Simulation systems: Training the U.S. Army, an economic solution for training in response to DoD budget reductions

Reduction in the US military force structure, the changing mission of the US Army, recession, the move to world peace, and the US renewal of focus on national affairs are all factors which have led to a decrease in Government funding for Department of Defense (DoD) related activity. This decrease has not lessened the Army´s need to maintain well-trained personnel to operate their systems. If the current budget trend continues into the next century, and if one does not seek more economical and effective ways to train and maintain the skill level of the soldiers, the military may not be prepared to carry out their mission. The answer is simulation training. Eliminate or reduce the amount of equipment and manpower that the US Army needs to deploy during training missions. The authors address training through simulation; an economical, environmentally safe, and effective way to train soldiers without deploying a complete Corps or Division. Specifically, GTE Government System´s role in the simulation of the mobile subscriber equipment (MSE) environment is in three areas of training; communications assemblage trainers-training for the individual operators; network trainers-training the network operators and managers; and mobile trainers-training for the signal brigade/battalion