S&T Impact in Iraq
COMPANIES IN THE SIMULATION AND TRAINING INDUSTRIES ARE PLAYING AN IMPORTANT ROLE IN TRAINING U.S. TROOPS AND IRAQI FORCES.
With the focus of the U.S. military in Iraq now moving from combat to training, the future of the Iraqi police force could depend largely on the efforts of a Falls Church, Va.-based company with 14,000 employees worldwide. DynCorp International, a provider of specialized mission-critical technical services to civilian and military government agencies, has been tasked with supporting the training of police officers in Iraq since 2004. The company’s police mentors— often recently retired police officers from small to medium-sized police departments in the United States—are assigned to the Civilian Police Advisory Training Team (CPATT), the component of the U.S. military Multinational Security Transition Command–Iraq (MNSTC-I) responsible for the U.S.-led effort to train and equip the 135,000-member Iraqi police service. In September 2006, the U.S. Department of State awarded DynCorp International a nine-month extension of its task order to support the training of police officers in Iraq. The extension is valued at more than $318 million and will expire on May 31, 2007. DynCorp International is responsible for recruiting, training, equipping and sustaining the 700-member U.S. contingent of trainers in Iraq. “We are proud to be a part of our government’s effort to bring democracy and stability to Afghanistan through the establishment of modern police institutions,” said DynCorp International CEO Herbert J. Lanese. “We fully share our government’s belief that the democratic values and civic culture that American civilian police officers impart to their Afghan counterparts are an essential part of our training, as is the example of civilians securing their own communities.” DynCorp International is just one of many companies in the training services and S&T industry that are involved in the training of U.S. and Iraqi forces going forward. Though each company have an expertise deemed valuable to the training of the troops, all have had to deal with the innate challenges of providing their services during a time and place where violence and loss of life occur daily.
LANGUAGE-LEARNING TRAINERS
The U.S. Army has turned to languagelearning software developer Rosetta Stone to help its troops learn the languages of countries around the world, including Iraq. The Army in October 2006 renewed its $4.2 million contract with the company to continue providing its services. Harrisonburg, Va.-based Fairfield Language Technologies created Rosetta Stone in 1992. The contract ensured that Rosetta Stone’s program will be available to all active Army, National Guard, Reservist and Department of Army Civilian personnel worldwide for the next year. The contract renewal reinforces the Army’s commitment to continue strengthening its language capabilities for soldiers and personnel deployed outside the United States, according to Army officials. During the first year of partnership with Rosetta Stone, more than 60,000 soldiers took advantage of the language-learning software and the Army expects to double the number of users is the coming months. The company said that one user stationed in Afghanistan with the U.S. Army Military Police used Rosetta Stone’s online Army version to learn the Pashto language. Rosetta Stone offers 30 language courses—including Pashto spoken in Afghanistan, Farsi spoken in Iran and Arabic spoken throughout the Middle East—to Army personnel through Army e-Learning. “To provide U.S. Army personnel around the world with the language instruction they need, the Army sought a proven Web-based foreign language training tool that could teach speaking, listening, reading and writing for a variety of target languages utilizing an immersion methodology,” said Tom Adams, Rosetta Stone chief executive officer. “We’re thrilled that Rosetta Stone’s philosophy, design and effectiveness are providing the solution they were seeking.”
IED TRAINERS
Combat Training Solutions Inc. is one company focused on making a big difference in the training of U.S. and coalition forces around the world. With Improvised Explosive Devices (IED) continuing to be the leading cause of death for U.S. and Iraqi security forces in Iraq, the company’s innovative products and training aids are helping to minimize the loss, according to the company. CTS develops realistic Battlefield Effects Simulators using safe and economical non-pyrotechnic devices that meet today’s training demand and more closely simulate the challenges and tactics that terrorists and insurgents employ around the world. The company’s non-pyrotechnic explosion devices and marking equipment better prepare warfighters for evolving threats in theater while reducing the risk of injury during training. Because the company’s products are non-pyrotechnic, trainees can experience direct contact events and engage response mechanisms in a realistic battlefield environment. “Trainees are afforded a direct, high impact consequence for mistakes made during situational awareness exercises. This means warfighters arrive in theater better equipped to identify, react and destroy the threat,” said Co-Owner and Chief Operating Officer, Nathan Brock, to MT2. Builtin safety features facilitate employment and use of all CTS simulators by anyone with a minimal amount of training. Other non-pyrotechnical simulators that the company offers include: Large IED Trainer (Roadside/Vehicle Borne IED), Suicide Bomber Vest, Trip-Wire Booby Trap, High- Impact Pipe Bomb, Pressure Sensitive Landmine, Full Function Wireless Detonators, Real World Triggers and M4 and Ak-47 Simulation Rifles. In 2005, the Department of Defense and Joint Forces Command ordered a wartime acquisition of several CTS products, incorporating them into Convoy Training Centers around the world. CTS products are also being used by all branches of the military as well as all levels of law enforcement, the Department of Homeland Defense and foreign allies, the company said. “Our goal is saving lives as well as maintaining our position as a recognized leader in the battlefield effects and simulation industry,” said Brock.
