Private Sector Solutions
Industry Providers SOF with Expanding List of
Unique Skill Training, Equipment and Facilities
by Marty Kauchak
SOTECH Correspondent
USSOCOM components, similar to their DoD service counterparts, are asking industry to do more. SOF are receiving more instruction from industry teams for skill sets that are not efficient to maintain with a permanent government civilian and military training cadre, and a brick and mortar infrastructure. At the same time, industry is making available training ranges and areas to supplement DoD’s facilities, and technology to prepare operators for the contemporary battlefield. Current trends point to industry providers continuing to play an important role in future SOF training.
ONE COMPONENT’S PERSPECTIVE
U.S. Marine Corps Forces Special Operations Command has a variety of contracted training support that bolsters the component’s training in areas as wide ranging as high speed and off-road driving, to live tissue medical training to advanced shooting skills to assessment and selection support. “Contractors are selected through a competitive bid process and their capability to provide the requested services,” Marine Corps Captain Michael Armistead, command spokesperson, told SOTECH. The reliance on the private sector by MARSOC and other components provides efficiencies and training readiness. “The contractor support community has their available support quite nicely with our needs, staffing with veteran SOF personnel and others well versed in our These topics are selected because contracted training activities certain areas of expertise that we cannot source internally with subject matter experts until we complete our build plan,” Armistead.
PRIVATELY OWNED TRAINING FACILITIES
Private sector entities provide facilities as well as training courses learners.
One of the pressing challenges facing DoD’s training community is the availability of adequate future training ranges and areas. encroachment and other pressures mount on some live training is on the way through new and expanding facilities that support conventional and asymmetrical missions.
West Texas Training Center (WTTC) consists of over 26,000 square miles), and has the ability to expand to over 90 square requirements indicate the need. The facility replicates the geographic environment of current desert operations and provides an area ability to conduct a diverse spectrum of critical training. WTTC expansive range of mission-specific training support and opportunities for tactical and/or situational training for DoD’s components, Department of Homeland Security, U.S. State Department, other U.S. government agencies, including law enforcement. center’s DoD client list includes SOF and other units.
Included in its many capabilities, WTTC boasts the availability of acres dedicated to a live-fire maneuvering area, a 21 (plus)- zone and permanent helo pads.
Johnson, WTTC spokesman, provided additional insight on offerings. “Technology has changed; weapons, equipment have had to adapt to successfully perform in present day environments,” he said. Johnson also stated that “a great military training areas were designed for a time and conditions long past,” and that, “operational commanders are presently with training facilities where they are required to adapt to facilities’ structure, designs and protocols, instead of the other around. “The future of effectively training our armed forces will a unit’s ability to adapt to any given environment,” said Johnson.
It is the goal of WTTC, said Johnson, “that all ranges, shoot houses infrastructure will be specifically designed, built and tailored to meet each client’s individual needs and the specific purposes of their operations.”
WTTC range facilities offer the option of training applications that include water, land and air. WTTC contends its capabilities will continue to grow in the areas of operational planning, rehearsal, testing and execution of mission or weapons concepts. “Our clients realize the value provided via WTTC’s expansive area and we are dedicated to expanding our facilities to meet their future needs,” concluded Johnson.
Another industry provider, LMS Defense, provides a blend of training resources for operators. The heart of the company’s infrastructure is the “center”—an 81-acre facility near Reno, Nev. The center provides students with medium-range rifle ranges, simunitions and live-fire shoot houses and square pistol ranges. The facility is also located close to two of northern Nevada’s largest raceways, making it ideally located for LMS Defense’s integrated vehicle operations training programs.
The company’s instructional philosophy is based on subject matter expert (SME) instructors and mobile training teams (MTT). John “Chappy” Chapman, owner and director of training, LMS Defense, provided one perspective and business model for the cost efficiencies DoD can gain through outsourced instruction.
“We provide customized periods of instruction through a SME instructor cadre with real world, current experience. This removes the burden on the unit to ‘train-the-trainer,’” remarked Chapman. The company’s SMEs have competencies in precision rifle operations, basic-to-advanced protective services and counter assault team training, radio and communications training, convoy operations and driving and numerous other skill sets.
While it is possible to train three or four service non-commissioned officers in these requirements, the return on investment becomes negligible (losing instructors through permanent change of station, dated instruction techniques, and other circumstances). By using contracted SME instructors, the unit can focus on its core mission, without having to dedicate personnel to multiple training events or an instructor cell. “Contracted training with LMS Defense also provides small unit leaders the tools to sustain the training after the courses are complete (through hip-pocket training and other techniques),” he noted.
The company’s contracted courses relieve the unit of the cost burden associated with the train-the-trainer process. By using the LMS Defense customized MTT, the unit does not have to expend temporary duty, travel and per diem funds. “Sending a group of non-commissioned officers to various and sundry courses all over the country is expensive and time consuming,” reasoned Chapman.
