HAPPENINGS

The free market at work – see a need, think of a solution, make a company.  Even if deployed in Afghanistan with the Screaming Eagles:

An iPhone app that tracks down the Taliban has been developed by a US soldier who used pds 17,000 ($27K) of his own money into the project.

Captain Jonathan J. Springer said the idea for a Smartphone app to help soldiers in combat came to him in a dream last July.

The 31-year-old, from Fort Wayne, Indiana, has worked with programmers ever since to make the idea a reality.

Tactical Nav, which is expected to be available through Apple’s App Store next month, assists soldiers in mapping, plotting and photographing waypoints on a battleground and conveying coordinates to supporting units.

The soldier, who serves as a battalion fire support officer in eastern Afghanistan, said most soldiers use smartphones and the app has been designed specifically for them.

‘Basically, the problem is the fact that smart phones were not utilized by the military potential, and I am motivated by it. Therefore, I intend to change it, even if I have reached into their own pockets to make it happen,’ added the soldier.

The app’s main functions include a compass, camera and a gridded map that aids in accurately pinpointing exact locations down to a few feet. The information is then relayed to others soldiers linked into the app.

Tactical Nav is also designed to be used to direct artillery fire or call in helicopter support for injured soldiers.

…’I started the process to legally form my own company and began trade marking my intellectual property…,’ he said.

…Springer said his iPhone app was as accurate a sophisticated GPS systems used by the military.

‘I am proud to say that, without a doubt, my app is just as accurate as some of the most expensive military GPS systems that are being issued by our soldiers today,’ he said.

 

 

…a compass, camera and a gridded map that aids in accurately pinpointing exact locations down to a few feet. The information is then relayed to others soldiers linked into the app.

Tactical Nav is also designed to be used to direct artillery fire or call in helicopter support for injured soldiers.

…’I started the process to legally form my own company and began trade marking my intellectual property,’ he said.

 

…Springer said his iPhone app was as accurate a sophisticated GPS systems used by the military.

‘I am proud to say that, without a doubt, my app is just as accurate as some of the most expensive military GPS systems that are being issued by our soldiers today,’ he said.

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