In the early morning light, U.S. soldiers, part of a NATO force,
assault the village. Snipers-fundamentalist Islamic rebels hidden
behind parked cars, in apartment buildings and in church steeples-open
fire on the advancing troops. Buildings are blown apart by heavy
weapons fire. Flames erupt. Grenades explode, covering the area
with purple, green and blue smoke.
A U.S. tank, an Abrams M1A2 firing as it moves, rams through a
roadblock. A Bradley fighting vehicle wheels around the corner,
disgorging its load of infantry, who rush through doorways, shooting
as they go. Casualties-rebel and U.S.-fall where they are hit.
Finally, the rebels withdraw, and the shooting stops as suddenly
as it began, leaving the air thick with the smell of gunpowder.
Kosovo? No. Iraq? No. This scene occurred in the green hills of
Fort Knox, Ky., at the Army's new Mounted Urban Combat Training
Site (MUCTS). The site is the only one of its type designed specifically
to teach the crews of tanks and other combat vehicles to maneuver
their vehicles through the often narrow and meandering streets of
the developing world.
The $16 million MUCTS is intended to help U.S. troops train for
the types of peacekeeping operations that they might encounter in
places such as Kosovo, Chechnya and Somalia. Training missions at
the site range from coping with urban unrest to mid-intensity combat.
The facility was dedicated earlier this year to the memory of the
late 2nd Lt. Raymond Zussman, a World War II tank commander who
won a Medal of Honor for his role in helping drive Nazi forces from
a small town in France.
Sitting on 26 acres in a remote part of the base, the site has
21 structures, including churches, apartments, factories, offices,
school buildings, soccer fields, an open-air market, public utilities,
a complex system of European-style roadways and a small airport.
During training sessions, the village is peopled with civilians,
as well as rebels.
The facility can accommodate four company-sized units at a time,
each operating in a different area, or a battalion-size task force,
taking on the entire facility.
The complex is meant to give soldiers "the total impact of
a broad spectrum of urban environments," said Maj. Gen. B.B.
Bell, the Army's Chief of Armor. To make the experience more realistic,
he explained, the site is equipped with a battery of special effects
borrowed from Hollywood and theme parks. Among them:
"Previous urban training facilities were static," Bell
told National Defense. "They were just buildings. This site
brings together an array of advanced technology that better replicates
the dangers of combat without putting soldiers at risk."
Firing Options
Training units using the new site can choose from several firing
options. They can fire blanks, paint balls, lasers and even-at a
few specific targets-live ammunition.
The action is monitored carefully by computers and video cameras.
At the end of the training, tapes, CD-ROMs and printouts are provided
to permit units to review their performance.
"It's a good training site for soldiers," Spec. 1st Class
Ronald Clendinen, from Charlie Company, 16th Cavalry, who had just
driven his Bradley through a demonstration at the facility, told
reporters.
"Most of these facilities are pretty sterile," he said."
This one is different. The buildings are real. There's stores, apartments
and gas stations. The rooms have furniture, even TVs, in them.
"You never know what you're going to see when you enter a
room." Clendinen said. "It might be an enemy soldier,
or it might be a civilian. You have to be on your toes.
"This is a lot like what I saw in Bosnia," he added.
"The streets were so narrow that they kept the Abrams at the
checkpoints. They used the Bradleys to run up and down the streets."