Defense Articles

The Defense Acquisition Regulations System (DARS) Directorate launched the first phase of Procedures, Guidance and Information (PGI), enabling the Department of Defense to more rapidly communicate internal administrative and procedural information to the acquisition workforce. As an online resource, PGI serves as a companion to the Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement (DFARS) to help acquisition professionals more effectively and efficiently do their jobs. Further, PGI will rapidly assist the acquisition community by providing DoD internal procedures and other information not requiring implementation in the formal regulation.
“The PGI site was actually born out of an initiative to redefine and better focus the content of DFARS,” says Ron Poussard, deputy director of DARS. “However, it has really evolved into a solution for rapidly communicating DoD policy and guidance.”

Historically, DFARS contained both mandatory and non-mandatory acquisition procedures, guidelines, and best practices. DoD recently decided the DFARS should focus only on:

* requirements of law

* DoD-wide policies

* delegations of Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) authorities

* deviations from FAR requirements and policies

* procedures having a significant effect beyond the internal operation of DoD

* procedures having a significant impact on the public.

PGI will be fully implemented in two phases. The first phase primarily encompasses the non-regulatory coverage removed from the DFARS. In the future, DARS plans to rewrite PGI in non-regulatory language and to create additional content on specific topics of interest to users. The second phase adds:

* training resources

* supplemental background

* reference information to the Web site.

Logistics Health Inc. announced Tuesday a tax credit package from the state that could effectively double its La Crosse workforce.

The company will receive a tax credit for every new job created, up to a total of $1.75 million, LHI Chairman and CEO Don Weber said.

That, coupled with an expanded federal contract, could mean 350 additional jobs in La Crosse, Weber said.

He hopes the company will employ about 1,000 people within the next few years.

With the state’s investment, LHI could increase the local tax base by $19 million, Gov, Jim Doyle added.

“We are going to return, many times over, that investment to the city and the taxpayers,” Weber said.
The expanded U.S. Department of Defense contract has the potential to take them from the minor leagues to the majors, Weber said.

“It’s not because we’re one of the larger contractors,” he said. “We got this contract because our employees stepped up for six years.”

Details on the defense contract remain under wraps, he said, but could be available this week.

About 80 percent of LHI’s employees are between the ages of 20 and 40, and 38 percent are graduates of one of La Crosse’s three higher education institutions, he noted.

“The challenge is going to be find the talent to grow it here,” Weber said.

The medical records management company was founded in 1999 with about 12 employees.

Its current headquarters at 328 Front St. S. opened in 2006, and a second building now is under construction along the riverfront, It’s possible LHI could grow into a third building by 2009, Weber added,

Once the second LHI building begins operation, the combined contribution to the local tax base will be about $30 million, Mayor Mark Johnsrud said.

After years of cutbacks, work on major defense programs such as the F/A-22 Raptor and the F-35 are bringing much-needed job growth to Southern California’s aerospace industry. (Both have Lockheed Martin Corp. as their prime contractor.)

In Los Angeles County, an estimated 2,200 new aerospace jobs will be created this year, bringing the total to 108,600, according to the Los Angeles Economic Development Corp.

That’s nowhere near the 1986 peak of 289,900 jobs. But it does mark the first year-to-year increase since 1996-1997.

“Aerospace-defense is back but in a different way,” said Jack Kyser, chief economist with the Los Angeles County Economic Development Corp. “We’ve lost most of the assembly lines. But in terms of subcontract work and advanced research and development, we’re still incredibly strong.”

Industry shift

L.A. is no longer a hub for prime contract work on military aircraft. The C-17 and smaller Global Hawk unmanned aerial reconnaissance plane are the only two planes assembled here. The 13,000 workers that once toiled on Northrop’s 21 B-2 Bombers in Palmdale has dwindled to 1,000 maintenance workers.

But after fighter jet programs by Lockheed Martin in Burbank and Rockwell International in El Segundo dried up, what remained were research facilities: Cal Tech, the Los Angeles Air Force Base, NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory. In Palmdale, Lockheed Martin’s Skunk Works and Boeing’s Phantom Works also were kept on.

