Simulated War
In preparation for their upcoming deployment to Afghanistan, troops at Ft. Drum received training in a simulated urban Afghanistan environment. Afghan and Iraqi refugees travel around the country to various army posts to play roles, from villagers to insurgents to translators. The goal is to help acculturate soldiers to the situations they will face in the Iraq and Afghanistan theaters. Real-world scenarios are played out and the troops have to respond as if this were an actual engagement. Afterwards their performance is assessed in an after action review.
On the day that I was there the scenario revolved around the dedication of a new government building. During the ceremony a sniper gunned down several people in the crowd. The army tracked down the sniper while managing the dead and wounded.
