Fake dead animals

Started by TehBorken, Sep 24 06 07:15

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TehBorken

 [span class="body_text"][font face="verdana" size="4"]Cheap, fake animals to help troops prepare for insurgents' deadly tricks [/font]

                                                     [font face="verdana" size="2"]                            [font face="verdana"]By [a href="mailto:[email protected]"]Seth Robson[/a], Stars and Stripes
[span class="edition"]European edition, Sunday, September 24, 2006[/span]                                                           [/font]
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   [table align="right" bgcolor="#d7eaff" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="15" width="200"][tbody][tr][td align="left" valign="top" width="100%"]                            
[img]http://www.estripes.com/photos/40281_92317121b.jpg" border="1"]
                         [font face="verdana" size="1"]Seth Robson / S&S                              
Jasna Vojnovic, a visual information specialist with the General Support Center Rodelheim, shows off models of dead animals that will be used in Germany for training against hidden roadside bombs in Iraq and Afghanistan.
                               [/font][/td][/tr][/tbody][/table]                         [/font]                       [/font][font face="verdana" size="2"][span class="article"]GRAFENWÖHR, Germany — The animals lying on the floor of a building at Camp  Aachen on Wednesday were clearly not alive. A dog's stomach had been slit open,  bones stuck out of the chest of a nearby goat and the lifeless carcass of a  sheep lay on the linoleum.[/p] Closer inspection revealed the beasts to be dummies made of painted fabric  and foam. They were part of a display of training props made by the General  Support Center Roderheim, which was participating in an open house last week at  Grafenwöhr's Joint Multinational Training Command.[/p] The open house was a chance for commanders and trainers to check out the  latest training opportunities at Grafenwöhr, according to information provided  by JMTC. The day included briefings and tours of facilities at Grafenwöhr as  well as displays of training equipment.[/p] John Krollpfeiffer, chief of the support center, said the animals on display  were prototypes, part of a range of objects the center is making to mimic things  insurgents use to hide improvised explosive devices in Iraq and Afghanistan.[/p] The dummies will be made of rubber so they will last longer on the range and  will cost between 40 and 60 euros (roughly $53 to $79) each, he said.[/p] The center's staff also produces a range of models of other objects found on  today's battlefields, including rubber land mines, plastic handguns and assault  rifles.[/p] Their latest creation is a simulated rocket-propelled grenade launcher  weighted to feel like the real thing. A metal prototype was on display, but  Krollpfeiffer said the center is waiting to see if funding will be available to  mass produce it.[/p] The center also makes miniature models of buildings found on training areas  in Germany. The office recently built a model of Grafenwöhr's new assault  building. The roof of the model, which resembles a doll house, comes off so  units can look at rooms inside before training on the real thing.[/p] A $39,000 machine operated by the center can "print" three-dimensional models  using a powder that solidifies, Krollpfeiffer said as he pointed out a range of  miniature Army vehicles such as Humvees and tanks made with the 3-D printer.  Another machine cuts foam in three dimensions to form terrain models, he added.[/p] Two people checking out what the support center had to offer were 7th Signal  Brigade soldiers Capt. John Garceau, 27, of Evergreen, Colo., and Sgt. 1st Class  Jason Jewett, 36, of Philadelphia.[/p] The pair were at the open house to find out about the latest training  opportunities for their unit, they said.[/p] "We need to find some new technology that we can use to train our brigade —  what the latest and greatest tools are," Garceau said. The 7th Signal Brigade  soldiers train at the JMTC at least once a year, he said.[/p] Jewett, an 18-year Army veteran, said today's training aids are light years  ahead of what was available when he joined.[/p] The pair were particularly interested in getting brigade soldiers access to  equipment from Deployable Instrumentation Systems Europe — or DISE. The gear  allows soldiers to shoot one another with nonlethal lasers during training and  have their actions recorded by computer simulators, Garceau said.[/p] "The DISE equipment is much better than [older laser gear], which was  brand-new when I came in the Army," Jewett said. "Now DISE has taken over."[/p] Soldiers from the 7th Signal Brigade have deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan in  recent years. Advances in training will make the unit much better prepared for  future deployments, Jewett said.[/p] For example, he said, the Engagement Skills Trainer (a virtual reality combat  simulator at Mannheim) has greatly increased the soldiers' marksmanship.[/p][/span][/font][/p][/span]    
The real trouble with reality is that there's no background music.