In a poorly-lit dead-end cave, a table is covered with petri dishes and flasks that contain a broth-like substance. Rough, gray walls and a string of dim overhead lights give the place a clandestine, and perhaps sinister, appearance.
Luckily, that’s the intention of the Brauch Tunnel, a training facility at Dugway Proving Ground. While the interior appears to be a rock-hewn tunnel, the facility is really a series of 15 shipping containers used to simulate tunnels found in locations like Afghanistan.
The rock-like appearance is created using a wood frame, wire mesh and spray foam. The modular nature allows different arrangements of the containers to create a new simulated cave layout.
The facility, which is slated to double in size, allows hands-on training operations for the U.S. military, foreign allies and domestic first responders, according to Chris Johnson, chief of the Special Programs Division at Dugway.
Different chemical and biological production setups can be located in the “cave” and military personnel have to quickly assess the purpose of the facility. The scenarios range from heroin production to the creation of biological weapons, according to Lance McEntire, chief of the Counter Weapons of Mass Destruction branch of the Special Programs Division.
Soldiers without backgrounds in biology or chemistry need to be able to process clues such as the type of lab apparatus and materials being used to identify the laboratory’s purpose, McEntire said.
“As our soldiers come in, they’re looking at those visual indicators,” he said.
The shipping containers are safer than a real series of tunnels and much cheaper than blasting tunnels into mountain ranges on base, McEntire said. The training also involves other mock training areas, such as hotel rooms, he said.
The Brauch Tunnel and other facilities at Dugway Proving Ground were on display for U.S. departments and agencies, as well as foreign and private representatives, during the third annual S/K Challenge. The event allows government agencies and private industry an opportunity to test new technology against simulated threats during a two-week period.
A number of vendors had gathered Wednesday afternoon in the Joint Ambient Breeze Tunnel, a 530-foot-long structure used for large-scale testing on devices like tents, vehicles and chemical and biological detection equipment.
When the facility is in use, operators can control the wind speed and concentration of chemical simulants, which form a cloud that is directed past the equipment being tested by massive fans. The simulants are non-lethal chemical or biological agents that share an attribute with a more harmful agent, so they behave similarly in testing and detection.
The size of the testing area can also be adjusted through movable panels that can adjust the height or width of the test area, from the maximum dimensions of 42-feet wide and 58-feet tall. Being able to adjust the conditions in the tunnel allow for more tests to be conducted without concerns about wind speed and other external factors, according to Kenneth Gritton, technical director for the West Desert Test Center.
“This facility allows us to control the ambient conditions in such a way that we can do many, many more tests in an evening,” Gritton said.
By adjusting the wind speed and concentration of simulant, equipment parameters can be established, Gritton said. This determines the range of conditions a vehicle may protect its occupants from a biological weapon attack, for instance.
“We can put boundaries on the upper and lower limits of the protective value or the detection values of the material we’re testing in here,” Gritton said.
The Joint Ambient Breeze Tunnel is used frequently during the March to September window the facility is open. Due to its coated-fabric exterior and size, it can’t be used in the winter as the liquid simulant won’t react properly in the cold, Gritton said.
Once chemical and biological detectors are ready to transition from a lab environment, they are taken to the Target S test range for field testing. A sensor grid at the remote site allows for the open air release of simulants, with detectors attempting to determine the spread, concentration and particle size of the substance.
During a test Wednesday evening, the simulant was released into the air via a detonation of plastic explosives. Sensors on the testing grid returned real-time results to Dugway staff in a command center about a mile from the detonation site.
Inside the command center, Dugway Proving Ground staff monitor the way the simulant cloud forms and moves across the testing grid. Those results serve as the control to which equipment from private companies and government agencies are compared, according to Vincent Liddiard, the chief of the Test Management Branch at Dugway.
“We are the ground-truth information for what their equipment is supposed to detect,” Liddiard said.
Dugway Proving Ground Commander Col. Sean Kirschner said the S/K Challenge was an opportunity for the Department of Defense, as well as international and private partners, to use the varied and unique facilities at the installation. The event showcases Dugway, which Kirschner called an “international treasure.”
“They’re out here observing what our capabilities are,” he said. “We have merchants out here right now with systems under test, looking at improving their detection capabilities.”