September 21, 2005
Valdosta - It may seem more like a video game, but it's actually a valuable resource in preparing soldiers for war. "It's as realistic as it can be without being in actual combat," said Greg Bennett, Training Facilitator.
This simulation of a Bradley Fighting Vehicle takes you right into the line of fire. It's designed to look, feel, and sound exactly like a real Bradley. "We can train them on gunnery or maneuvers, we do a lot of move into contact, react to ambush, force on force type training," said Bennett.
Training operators can also change the type of environment these soldiers encounter, to ensure that when they head into a war zone, they're ready for anything. "We can bring up a Korean database, a European database, or a desert database," said Bennett. "We're making it as difficult as we can for them."
The simulators are typically used as training tools for the National Guard, but this week they're also opening them up to the public, in hopes of recruiting new members. "Hopefully somebody will like it enough and decide to join," said Sgt. Major Dale Shanklin.
And even if you're not interested in joining the military, Guard members encourage everyone to try out the simulators, to get a taste of what they're facing in Iraq. "We want to show them what the Bradley's about and how we work together to build teamwork and comradery within the National Guard," said Shanklin.
The Bradley simulators will be set up behind Valdosta Technical College until Saturday.
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