Virtual combat training

AP/Washington Times:

More than a dozen troops carefully maneuver through overgrown shrubs, firing laser-tag rifles at the enemy as they advance on a compound in the New Mexico desert. Fifty miles away in West Texas, other soldiers in helicopter and tank simulators provide air and ground support for the virtual training exercise.

An Army supervisor watches it all unfold on a computer screen at a Fort Bliss command center. The real mission, however, comes next: a thorough, high-tech review of the soldiers’ tactics.

The exercise is part of a new virtual program that records every aspect of Army training missions so soldiers can use video-game-like replays to study how effectively the ground and air forces interacted. The system — a major upgrade over previous platforms that didn’t fully integrate tank and helicopter communications — will be installed at posts across the United States and abroad.

The Integrated Training Environment is designed to cut costs, sharpen soldiers’ ability to interact with various units and allow the military to more quickly train the growing ranks of troops returning from deployment. However, it’s not intended to do away with live training altogether but, rather, to better prepare soldiers for real-life training exercises.

“(Training gives soldiers) muscle memory through repetition … so when we are in Iran, Syria, Africa, it’s going to kick in,” said Sgt. 1st Class Donald Jones, who operated a tank simulator during the exercise.

Officials say the push for more practical training operations comes at a critical time. The Pentagon’s budget faces cuts as high as 13 percent in some of its accounts after Congress couldn’t reach a deal to avert automatic, across-the-board spending cuts.

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There is more.

It is interesting that they are getting back to combined arms training after having to focus on counterinsurgency operations for the last few years.  The computer simulation also cuts the cost and the wear and tear on expensive equipment.  Now if they can only keep the Chicoms from stealing the simulators.