MARINE CORPS BASE CAMP PENDLETON, Calif. – The capabilities of training Marines have evolved through the years, but with the battlefront ever-changing, different avenues of approach must be used to take the fight to the enemy.

With that in mind, I Marine Expeditionary Force (Forward) brought in the Marine Air Ground Task Force Training Warfare Simulator to link together training scenarios and instant real-life communication during its Mission Rehearsal Exercise.

The MTWS recreates the battlefield by representing units, roads and other factors on the simulator, said Johnnie Frame, modeling and simulations officer for MAGTF Staff Planning Program.

Inside the simulator, a Marine manning the MTWS keeps track of challenges faced in Afghanistan.

“It keeps track of the fuel convoys burn, miles traveled and the food and water Marines consume,” Frame said. “And all this is run in real time, 24 hours a day.”

Every detail of operating in a combat environment is taken into account by the MTWS, from bullets fired and fire support requests to when Marines are in contact with the enemy. Because of this ease of use, I MEF (Fwd) has entrusted this simulator to prepare its Marines for life while deployed.

“The biggest thing the MTWS brings is the ability for the MEF staff, with its geographical dislocation, is to train as if they were in Afghanistan,” said Maj. Don J. Herod, command and control branch head for MSTP. “The MEF staff is being exposed to the great expanse of the land in Helmand.”

Learning to cope with these daily problems now before Marines lives are on the line is invaluable, he added. The ability to train in such a realistic fashion has been a tool commanders find extremely important.

“Our greatest feedback has been that they didn’t know it was a simulator, they feel as if they were in theater,” said Herod, about the commander’s response.

I MEF (Fwd) is poised to assume responsibilities of Regional Command-Southwest from II MEF (Fwd) in the spring. The coalition will partner with the government of Afghanistan to train and develop Afghan forces.