PLAYAS TRAINING AND RESEARCH CENTERVersatility
It is a misconception that PTRC has one "range." Actually, it has a number of ranges: residential, Other Than American (OTA) venues, driving range, shooting range, explosives range. A number of configurations are possible, with some exercises overlapping.
Wired!
PTRC is equipped with an array of cameras in exercise houses, on streets, and at all venues.
Ranges to Meet Your Need
PTRC Ranges:
- Residential range
- Six Other Than American (OTA) venues
- Driving track
- Firing ranges
- Explosive range
- Airport
In 1994, when the Playas Training and Research Center (PTRC) was established by New Mexico Tech as a division of the Energetic Materials Research and Testing Center (EMRTC), it was an abandoned town. Yet the potential was there for utilizing curving streets, widely-spaced houses, and the desert spaces within the perimeter. 
The canvas was inked out for compositions of urban or rural landscapes: teaching environments, vehicle manipulation, explosives, combat scenarios, and breaching opportunities. Layering hue and form began to create better pictures of what potential customers might need.
Moving pieces arranged to order
Click picture for slide show
Links and News
First Responder Course Offerings (EMRTC)
PTRC Pictures (El Paso Times October 2010)
Counter-Insurgency Training Pictures (Las Cruces Sun-News October 2010)
"Not every difficult and dangerous thing is suitable for training, but only that which is conducive to success in achieving the object of our effort." -Epictetus