Planned infrastructure improvements to LMS Defense’s center include additional shoot houses, an attack on convoy range, and an explosives training facility. “In the realm of MTTs, we are going to incorporate simunitions training and tactical driving using the unit’s own vehicles. This will enable us to further customize our MTT packages for the customer,” concluded Chapman.
Other live training available to SOF focuses specifically on behindthe- wheel driving of 4x4s and other vehicles used by the community.
BCDS, Inc., teams with Vehicle Dynamics Institute (VDI) to deliver a full range of mission-oriented driving skills training to Marine, Navy and Army SOF teams. Will Leaman, president, BCDS Inc., provided insight on the driving challenges facing his government customers. “The mission-critical skills taught by BCDS are designed for military special teams, urban tactical units, and disaster first responders operating 4x4 off-road vehicles in the most harsh and remote terrains. For example, operators deploying to West Africa will be encountering improved and unimproved roads, and need the skills to conduct mounted operations and get the most from their vehicles on those surfaces, in that environment; those deploying to Afghanistan are likely to encounter all three major surface types—improved, unimproved and rough terrain, requiring a broader range of driving skills.”
The industry team delivers four course modules: rough terrain and unimproved driving in SUV’s and tactical vehicles; urban and improved surface driving in sedans, SUV’s, and tactical vehicles; advanced off-road driving; and ambush response.
The majority of training programs offered by BCDS and VDI are exportable to customer locations. “Rough terrain driving programs have been conducted at high desert areas in Nevada for teams deploying to Afghanistan. Urban and improved surface programs have been conducted worldwide on airports and parking lots,” pointed out Leaman.
BCDS recently expanded its tactical training center, near Lewisburg, W.Va., to incorporate a 3,000-acre quarry, providing miles of unimproved roads, surface transition areas, multiple ambush simulation sites, natural caves and man-made tunnels. This expansion complements its rough terrain obstacle course, tactical shooting facility, and classroom space.
European Rally School and Motorsport Park has available to SOF an increasing number and type of military and security, on-road and off-road driving courses. The 430-acre, Starke, Fla.-based facility has 22 miles of driving and riding tracks and courses with an array of paved and off-road surfaces (gravel, concrete, dirt, clay and limerock) on which to provide instruction, Ivor Wigham, president, told SOTECH. Driver training is delivered to SOF students on “all types of vehicles” said Wigham. A partial list of the school’s stable of vehicles includes SUVs, all-terrain vehicles (ATVs) and pickups.
One course that caught the attention of SOTECH was the ATV rider course that is “designed for military special forces groups.” The ATV training facility supports all aspects of riding up to a very advanced level. “You will ride courses of one mile to three miles long, with over 70 obstacles, all surfaces, all terrains, dedicated certification course, levels are easy to medium, medium to hard and hard to extreme,” according to the company. It can also can include winching, deep water and GPS.” Three of the ATV course’s obstacles include railway ties, concrete and asphalt piles, and water crossings.
The company is increasing its course offering and expanding its facilities. “We are adding to our General Services Administration contract, convoy driving, mobile force protection training, hi-performance driving courses, race driving courses, high-speed evasion driving courses and side-by-side driver training,” said Wigham. The school recently completed construction on a two-mile paved course with extra classrooms that seat about 100 people.
Overland Experts (OEX), an expedition-based company, trains SOF and students from the Departments of State and Energy and other organizations on four-wheel drive vehicles in the U.S. and overseas. Bruce Elfstrom, owner, OEX, and his staff have years of experience training SOF and follow basic guidelines. “We train SOF to understand all the whys and why nots of this skill set, not just how to do it, but instead, the skill to anything at all and be independent and intelligent about it,” said Elfstrom.
The company delivers individual and tactical team level instruction to allow students to train as they operate. A 4x4’s systems and mechanical dynamics are thoroughly explained as related to negotiation of various terrains. A sample learning objective for the tactical team course is to drive proficiently in nine obstacle types (ascending and descending steep grades, and ditches, shelves and ridges, and others). Students receive hands-on training on a vehicle from the school’s fleet (Land Rover, Land Cruiser and other models) or in their own vehicle.
This summer OEX is adding a three-day diesel and drive train repair and field maintenance class entitled “field repair: diesel engine and vehicle drive train.” The class was designed by examining the skill set of the teams OEX has coming through its doors. “We have noticed and have been asked to help fill this huge and very important gap in skill. Basically, most of the teams we see, while having some mechanical training, have no idea how to diagnose and fix issues of fuel delivery, airlocks, hydro-locks, brake system failure, and clutch system failure in any vehicle, but especially in diesel engines,” pointed out Elfstrom. OEX observed yet another shortfall in the maintenance skill set with regard to the drive-train of a vehicle—teams do not know how to swap axels, and fix universal joints and related systems. “These two major components (engine and drive-train) of your average Land Cruiser, Hi-Lux, or Defender are the most common field repair issues,” said Elfstrom. “Without a skill set to handle these situations a team is under serious exposure for long periods of time.” A fourth day may be added to address gasoline engines and running electronics. This course is separate from the advance 4x4 and tactical off-road and 4x4 driver training course, but can be taken directly after the driving course completion.
