Photo By Kristen Wong | First Lt. Victor Barnes, weapons platoon commander, Company C, 1st Battalion, 3rd...... read more read more
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KANEOHE BAY, Hawaii — This year, more than 4,000 service members from various branches of the military, including the Army and the Coast Guard, have taken advantage of training opportunities on base. At a recent symposium, attendees could get a more in-depth look at the kind of training that has reputedly produced some of the “best battalions,” according to Lt. Col. Michael Antonio, director of the Operations and Training Directorate.
“My prime responsibility is supporting you, the war fighter, in regards to your training requirements,” Antonio said to the crowd, at its first training symposium in the Lanai Ballroom of The Officers’ Club, Dec. 17.
At the symposium, more than 25 base staff, contractors and Training Support Center staff set up displays, distributed information, and chatted with service members about their training needs. The directorate also distributed a new catalog to service members, which provides points of contact and information on all training opportunities.
Representatives highlighted training tools such as the Combat Convoy Simulator, the Supporting Arms Virtual Trainer and the Combined Arms Command and Control Training Upgrade System.
The directorate also briefed attendees on upcoming projects that will enhance the training available here.
“Most of [the improvements] are in the phase of being assembled or constructed or installed,” said Dan Geltmacher, range and area training manager, Operations and Training Directorate.
New features are in store for training areas on both Oahu and Hawaii’s Big Island, including the next generation Military Operations on Urban Terrain, scheduled for completion in January 2011, at Marine Corps Training Area Bellows.
The directorate has also started construction on a Shock Absorbing Concrete shoothouse on Range 10 at Pohakuloa Training Area on the Big Island, scheduled for completion in the spring of 2011, and the Cooper Unmanned Aerial Systems Strip was completed at PTA on Dec. 16.
More than 60 explosive ordnance disposal technology targets have been installed both aboard the base and at PTA. Geltmacher said the EODT target is made from recyclable metal that lasts between three to five years. Unlike previous targets, EODT targets are less likely to cause range fires and leave hazardous material. When targets reach the end of their lifespan, they are recycled and replaced.
Sgt. Peter Wright, squad leader, Company C, 1st Battalion, 3rd Marine Regiment, attended the symposium. Wright has been stationed in Hawaii for five years, and said a quarter of the training opportunities weren’t around in 2007 when he last deployed. He said MCB Hawaii’s training facilities are becoming “exponentially better.”
The symposium provided service members with a full awareness of all training opportunities on base, according to Lee Fry, manager, Modeling and Simulations Division, Operations and Training.
“We want to understand what [service members’] requirements are, and provide them with the best,” Fry said.
Master Sgt. Andy B. Anderson, the assistant operations chief of 3rd Battalion, 3rd Marine Regiment, called the simulation training facilities on base “pretty impressive, centralized, condensed [and] convenient for the battalions.”
Anderson said the training simulators are impressive because the simulation has become more realistic.
He said he liked “the flexibility of the instructor to be able to generate scenarios that meet your training standards or requirements for your unit.”
Antonio said the directorate plans to hold a symposium every six months. For more information on training opportunities, call Maj. Dennis Kaskovich, deputy director, Operations and Training Directorate, at 257-8853.
| Date Taken: | 12.23.2010 |
| Date Posted: | 12.23.2010 16:02 |
| Story ID: | 62552 |
| Location: | KANEOHE BAY, HAWAII, US |
| Web Views: | 356 |
| Downloads: | 5 |
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