ASSISTING TRANSITION TEAMS
Cubic Corporation, based in San Diego, Calif., is taking on more of a role in the training of Iraqi forces by having an expanded contract with the U.S. Marine Corps to include training Marines who will serve as military advisors to indigenous security forces in Iraq and Afghanistan. The company started training the Marines in June after the Program Manager for Training Systems (PM TRASYS) in Orlando approved a modification to Cubic’s Marine Air Ground Task Force Training Systems Support contract. As a result of the recent $3.4 million contract modification, Cubic will now also support the U.S. Marine Corps’ Security Cooperation Education and Training Center, SCETC, which is the organization responsible for conducting advisor training. Cubic will train Marine Corps advisors in U.S. and foreign weapons, convoy operations, offensive and defensive driving, vehicle maintenance and recovery operations, tactical communications, tactical combat casualty care and emergency lifesaving medical techniques. “This new contractual task represents an important expansion of Cubic’s Marine Corps business,” said Len Supko, a retired Marine Corps officer, who serves as Cubic’s program manager for USMC mission support. “We are providing vital and relevant training to Marine Advisor Teams, who will be working hand-in-hand with indigenous forces to help restore security to Iraq and Afghanistan. These teams will be operating by themselves, which has really focused us to ensure we provide them the best training packages we possibly can.”
CONVOY TRAINERS
Raydon Corp. is one company making a difference in convoy training associated with operations in Iraq. The Daytona Beach, Fla.-based company, which provides virtual trainers for the U.S. Army, offers several virtual training packages for military troops to train for the conditions that they will face in Iraq and other places. They include the Virtual Convoy Operations Trainer, the Virtual Combat Convoy Trainer, the Virtual Door Gunner Trainer and the Virtual Warrior Interactive. In 2004, the company developed, built and demonstrated an armored High-Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicle (HMMWV) Convoy Tactics Trainer for the U.S. Army in less than five weeks. It was accomplished using off-the-shelf computers with virtual driver and tactical trainer course-ware integrated into mounted operations in urban terrain databases and the latest armored vehicle-training doctrine. A second version of the virtual reality crew training system was built and operation in less than five days. The company has also produced a fully interactive convoy tactics trainer that allows the armored HMMWV commander, driver, and gunner to train as a team or as individuals in a Middle Eastern virtual reality environment.
WEAPONS TRAINERS
Blackwater USA, based in Moyock, N.C., is another company committed to the training of security forces in Iraq and Afghanistan. The company touts itself as the most comprehensive professional military, law enforcement, security, peacekeeping and stability operations in the world. Currently, the company is training various groups of Afghanistan’s Ministry of Interior in weapons and tactical operations. The training is in direct support of U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency’s efforts to build a robust and capable narcotics interdiction capability, according to the company.
OPPORTUNITIES FOR PRIVATE COMPANIES IN IRAQ
There are numerous opportunities for private companies in Iraq, but they all come with risk, several analysts told MT2. The first concerns the lack of security in some places as well as the sectarian violence currently occurring in Iraq. “There are a lot of opportunities for private firms, though they have to be careful to follow the unified plan put forth by the [ruling government agency],” said Dean Lockwood, a weapons system analyst for Forecast International. “[The companies] have to basically conform to a set of standards so that [the government] can get some sort of consistency across the board.” Whether it is the U.S. military or private sector, everyone needs to realize that change will come about slowly with the training of Iraq’s security forces, Lockwood said. “The crux of the problem that we have in this country is that politically and publicly, we are a TV generation and we like to see things wrapped up in that news hour,” he said. “[Rebuilding Iraq] isn’t an overnight process. We are totally rebuilding a country from scratch, basically. It is a hell of learning curve, it has got to be. Everything that they are doing now is completely alien to what they have been used to. People need to step back and get some perspective on this.” ♦