War fuels sales of ground combat training devices.

• Author: Peck, Michael
• Position: UP FRONT - Army program executive office for simulation, training and instrumentation

The war in Iraq has boosted the demand for ground-training systems, particularly those dedicated to small-unit operations and convoy security, officials said.

The Army program executive office for simulation, training and instrumentation (PEO STRI) reports that, for fiscal Year 2005, it has awarded $6.2 billion worth of contracts--an increase of more than 10 percent from 2004, when it distributed $5.6 billion. By comparison, in 2000, PEO STRI obligations were $500 million.

"Almost all of the new contracts are associated with the fact that we are at war," said deputy director Jim Blake. "We have to be prepared for the full spectrum of combat, which goes from individual training all the way to training large units."

Since the war started, PEO STRI has become accustomed to receiving urgent request for training devices. "We have done a number of fieldings so quickly that it's hard to fathom if you map it to the old requirements process," said Blake.

One example is an Apache helicopter simulator. "When we went into Iraq, we discovered that the Apache pilots were having brownout conditions. In 72 hours, we made the software changes and updated all the devices so troops were able to train in brownout conditions before they deployed to theater." He also cited the rapid development of urban-combat simulators that were built in shipping containers and deployed to Iraq in a matter of months.

Blake expects PEO STRI's role to expand as the Army reorganizes into brigade combat teams, which means training suites will be needed to support those teams.

An Army of modular brigades creates a host of training questions. "Should training suites be organic to a brigade combat team, or should it be organic to an installation?" Blake asked. "And when the brigade gets to a theater, what does the training environment look like? How do you build a training environment that supports an expeditionary capability?"

Blake foresees an array of training simulations that users can quickly customize to suit their individual needs. New simulations will require less support staff and special hardware than legacy designs.

The latest surge in PEO STRI's business also is attributed to advances in computer software and hardware. "The technology matured at the right time when we needed it," Blake said. "We have a situation here where in many cases, you can't train with the real systems because they are too lethal or because the ranges are too long. So we have technology that allows...