The decade-long transformation into an R&D hub has shown dividends.

“It’s hard to say somebody planned it,” said Philip Coyle, a senior advisor for the Washington-based Center For Defense Information, a research and policy group. “It just evolved that way. It’s the result of decades of investment in defense science and technology.”

Since the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, there’s been a massive increase in defense spending — $382.2 billion for the year ending in September 2003 vs. $328.9 in fiscal 2002.

For political reasons, defense program work is notorious for being spread out across the 50 states. But other factors have given Los Angeles an outsized share of the pie, offsetting losses on the commercial side of the business.

One factor is the presence of Northrop Grumman, the major defense player that’s been winning significant roles in virtually every new defense program.

The other is an infrastructure that, despite lean times, never really went away.

“There’s a unique aerospace manufacturing capability that exists here in the Southland and always has,” said Gene Price, chief executive of Brek, which draws 70 percent of its $24.8 million in annual revenues from defense and aerospace work.

“Most of the service-related support services — painting, parts processing, metal cutting, metal forming — is here. If my company was in Nevada or Arizona, I’d have to come to L.A. because those types of services are not readily available there,” Price said.

The Raptor will employ 250 L.A.-area subcontractors and suppliers, accounting for 65 percent of the plane’s contents.

Plans call for 18 Raptors to be constructed this year, up from seven last year, while the first Joint Strike Fighter test model will begin production by the end of the year while systems engineering and design work is in full steam.

Defense spending on aerospace production and research, concentrated in Georgia, Florida and Alabama, accounts for $8.7 billion of the $20 billion in military contracts awarded to the region as a whole. Rather than creating new jobs, however, these contracts will mostly serve to retain jobs.

Technology and communications expenditures could breathe new life into the struggling high-tech industry, which is especially important in Florida. Information technology, biomedical technology, modeling, simulation and training industries, and plastics industries have “attained critical mass” there, according to Business Florida, along with the aviation, aeronautics and defense industries. Aviation and aerospace industries alone generate more than $15 billion in annual sales in Florida. According to one research study cited in the Real Estate Journal (published by the Wall Street Journal), technology-related jobs account for $16.8 billion in wages annually, far outstripping the impact of tourism, which provides $9.6 billion each year.

In Tennessee, a state hard hit by the waning domestic apparel industry, an infusion of more than $1 billion in defense contracts to 2,000 companies will be a significant help. Apparel employment there has halved since 2000.

Contractors across the region will benefit from construction stimulus. In 2001 the Southeast received $1.7 billion of the $10.5 billion allocated for military construction in the nation as a whole. Analysts expect spending on military construction to increase slightly each year through 2005, helping to offset regional downturns in commercial construction that threaten to continue throughout 2003.

In addition, a 4.4 percent pay increase for armed services personnel will add to discretionary income and boost retail spending.

Defense spending remains important in the Southeast

The Southeast, which claimed about 16 percent of the nation’s direct expenditures for defense in 2002, has historically relied on military spending as an economic spur. In 1996 the Southeast was the third-largest regional recipient of defense contracts, behind only the Western and Mid-Atlantic states.

Cuts in defense spending in the late ’80s and early ’90s compelled manufacturers to turn military capacity toward civilian production. For example, global positioning systems have been widely adapted for civilian use in navigation and agricultural equipment, some shipyards building naval vessels turned to producing pleasure boats, and some airplane manufacturers producing military planes switched to making corporate jets. While the orientation of traditionally defense-oriented industries shifted, the clusters of technological expertise and skilled labor remain intact and have drawn defense contractors back to the region. Georgia in particular has benefited, moving from eighth nationally in the amount of defense contract dollars received in 1996 to fifth in 2001. Florida moved from fifth to fourth in 2001.

Although Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and Tennessee receive considerably fewer defense dollars than Florida and Georgia, military spending is nonetheless an important factor in these states’ economies.

