Infantry Immersion Trainer
The Infantry Immersion Trainer (IIT) is a mixed-reality training facility for small-unit infantry at Camp Pendleton, California. Housed in a former tomato packing plant, it covers about 32,000 square feet and has been in operation since November 2007. The original IIT is now IIT Phase I, with additional IIT facilities built at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, and Hawaii.
Inside, an abandoned warehouse has been transformed into an embattled urban town using sets, projections, pyrotechnics, sounds, and smells. Marines train with a blend of real gear and virtual elements to create a highly immersive experience.
The IIT is designed to sharpen decision-making for riflemen and small unit leaders by speeding up the OODA loop—Observe, Orient, Decide, Act—and to inoculate trainees against the stress of close-quarters urban warfare.
Admiral Mike Mullen praised IIT as impressive, realistic, and valuable for preparing Marines and saving lives.
The project was built by the Office of Naval Research and PMTRASYS at the request of I Marine Expeditionary Force, to give Marines exposure to the sights, sounds, and smells of combat. It uses a mix of live environments and digital technology so trainees wear their standard combat gear during simulations.
In 2009, a second IIT-like facility opened at the Gruntworks in Stafford, Virginia, to test infantry equipment. The Future Immersive Training Environment (FITE) upgrade expanded IIT Phase I with better avatars, tracking, and after-action reviews, and added animatronic Afghan civilians. The FITE project concluded in fiscal year 2011.
This page was last edited on 3 February 2026, at 08:52 (CET).