Sen. Richard Durbin (D-Ill.) announced this month that Congress had approved $11 million in defense appropriations that will buy two new types of vehicle simulators for the Illinois Army National Guard stationed at Camp Lincoln in Springfield.
One kind of simulator teaches soldiers to drive the Army’s new mine-resistant armored personnel vehicles, which are designed to withstand the deadly “improvised explosive devices” that troops are likely to encounter in Iraq and Afghanistan. The second set of simulators will teach soldiers how to defend convoys that come under attack.
Both kinds of machines will feature actual maps of terrain from Iraq and Afghanistan.
The U.S. Department of Defense says 3,475 U.S. troops have been killed in action in the Iraq war, which began in 2003. DoD says 631 U.S. troops have been killed in action in the war in Afghanistan, which began in 2001.
One kind of simulator teaches soldiers to drive the Army’s new mine-resistant armored personnel vehicles, which are designed to withstand the deadly “improvised explosive devices” that troops are likely to encounter in Iraq and Afghanistan. The second set of simulators will teach soldiers how to defend convoys that come under attack.
Both kinds of machines will feature actual maps of terrain from Iraq and Afghanistan.
The U.S. Department of Defense says 3,475 U.S. troops have been killed in action in the Iraq war, which began in 2003. DoD says 631 U.S. troops have been killed in action in the war in Afghanistan, which began in 2001.
