Technical Services - Winter 2008 - (Page 19)

training and simuLatiOn T&S Team Northrop Grumman Provides Innovative Virtual Training to Defeat IEDs ince combat operations began in Iraq in 2003, the U.S. military has been challenged to develop equipment and tactics to mitigate or defeat the threat of improvised explosive devices (IEDs). Team Northrop Grumman, the prime contractor for the Battle Command Training Branch at Fort Hood, Texas, has accepted the challenge of training to combat the threat on behalf of the military. Technical Services employees, along with teammates from General Dynamics, Lockheed Martin and Blackhawk Management Corporation, have developed innovative methods to train soldiers to mitigate or defeat the IED threat using a live, virtual and constructive training environment. The end state of Team Northrop Grumman’s efforts is a world-class IED Defeat (IEDD) center of excellence located at Fort Hood to train deploying soldiers and units. The intent of this center is to provide a program of instruction that will train soldiers in identification of IEDs; operational planning; and tactics, techniques and procedures employed in an environment where IEDs present an additional condition in the operational area. The IEDD course is designed to cover a five-day period. The first day is hands-on familiarization and briefings in a classroom environment. Students are familiarized with different types of IEDs and initiation devices. Days two and three begin individual and collective training that utilizes simulations and gaming as the primary training aid. Using gaming computers and Darwars AMBUSH! software, students are placed in a virtual convoy along with other members of their crew. A total of 16 stations are used to replicate a Warfighters at Fort Irwin participate in an IED training exercise. S four-Humvee convoy, with four crew members in each. Days four through five are conducted in a full-size virtual simulator known as the Warrior Skills Trainer (WST). The WST is a locally produced, manned and managed solution to Armywide training issues, convoy operations and counter IEDs. The WST is a four-vehicle configuration that provides a Force XXI Battle Command Brigade and Below (FBCB2) platform and an opportunity for units to refine Humvee-mounted planning and execution tasks in a virtual environment. “These are some of America’s true heroes,” says Technical Services Site Manager Doug McNeese. “The NCOs who volunteer to help us train soldiers, even while recovering from combat injuries, show the amount of dedication present in our military leaders. Soldiers pay close attention when these men talk. They have already been there and done it!” T S 1 1 2 TS employee Alva Walker coaches a soldier in his duties as a member of a Humvee crew. These virtual training tools enable warfighters to practice crew tasks in a classroom environment before performing live exercises. This has proven to save unit commanders time and resources. 2 3 Humvee crew members observe the lead vehicle in the convoy being attacked by an IED in the virtual trainer. An insurgent about to engage friendly forces with a rocket-propelled grenade. Virtual training has become routine in preparing soldiers for combat. 3 Northrop Grumman Technical Services 19

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Technical Services - Winter 2008

Technical Services - Winter 2008 Contents President’s Column Lake Charles Maintenance and Modification Center Celebrates Milestones F-18 Fleet Support in Malaysia B-2 Receives Upgrades U.S. Army Upgrades Entire Hunter Fleet Global Hawk Missions Flown in Support of California Wildfires Lanham Site Provides World-Class Support FSE Warner Robins Achieves CMMI Level 3 Rating TS Participates in Multi-Sector Conference Egypt and Volunteer Activities Fort Hood Team Prepares Warfighters for Combat; eSupport Team TS Team Members in Turkey Wallops Island Team Wins Kreiger Award TS Teams Win Chairman’s Award for Excellence ACS Program and Continuing Education; Space Gateway Training Team to Combat IED Threat Shoulder to Shoulder – Brad Britt; Saudi Arabia Service Milestones Warner Robins Training and Simulation I’m In! Ethics; ID/IQ Business; All-Hands Meetings

Technical Services - Winter 2008

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