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TIMELINES |
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August 26, 2005 -
War Games
Keyboards tapped, computer mice clicked and electronic gunshots rang out in the simulated streets of Baghdad. An officer stood up, sighed and straightened his uniform. “OK, you got us,” he said to two opponents on the other side of a partition. “We’re dead.” At Camp Atterbury’s new Joint Simulation Training and Exercise Center, the Americans had defeated the insurgents, again. The simulation center, slated for an official ribbon-cutting ceremony today, is the Indiana National Guard base’s new virtual venue for training soldiers to operate in Iraq, Afghanistan and elsewhere. In the center, soldiers, with the help of computers, projectors, cameras, TV screens and other tools, will be able to take target practice without chambering a round, and battle insurgents in Iraq before lunch in Atterbury’s dining hall. “It was designed to simulate warfare so we can save costs (in training),” said Sgt. Shannon Case, supply technician for the center. “It’s safer, and it saves in fuel.” Atterbury previously conducted simulated training in a gymnasium, but the new center allows simulations on a much larger scale. The $9 million center, consisting of five new buildings, can train up to 600 soldiers at once, with room for more if needed. In designing the site, Atterbury officials surveyed other simulation training centers around the country and incorporated the high points of each into Atterbury’s facility. The end product, an intricately wired cluster of buildings, can simulate combat, natural disasters and civilian scenarios for nonmilitary agencies. “It’s not just combat,” said Maj. Mike Brady, public information officer at Atterbury. “Other agencies can come in and train.” Effective It’s also strangely quiet, considering that armed soldiers are using it to learn marksmanship, maneuvers and even artillery strikes. In one boxy building called the Rehearsal/Virtual Simulation Facility, Spc. Gisele Rios, with a medical unit, laid prone as she aimed an M-16 at a target yards away. She squeezed the trigger but the only sound was a click from the gun and the murmur of conversation behind her. Staff Sgt. Ian Smith tracked her aim on a laptop computer. The simulated firing range allows soldiers to train for marksmanship tests without wasting real bullets, Smith said. He can also step in quickly to offer advice, without worrying about the roar of gunfire. When the woman’s helmet kept dropping over her eyes, Smith stepped in and told her to rest the helmet’s brim on part of the rifle to prevent it from sliding. Back in the administration office, the soldiers fighting computer-generated battles in Iraq carefully emphasized the distinction between the simulators, called Virtual Battlefield Systems, and video games. At first, they appear like one. The simulation is a modified version of the computer game Operation Flashpoint, where players see the enemy as if they are part of the landscape. “They took out the hype and the explosions and the exciting stuff, and made it more realistic,” Case said. The room contains computers connected to the same scenario, so soldiers can conduct squad maneuvers against trainers playing the role of insurgents. They take it seriously. After the scenario, trainers replay it through a projector to analyze the trainees’ decisions. Street maps of Baghdad and other areas are built into the simulator. Unlike a typical video game, one hit from an enemy soldier’s gun means you’re dead or at least badly wounded. Soldiers in the simulator get tired, and lost. “If you put it under conditions where you have teams on each side and command and control, it’s pretty effective (training),” said Staff Sgt. Steve Patterson, a trainer for the simulators. “It’s amazingly realistic.” By Dave Evensen, Columbus Republic, IN August 25, 2005 -
Indiana Guard
Reaches 10,000th Troop Deployed TERRE HAUTE, Ind. - More than 350 members of the 181st Fighter Wing are deploying to over 12 locations world-wide, pushing the Indiana National Guard mark in support of the global war on terrorism to over 10,000 since September 11, 2001. Maj. Gen. R. Martin Umbarger, Adjutant General of Indiana, will be at Hulman Field on Aug. 26, 2005, to wish good luck to guardsmen as they prepare for operations in the Pacific and around the globe. "As we support the war efforts, our Indiana soldiers and airmen continue to step forward and lead the way. This week alone our 738th Medical Company began mobilization at Camp Atterbury and now our 181st Racers are going on a mission that no other Air Guard unit in the nation has done," said Umbarger. "We must not forget those men and women who are also currently