FORT RILEY, Kan. -- Three officers from the United Arab Emirates armed forces visited Fort Riley Dec. 11 to learn how the U.S. Army trains Soldiers using the integration of technology and virtual platforms at the Seitz Regional Training Campus. During the tour, they visited the Mission Training Complex, Warrior Skills Trainer, Close Combat Technical Trainer and Training Support Center.

The Directorate of Plans, Training, Mobilization and Security Training Division Chief, Bill Raymann and his staff provided a training overview and a tour of the facility to Brig. Gen. Saeed J. Al-Suwaidi, UAE War Game Training Center commander and his staff, Col. Naser S. Al-Kalbani and Maj. Hazeem E. Al-Mesafri. After the overview they had the opportunity to see how Soldiers were trained in classrooms and simulated environments. They were shown how the training elements are networked to provide realistic virtual scenarios for simulated battle situations.

"They (the UAE officers) are very interested in how we train and prepare brigades at home station for the National Training Center," Raymann said. "They want to understand how to train their brigades similar to what we do."

Raymann said when America's coalition partners train their forces using techniques similar to what U.S. Soldiers use -- it makes the integration of coalition troops in real-world battlefield situations easier because they are all working from the same type and level of training.

"We are always happy when our coalition partners ask to come visit," he said. "These gentlemen are interested in being able to replicate some of our capabilities to be able to train their own brigades."

At the conclusion of the tour, Suwaidi said it was good to have seen the tools and simulations Fort Riley uses for training.

"It was a really good experience," he said. "It was good to exchange ideas on how they can use the information to train Soldiers in the UAE."

During their trip, the UAE officers also visited the Training and Doctrine Command Combined Arms Center at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, for information on how to develop and maintain scenarios, models and simulations.