Aviation struggles despite defense demand

The Lockheed Martin plant in Marietta, Ga., one of the region’s largest benefactors of defense spending, landed a $4 billion contract to produce 40 C-130J aircraft for the Air Force and 20 KC-130J aircraft for the Marines. However, the six-year contract will not produce any new jobs at the plant; rather, it will ensure that the plant’s 7,000 employees retain their jobs, according to a Lockheed spokesperson.

The story is similar to what’s going on elsewhere in the nation. Setbacks from the combined effects of terrorism and SARS as well as curtailed travel during the war with Iraq have cut commercial aviation production dramatically. Companies that would normally expand their facilities and workforce in response to the added demand of defense contracts currently have excess capacity. So instead of adding employees, the defense business is helping to forestall layoffs and shutdowns by contractors.

Boeing’s contract to assemble a missile interceptor in Huntsville, Ala., will also help maintain the status quo, providing jobs mostly for its existing employees. The Arrow 2 interceptor, developed jointly by the United States and Israel, will be produced along with the earlier Avenger system. Although Avengers are still being manufactured for export, demand is flagging. Thus, Arrow 2 production will fill the gap. Boeing employs about 2,600 people in the Huntsville area on various NASA and military projects.

The strategic plan, which was released in late August, focuses on alignment with the needs of the warfighter. The objectives have been developed along the lines of providing vision and guidance, with explanations of why each focus area is important. Johnson discussed the focus on the war against Islamic extremists.
“This long war we’re currently engaged in is more dangerous than World War II,” he said. He explained that the United States is no longer protected from an enemy by ocean barriers.

Enemies can come here, and they are using unconventional tactics. Population increases step up the competition for resources, providing a source of friction among nations. Wars are fought at cyberborders as well, a factor that was not present in previous conflicts, Johnson said.

Specific areas of concern include the need to distinguish between counterinsurgencies and extremist efforts. Training and equipping the Iraqi army and police forces, and working with Iraqis to restore the nation’s infrastructure remain highly important.
Working with local Iraqi governments and providing them with “how-to” advice are not typically thought of as military functions. However, Johnson noted that this type of assistance is necessary, along with providing supplies, fuel and logistical help.

Science and technology contribute to the effort in the form of intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance capabilities, among other applications.

Johnson stated that results of the science and technology innovations used routinely in the field today are the products of past research and development, and he cited several examples, such as robotics and the Global Positioning System. (See text box below.)

Due to continuous technological improvements, there is an expectation for fast responses to warfighters’ needs, Johnson said. However, merely sending more equipment can cause problems as well as solve them. It’s not unusual for some warfighters to carry 100 to 1 0 pounds of equipment. This not only slows them down, but in the extreme heat of Iraq, carrying excessive weight can cause health problems as well. Significant effort is now going into lightening warfighters’ loads.

When you’re sending S&T to the field, you have to manage your efforts, said Johnson. “You can’t just send a jumble of stuff.” Miniaturizing equipment and making it more efficient is one way to approach this problem, but existing technologies can also be used in better ways. For example, using equipment that runs on a standard type of battery can reduce the need to carry many kinds of specialized batteries.

If you absolutely have to carry a lot of equipment, having a low-maintenance assistant to carry part of your load could be useful. Robotic assistants such as BigDog don’t eat, sleep or require R&R, and they can handle rough terrain too.

In addition to robotics, unmanned vehicles for ground, sea, air and space with integrated sensors save lives, gather intelligence and provide attack capability for high-risk missions. One such UGV, Multifunction Utility/Logistics and Equipment, or MULE, offers extraordinary capability in unmanned vehicle technology to tackle dangerous missions such as detecting and neutralizing anti-tank mines.

MULE’s highly advanced six-foot by six-foot independent articulated suspension, coupled with in-hub motors powering each wheel, provides extreme mobility in complex terrain, far exceeding that of vehicles with conventional suspension systems. The MULE vehicle is also an essential component of the Army’s Future Combat System to support dismounted and air assault operations.

