PHOTOs: Coast Guard crews conduct weapons training with computer simulator

CLEVELAND — More than two dozen Coast Guardsmen assigned to Cleveland-area units were run through weapons training with the use of a computer-generated simulation program Monday and Tuesday at the Coast Guard's Cleveland Moorings facility.

The simulator training was held in a specially-designed semi-trailer from the Coast Guard Special Missions Training Center at Camp Lejeune, N.C., that will be transported to nearly a dozen units throughout the 9th Coast Guard District.

The Coast Guard continues to conduct live-fire weapons training at Department of Defense-certified training areas outside of the Great Lakes region. This simulated training is being used to reinforce, not replace, that required live-fire training.

An estimated 300-400 people from Coast Guard units in New York, Ohio, Michigan, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Illinois and Indiana will be trained on the use of the M240 machine gun and M16 rifle. The guns have been modified to fire simulated rounds that use laser technology to detect hits on on-screen targets projected onto the back wall of the trailer.

Besides traditional practice "firing ranges" with both stationary and moving targets, the staff of the simulator can set the computer software to run scenarios involving hostile assailants who draw their weapons and fire at the Coast Guardsmen participating in the training.

"On top of the live-fire training that is required for crew qualification, this portable weapons simulator provides valuable additional training time for our crews — the men and women we entrust with ensuring the safety and security of mariners on the Great Lakes," said Capt. Stephen Torpey, chief of response for the 9th Coast Guard District.

"And, it's great that we can bring the training to our crews, rather than having to send crews to the training. This resource represents a cost-efficient way to deliver training to our members that compliments their underway, live-fire experience and positively reinforces their judgment and weapons proficiency skills," said Torpey.

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120124-G-KJ067-112 Coast Guard weapons simulator in Cleveland

CLEVELAND — The Coast Guard's weapons simulator trailer is parked at the Coast Guard's Cleveland Moorings Facility, Jan. 24, 2012.

The portable trailer is being transported throughout the Great Lakes region to provide weapons training and enhance crew proficiency during the winter months.