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The TOW (tube-launched, optically tracked, wireless-guided) missile military occupational speciality (MOS), 11 H, was rolled into the IIB MOS in 2004, and since then there has been little or no formal institutional TOW Improved Target Acquisition System (ITAS) training in the Army. The only formal TOW ITAS training currently in existence is the Heavy Weapons Leaders Course (HWLC) at Fort Benning, Ga.
The TOW ITAS Collective Skills Trainer (CST) was developed by the Close Combat Weapon Systems (CCWS) Project Office in coordination with the Software Engineering Directorate (SED) at Redstone Arsenal, Ala., and the U.S. Army Infantry School and HWLC at Fort Benning, to assist delta companies in Infantry brigade combat teams (IBCTs) with conducting and sustaining collective TOW ITAS training.
Optimally, the CST is used after the unit has completed a block of individual operator and gunnery training, to include individual gunner qualification with the ITAS Basic Skills Trainer (BST). (Individual training resources available upon request to the unit include HWLC mobile training teams (MTTs) and professional development and train-the-trainer classes by CCWS personnel.) The CST is available on request and at no cost to any Active Army or National Guard unit that employs the TOW ITAS missile system. This includes weapons and scout platoons. The CST is brought to the requesting unit by tractor trailer. The CST can be included as part of a HWLC MTT or requested as a stand-alone training event. The CST trailer has its own onboard generator to provide electricity, heat, and air-conditioning. All it requires from the requesting unit is a hardstand approximately 50 feet by 70 feet.
The ITAS CST debuted at the September 2010 Infantry Warfighting Conference at Fort Benning. It is housed in a 53-foot trailer with double slide outs and simulates five high-mobility multipurpose wheeled vehicles...