FORT SILL, Okla.--When it comes to training for the battlefield, Soldiers need equipment and training that will prepare the unit for real life scenarios. On Fort Sill one of the best training simulations for the Artillery Soldier is the Joint Fire Effects Training Simulator.
Battery A, 1st Battalion, 14th Field Artillery Regiment conducted call for fire training on the simulator in I-See-O Hall May 17-18.
The simulator provides artillery Soldiers a way to sustain and enhance core competencies needed in calling for fire. The biggest advantage of the JFETS program is the hands-on training it provides the unit while using the simulator. Each simulator is fully equipped with the same radio and binocular equipment being used on the battlefield. This allows Soldiers a hands-on experience using the same type of equipment used in combat.
In addition, the Soldiers were able to use the lightweight laser designator rangefinder which many of them had never used before. The rangefinder allows forward observers, forward air controllers and naval gunfire spot teams the ability to recognize targets in day, night, and low-light conditions, range to the target, and calculate grid coordinates with its own GPS capability. The system then provides this information to other members of the digital battlefield. The system also includes a laser that can be used with laser-guided missiles and other laser seeking devices.
A Battery Soldiers were able to train in one of three different rooms built around a different terrain scenario.
About a third of the Soldiers were in a simulator that was built to look like an abandoned house in Iraq and was equipped with the sounds typical of an Iraqi village. The Soldiers were amazed at not only the real life sounds but also the feel as though they were looking out of the windows into an actual town.
Sgt. Christopher Villalobos, assistant ammunition section chief, said that the simulator looked very similar to a house he had entered during his deployment to Iraq.
The simulator also gave Soldiers a chance to pick out their own targets which helped the Soldiers identify targets that resembled enemy vehicles, many of which they had never seen. Many Soldiers had not used a radio to call for fire before but using the simulator and having an instructor there to help made them feel more confident in their ability to talk on the radio clearly and concisely.
The other simulator Soldiers were able to use was constructed to look like a hillside that allowed them a more overhead view of the town. In this room, they sat behind a man-made observation point on an incline that made it feel as though they were on an actual hillside. The Soldiers most recurring remarks about this room was that they had to adjust and account for the distance when making their calls for fire because targets seemed either closer or farther than they anticipated.
The third simulator incorporated 340° surround and overhead view giving the Soldiers a wider angle view of the scenario. They enjoyed this room because of its wide open viewing screen which allowed the unit to assess their skills with the binoculars and the rangefinder.
Though the battery is a High Mobility Artillery Rocket System unit that shouldn’t ever need to use rangefinders, the Soldiers quickly learned to use the equipment and felt confident after the training was finished.
The Soldiers were very responsive to making calls on the radio and learning how to properly fill out a call for fire sheet.
“The JFETS program does not replace live training but it is as close as you are going to get,” John Dyer, JFETS operator, said.
The simulator is revolutionary because of the immersive environments that can be used in the simulators and those are what give these Soldiers the hands on real life feel that they receive when going through different scenarios, said Dyer, a retired Army sergeant.
The training experience as a whole benefited the battery because it gave the Soldiers a chance to learn or revitalize their basic job skills.
The simulator is beneficial not only to fire support personnel but also to units that do not get the opportunity to touch up on skills such as calling for fire or do not have chances to talk over the radio, which helped many of the Soldiers to overcome their initial sense of nervousness and anxiety.
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