Joint Multinational Training Command commander Brig. Gen. David R. Hogg speaks at U.S. Army Europe's Sustainable Range Program Workshop in Amberg, Germany, on Wednesday. (Seth Robson / Stars and Stripes)
GRAFENWÖHR, Germany — The Army plans to build a $49 million digital live-fire range at Grafenwöhr, making training more realistic for soldiers who will be heading downrange.
With the range — planned for fiscal year 2013 — trainers can make “enemy forces” appear on the latest digital equipment, such as Blue Force Tracker, used by soldiers to get situational awareness of the battlefield, said Steve Kennedy, range and training land program manager for U.S. Army Europe.
“It will be the most sophisticated range in USAREUR. It will provide full spectrum live fire for aviation, Strykers, tanks, Bradleys and dismounted infantry — fully instrumented and digitized,” Kennedy said.
The range will be built on land occupied by two existing ranges — 301 and 201 — at Grafenwöhr.
The plan was unveiled to delegates Wednesday at the 2007 USAREUR Sustainable Range Program Workshop in Amberg. Integrated Training Area Management director Nate Whelan said the goal of the workshop was to improve training programs and find out the specific training requirements for USAREUR now and over the next few years.
“From a live-fire range perspective, we are trying to incorporate as many of the lessons learned from combat in [Operation Iraqi Freedom] and [Operation Enduring Freedom] into our live-fire range infrastructure so ranges become more realistic and more challenging as soldiers prepare to conduct combat operations,” Kennedy said.
Workers recently finished a $2.3 million improvised explosive device training lane and a $2.6 million live-fire shoot house with state-of-the-art instrumentation at Grafenwöhr, he said.
Joint Multinational Training Command commander Brig. Gen. David R. Hogg told the delegates that JMTC will merge training areas at Grafenwöhr and Hohenfels digitally.
“It will allow us to do simultaneous missions at Hohenfels and tactical live fire at Grafenwöhr.”
JMTC is doing live-fire convoy training that involves soldiers shooting at targets that can pop up anywhere around the vehicles, he said.
“In the old days, we never shot 360 degrees. The next step in our ranges is moving targetry for distance. We are looking at moving infantry (targets) who come in at oblique angles … come at you and move away. In our fight, it is a moving dynamic environment, and that is the next stage we need to go to with our small-arms ranges,” he said.
JMTC might also field a virtual live-fire convoy trainer that enables units to practice convoys at their home bases before coming to Grafenwöhr, he said.
Hogg also talked about ranges to train soldiers to run checkpoints.
“We have a moving target that comes towards a checkpoint. Soldiers have to make a decision where to engage that target. Perhaps other targets pop up. Some are civilians … perhaps an RPG (rocket-propelled grenade) guy,” he said.
A total of 110 delegates attended the workshop, including range workers, training support staff and other officials from all over Europe, Whelan said.
