Airmen at Hickam AFB, Hawaii are using a new kind of simulator designed to prepare them for emergency egress situations—when they must eject from their aircraft and use their parachute to land. Called Parasim, the simulator uses new computer programs and virtual reality goggles to allow trainees to practice jumps and perfect parachute procedures. First Lt. John Brantuck II, a pilot with the 535th Airlift Squadron, said: “It gets your mind oriented on the checklist you need to do. When you are in that kind of situation you are not going to be naturally inclined to do the right thing.”
The Air Force kicked off one of its biggest exercises this week with the latest edition of Bamboo Eagle, featuring combined virtual and live training scenarios focused on test the command-and-control “nervous system” leaders need to operate on a complex joint battlefield spread over vast distances.



