Current Call For Fire Trainers have been sunset, and the Army is no longer providing sustainment dollars to maintain the equipment, requiring states to either self-repair/sustain or depend on state funded contractors to maintain equipment. While this is a known issue for the Department of the Army, the current plan is to not field a new system until 2030. Per Army standards (and some Air Guard positions) infantryman and artillery personnel are required to trained on proper call for fire procedures. Not only are the current systems difficult to use, but they also require extensive manpower and are often non-operational. To meet this critical training need, a new virtual, deployable system that can be used in both classroom and instructorless mode to train Call for Indirect Fire fundamentals is needed immediately. Providing the newest, most advanced technology is critical for maintaining the skills needed for the National Guard to be trained at the highest level. More importantly, increasing the amount of training available will increase skill retention and will lead to less friendly fire and other deadly events in wartime operations.

Recommendation: Encourage Congress to fund the National Guard in order to field a new, modern, and advanced Call For Fire Trainer across the entire force immediately and not wait until the current 2030 sunset date.