Stryker Virtual Collective Trainer fielded in Germany

In January 2019, the Joint Multinational Simulation Center in Germany was fielded the Stryker Virtual Collective Trainer (SVCT).

The SVCT is the U.S. Army’s effort to introduce a Stryker vehicle combat simulator with the capability to train a multi-vehicle Stryker Platoon. More importantly, the center says, it is a low-cost, commercial game-base simulator that is relatively easy to configure and administer but still provides a realistic environment in which to train crews and dismounted soldiers.

The SVCT simulators are basic mockups designed to mimic theshape and size inside of a Stryker combat vehicle. Inside the mockup, computermonitors that display virtual scenes generated by Virtual Battlespace 3 (VBS3)surround the crewmembers. VBS3 is the gaming software that provides thesimulation that ties all the vehicle models together in one virtualenvironment.

The goal of these SVCT models are not to be 100 percentduplications of the Stryker, but rather to focus on creating an environmentwhere crews can train on protocols, procedures, team dynamics, key decisionmaking skills and METL tasks.

The VBS3 virtual environment improves key soldering skillsmore efficiently due to its “rinse and repeat” capability. In VBS3, the centersays, it is easy to review mistakes and reset a scenario in order to train on atask until proficiency is achieved. What is more, proficiency is obtainedwithout the cost of additional fuel and ammo, the risk of damaging equipment,or endangering human life.

SVCT allows units to do more of the training that they woulddo on a live range but at no cost. This being said, SVCT is not meant toreplace live training but to improve it. SVCT is the meant to prepare a unitfor live operations and improve the effectiveness of their live training.