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New trainer saves dollars, expands training

  • Published
  • By Spc. Saul Rosa
  • Army Support Activity-Dix
JOINT BASE MCGUIRE-DIX-LAKEHURST, N.J. --  A new mine resistant armor protected vehicle egress trainer has been brought to Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst in support of Army Support Activity-Dix to benefit servicemembers training through a collaborative effort by the Joint Training and Training Development Center and the training and mobilization site.

Staging the MET in National Guard Bureau's JT2DC offers many benefits to the servicemembers who use the trainer and is a cost-effective alternative for ASA training and mobilization missions.

"I need to get the best training available for my Soldiers and to get the Soldiers to know their training will save their lives and their friends," said Master Sgt. Rene Sales, instructor and training developer for Joint Training and Training Development Center.

Besides the great training environment JT2DC offers it's also a cost-effective and green solution to the escalating cost of training the nation's war fighter.

"Cost saving's was a minimum of $200,000 for a pad that would have placed the system in the open air in the winter, spring, summer and fall," said Robert Stodnick, ASA-Dix Training Support Officer. "If we had to construct a building it would have been in excess of $400,000," he added.

The cost to stage the MET at the training development center was nearly $13,000, First Sgt. Mark Rizzo, the non-commissioned officer-in-charge of J2TDC.

The MET's size and weight requires certain conditions to be met in order for it to be operated safely. It is required that the surface the device is on can hold 33,000 pounds, a power supply and it is recommended that either shade or air-conditioning is provided for the heat in the summer months.

The MET itself offers a realistic simulation to develop the proper skills and confidence in all servicemembers' ability to safely egress from an overturned vehicle and survive on a battlefield. The MET's ability to spin 360 degrees allows personnel to familiarize themselves with the 29 degree tipping point and the 34 degree definite flip point of a real tactical vehicle.
While trainees are in the simulator cab, cameras and speakers in the MET allow trainers to watch and communicate with crewmembers. In addition to this feature, a video device can be attached to the MET so trainers can use actual video for an after action report.

The training center offers a unique training environment for the MET and servicemembers, because of its convoy layout with other Humvee Egress Assistance Trainers. This combination allows trainers to practice advance egress scenarios and incorporate battle drills and medical evacuation training by mixing up which vehicle will flip.

The four-hour MET course is broken down into a three part crawl, walk, run phase- a mixture of classroom time, familiarization, and hands on training. Trainees are taught how to use the five-point seat belt, how to properly brace themselves during a rollover and a myriad of other safety procedures.

"This is where they get to touch the equipment before they go to a theater of operation and have to learn it there," said Sales.

The JT2DC also allows servicemembers to easily access the other simulations, such as the individual and crew serve weapon system simulator and the 3-D MRAP simulator that are a short distance of the MET. This simulator puts drivers behind the wheel of a MRAP without putting them on the road. With more than a hundred different scenarios and various mechanical failures and weather conditions that can be applied to the simulation, trainees can experience the worst case possible without living it.

"I can prepare a Soldier for day-to-day operations; I can prepare a Soldier to drive tactically for a deployment, and I can help reintegrate that Soldier back into day-to-day operations," John Bangs, retired Air Force master sergeant and contracting operator for the 3-D MRAP simulator, said.

The MET was delivered to JT2DC earlier this year. The MET has provided realistic and hands-on training to about 100 Soldiers in the last training year and more than 900 servicemembers are now scheduled to receive the training that increases the survivability rate on the ground in such places as Afghanistan and Iraq.