ORLANDO, Fla. - One of America's Wounded Warriors was an honored guest at the U.S. Army Research Development and Engineering Command Noncommissioned Officer Professional Development training March 1-5 at the Simulation & Training Technology Center on the University of Central Florida campus.
Sgt. Timothy Dunbar deployed to Iraq with 2d Brigade, 1st U.S. Cavalry, 3rd Battalion 82nd Field Artillery Regiment as a Nuclear, Biological and Chemical NCO. He was injured on three occasions.
Vehicles in which Dunbar was a passenger were hit twice by improvised explosive devices and once by a rocket-propelled grenade. The separate attacks took place in October and November 2006, and in July 2007.
Dunbar now requires a below-the-knee amputation scheduled for later this month. He said he also needs two hip replacement surgeries.
"I lost half of my left foot," Dunbar said, describing his most serious injury.
Upon his return from Iraq, the Army assigned Dunbar as driver for Maj. Gen. Will Grimsley, deputy commanding general for III Corps and Fort Hood, Texas.
"The March 1-5 timeline just worked out for me," Dunbar said, having had to cross-check a calendar full of physical therapy visits, doctor's appointments and scheduled surgeries. He learned of the RDECOM invitation through Grimsley.
During his visit to STTC, Dunbar got an insider's look at evolving simulation training and technologies being developed to train the American Soldier.
"It was amazing!" Dunbar said of the experience.
"Simulation developers are definitely going in the right direction," he said. "Going the way the gaming industry is going, and using the train as you fight method - the more simulations you get in the hands of the Soldier the better they will be able to perform. Once they see scenarios in a training environment, their reactions will soon become second nature.
"There's a lot of shock and awe on the battlefield," Dunbar continued. "And time is critical. The faster a Soldier can react the better he is able to perform. This training will help save lives."
Dunbar said he was impressed with the RDECOM NCO corps.
"It was definitely a smart group of guys there, guys from a lot of different backgrounds. By consolidated those kinds of people, it seems to me solving issues - the end state -- is going to be a lot better.
"We all didn't see the same thing when we were over there," he added. "We all have a little different perspective."
Dunbar, from Lowell, Mass., and his wife, Christine, an emergency medical technician from Nashua, Mass., have four children. He said he would reenlist if given the opportunity to work within the RDECOM formation, preferably at Natick Soldier Research, Development and Engineering Command near his Massachusetts home..
Since becoming RDECOM commander in December 2009, <a href="http://www.rdecom.army.mil/pages/leadership_cg.html">Maj. Gen. Nick Justice</a> has actively sought to engage Wounded Warriors in RDECOM site visits and activities. Announcing this to Army leadership at every turn, Justice asked Wounded Warriors to visit his command's research, development and engineering centers in hopes they will provide input to improve technologies currently being fielded.
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