[ILLUSTRATIONS OMITTED]

The S&T strategy addresses not only technologies, such as aviation and sea-basing, but also “human performance” and training. Human performance spans the areas of physiology, nutrition, cognition and kinetics.

Immersive training takes advantage of the Millennium Generation’s familiarity with video games and virtual reality, coupled with ever-increasing computing power. This training is useful not only for bringing new recruits up to speed, but also as a means of training experienced personnel to use new technologies.

Modeling and simulation provide a means of out-thinking an enemy and for assessing new weapons under various situations and conditions.

The strategy balances attention to the needs of today with anticipation of future needs. Marine Corps leadership is convinced of the necessity of S&T–”They’ve caught the bug,” Johnson said.

This story may not be true. Although it is widely posted on the Internet, mentioned in the compendium From Shield to Storm and cited in an anti-DU book called Metal of Dishonor, an extended search of Lexis-Nexis finds no reference to it before 2000. Calls to the U.S. Army’s public information office brought no further clarification. Metal of Dishonor author Dan Fahey says he regrets citing the incident.

But the story is plausible. Although many accounts of the Gulf War credit U.S. air bombardment with the lopsided American victory, the overwhelming superiority of U.S. and allied tanks, armor and DU ammunition were also factors. U.S. and coalition ground forces destroyed 1,000 Iraqi tanks and thousands of armored personnel carriers during the ground war. Iraqi forces destroyed zero Abrams tanks.
The mystery behind the three-to-one incident mirrors the larger controversy enveloping depleted uranium weaponry. Despite its success on the battlefield, in the past decade DU has been implicated in health problems suffered by thousands of U.S. soldiers and blamed for a five-fold increase in the cancer rate among civilians in Southern Iraq. Since the U.S. military’s widespread use of DU in the Gulf became known in 1991, the Pentagon has struggled to sup press mounting evidence that DU munitions are simply too toxic to use. It has cashiered or attempted to discredit its own experts, ignored their advice, impeded scientific research into DU’s health effects and assembled a disinformation campaign to confuse the issue.

“The cover-up started with the infamous Los Alamos memorandum sent to our team in Saudi Arabia during March 1991,” claims Doug Rokke, a retired health physicist who the Army tasked with the dean up of the nine U.S. tanks and 15 Bradley Fighting Vehicles that had been destroyed by “friendly fire” from DU shells. The memo suggested to Rokke that he downplay any environmental dangers or health hazards he might find. “There has been and continues to be concern regarding the impact of DU on the environment,” the memo says. “Therefore, if no one makes a case for the effectiveness of DU on the battlefield, DU rounds may become politically unacceptable and thus, be deleted from the arsenal.”

Rokke, the Army’s lead expert on DU in the 1990s, directed the cleanup effort and then developed a rigorous, 12-hour training program in DU safety and handling for U.S. soldiers. But the military never implemented the program. Between 1991 and 1996 Rokke also urged the military brass to test veterans for exposure to DU, and treat and monitor those who had been exposed. He says the Pentagon ignored him, along with many other military medical experts and a 1993 congressional order. He was fired from his post. Rokke blames his own persistent respiratory problems and a cataract on DU exposure.

Rokke wants DU banned, as do many Gulf War vets, peace and environmental activists around the globe. In 1996 a United Nations subcommittee passed a resolution urging that its use be banned, along with other weapons of mass destruction. The measure was adopted by a vote of 15 to one, with the U.S. the sole dissenter.

In 1999, the European Parliament voted to urge NATO to suspend the use of DU munitions. The request was ignored. In March, 6,000 activists rallied in Hiroshima, Japan, calling on the U.S. not to attack Iraq again and to stop using and selling depleted uranium weapons. Protestors used their bodies to spell out the words “NO DU.”

The U.S. has had DU ammunition since the 1970s, but never used it on the battlefield until the Gulf War. The U.S. and allied British fired 340 tons of DU in anti-tank shells in that conflict, by their own accounting. Tons more were used in the Balkans and Afghanistan.

