'The stink of the battlefield': more realism sought in urban combat training.

• Author: Jean, Grace
• Position: TRAINING AND SIMULATION

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Before units are deployed to Iraq, they undergo "close quarter" combat training that is designed to prepare them for the rigors of urban warfare. But after completing their tours, troops have complained that current training facilities fall short in replicating the challenges of fighting in large cities.

Such demands have spurred companies in the training industry to modify the equipment and make it more relevant to troops' needs.

In recent years, they have managed to package urban training systems in shipping containers that can be quickly transported, configured, stacked and decorated to look like city dwellings. Along with moveable walls, fixtures and special effects equipment to test troops' abilities, these mobile trainers also are equipped with cameras, microphones, speakers and computers to capture the experience for post-training evaluations.

Industry is trying to insert the latest instrumentation into those training systems to create realistic urban conditions, said Fred Pickens, senior director for business development at General Dynamics Information Technology.

The company developed a mobile MOUT (military operations in urban terrain) training system with simulated human targets that swing out from around corners or pop up from sitting positions to challenge trainees' firing techniques. In response to troops' requests, the targets were programmed to fall down only after they had taken multiple hits--a pattern that troops have encountered with insurgents in Iraq, said Pickens.

Additionally, the appearance of the targets have been enhanced so that troops can learn to discriminate them when using night vision goggles and other optics, said Jerry Tussing, vice president and general manager for simulation, training and instrumentation solutions.

In Iraq, troops discovered that gaining access to rooftops typically required climbing ladders that are found behind the houses. At the top, there was usually a trap door.

"A lot of Marines got killed trying to climb up those ladders only to find an insurgent at the top with a machine gun," said Dick Coltman, vice president for integrated instrumentation. As a result, trap doors are routinely included as part of the configuration of the mobile MOUT.

In training exercises, when troops breach the door to a mobile MOUT, their senses are immediately assaulted by an assortment of realistic sounds and smells, said Pickens, a retired Army colonel.

"The stink of the battlefield...