Air Force News, news from Iraq - Air Force Times

JTAC trainer offers 360-degree views

Welcome to the thundering dome. A new simulator for training the airmen who call in airstrikes surrounds them with 360-degree views of the sky and battlefield.

The Joint Terminal Attack Controller Virtual Trainer dome officially opened for business Jan. 17 at the JTAC schoolhouse at Nellis Air Force Base, Nev.

Prototypes editions of the simulator have been displayed at several Air Force and training conferences.

During a November simulation conference in Orlando, Fla., Staff Sgt. Dennis Krouse, a JTAC and Iraq vet stationed at Fort Hood, Texas, had high praise for the trainer. “It's as close to real as it gets without having to step in harm's way," Krouse said.

At Nellis, Lt. Col. John Harris, deputy commander of the 57th Operations Group, welcomed the addition of the simulator.

"The dome gives us an advanced capability to provide the most realistic scenarios possible for airmen," Harris said. “Nellis is the first base to have this trainer. We're breaking ground with it."

Prior to the dome, airmen used a simulator that projected images against a wall-sized screen.

The dome, measuring about 15 feet high and 24 feet in diameter, sits inside the 6th Combat Training Squadron. Airmen practicing in the dome can see or hear simulated aircraft, as well as friendly and enemy forces in any direction. Officials hope to bring two more simulators online in 2009.

The Air Force Research Laboratory’s Warfighter Readiness Research Division in Mesa, Ariz., helped field the trainer and continues to work at improving it.