Photo By Sgt. Marcus Floyd | U.S. Soldiers with P Troop, 4th Squadron, 2nd Stryker Cavalry Regiment, along with...... read more read more
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NOWA DEBA, Poland — No matter your job in the Army, many days are spent training.
During Atlantic Resolve, an ongoing multinational partnership focused on joint training and security cooperation between NATO allies, many days are spent on the range firing weapons and riding in tanks and big trucks.
However, not all training takes place on the range. For some soldiers, training takes place “on campus.”
“We bring to the fight the Digital Training Campus,” said Ernest Hudson, who operates as a training support team leader with the 7th Army Joint Multinational Training Command based in Grafenwoehr, Germany. “It offers a variety of platforms for the soldiers to train on.”
Offering a varied array of educational opportunities for Soldiers, the Digital Training Campus allows its users to not only develop professionally but personally as well. Soldiers can complete college courses while away from their homestation, access Army online training as well train on a simulated battlefield.
While training in Poland for Atlantic Resolve, Soldiers with P Troop, 4th Squadron, 2nd Stryker Cavalry Regiment utilized the Digital Training Campus to not only refresh their call for fire skills, but teach their Polish counterparts as well.
“One of my biggest gripes earlier as a platoon leader is you learn all this stuff after going through all these courses … but you very rarely get to use a (close combat attack) mission out in training,” said 1st Lt. Joshua Gonzalez, a platoon leader with P Troop. “When these guys are presented the opportunity to talk with helicopter pilots, and talk them onto targets, it increases their level of comfort with doing so. So out in the real world environment, once they do it, it's second nature.”
Using the call for fire trainer, Soldiers with P Troop practiced close combat attacks. By utilizing the simulator, the Soldiers were able to call for fire directly to Apache helicopter pilots and direct them onto the targets.
“So if you can get a soldier in here for just one to two hours on their call for fire procedures, when they go out to the range they are not wasting valuable Army time and ammunition,” said Hudson. “They can get it right the first time, by coming in here and practicing ahead of time before they actually go out and do it for real.”
By creating the simulation that mimics real life, the Soldiers are better prepared for the real thing.
“It's actually pretty effective,” said Spc. Andrew Hernandez, a cavalry scout with P Troop. “It works, and it's good training for all of us to use. It helps us identify what real life action would be like and gets us prepared for the actual thing.”
As mentioned earlier, the simulator gave the unit the opportunity to work with members of the Polish 6th Airborne Brigade.
“This training is beneficial because it's just increasing our interoperability working with the Polish guys,” Gonzalez said. “As we work together, and we're all on one sheet of music, it's going to increase our overall effectiveness.”
| Date Taken: | 07.08.2015 |
| Date Posted: | 07.08.2015 15:16 |
| Story ID: | 169402 |
| Location: | NOWA DEBA, PL |
| Web Views: | 148 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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