“It will decrease the number of accidents,” said Staff Sgt. Corey A. Burse, who works at the 7th Army Combined Arms Training Center, or CATC, in Vilseck, Germany. “You get in a vehicle you don’t know, drive down narrow roads and roll the vehicle over. That’s the number one cause of Soldiers’ deaths.”

Burse said that it is better to use the mine-resistant, ambush-protected, or MRAP, vehicle simulator to acclimate to the rough terrain downrange than to put Soldiers on the roads there with no idea of of what to expect. This way, Soldiers see how the vehicle handles and how the indicators work and feel, without putting their lives in danger or ruining equipment.

The MRAP simulator and driving practice helps Soldiers identify problems and how to adapt to different environments and situations.

Many multinational Soldiers will not have the opportunity to see an MRAP vehicle before heading downrange unless they attend the course the JMTC is offering.