The 1990s saw a tremendous proliferation of DU munitions around the world. In 1991 only the U.S., Great Britain and (probably) Israel had DU; by 1999, it was in the arsenals of a dozen countries. Both the U.S. and Russia sell depleted uranium weapons on the world arms market, providing a lucrative outlet for what had been expensive-to-dispose-of nuclear waste.

In the U.S. arsenal, DU is used not only in armor penetrators, but also in large bunker-buster bombs, cruise missiles and, according to Rokke, even light arms. “We have these things down to machine gun rounds,” he says. “This concept that DU is only used against tanks is totally wrong. It works great against any soft targets. When it comes out of the barrel it is already on fire.” That radioactive firestorm is the reason DU is so effective at piercing armor. It is also the reason DU is so dangerous to soldiers and civilians after the battle. The uranium ignites on impact.

Substantial elements of a real-time, theater-wide surveillance system capable of covering a region 1,000 kilometers (roughly 600 miles) across already existed in the mid-1980s. These elements would be supplemented by a robust theater-wide communications system. Surveillance would be carried out in part by forward observers on the ground and in part by small drone aircraft, equipped with global positioning system (GPS) navigation and with television cameras or other sensors that could obtain precise knowledge of the target position. Once a target was identified and located, attacking weapons were available that could be guided to the target by using a navigation grid common to the sensors and to the weapon.
As demonstrated in U.S. actions in Afghanistan in 2001 and in Iraq in 2003, this capability has been functionally achieved. The laser-guided bombs used during the Vietnam War have been augmented by the addition of highly accurate Joint Direct Attack Munitions (JDAMs). These devices are guided by GPS systems and do indeed “bomb by navigation” on coordinates provided by ground observers, aerial surveillance, or satellite observation. A typical JDAM is a 2,000-pound Mk 84 bomb. A much larger JDAM, a 21,000-pound device called Massive Ordnance Air Blast, or MOAB, was used in Iraq after its first test in 2003.

Despite the advances demonstrated by the U.S. Navy and Air Force, the Army has not yet seen the merit of largely replacing tube-fired artillery shells by GPS-guided rockets. Developing such weapons would be possible within the constraints of the Intermediate Range Nuclear Forces Treaty, which prohibits the United States and Russia from possessing ground-based ballistic or cruise missiles with a range between 500 and 5,500 kilometers. A ballistic missile with a range of 480 kilometers would give the Army the ability to mass accurate fire from secure areas onto targets across an entire theater. In contrast with a conventional howitzer, which has a range of only about 40 kilometers and might miss its target by as much as 150 meters, the probable error for GPS-guided rockets of any range is likely to be in the 5-meter range. The rockets also can be arranged for simultaneous arrival on target, with final approach from any desired angle.

The contribution of JDAMs has been realized in conjunction with an integrated targeting and communication system, including the possibility of changing the target coordinates in the individual weapons while the delivery aircraft is in flight. Similar in accuracy to laser-guided bombs, JDAMs offer the important capability of being able to work in cloud or smoke, and they can attack dozens of individual targets in a region tens of kilometers across from a single release of multiple bombs by a B-52 or other large aircraft.

Only extra care will prevent guided bombs from “accurately” destroying the wrong targets by mistake, as happened with the Chinese embassy in Belgrade. But it would be highly desirable in any case to add a feature to ensure that such weapons explode in the air rather than on the ground if their guidance system malfunctions or if surveillance shows a civilian bus approaching the target area.

The problem with missile defense

The Bush administration has placed great emphasis on National Missile Defense (NMD), focused on a possible North Korean attack on the United States using intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs) bearing nuclear warheads. But as early as 1968, Hans Bethe and I warned that a missile defense that cannot deal with feasible countermeasures is worse than no defense at all. That, unfortunately, characterizes the midcourse interceptor system under development by the Pentagon. My colleagues and I have shown, for example, how balloons released by an ICBM could serve as credible decoys for a tumbling warhead, itself encased in a similar balloon, thus preventing intercept of a nuclear payload.

