Fort Benning Soldiers Use Smartphones for Tactical Training

Soldiers with the 1st Battalion, 29th Infantry Regiment at Fort Benning have begun using the smartphone as a Small Unit Leader Situational Awareness Tool when conducting training exercises at the McKenna Military Operations in Urban Terrain training site.

According to the Columbus Ledger-Enquirer, the smartphone receives real-time video and images from a controller with a camera mounted on robots and drones, thus enhancing situational awareness, decision making and “mission command effectiveness.”

Lt. Brandon Slusher said the device could be used in any number of different situations. For example, an assault on a building would be more effective with a robot relaying information from a safe area.

“With a camera on top, he can look in windows, inside doors and they can help expand night view,” Slusher said. “It can change my decision making.”

Spc. Timothy McCoy said using a UAV with a control system sending images to smartphones has proven extremely effective, as it gathers information from the air for soldiers patrolling an area on the ground.

“To clear a route is a good asset to have,” McCoy said. “It’s definitely been easier to operate.”