A Marine displays the M3A1 Multi-Role Anti-Armor Anti-Personnel Weapon System, or MAAWS, that is fitted with a kit making the weapon suitable for an indoor shooting simulator. (U.S. Marine Corps)
The Marine Corps is introducing virtual training simulators for infantrymen whose work subjects them to repeated blasts, which growing research indicates is a risk factor for brain injury and suicide.
The indoor marksmanship trainers at bases in California, North Carolina and Okinawa were previously limited to service rifles, pistols and machine guns. But soon they will include the M252 60mm mortar and the M3A1 shoulder-fired rocket system, known as the MAAWS.
The M224 81mm mortar has been used in virtual training since last year.
The service has gone to great lengths to make sure the training isn’t merely a video game. The equipment imitates the look, weight and feel of familiar systems, Marine Corps officials said.
“Marines bring their real MAAWS from the armory, and the drop-in kit is installed to simulate fires onto the (training system) screens,” said Morgan Blackstock, a spokesperson with the Marine Corps Systems Command. “The mortars are replicas that operate like real mortars and can use real tactical optics and bipods.”
The goal is to provide Marines with everything but the blast. The added practice supports better performance during live-fire exercises, Blackstock said.
Marines train to the same courses of fire they would perform in a real-life scenario, and the simulator accurately shows on a screen where their rounds would impact, service officials said.
The shift to more virtual training comes amid added scrutiny on Capitol Hill and within the Pentagon focused on the effects of blast overpressure.
A Defense Department report to Congress in July on military suicide incidence broken down by job code found that troops exposed to blasts were among those most likely to take their own lives.
Data on explosive ordnance disposal, infantry, armor and artillery troops all showed suicide rates at between two and three times the national average.
Last month, DOD announced that all new military recruits will start receiving baseline cognitive tests to make it easier to diagnose and treat traumatic brain injuries throughout their careers.
The Marine simulator, formally known as the Indoor Simulated Marksmanship Trainer, was first used in the mid-1990s, when it was known as the Firearms Training Simulator. The focus was to supplement infantry training and build proficiency.
Developers of the Marine Corps' marksmanship simulator for the M252 81 mm mortar and M3A1 Multi-Role Anti-Armor Anti-Personnel Weapons System explain its use. (U.S. Marine Corps)
“From a safety perspective, we are committed to preventing negligent discharges,” Tripp Elliott, Marine Corps Systems Command’s safety chief, said in a statement in August about the simulator. “We’re also focused on mitigating the impacts on hearing and preventing traumatic brain injuries.”
Cost, supply and range availability are also driving factors for the rapid implementation of the technologies.
The simulators are available daily and allow the service to cut down on its use of ammunition, which Marine officials say is growing more costly.
While some MAAWS have already been delivered, the remaining M224 60mm mortars and MAAWS will be distributed from now through fiscal year 2025, which begins in October.
“Marines use the 81mm mortars now and are happy with the benefits. The initial feedback for the MAAWS is the same,” Blackstock said.
