December 6,2008: For the last decade, Israel has been using, and expanding, a wired, 98,000 acre, Tactical Training Center (TTC) at Ze'elim in the Negev desert. In addition to wide open areas for the training of armor, infantry and artillery units, there are several villages and urban areas wired for training troops to fight in close quarters. Israel has now developed a portable version of this technology, and many other innovations as well.

This is all based on a breakthrough training system developed by the U.S. Army. The National Training Center (NTC) is a 359,000 acre facility in the Mohave desert at Ft Irwin, California. There, the United States Army revolutionized the training of ground combat troops in the 1980s with the development of MILES (laser tag) equipment for infantry and armored vehicles, and the use of MILES in a large, "wired" (to record all activities) NTC at Ft Irwin. Other countries soon realized the importance of these innovations and a few built their own NTC clones.

In addition to Israel, China also recently opened its own version. The Chinese NTC is a big deal. It means the Chinese are really serious about training their ground combat troops to the highest standards. It's expensive to use an NTC. Not just the fuel and ammo the troops will use, but the expense of a staff to run the NTC, and perform as OPFOR (opposing force). American intelligence officers track which units go through the Chinese NTC, and mark them as likely to be much more formidable in combat.

 Ft Irwin itself is being expanded. This effort was delayed for five years by negotiation and litigation over the status of an endangered species (the Desert Tortoise) discovered on the NTC grounds. Since the 1980s, the United States has established many similar training centers, all using lots of electronics to assist the trainees in having a realistic experience, and enabling them to see their mistakes, and learn from them.

Israeli and American manufacturers have individually, or through collaboration, developed new features for NTC type facilities. These include portable equipment that can allow any area to be wired to provide the same effect (constant monitoring, and recording, of everything everyone does). There are also VPUs (Vehicle Player Units) that make Hummers appear as armored vehicles (tanks, infantry vehicles or artillery) to the monitoring system, and save a lot of money (by not using the real thing). There is also a system that releases different color smoke when a vehicle is hit, indicating if it is damaged or destroyed. In the next year or two, Israeli helicopters and warplanes will also be wired to operate as part of TTC exercises.

NTC type training is not only very close to the experience troops get in actual combat, but it also stresses commanders the same way actual combat does. This enables commanders to test themselves, and their subordinate commanders, before they get into a real fight. Israel also uses the TTC to experiment with new tactics, in addition to keeping troops well trained in whatever the current tactics are. This includes counter-terror operations as well as the kind of combat they expect to encounter the next time Hezbollah decides to fire thousands of rockets into northern Israel. The last time, in 2006, the Israelis came up short because of poor training, and a belief that air power could do more that it proved capable of.

One of the critical aspects of this type of training is the playback. Instructors can edit the electronic record of who did what when, and show commanders and troops where they made mistakes. This feedback makes the troops much more effective in he future.

Since 2006, the Israelis have increased the quantity (a quarter of the army budget goes for training) and quality (that's where the TTC comes in) of their training. Hezbollah can expect to have a much rougher time of it in the future.