FORT SILL, Okla. -- Fort Sill was one of two locations where Bohemia Interactive Simulations worked to prove their video game, Virtual Battlespace 3, can help train Soldiers.
Fourteen Sill Soldiers offered their expert opinion Nov. 18-22, on how well the the game assisted in training specific tasks for fire support specialist, field artillery automated tactical data system specialist and Avenger crewmember.
As part of a new fiscal reality in training the Soldiers of 2020, VBS3 is designed to be a consolidated tactical training and mission rehearsal solution, combining flexible terrain and scenario editors, with a high-fidelity virtual environment for networked training and after-action reviews.
"We're glad Fort Sill was able to help us out with this especially with the quality of participants that we have. It's a big deal," said Capt. Chuck Williams, National Simulations Center, Fort Leavenworth, Kan.
The validation process occurred simultaneously at Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Wash., where Soldiers tested maneuver and engineer tasks.
"It's the ability to do training without having to lay on range time, range land, fuel and food to take them out to the ranges," said Williams. "It's also a much lower risk level. You get these guys that have not done a particular task together and this gives them the opportunity to go to a classroom setting, do it the first time, identify what they're shortcomings are and work on those multiple times without taking the chance of rolling a vehicle."
With computers lining Building 2591, Soldiers here completed individual and unit tasks while recording their findings.
Staff Sgt. Robert Martin, B Battery, 1st Battalion, 78th Field Artillery 13F instructor, said one issue he had when he was trying to call for fires was he was not able to read the mil-retical on the screen very well.
"You have four, five seconds from the time you identify a target to send all of the data to the And this is just one small part of pulling that data down. So if a Soldier is spending 10 seconds trying to read that to within 100 mils that's an issue," said Martin.
He also said some of the effects of the munitions in the game weren't accurately represented.
"In the game if I shoot a tank with one artillery shell it blows the tank up. That's not going to happen in real life unless I'm really, really lucky. Make the effects more realistic so young observers training on this don't think they can send three rounds of artillery and destroy four tanks with it. It's not going to work that way."
VBS3 follows Virtual Battlespace 2 with better graphics, a Soldier avatar, digital chalkboard, crowd ambiance, artificial intelligence and terrain paging for unlimited virtual training space.
"A lot of these guys grew up playing with the commercial stuff. And that's one of the big advantages of because they have had experience with the commercial sector. So now they're branching out to the military side and they're bringing a lot of that with them," said Frank Villanueva, TRADOC capabilities manager for gaming.
VBS3 can also be used as an image generator in simulators, and can emulate a wide range of devices and weapon platforms in places like Monti Hall.
"Our intent is for Soldiers to use this tool to do effective military training. It's not an end-all-be-all. It's a stepping stone," said Villanueva.
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