A recently launched mobile software application merges virtual armor training with a video game-like experience on a soldier’s smartphone. The application, called the Standardized Armor Base of Training-Experimental, or SABO-X, has been a featured simulator training system for armor soldiers in an office setup.
But since the mobile app came online in August, leaders are hoping that it will help soldiers practice more of their gunnery skills while also providing detailed feedback to the Army as the service looks to improve its use of firepower by armored formations. Command Sgt. Maj. Raymond Harris, senior enlisted leader at Training and Doctrine Command, specifically named the application as one that soldiers should be using.
With the mobile app, soldiers don’t have to reserve limited time in an on-post simulator to practice their craft. Tapping away at a smartphone may not closely resemble firing real rounds downrange, but any extra practice could help. The Army has been working on improving its gunnery for tanks and Bradleys since at least 2021.
Lt. Col. Chuck Bies and Command Sgt. Maj. John Kurtzhals explained a notable increase in qualified tank and Bradley crews in the 1st Battalion, 68th Armor Regiment out of Fort Carson, Colorado. The pair co-authored an article, “The Gunnery Training Program,” published in Armor magazine’s Winter-Spring edition.
The duo noted that from 2021 to 2023, the battalion was able to increase its number of qualified tank crews and Bradley crews by 87% and 29%, respectively. The pair credited skills training, platform preparation, and simulator use as factors behind the improvement. However, soldiers during that time relied on installation-based simulator systems, which required certified simulator operators.
The SABOT-X software collects performance data on how soldiers operate these virtual machines. The Combined Arms Center then uses trends in the output data to analyze training and determine how gunnery courses for armor soldiers can be improved. SABOT-X is one of about nine TRADOC mobile applications on the Apple App Store. It is the only one currently available that is specific to soldier combat skills.
Todd South has written about crime, courts, government, and the military for multiple publications since 2004 and was named a 2014 Pulitzer finalist for a co-written project on witness intimidation. Todd is a Marine veteran of the Iraq War.