On the other hand, boost-phase intercept (BPI)-striking the missile before its rocket engine has driven it to full ICBM speed-has a real capability against the Taepo Dong 2 ICBM that North Korea has been expected to test since 1998. BPI would work against North Korea because the territory is small and almost surrounded by international waters. But progress has been slow in developing BPI, in large part because the administration has emphasized the ineffective midcourse system and to some extent because BPI would be more difficult to use against a missile launched from the much larger territory of Iran and, until the recent war, Iraq. Yet solving the most urgent problem first-North Korea-has some merit.

At the Joint Readiness Training Center (JRTC), the above scenario must be the most flexible in the battalion. the platoons’ mobility and lethality continually boost the task force’s agility and flexibility. During sustained operations, hasty missions are the order of the day. To help their platoons in ensuring success, Delta Company commanders should develop a “15-minute” checklist for the platoons. This checklist should contain mission-critical items for each member of the platoon to execute prior to starting the mission. Sample events are shown in Table 1. These actions are not surprising. They are in everyone’s precombat inspection (PCI) checklist. But units must carry compressed checklists and be able to use them effectively in 15 minutes or less. All too often, platoons move out from point A to point B without any real preparations because of higher headquarters’ emphasis on “moving out now!” Subsequently, there is no individual situational awareness, weapon system readiness, or contingencies for making contact.

All drivers must know the route. All Soldiers need to know a frequency and call-sign they can reach if they need indirect fire support. Every vehicle needs to know updated minefield locations and the locations of friendly forces they may be passing through. Leaders need to know a scheme of maneuver (movement formation, transitioning to bounding overwatch, preplanned indirect fire targets, etc.).

Commanders need to drill their platoons with sample scenarios so that they will be able to respond effectively. The difference between “speed” and “haste” has to be emphasized. When platoon members become proficient at conducting key pre-mission tasks, their success, confidence, and ability to execute aggressively will improve significantly.

Demonstrating exceptional resourcefulness and quick thinking, the team implemented a new and novel idea to minimize the chance of wasting scarce tax payer dollars or damaging vital equipment by deploying unnecessarily. By carefully scrutinizing real-time photos taken by the responding officers, the team was able to determine that the rocket was not 100 percent safe for the local authorities to handle. SSgt Futrell and SrA Strom directed the local officials to stay clear of the area, checked their equipment, loaded their response vehicles, and completed a thorough Operational Risk Management (ORM) assessment to ensure they were fully prepared to deploy, perform their duties, and return safely. The team was acutely aware that many illicit drug labs raided previously had been booby-trapped to discourage intervention. They also realized that the individuals responsible for assembling this particular lab had demonstrated at least some familiarity with military ordnance. After driving to the scene, the team cautiously entered the site using integrated combat tactics. While completing their initial reconnaissance, the team encountered no other weapons other than the AT-4 launcher. After securing the immediate area, they ensured the 2,000 square-foot house and adjoining 3-acre lot were safe and turned over the crime scene to local law enforcement officers for investigation. Upon closer inspection, the AT-4 launcher was found to be empty, something which could not be determined from the photographs reviewed back at the base. This team demonstrated exceptional ORM techniques, professionalism, selfless courage in a potentially hostile environment, and an unrivalled commitment to safety, underscoring Barksdale’s strong safety partnership with the surrounding civilian communities.

If I were a Model 1893/1895 Mauser and could talk, I think I would be mouthing the famous line, “Don’t get much respect around here.” Seen as weak actions compared to the Model 98, the cock-on-closing 93 and 95 Mausers have never been popular in the US, particularly for sporting conversions. Nonetheless, the nicest custom .257 Roberts I ever laid eyes on was built on a Model 95 Mauser small-ring action.

