Virtual combat Simulator prepares troops for roadside bombs
Virtual combat Simulator prepares troops for roadside bombs
BY BRIAN SANDERS bsanders@therepublic.com
EDINBURGH — A Humvee held aloft by a hydraulic device rocked with the force of a 155 mm artillery shell.
Following a metallic boom, and as the subsequent smoke cleared, the five soldiers inside the armored vehicle regained their bearings and assessed their situation.
The scene Wednesday at Camp Atterbury was part of a realistic simulation of a military combat patrol derailed by a deadly improvised explosive device.
Homemade roadside bombs left by insurgents make driving in Iraq and Afghanistan treacherous for soldiers. Earlier this month, for example, four Indiana soldiers serving in Afghanistan were killed and a fifth was injured after their vehicle was caught in a roadside bomb explosion.
The simulator, created by Californiabased RL Leaders and the only one of its kind in operation, has been at Atterbury since late 2011. To date, about 500 soldiers training at Atterbury have been through the simulation.
In the simulation, soldiers identify and report any sign of roadside bombs while on patrol.
In this case, the soldiers did everything correctly, but detonation occurred nevertheless so they could experience the confusion and disorientation that goes along with a roadside bomb blast.
Soldiers stuck to their training and called for casualty and damage assessments while looking out for a followup ambush from their imaginary attackers.
The simulation, which features several scenarios, starts out with the Humvee emerging from a military compound to a landscape reminiscent of Afghanistan.
Actually, it’s California, said Robert Rainer, one of the RL Leaders trainers running soldiers through the simulator.
The scenery is conveyed realistically by a high-definition 270-degree wraparound screen.
The system’s hydraulics sync with the video and surround sound, jostling the vehicle as if it really were traveling down a dusty Afghan road.
Explosions are simulated by propane blasts and jolts from the hydraulics, Rainer said.
When the smoke that envelopes the Humvee clears, soldiers can see that what seconds earlier had been a road is now a smoldering crater.
High-pitched sirens sound inside the vehicle after detonation to simulate the ringing soldiers would hear in their ears.
A series of video cameras mounted inside the Humvee capture soldiers’ reactions and how well they follow their standard operating procedures.
Rainer briefed the soldiers on what to expect and made sure to mention the cameras.
“So, don’t talk about the chain of command,” he said, adding that they could say whatever they wanted about him.
Within minutes of stepping out of the simulator, the squad received a DVD recording of their performance that they reviewed in the next room.
Some of the soldiers training on the simulator last week were new recruits; others already had been overseas and were preparing for another deployment.
“I thought it was good. It gives you something to react to,” said Justin Kelley, a Boston resident and National Guardsman.
He served in Iraq but never encountered a roadside bomb.
“It’s very accurate, the sights and sounds,” Kelley said of the simulator’s re-creation of a combat patrol.
Kelley now is headed to Afghanistan in part to provide security for American civilians assisting the Afghan people in rebuilding and bettering their communities.
“It was good. I hope a lot more guys get a chance to go through it,” Kelley said.
Soldiers are briefed on what to expect in the IED Battle Drill simulation. Several rollover simulators appear in the background. The training, which features several scenarios, starts out with the Humvee emerging from a military compound to a landscape reminiscent of Afghanistan. See more photos online: therepublic.com.
ANDREW LAKER | THE REPUBLIC Surrounded by a high-definition video projection of an Afghan countryside, National Guardsmen try to avoid tripping a simulated improvised explosive device while riding aboard a hydraulic-mounted Humvee in the $5 million IED Battle Drill at Camp Atterbury Joint Maneuver Training Center.
ANDREW LAKER | THE REPUBLIC Surrounded by a high-definition video projection of an Afghan countryside, the $5 million IED Battle Drill’s Humvee tosses violently as smoke billows from underneath — a simulation of a direct hit from an improvised explosive device — at Camp Atterbury Joint Maneuver Training Center.