort Irwin, Calif. The exercises at the Mojave Desert training center provide the division with a good estimation of how the GoBooks would work in Iraq.

"It is safe to say that, over the next 90 days, we will have some better data," Walworth said.

The purchase is a first step toward providing units across the 3rd Infantry Division with common laptops, eventually replacing the random assortment of computers selected by individual commanders.

A common computer will help cut parts and maintenance support and ease the workload for help-desk personnel, Walworth said.

E-mail: mscully@defensenews.com

Itronix Clarification Note: * The Itronix GoBook II is classified a "fully-rugged", not "semi-rugged" computer.