In recent years, the documented decline of Fleet aviation readiness during the Inter-Deployment Training Cycle (IDTC) has become a major concern with Navy leadership. Plans to reverse the IDTC readiness decline include the increased use of simulators; however, Navy aircrew trainers in use today were acquired to support the Fleet Readiness Squadrons (FRS). FRS trainer fidelity (IE. visual, tactile, and motion) and capacity requirements were defined by both FRS curriculum and newly winged aviator needs. Fleet aviators are afforded simulator time based on FRS excess capacity and availability. Today's technology can provide affordable, Fleet-centric simulation training with expanded mission training/rehearsal capability and a multitude of visual enhancements and sensor cues. The Chief of Naval Operations (OPNAV) N889 Naval Aviation Training mission is to resource aviation manpower and training at the appropriate time and level to sustain optimum Naval Aviation readiness. Readiness attainment and tracking is most critical during the IDTC. N889 responded to the IDTC "lost readiness" challenge with a multidisciplinary team formed from government and industry representatives. The result was AIRPLAN 21, a strategy composed of eight focus areas: Aviation Maintenance Supply Readiness (AMSR), Aircrew Combat Training Continuum (ACTC), Flight Hour Program (FHP), Aircrew Career Continuation Pay (ACCP) Program, DEPOT Maintenance, Joint Tactical Combat Training System (JTCTS), Navy Aviation Pilot Production Improvement (NAPPI) Program and Fleet Aviation Simulation Training (FAST) Plan. These eight focus areas were developed to identify and track OPNAV programs that would directly impact IDTC readiness. The first seven elements were funded and are producing positive results. N889 and the Naval Aviation Training Strategic Advisory Group (NATSAG) are aggressively championing the unfunded FAST plan. These AIRPLAN 21 focus areas provide Navy Aviation's first attempt to gauge resource allocation success and provide a finite measurement of return on investment (ROI) in terms of readiness.

The FAST plan is based on the individual aircraft communities' Training and Readiness Matrix (T&RM) which, in turn, is tied to their individual Primary Mission Area (PMA) training requirements. The T&RM documents define specific training tasks along with their associated PMA readiness values. Completed training events, along with their resultant readiness values, are rolled up and closely tracked throughout the IDTC. Annual FAST technology assessments provide the requirements and acquisition communities with current aircrew training device technologies information that shows potential to improve readiness. OPNAV requirement officers, Fleet operations and training personnel, acquisition program managers, and simulator industry technical representatives all contribute to the development and update of the FAST Plan. An ongoing effort by the two major air type commanders, Commander Naval Air Force U S Atlantic Fleet (CNAL) and Commander Naval Air Force U S Pacific Fleet (CNAP), is the mapping of the Joint Mission Essential Task List (JMETL) to T&RM training events. This effort will further validate the T&RM and continue to refine simulator training devise fidelity requirements. Naval Aviation is now uniquely positioned to lead the Navy's overall effort to define the resource allocation strategies necessary to achieve and maintain optimal warfighting readiness.

Technology evolution and real world events move faster than the DoD budgetary process can accommodate. In reality, it may take years for a new simulator product or training capability to reach the individual aviator. However, AIRPLAN 21 and, in particular, the FAST plan for Fleet aircrew simulators provide the foundation to recapture "readiness lost," and the first viable metrics to measure ROI in terms of readiness for Naval Aviation resourcing decisions.