‘Iraqi village' resides at Fort Irwin
By Daniel J. Calderón

Contractors work on the simulated Iraqi village known on Fort Irwin, Calif. as Medina Wasl, in August. The village is scheduled for completion in February 2008. It is designed to simulate a typical Iraqi village area and will be used to train troops before they are deployed overseas.

“The Joint IED Defeat Organization [JIEDDO] has asked us to create a training environment that will allow them to test some new technology that will help defeat these roadside bombs,” said Col. Thomas H. Magness IV, commander for the L.A. District.

The village, known on Fort Irwin by the Iraqi name Medina Wasl, will ultimately have 13 buildings. The Corps awarded the contract for the project in August 2006. Construction for Medina Wasl began in February and is scheduled for completion in February 2008. The village simulates a developed section of Baghdad, complete with shops, apartments and light industrial areas.
 

Contractors build up the outer walls of the simulated Iraqi village located on Fort Irwin, Calif. during construction efforts in August. Construction began in February and is scheduled to be complete in February 2008. The village was designed and has been built to Iraqi standards with the exception of the supports which were built to withstand the seismic activity in the area.

“When we first had the villages, we bought sheds from Shed World,” said John Wagstaffe, public affairs officer for the base. “Although not terribly realistic, it was a beginning.  Then we moved to long shipping containers. This was followed by putting stone siding on the shipping containers.  At each step the villages took on a more realistic look.”

The buildings are not the only way the NTC approximates Iraq in California for Soldiers’ training. Actors and role players add to the realism of the simulation by portraying an assortment of Iraqi villagers. This allows the NTC to better replicate the “sounds and smells” of Iraq.
 

Col. Thomas Magness IV, district commander for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Los Angeles District, inspects the inside of one of the buildings of the simulated Iraqi village on Fort Irwin Calif. during his visit to the facility in August. The village will be used by the National Training Center on Fort Irwin to train deploying troops and by the Joint Improvised Explosive Device Defeat Organization to test anti-IED technology.

The JIEDDO can use the unique construction in order to better understand how developing technology can be used to defeat improvised explosive devices currently being used in Iraq said Christine DeVries, JIEDDO Public Affairs Officer. The JIEDDO was created in October 2003 by the Army Chief of Staff to organize Army efforts to eliminate IED threats, recommend best available responses to commanders and coordinate testing, development and fielding of selected devices and technology.
 
Even with the attention to detail given by the Corps and the contractors, not everything will be just like Iraq. Henson said the construction materials and basic style will emulate Iraqi techniques. However, because Fort Irwin is on seismically active land, the buildings needed some stabilization.

Capt. Seth Hanson, acting resident engineer at Fort Irwin, Calif., explains to Col Thomas Magness IV, district commander for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Los Angeles District, how the simulated Iraqi village on Fort Irwin, built by Corps contractors, approximates aspects of actual Iraqi construction. The reproduction includes emergency escape tunnels built into walls and floors as they would be in authentic Iraqi buildings.

One of the main issues involved safety. Elder said the Corps has taken steps to ensure the safety of contractors on the work site.

“We’re doing very well with safety,” Elder said. “The contractors we have out here are excellent. We always have pre-construction meetings to discuss safety and environmental concerns.”

Henson said they have completed more than 186 days on the job without a safety issue or lost-time accident. Fort Irwin Soldiers plan to get much use out of the new village when it is complete. Currently, they are training at another facility on base.
 
“The villages are critical to giving soon-to-deploy Soldiers training in how to fight both the kinetic and non-kinetic battle in Iraq or Afghanistan” Wagstaffe said. “It is the next best thing to actually training in Iraq or Afghanistan.  We learned long ago when the NTC was founded that you must train as you will fight with realism in every aspect of the training.”