As practice is imperative to the learning audience, the company uses Connecticut-based driving courses and offers out-of-country driving expeditions to Iceland (snow and cold-weather training) in the fall and spring, and to other venues. The next course in Iceland is scheduled for September.
OEX will soon divulge more details of its 3,000-acre driving course in Virginia, about 1.5 hours from Washington, D.C., and within easy driving range of many East Coast SOF units. Other embryonic training venues are in Costa Rica (jungle and mountaintropical driving) and Telluride, Colo. (mountain driving).
TECHNOLOGY ENHANCERS
The facilities at DoD and private training ranges are undergoing a number of innovations resulting from the lessons learned from more than five years of urban warfare in Operations Iraqi and Enduring Freedom.
Savage Range Systems has delivered shoot houses to unspecified DoD and other government customers across the U.S. Barry Witt, national sales manager, Savage Range Systems, described the value of these facilities to the live training audience. “Shoot houses provide the most realistic live-fire training environment available. They provide for dynamic and explosive entries through one or multiple points of ingress, complete 360-degree lines of fire, shoot/no shoot scenarios, working as individuals, teams, or any variation. It also gives instructors the chance to observe the exercises as they develop and debrief the operators there on the spot after the scenario.”
While the company could not discuss the type of shoot houses it has delivered, their government customers’ requirements are dynamic and result in a variety of facilities being provided. “It’s been necessary for them to simulate the various environments where they will have to respond, and there is no single formula for that. They have been large and small, single level and two-story, layouts like houses apartment buildings, and workplaces,” pointed out Witt.
And once the shoot houses themselves have been built they are filled with furniture, whether it is sofas and chairs, dining rooms, beds and dressers, or office furniture. “I’ve even seen them with wallpaper, pictures, and mirrors on the wall. There is just no end to the way shoot houses can be made to resemble the real life environments where our special forces will have to enter into a combat situation,” said Witt. The company’s shoot houses are adaptable to be expanded and changed from one configuration to another to meet its customers’ changing requirements.
Another company, the SGC Group provides SOF and other operators with improvised explosive device (IED) and weapons of mass destruction (WMD) training solutions that address other current asymmetric warfare threats.
The company offers three configurations of IED and WMD training devices. “One is made by hand, in-theater type inert but functional copies,” Steve Cassidy, managing partner told SOTECH. Cassidy, a former Navy EOD technician who has an extensive portfolio of government and industry-related security experience, noted these are devices that look, X-ray and function very close to what the troops are encountering today, including roadside explosively formed penetrators, Christmas tree lights, stingrays, and long-range cordless phones. “Most of the time these devices are fabricated with actual components favored by some terrorist organizations,” he said.
SGC Group also fields instructor-level devices. These are the same IEDs or WMDs only made to be used repeatedly. “They are designed as close to the actual device but are engineered with heavier components to last through countless packing and unpacking and multiple training scenarios. These devices also incorporate status indicators that allow the instructor to set up a scenario based on the experience level of the student by turning on or off multiple triggering circuits, allowing the instructor to know the status of the device.
These are original concepts specific to SGC Group’s designs,” added Cassidy. The company also provides red herring devices that are non-functional devices. While the products may X-ray similar to the real device, they are missing key components that allow them to function. “These devices were designed for displays or devices that are designated for destruction—something the students are going to practice render safe procedures (RSP) on. The advantage with these devices is because they do not function they take less time to fabricate, contain less expensive components and as a result cost the organization less to train their class,” he noted.
The group’s R&D department is developing (with the help of the military) several RSP tools. “We have one device that detects ‘collapsing circuits,’ and two devices that disable IED electronics and one that bleeds down the battery of the device both without setting off the devices,” concluded Cassidy.
Another technology solution provides relief from altitude sickness and is available for SOF and other military units that operate at high altitudes. Boulder, Colo.-based Colorado Altitude Training (CAT) furnishes proprietary, economical ($4,000 for least expensive model) altitude simulation systems that deliver air with low-oxygen levels (replicating between 5,000-and-12,000 ft ((1,524-to-3,678 meters) altitude) into enclosed tents. The company’s altitudinal simulations support a variety of training audiences, including pilots, athletes and other individuals interested in general conditioning, and military forces that will conduct high-altitude (typically between 8,000-to-12,000 ft) ground missions.
The technology gained the attention warfighters in response to the medical and personnel readiness lessons learned from the early Operation Enduring Freedom. During campaign’s opening rounds, newly arrived allied forces would often experience altitude sickness from being transported by helicopter forward operating bases at relatively low lines of contact at Tora Bora and other high-venues in the Afghan mountains. The approximate one-hour flights did not allow the ill-operators’ bodies time to respond to the physiological changes induced by going too high, too “About 12-percent of the medical evacuations during the first operations were due to altitude sickness,” recalled Larry executive officer, CAT.
The company’s altitude training tents allow operators to the rigors of high-altitude conditions before they ascend, reducing the likelihood of experiencing altitude sickness, emphasized Kutt. ♦