The truth is the Model 93 and 95 actions are very suitable for the cartridges for which they were chambered, notably the 7×57, 7.65×53 and 6.5×55. More importantly to collectors, many models exhibit some of the finest craftsmanship and finish ever lavished on a military firearm.
Spanish Debt

We owe the 1893 Spanish Mauser in 7×57 a debt one might not think of. At the battle of San Juan Hill, 15,000 US troops armed with .30-40 Krags and .45-70 Trapdoors attacked a garrison manned by 700 Spaniards armed with Model 1893 Mausers. With the rapidity of fire offered by the clip-fed Mausers combined with the excellent ranging qualities of the 7×57 cartridge, those 700 Spaniards inflicted 1,400 casualties on the attacking US forces.

It was the wake-up call for the US military, who were forced to conclude the future lay in clip-loaded Mausers and rimless, smokeless-powder cartridges. The battle of San Juan Hill may have done more to promote the development of the 1903 Springfield than any other single event in history, and to think we ended up paying Mauser a royalty for privilege of making the “Springfield Mausers.”
Boers

In some ways, history was to repeat itself in the Anglo-Boer War of 18991902 when Boer Commandos, armed with Model 1893/1895 Mausers, proved to be an exceedingly tough match for the Brits. One of the constant themes of the conflict was the accurate, long-range fire the Boers rained down on their adversaries. As the Boers would put it, “Vertroue in God en die Mauser” –”Faith in God and the Mauser.”

The Brits were so impressed by the Boers’ 7×57 Mausers, they went on to design their Mauser-based Pattern 1914 action and a high-velocity 7mm round (.276) to go with it. Had it not been for the advent of WWI and the crisis the conflict created in British small arms supply lines, that intriguing combination would have been the official replacement for the Lee Enfield and the .303 cartridge.

Sleeper

The last great batch of Model 1895 Mausers in 7×57 to come our way was from Chile. The Model 95 was also adopted by Mexico, Uruguay, Persia, China, the Transvaal and the Orange Free State. In fact, some of the Chilean Model 95s carry the code “O.V.S.”, standing fin the “‘Orange Free State.” Reportedly, because of the success of the British blockades, these rifles never reached South African shores, were returned to the factory where the Chilean crest was applied to the receiver ring, and sold to Chile as part of the contract. Keep you eyes out for them!

The small ring Chilean Model 95 rifle or carbine is a slight improvement over the Spanish Model 1893. The lower portion of the bolt head of the Chilean is round rather than being rectangular. The rear of the follower is milled at an angle so that one can close the bolt on an empty magazine. The Chilean model features a small shoulder behind the root of the bolt handle that serves as a safety lug and stabilizes the bolt in its fully retracted position. The Chilean also features a solid left receiver wall without the familiar Mauser thumb cut.

DWM

The Chilean was made by DWM, the company that owned Mauser. Owned Mauser? Yes, Ludwig Lowe & Company of Berlin bought all the Mauser stock in 1887. Paul Mauser remained as the technical genius of the Mauser Works in Oberndorf and firearms produced at Oberndorf continued to carry the Mauser name. Ludwig Lowe & Co., on the other hand, also fulfilled many of the military contracts including those for rifles, Luger pistols and Maxim machine guns under their own name. Through a series of acquisitions including metallic cartridge and powder companies, Lowe finally changed the Berlin factory name to “Deutsche Waffen und Munitionsfabriken” (DWM).

Like many of the 1891, 1893, 1895, 1896 model Mausers, the Chilean reflects the high level of German workmanship expended on making a firearm reflecting as favorably on the producing country as it did Mauser. Make no mistake about it, Germany’s prestige and political influence in foreign policy matters followed the Mauser contracts throughout the world. In Chile, for example, a German military mission was established in Chile, which served as instructors at the Chilean War College and general advisors until WWI.

The Chilean Model 95 simply glows. The metal surfaces are perfectly polished. The rust- and fire-blued finishes of the rifle rival those of any custom work. All essential parts, including the stock, are numbered to the gun and even the screw heads carry acceptance marks. It’s the type of milsurp you just enjoy looking at for the workmanship evidenced in each and every one of its individual parts.