Military Officer - August 2008 - (Page 58)

Six M-CCTT outﬁts exist in the U.S. M-CCTT facilitators travel across a state — and often across the country — to set up intensive weekends of training on Bradley Fighting Vehicle or M-1 tank simulators. Training for as much as 28 hours during the course of a day and a half, platoons operate in a simulated combat environment, facing a virtual enemy. While it might sound like a video game, M-CCTT is anything but. The Bradley and tank simulators’ interior controls, ﬁrepower, and close quarters replicate the ﬁghting vehicles to near perfection. Prior to entering a simulated hostile environment, a vehicle’s various ammunitions must be loaded, with fuel tanks at capacity, engines started, and weapons checks performed. Radio transmissions keep platoons in touch with a commandand-control trailer, relaying situations and current locations on the virtual battleﬁeld. Once troops begin to move through the system’s expansive virtual terrain, they face an environment of civilians, improvised explosive devices (IEDs), enemy troops armed with rocketpropelled grenades and small arms, and a force of Soviet-era weaponry. Full dress rehearsal The ability to rehearse prior to deployment is an “invaluable resource,” says Lt. Col. Don Nalls, USAR. As commander of the 3rd Bn, 397th Rgt, 3rd Bde, 98th Div (Initial Entry Training) in Kentucky, Nalls says the opportunity to exercise command-and-control functions necessary for basic combat missions is just one of the myriad advantages virtual training offers. “For a reservist, whether it’s the M-CCTT or anything that allows the citizen-soldier to get in and rehearse for battle, it’s a huge asset,” Nalls says. These simulators also are proving effective in the wake of the Army’s major restructuring. When Tennessee Army National Guard Capt. Paul Shannon returned from Iraq in 2005, his unit transitioned from a combination of M-1 tanks and Bradleys to a Bradley unit. He says the M-CCTTs were “a huge asset to cross-training my tank crews in Bradley tactics and operations” without having to leave the state. “With the use of the M-CCTT, we are able to get them vital exposure to components and operating parameters that signiﬁcantly cut down on safety issues as well as the high costs of operating the real thing,” Shannon says. Webb and the ﬁve-person team of trainers who accompany the MCCTT act as higher headquarters during the training, overseeing the missions as they unfold and troubleshooting any equipment or electronic problems. A retired ca- reer guardmember who’s been with the M-CCTT since the Tennessee mobile units were established in 2000, Webb says the beneﬁts of the M-CCTT “are enormous,” allowing units to train virtually anywhere in the world — including Europe, the National Training Center, and even Baghdad, Iraq — without leaving their armory. He adds, “It’s one of the most effective tools a unit can use at [its] home station.” Cost-benefit equation Although the equipment alone costs more than $1.5 million a trailer — six trailers house the Bradley simulator, while ﬁve house the tank simulator — the virtual training is cost-efﬁcient compared to the same training in the “real world.” The cost to run a Bradley is $525 an hour, or $75 a mile in training, not including the cost of ammunition. At $20 for each live 25mm round, crews typically are restricted to ﬁring fewer than 100 rounds in a live-ﬁre scenario. But crews using the M-CCTT can ﬁre several hundred rounds at a fraction of the cost. The opportunity to live-ﬁre a tubelaunched, optically-tracked, wireguided antitank missile — with a $12,000 price tag — is a luxury with which few soldiers are familiar. The M-CCTT makes it possible. Other factors, such as travel time, lodging, and environmental effects “ With the use of the M-CCTT, we are able to get [tank crews] vital exposure to components and operating parameters that signiﬁcantly cut down on safety issues ” —Capt. Paul Shannon, ANG 58 MILITARY OFFICER AUGUST 2008

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Military Officer - August 2008 Contents MOAA Online From the Editor From the President Your Views MOAA Directory Rapid Fire Washington Scene Chapters in Action Financial Forum Ask the Doctor MOAA Member Services Cover Story: A Stronger Voice Virtual Combat Mental Floss Steady as She Goes Pages of History Faces of MOAA Member Books Information Exchange Advertising Index MOAA Calendar Sounding Taps MOAA Scholarship Donors Encore

Military Officer - August 2008

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