The Marines Step Up Training for the Complexities of Iraq

Marine Corps recruits train at Camp Pendleton Marine Corps Base.

The new Marine Corps effort represents a movement toward more training in Special Forces-style skills for conventional forces, says Mullen. "I've felt for years that all conventional forces are going to have to be more Special Forces-like," he says.

Coates says that the Marines have contacted the big Hollywood film studios, including DreamWorks, for help with the center. "The perfect thing would be like in the Star Trek movie, when you walk up to 3-D holograms." Additionally, marines just back from Iraq have suggested widening the streets, so that humvees can drive through, and creating higher ceilings for rooftop sniper scenarios. Jones plans to bring in gravel and more trash on the ground, too, to give troops a better feel for walking the streets.

In the meantime, the center helps marines hone attributes like good judgment and maturity, Mullen adds—and pinpoint where they need to be reinforced. Such training can also help keep troops safe. Mullen cites the death earlier this month of Navy SEALs going door to door in Iraq. "They were clearing houses," he says. "Just like this."