As Close as it Gets

Convoy Training Gets a Computer Upgrade

Bringing Marines to the roadways in Iraq without flying thousands of miles – may seem impossible, but the Virtual Combat Convoy Trainer does just that.

By connecting to a cooperative training system using a humvee chassis, a weapons engagement system and a visual system with a 180-degree surrounding projection screen, Marines are able to transport themselves to the Middle East.

Just like an actual humvee, the truck operates with a driver, a passenger, a gunner for a mounted .50 caliber machine gun and two rear passengers. Behind the vehicle and visual set is the instructor's operating station, used for after-action review and for operating the system. Instructors can generate full graphic overlays for mission briefings and enhanced training for vehicle and convoy commanders.

The VCCT can support 20 Marines per session, sending them on one of 15 virtual combat scenarios. During each scenario, Marines encounter noncombatants such as women and children, enemy combatants on foot and in vehicles, small arms fire, rocket-propelled grenades, snipers, large ambushes or improvised explosive devices.

The VCCT is now on the training schedule for various units at Marine Air Ground Combat Center Twentynine Palms, Calif., expecting to deploy to the Middle East.