MILITARY MATTERS: Fort Stewart GA Soldiers Training With VR Goggles

FORT STEWART, Ga. (WTVM) - While some 3rd Infantry Division troops are deploying from Georgia to Europe, others are continuing some innovative training at Fort Stewart.

Some soldiers in coastal Georgia are in a conference room instead of the field, testing out the magic of augmented reality.

“Augmented reality allows you to actually see the real piece of equipment you’re working on, and it overlays on top of it an image to help you fix those things faster,” LTC Michael Hefti, of the 3rd ID, said.

Fort Stewart is in the early phases of implementing this technology into equipment repairs.

“We can speed up that maintenance, and also reduce cost in terms of parts,” LTC Hefti added.

This captain and others got the chance to try it out himself - and call it a game-changer. “Being able to follow an augmented reality guide that’s directly in front of you, it makes it very easy to understand. It’s like having a trainer right there next to you talking you through every step of the way, I thought it was very neat,” Deputy innovations officer CAPT Ben McFarlin said.

The recent trials, in a partnership with Georgia Tech and Microsoft, were a first step in using this technology even more.

“What we’re working on right now is getting stakeholders to say who is going to own this in the army enterprise as a system of record, and then messaging it to not just the soldiers but also the broader audience about how we’re going to perhaps make a leap with this in the future to make it a system of record,” CAPT Ben McFarlin also said.

The future of training is seen through the lens of augmented reality goggles. Army leaders say this technology could be in the hands of a lot more soldiers within the next five years.

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