stationed in Iraq, as well as other Indiana units who are prepping for deployment or on missions in locations all around the world. I am proud of each and every member of this organization and so very proud of those who have put their lives on hold to Defend the Homeland and Win the Peace," he said. "As a part of continuing force posture adjustments, we are deploying F-16 Fighting Falcons, an all-weather, multi-role, day or night capable weapons platform, to the Western Pacific," said Col. Jeffrey Hauser, 181st Fighter Wing Commander. "Along with hitting the 10,000th deployed Indiana Guardsman milestone, this will be the first time an Air National Guard unit will deploy to a Western Pacific theatre in Support of the Air Expeditionary Force." These deployments maintain a credible deterrent posture and presence, and demonstrate continued U.S. commitment in fulfilling security responsibilities throughout the Western Pacific. The 181st Fighter Wing has been tasked to deploy thousands of members to dozens of locations in the past 5 years to support "real world" and contingency missions. As an already proven combat-capable Air National Guard Unit, the wing's current readiness demonstrates the total force concept while fighting the Global War on Terrorism. WANE - Ft Wayne, IN, USA August 15, 2005 - Surveillance technique taking flight The noisy little plane sitting on the catapult at Camp Atterbury was not much bigger than radio-controlled planes enjoyed by hobbyists. As its gas-powered engine whined before take off Aug. 8, Staff Sgt. Dave Denton joked that it’s a “lawnmower on steroids.” In fact, someone even pasted a “John Deere” sticker on the plane. A flip of the switch and the “bird” was launched into the air and buzzing its way skyward. It immediately began sending back video of Camp Atterbury’s green hills and gravel roadways from 5,000 feet up. The craft, which the Army calls an unmanned aerial vehicle, UAV or drone, may play a big role in keeping American soldiers safe in Iraq and Afghanistan. The 634th Military Intelligence Battalion, a Minnesota National Guard unit of 28 soldiers, is practicing with them at Camp Atterbury. Although drones, or unpiloted aircraft, have been used since the Vietnam War, this is the first time soldiers have trained with them at Camp Atterbury. “More or less, what I can do with it is take pictures,” Denton said. Although the drone is noisy enough to require earplugs when it’s on the ground, the plane cannot be seen or heard once it reaches its maximum altitude of 15,000 feet. Its silence makes it ideal for reconnaissance work. Denton, a resident of Stillwater, Mo., said the plane can follow a moving vehicle and send back real-time video, for example. If the Forces Command headquarters in Iraq suspects insurgents are moving around a specific area, the plane can take photos and send back the information without risking the lives of soldiers. The drones can help explosive ordnance teams look for roadside bombs by comparing aerial photos of the roads from day to day. “Before command puts soldiers in an environment where they might get hurt, we’re able to send an aircraft up and give real-time information,” Denton said. “If one of these aircraft goes down, it’s expensive, but no lives are lost.” The drone does not store information; it sends it back to the receivers with the unit on the ground, so if it crashes, the enemy will not be able to extract information from it, Denton said. If the plane loses contact with the soldiers on the ground, it goes to designated coordinates and circles until it runs out of gas or the link is re-established. It has a top speed of 110 knots, about 126 mph, and a range of 80 miles. Each plane and the equipment needed to run it costs about $1 million, Denton said. The Guardsmen have five training planes at Camp Atterbury. When they go to Iraq, they will fall in with equipment that is already in the country. Their mission will be to set up the portable control station, composed of Humvees and trucks with computer systems mounted inside, and fly the planes. In ideal conditions, they can set up the control station, do the preflight tests and launch a plane within an hour. Sgt. Eric Ebner of St. Paul, Minn., runs the portable ground control station and monitors the plane’s video from a computer system mounted in a metal briefcase and a couple of satellite dishes. The computer is used to program the flight plan for the plane using global positioning system coordinates. The system can be automated, Ebner said. “But obviously, we like to have control of the bird,” he said. Although it does not use a runway to take off, it needs a short strip to land. AMY MAY, Daily Journal staff writer, Franklin IN |
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