Fort Benning's Harmony Church area is home to a $30 million simulations training facility. It is designed to help soldiers get the feel of being behind the wheel of a tank or Bradley fighting vehicle.
According to Major General Robert Brown, the commanding general at Fort Benning, "Simulation may never be as good as real, but you can never get all the complexities unless you use simulation. You can't get there."
Captain Jason Sanchez with the Third Heavy Brigade Combat Team at Fort Benning says soldiers with gaming experience often find a smooth transition to a simulator. "For somebody who has a background in gaming, they definitely have an advantage. The switchology (location of switches) inside of a tank is very familiar to those versed in that kind of background."
Staff Sergeant Derrick Carter adds, "They play Xbox. They play 360. Muscle memory. They get inside the tank. They learn their job. It's like muscle memory."
When soldiers finish in the simulator they go into an after-action review room where their performance is evaluated.
Using the close combat tactical training equipment in the simulations facility is a critical tool according to Captain Sanchez. "This is the go-to bread and butter that I look towards to get my crews, sections, and platoons ready for combat."
Major General Brown says simulation training is invaluable. He recalls, "I was actually with pilots in Iraq where the emergency drills they did in the simulator saved their lives when the thing happened for real in combat and their aircraft was about to crash, and they were able to save it because they'd done it in simulation."
General Brown says simulations centers like the one at Harmony Church are worth the investment. "You have to invest more money up front to get the simulations, which is tough in a time of efficiencies. But in the long run it saves you a lot of money." Brown says it costs $300 a mile to operate an Abrams tank.
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