Abstract: A method and compact portable system for excavating a two-soldier fighting position is disclosed in which the method includes using a material-retention type auger to bore a plurality of spaced hollow recesses to a desired depth, placing prepared explosive charges in each bored recess, detonating the explosive charges using a remotely operable detonation device to loosen the soil in the defined pattern, removing the loosened soil, and finalizing the interior walls of the structure. The system is compact and lightweight designed to be stored within a confined carrying pack volume and features a bucket-type, hollow auger system including handle extensions capable of being quickly assembled to bore clean holes in the earth, a plurality of explosive charges, the explosive charges being stored in canisters of a size to fit into the hollow auger bit and holes bored by the auger, means for connecting to and remotely detonating the binary charges in each of the canisters.

Abstract: Apparatus and methods for attaching cable to a surface and for thus installing the cable. Apparatus includes driving guns improved for driving fasteners through clips, and guns having the capability to selectively prevent the advance of the magazine contents, such that the gun plunger may strike a fastener more than once. Apparatus also includes driving guns having modified magazines for receiving clips and improved clips which may be loaded into the modified magazines of the guns. The clips have retainer means thereon functional for assembling the clips into a strip by engagement of the retainer means on surfaces of adjacent clips. The clips may be used with staples or nails as fasteners. The driving surface of the gun may be modified for accommodation of the combination design of clip and fastener.

Abstract: This invention concerns a new process of preparing optically active .alpha.-arylalkanoic acids and their precursors. These .alpha.-arylalkanoic acids, esters, amides, nitriles, oxazolines and metal salts are stereoselectively prepared by forming the metal or metal halide of the corresponding acid, ester, amide, oxazoline, nitrile, or metal salt and treating the compound so prepared with an aryl halide in the presence of a chiral (optically active) transition metal catalyst of the formula (LL*)QZT wherein Q is a transition metal selected from palladium and nickel; Z and T are independently halogen; and LL* is a chiral tertiary diphosphine compound capable of acting as a bidentate ligand with Q to form a 5-membered ring, optionally in the presence of a dipolar aprotic solvent or mixtures thereof, for a time sufficient to form the corresponding optically active .alpha.