As the column of Humvees rolls across the desert, the radio chatters, the gunners scan their sectors. Suddenly a pile of trash beside the lead vehicle explodes, destroying it.

In the ensuing fire-fight, the third and fourth Humvees are killed; only the second vehicle in the convoy of four makes it back to the safe zone unscathed.

Luckily for the members of Army ROTC, this is not an actual engagement; it is the Army’s newest simulator for teaching soldiers how to deal with attacks on convoys.

“It was cool. The technology was awesome, especially those goggles,” Aaron Topal, a freshman in biomedical engineering, said.

Fourteen students with AROTC got a chance to experience the simulator firsthand Thursday evening at Camp Butner, NC.

The purpose of bringing students to the simulator was to put cadets into leadership roles to start thinking about making decisions for a small unit. “It was very realistic” said John Vanhoi, a freshman in civil engineering. “It was easier to drive than to shoot.”

The convoy trainer is located inside of a tractor trailer and has four stations consisting of a driver and gunner position as well as a seat for the team leader in the first vehicle. The drivers sit at a table with three monitors and a steering wheel and gearshift in front of them while the gunners put on virtual reality goggles and set up behind a mock-up of a .50-caliber machine gun.

“Being the gunner, being able to look around with the goggles … that was cool,” Topal said.

All members of the team take their orders from the team leader. It is the job of the team leader to make decisions so all the vehicles reach the checkpoint safely.

Jared McGuinn, a freshman in mechanical engineering, said the simulator was “pretty much a really cool video game.”

“It helps you relate to what it’s really like in Iraq and what the soldiers go through,” he said.