FORT INDIANTOWN GAP, Pa. - With temperatures reaching record lows this week, Fort Indiantown Gap continues to offer realistic training without the risk of cold weather injuries.
"Training on simulators is a great way to continue to train during the winter months," said Master Sgt. Joseph Kramer, director of plans, training and security noncommissioned officer in charge for Fort Indiantown Gap. "Units still go into the field, but many opt for simulator training during the winter months, that prepares them for training exercises come spring and summer."
The advantages of training on simulators abound, according to the noncommissioned officers who run simulator training for the installation.
Collectively, the department, consisting of six full-time staff members, trained 23,665 service members on simulators in fiscal year 2013.
"If you can do it live, you can do it simulated," said Sgt. 1st Class Damon Hassinger, simulations noncommissioned officer in charge for Fort Indiantown Gap.
"Simulators allow you to reduce your risks," said Hassinger. "You can cross train soldiers on different weapon platforms with minimal risk. For instance, you may have a new soldier that doesn't know how to fire a .50-cal, but you can simulate the experience prior to putting that soldier on the range. This can decrease your composite risk assessment."
"Simulators are also cost effective, that's important in today's fiscal environment. For example, to just start an M1 tank you use seven gallons of fuel, not to mention the additional costs of running it all day. With our simulators we can run the tanks all day with only the cost of electricity," he said.
There are some mistakes that can be made when incorporating simulators into a training plan.
"The machines don't train Soldiers," said Hassinger. "The important thing to note is just like live training, Soldiers need other soldiers to train them on the devices. If a Soldier does not know how to be a good marksmen, the machine won't teach him, a coach will. But, the machine will offer him the chance to continue to make those mistakes you learn from in training."
Additional advantages happen when you train at Fort Indiantown Gap's simulators. The installation has about 14 devices ranging from marksmanship devices to driver's training and is located near Harrisburg, Pa., and about two hours from Washington, D.C.
"By training at Fort Indiantown Gap, we save you time. In most cases, we set everything up, and provide a technician to run the machine; you can focus on training," said Hassinger.
"We are 100 percent customer service oriented," said Kramer. "We operate seven days a week here around your schedule. We look for reasons to say yes to units' training plans."