“The shades are material strips that when placed on top of tents, use photovoltaic technology to convert light to electricity. The energy can also be stored for use at night and can generate approximately one to two kilowatts of electricity. Soldiers will make use of natural resources to aid them in their missions too,” he said.
Soldiers of yesterday were also present to view today’s technology on Capitol Hill. World War II veterans Oliver Benson Medcalf and Logan Council, who visited the Russell Senate Office Building by chance, stumbled across the display.
“There’s a lot of new-fangled technology out there now that we surely could have made use of,” Council said, who served with a signal corps in the Philippines in 1943. “It’s not easy to be a Soldier during war times, and technology can make a big difference in troops’ abilities.”
Sgt. Daniel Harshman, from Hagerstown, Md., knows about the role technology plays in Soldiers’ lives. He spent four years in the Army on active duty, has served four years in the National Guard and Army Reserve, and works as a Department of Defense civilian employee for Operational Forces Interface Group in Natick.
“Technology can improve our infallibility and survivability so we can get the mission accomplished and get home sooner. We can fight, win a war and be home in time for dinner when we have the right equipment to do the job,” Harshman said.
A Shreveport, La., Soldier who joined the Army to “do something different and be a part of something big” said having cutting-edge technology available to Soldiers is vital to readiness.
“It’s crucial that we have what we need when we need it,” said Master Sgt. Roy Pipkin.
