thedrifter
06-12-05, 06:37 AM
Posted on Sun, Jun. 12, 2005
War games go virtual reality
BY ANDREW GALVIN
The Orange County Register
SEAL BEACH, Calif. - (KRT) - I'm the only civilian in the Humvee.
It's just me and four well-armed Marine reservists, cruising along an Iraqi highway. We're in a convoy headed for Tikrit, Iraq.
To my untrained eyes, the flat landscape appears serene. In the distance, I can see palm trees and a pair of military helicopters flying ahead of us.
But even as I admire the exotic scenery, my brand-new Marine buddies are preparing to be attacked. They know this desert holds unseen threats, from improvised explosive devices to insurgent ambushes.
"Lock and load!" barks Lance Cpl. Ryan Polizzi, a 19-year-old from Redondo Beach, Calif.
Polizzi's order jolts me back to reality - I'm not in Iraq at all. We're at Seal Beach Naval Weapons Station, where the Oscar Battery of the 5th Battalion, 14th Marines are demonstrating a simulator that lets them safely practice facing the type of stressful travel they can expect in Iraq.
The system, called the Virtual Combat Convoy Trainer, consists of a suite of four trailers, each holding a full-size Humvee and a 10-foot high, wraparound simulation screen. The Humvees don't actually drive, but via on-screen graphics appear to form a convoy traveling through the desert.
The Marines communicate between vehicles to coordinate movements and trade information about threats.
The purpose of the simulator is mainly to teach soldiers to drive in convoys, which is more difficult than it sounds, especially in combat situations, said Warren Wright, media relations manager at Lockheed Martin, which built the system along with subcontractor FATS Inc.
The system was developed and delivered in just four months last year after soldiers in Iraq reported they needed more convoy training, said Maj. Ted Perryman of the U.S. Army, who oversaw procurement.
Each four-trailer suite costs about $5 million, Perryman said. So far, the Army has bought two of them, while the Marines got their first one delivered to Seal Beach about a month ago. The 120 Marine reservists of Oscar Battery will train on the simulator as they prepare to deploy in September to Iraq, where they will serve as provisional military police.
Back in the simulator, I'm feeling a bit motion sick. I stop writing notes, hoping that'll help.
During a 15-minute simulated ride, the convoy arrives at the outskirts of Tikrit, encountering various possible threats that the reservists must assess and react to.
At one point, a stray yellow taxi pulls alongside the convoy. The men determine it isn't a threat and pass it by.
Later, mortar shells explode alongside the road, but the men seem unfazed. "Mortars are kind of hit and miss," Polizzi tells me later. "Our tactic with regard to mortars is just roll on through."
We pass a stretch of low-slung buildings and hang a left, then make a U-turn. Lockheed's Wright, standing just behind me, whispers in my ear: "There's an ambush coming up very soon."
I resume scribbling.
A group of men appears in the road up ahead. "If these guys are armed, we're going to take them out," Polizzi warns.
Suddenly, streaks of red flash across the screen - we're being fired upon.
The Marines return fire with their M4 automatic rifles and a .50-caliber machine gun mounted on the roof. It's an intense fight, but it's all over in seconds. The insurgents lie dead in the road, while we are happily unscathed.
I find myself thinking of the simulator as a big video game. But the Marines approach it with a "combat mindset," says Capt. Angel Torres, 26, of Irvine, Calif.
Afterward, they'll review tape to learn from their mistakes, "improving tactics, techniques and procedures," Torres says.
Ellie
War games go virtual reality
BY ANDREW GALVIN
The Orange County Register
SEAL BEACH, Calif. - (KRT) - I'm the only civilian in the Humvee.
It's just me and four well-armed Marine reservists, cruising along an Iraqi highway. We're in a convoy headed for Tikrit, Iraq.
To my untrained eyes, the flat landscape appears serene. In the distance, I can see palm trees and a pair of military helicopters flying ahead of us.
But even as I admire the exotic scenery, my brand-new Marine buddies are preparing to be attacked. They know this desert holds unseen threats, from improvised explosive devices to insurgent ambushes.
"Lock and load!" barks Lance Cpl. Ryan Polizzi, a 19-year-old from Redondo Beach, Calif.
Polizzi's order jolts me back to reality - I'm not in Iraq at all. We're at Seal Beach Naval Weapons Station, where the Oscar Battery of the 5th Battalion, 14th Marines are demonstrating a simulator that lets them safely practice facing the type of stressful travel they can expect in Iraq.
The system, called the Virtual Combat Convoy Trainer, consists of a suite of four trailers, each holding a full-size Humvee and a 10-foot high, wraparound simulation screen. The Humvees don't actually drive, but via on-screen graphics appear to form a convoy traveling through the desert.
The Marines communicate between vehicles to coordinate movements and trade information about threats.
The purpose of the simulator is mainly to teach soldiers to drive in convoys, which is more difficult than it sounds, especially in combat situations, said Warren Wright, media relations manager at Lockheed Martin, which built the system along with subcontractor FATS Inc.
The system was developed and delivered in just four months last year after soldiers in Iraq reported they needed more convoy training, said Maj. Ted Perryman of the U.S. Army, who oversaw procurement.
Each four-trailer suite costs about $5 million, Perryman said. So far, the Army has bought two of them, while the Marines got their first one delivered to Seal Beach about a month ago. The 120 Marine reservists of Oscar Battery will train on the simulator as they prepare to deploy in September to Iraq, where they will serve as provisional military police.
Back in the simulator, I'm feeling a bit motion sick. I stop writing notes, hoping that'll help.
During a 15-minute simulated ride, the convoy arrives at the outskirts of Tikrit, encountering various possible threats that the reservists must assess and react to.
At one point, a stray yellow taxi pulls alongside the convoy. The men determine it isn't a threat and pass it by.
Later, mortar shells explode alongside the road, but the men seem unfazed. "Mortars are kind of hit and miss," Polizzi tells me later. "Our tactic with regard to mortars is just roll on through."
We pass a stretch of low-slung buildings and hang a left, then make a U-turn. Lockheed's Wright, standing just behind me, whispers in my ear: "There's an ambush coming up very soon."
I resume scribbling.
A group of men appears in the road up ahead. "If these guys are armed, we're going to take them out," Polizzi warns.
Suddenly, streaks of red flash across the screen - we're being fired upon.
The Marines return fire with their M4 automatic rifles and a .50-caliber machine gun mounted on the roof. It's an intense fight, but it's all over in seconds. The insurgents lie dead in the road, while we are happily unscathed.
I find myself thinking of the simulator as a big video game. But the Marines approach it with a "combat mindset," says Capt. Angel Torres, 26, of Irvine, Calif.
Afterward, they'll review tape to learn from their mistakes, "improving tactics, techniques and procedures," Torres says.
Ellie