"Baladia" Mock Arab Urban Warfare Training Town

 military, training center

The Urban Warfare Training Center is a mock city located in Israel's Tze'elim military base in the Negev desert. Built by the United States Army Corps of Engineers and funded largely through U.S. military aid, the 7.4-square-mile generic city consists of modules that can be reconfigured by mission planners to represent specific towns. Known as Baladia City-the Arabic word balad means village-it is used by the Israel Defense Forces as well as by the U.S. Army to prepare soldiers for urban warfare.

The simulated city includes shops, a grand mosque, a hospital, a Kasbah quarter, and a cemetery that doubles as a soccer field, depending on the scenario. The facility is equipped with an audio system that simulates helicopters, mortar rounds, and prayer calls. During training exercises, Arabic music is played in the background.

“Combat units from platoon up to brigade level will train in an environment that simulates the real urban battle,” said Brig. Gen. Uzi Moskovich, commander of the NUTC (National Urban Training Center) and its adjacent National Ground Training Center, Israel’s downsized version of the Army’s force-on-force training facility at Fort Irwin, Calif. “Enemy forces will fight according to their respective combat doctrines, and the civilian population will behave in ways typical of their particular community, religion and culture.”

www.marinecorpstimes.com/news/2007/06/marine_israel_com...