European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - December 4, 1988, Darmstadt, Hesse Sunday december 4, 198b the stars and stripes Page 9 simulator programs targeting go training on Patriot system bar Jim writer Grig Singim. West Germany in a Small. Dimly 111 room with rays of Green flaring from screens in a Mobile Van mounted on the Back of a 5-ton truck two Lone soldiers watch and wait. A figure appears on screen moves closer then veers off. One of the sold Cert identifies the aircraft As hostile. It moves closer within Range. The Soldier engages the target. If i act Mac real thing thousands offset above a Patriot surface to air mis Sile would have reduced a soviet Jet fighter a re Juble. But while the soldiers at the consoles Are real he scenario is imaginary. Rjillio1 than in a Small Van in a cold West German Field the soldiers arc to a Large worm computer room housing a Patriot conduct of fire Trainer or pc Oft. The simulator is used to train and keep proficient 33ml army air defense come soldiers who make their living detecting and tracking hostile aircraft with the Patriot missile system. The Patriot is the army s newest ground to air missile system and is part of a nato modernization plan Lila phased out the Nike Hercules a in defense package. The non nuclear Patriot can track up 10 50 targets simultaneously and can guide five missiles in Light to a Range of about 40 Miles. The system s wartime role is to intercept and shoo Down enemy air planes Indefenso of troops and tanks in what the army experts would be a massive air attack on nato forces in the Centra Region. The pc Oft simulator is configured us a Complete Patriot battalion at the army air defense training Center Ingria Hrim a suburb of Darmstadt the s4 million simulator the first in Germany is a re creation of a six Battery battalion or the Backfield configuration which the army expects to have in the Field by the Early 1990s, a command Backfield will add three firing Batter id to each of the six Patriot battalions already Active in Germany said maj. Soviet David l. Hartman. It also applies to the seventh battalion expected to activate at Bil Burgarin 1989. The army fielded the current three Battery firing unit Structure in order to quickly activate the seven Germany bound battalions Haitman said. Back Field will increase our firepower but the first priority was to get the units in Posi tion.". The first pc Oft was installed in grips him in january and was joined in october by a second unit which added the Backfield capability. There Are 16 pc Oft trainers but this is the Only one with team Trainer said Barry Miller the technical representative for Sanders associates the simulator manufacturer. System managers put the operators through a standardized training package that replicates what the Arney believes it will have in do in wartime Hartman said. According to Miller there arc some200 scenarios available because soldiers arc relieved of allot her Day to Day unit duties they can focus exclusively on problems inherent to lighting the air Battle. At the same time there is immediate feedback on their performance Hartman Laid. Soldiers get classroom time As Well As a review on tactics and nato documents and instruction on How to react 10 Given situations. In an air Battle soldiers arc in a time intensive situation Hartman arc moving and hey have to make Quick decisions. There s no min Etc by minute ability to Stop and Start Over. In the simulator they can discuss their in addition to providing practice for a wartime role the simulator also is help ing to alleviate existing training prob lems. One such problem is Day to Day track ing limitations. When tracking from their units aircraft thai normally Fly in Germany Don t simulate what would. Happen in a real Battle Hartman said. The number of aircraft you actually see on radar nowhere near challenges the system and the aircraft do not replicate what fighter aircraft would although All regular aircraft carry an raiment. Ess blah Ikea Honor a training system manager. Staff sgt. Howard Johnson at he bin1, 32nd army air defense cooed Sharpens his skills on the missile simulator. Identification device none of them car Ries a wartime code. So the response o engage is never there. The pc Oft provides that capability Hartman , the system can mimic exactly the general defense plan so soldiers can train a if they were actually at general defense but the simulator also helps solve problems posed by the distances separating deployed batteries. Normally a Patriot battalion scatters its tiring units about 25 Miles apart Hartman said. The Trainer brings the soldiers together where performance can be evaluated and currently the command is Only using the pc Oft about 35 to 40 percent of the time it it available Hartman said but that should change Over the next Tew years. " plans Call for each Patriot Battery to train on the pc Oft Fiir times a year with an annual 20-hour evaluation said sgt. 1st class Marion Mclemore one of three system managers. Gusto Pizem Moscow a the soviet Union published on sat urday the details of its new government Structure that retains Central control Over the i5 republics while . Publication of the changes by All the major soviet daily newspapers gave soviet citizens their first look at the final details of the political Structure under which they will begin living in March. \ after an int cow five week Public debate in which150,000 suggestions for revisions were made the supreme soviet and its presidium to country s highest executive body approved changes in about half he articles in the Constitution. The final project which soviet president Mikhail has said is crucial to his Reform Effort was approved thursday by the 1,500-Mcmbcr supreme so five votes against it. Among the articles apparently watered Down in the final draft was one that republics opposed because they said it called into question their right to secede Union. The final draft gave the Congress of people s deputies a new government body formed by the changes the Power to make decisions on mailers of National stale Structure which Are in the jurisdiction of the Union of soviet socialist republics previous language had Given it the Power to make. Decisions on the composition of the the new Law also establishes similar congresses of people s deposes in the 1 republics bul leaves Iuo each Republic s Constitution to outline the a pwn of the Congress. The original draft included a lengthy list of Powers of the Republican Congress the change also appeared to be an Effort to Compro Mise with officials from the republics especially Esto Nia. Estonian president Arnold Ruutel in a speech to the supreme soviet said the Republic did not want Tobe forced to form a Congress of people s deputies. A is impossible to find an optimum Polilli Balsys Tern for All regions of the country so we have created our own Ruutel said. Estonia has led opposition to the constitutional changes. On nov. 16 us supreme soviet made a dec a Trajan of sovereignty in internal affaire and pro claimed its right to approve All new National Laws. The National government declared that move the National Congress of people s deputies will include representatives of such organizations As he communist party and hade unions As Well As representatives elected from geographical districts and their ethnic territories. It will choose a new smaller supreme soviet that is to meet for two four month terms every year. The current supreme soviet meets several Days a year. The final version of the Law gives the republics More representatives in the soviet of nationalities one of the two houses of the supreme soviet and also ensures Iii i they Are represented on a new Conati National Over sight commission. orders directives of the Central government to be. Published in the languages of the republics. But it also gives the National presidium Powers to ensure that the constitutions and Laws of the republics correspond to the National Constitution. There were complaints that giving organizations like the communist party and unions the right to elect one third of the members of the National Congress of co Pic s deputies would violate the principle of one Man one vote by allowing Union or party members to vote More than once or even hold several final draft Days that in selecting the supreme soviet the Congress of people s deputies must make sure that members of the party or other organizations arc not Over represented. Gorbachev in a speech nov. 29, told the supreme Sovil thai it would have the right under the Taw to veto any order from him or from the presidium under the new Law How Ever the presidency still is More powerful than the largely Cremonia Post Gorbachev no holds. The president becomes the head of the defense Council and has the right to conduct negotiations and sign treaties. The new Structure goes into effect with the election of the new Congress of people s deputies on March 26,
