Kill houses are designed to mimic residential, commercial and industrial spaces and are used to acquaint personnel with techniques to infiltrate (gaining access) structures and the methods used to overwhelm the target(s) in the quickest and most efficient manner.
[1] It is used to train soldiers and police for various urban combat scenarios while permitting them to use their full power service weapons.
[2][3][4] The first kill house in continental Europe was built in 1947 in a police school in Zbiroh, today's Czech Republic, by WW2 veterans of the Czechoslovak Army in the West that had been trained in Britain.
Virtual kill houses make use of audio and visual technology to create an interactive, if not video game like, experience.
These shoot houses usually only require a flat surface to display the scenarios, so wax ammunition is used in place of actual bullets.
Previously, the software used for the facility was part of America's Army, an online recruitment tool, which has been adapted for use in real training exercises.
[9] To avoid unwanted discharges and accidents, there is a set of guidelines, known as the cardinal rules, used to ensure a safe shoot house session.