'Game Film' helps soldiers train for war
By Laura RillosBOISE, Idaho -- Tires. A pile of trash. A rock sitting by the roadside. Those could be the signs of a roadside bomb or improvised explosive device, the weapon of choice in many parts of Iraq. Oregon National Guard Troops are trained to find those improvised explosive devices, also called IEDs. It's one of several training missions conducting during the National Guard's Exportable Combat Training Capability (XCTC) at Gowen Field, just outside Boise, Idaho. "Sometimes the enemy may use markers, like for example you see these rocks along side the road, that could indicate a trigger line," said Lt. Col. Bill Edwards. XCTC is taking place from August 4 to August 24. The 41st Combat Infantry Brigade recently got orders to deploy to Iraq for the second time in the summer of 2009. The training doesn't stop on the field. Companies conduct After Action Reviews (AARs) afterward. In years past, AARs were mostly talk. But thanks to technology soldiers carry around with them, soldiers get to watch a "game film" of their mission. Soldiers wear the EDI system, satelitte backpacks that track their location and movements. That works in conjuction with the MILES system, a set of sensors soldiers wear on their helmets and flak jackets, which detect when the enemy is shooting at them and where shots are fired from. Vehicles are also equipped with the sensors. Additionally, videographers follow the crews on the field and the video is played next to the EDI system feed. This way, soldiers see their mistakes. "All these vehicles are firing up here, no one's walking behind them. If an insurgent was over here with an rpg or weapon, they could run up on 'em and no one would have seen him," said 1st Sgt. Robert Maxwell, of the Oklahoma National Guard. He came to XCTC to help train the soldiers. Lessons better learned here, than in battle. "We can make mistakes out here, so it's not as costly," said Capt. Kyle Akers. "We keep rehearsing, keep practicing, so when there's real bullets in the weapons, we don't make mistakes, or we minimize mistakes." |
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