Virtual Combat Convoy Trainer

The Virtual Combat Convoy Trainer (VCCT) is a training simulator used by the United States Army, provided by Lockheed Martin, Firearms Training Systems and AVADirect. The VCCT is a suite of four Humvees outfitted with armor and weapons that replicate the vehicle configurations crews actually used in the field. The simulators are housed in 53-foot trailers that can be easily moved from one location to another to provide training for deploying troops. The system uses detailed databases that give students a stunningly realistic depiction of what they will encounter in Iraq. In some cases crews have trained on the actual routes they traveled with their convoys.

While IED attacks get most of the public attention and are an important part of the training experience, other aspects of the training scenarios are equally important. Situations such as equipment breakdowns, blocked routes, vehicle identification, and determining how far a convoy stretches from end to end are all vital for commanders to understand.

One of the most important lessons that learned by using the trainers was that communication is the critical element. Traveling in the dangerous territory north of Baghdad to distant cities such as Tikrit, Mosul and Tal Afar.

External links

* [http://www.lockheedmartin.com/products/VirtualCombatConvoyTrainer/index.html VCCT at Lockheed]
* [http://www.fatsinc.com/Virtual_Combat_Convoy_Trainer.htm VCCT at FATS]