General of the Army Omar Bradley once said, “In war there is no second prize for the runner–up.” Throughout the Army, and especially at PEO STRI, we are laser-focused on providing our Soldiers with the most up-to-date training devices available to ensure they are second to none.
Training benefits are not constrained by the uniform worn by the individual. Training is a team sport. The tremendous technological advances we are making in simulation, training and testing reach far beyond just benefiting our nation’s Warfighters. Through the affiliations that we form in the military, government services, industry and academia, we are able to have a significant impact on the training of not only our own military forces but also those of our coalition partners.
Time and again, our simulation, training, instrumentation and testing products have proven to excel at meeting the training objectives in the field, as well as saving time and money for the units using them. 
Let me cite two recent examples of the types of simulation systems being fielded to put our Soldiers in realistic, stressful, mission-oriented training postures that will give them the fighting edge when faced with the realities of combat.
Upon assuming command of the 2nd Infantry Division in South Korea, Maj. Gen. Michael Tucker realized the non-digitized Rodriguez Live Fire Complex (RLFC) did not meet the training standards of the digitized live-fire ranges his previous units had trained on. He turned to PEO STRI to modernize the live-fire complex. Within eight months after the contract was awarded, the RLFC was transformed from a legacy gunnery range to a new world-class facility complete with two digitally enhanced ranges.
Following the Acceptance Testing and achieving Initial Operating Capability, units of the division were conducting live-fire tank gunnery training the next day. As well, a combined live-fire exercise with infantry and armor was successfully completed the next week. Maj. Gen. Tucker was extremely pleased with the quick transformation. “This technology allows us to achieve high-performing killer crews in half the time required when using non-digital ranges,” he said. “The unique combination of range technology and terrain allows units to train as they will fight and where they will fight if called upon to defend the Republic of Korea from aggression.”
We are also excited about a new training system that will be fielded in 2012. Called the Dismounted Soldier Training System (DSTS), it supports Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Martin E. Dempsey’s stated goal of focusing on squad-level training.
Soldiers will be able to enter a nondescript training room, each taking their place on an assigned 10 X 10 foot pad, and within minutes be virtually transported together to a geo-specific combat zone that’s alive with the 3-D sights and 360-degree sounds of the battlefield. They can then carry out their assigned mission in a totally immersive environment. To add to the realism of battle, the system will be able to gauge the effects of the injuries sustained in the virtual environment either from impact munitions such as bullets and grenades or explosive effects from Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs).
The DSTS will also accurately simulate the movement of ground vehicles, aircraft, dismounted infantry and guided weapons, as well as conforming visually with the environment by identifying such elements as footprints, disturbed soil, rolling terrain and dense vegetation. Now Soldiers can train in any virtual environment including nighttime, daylight, and snow, rain or other weather elements that “Mother Nature” or, in this case, the trainer can throw at them.
When people hear about new Army training devices, their thoughts are often isolated to simulators, such as these, that prepare frontline Soldiers for combat. At PEO STRI, however, we are proud of the full range of training products and services we provide our Soldiers regardless of their mission. As you look through this Desk-Side Reference Guide, you will learn about high-tech simulators that train Soldiers on everything from operating the Army’s fleet of watercraft to familiarizing them on heavy construction equipment.
It’s an impressive line-up of the best training devices available to the best Soldiers in the world. Day in and day out, they give us their very best. They deserve nothing less from us. I am confident that we, along with other Army organizations, our sister services, industry, academia, and Congress, are doing just that.
Mission first, people always! Army Strong!
Dr. James T. Blake
Program Executive Officer
U.S. Army Program Executive Office for Simulation, Training and Instrumentation
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