trained + ready By Melissa Russell, Army Photo by Ryan Morton, ASA-Dix Public Affairs
Reserve Communications
virtual combat training
not just fun and games Fort Bragg, N.C. — As contingency operations draw down, the Army is racing against time, available dollars and land space for ways to preserve the vital and often perishable skill sets gained by our battle-tested force. Lt. Col. Kevin Brown, training support systems branch chief at U.S. Army Reserve Command, is betting virtual games and simulations are the solution. From medical training to battlefield simulation, games and simulations can be used across the spectrum for virtually any military occupational specialty in the Army. According to Brown, the successful incorporation of gaming into training strategy has the potential to save the Army billions of dollars. Brown, who provides training aids and devices for individual and collective training use, said the fielding of Virtual Battle Space 2 was a huge step forward in the training arena. The Army gaming system debuted more than three years ago, and can also be used for individual and collective training. “The goal now is to take systems like Virtual Battle Space 2 to the next level,” said Brown, “to allow for simultaneous virtual gaming/ training from multiple locations.” With units and commands dispersed across multiple states, the Army Reserve has a vested interest in testing the theory. Brown and a team from Distributed Learning Systems traveled to a Digital Training Facility—a classroom set up for web-based personal and professional education, and virtual training—in Jacksonville, Fla., to test the concept with another DTF located in Richmond, Va. Their success resulted in what would be designated as the first-ever distributive training session of VBS2 in the United States Army.
Winder, Ga. resident, Staff Sgt. Miguel Roman, 1188th Deployment and Distribution Support Battalion, navigates through a scenario on the Virtual Battle Space 2 system at Army Support Activity-Dix. The web-based simulation training was conducted prior to mobilization for the Decatur, Georgia-based unit.
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WARRIOR–CITIZEN