We are developing for STRICOM an Intelligent Tutoring System (ITS) for tank and mechanized infantry company commanders that teaches tactical decision making and the tactical use of FBCB2, a C4I system. These are complex cognitive tasks that normally require the availability of an instructor. This prevents the effective use of embedded systems for training in the field, where an instructor is not typically present. Our ITS interfaces to a tactical simulation and FBCB2 and assumes the duties normally performed by the instructor.

Instructors and experts both agree that company commanders need to improve their tactical decision-making and that this requires more tactical decision-making practice. Practice should include a mix of tactical planning and tactical execution in dynamic simulations that provide 3-D virtual terrain views. Additionally, FBCB2 training decays very quickly so that an embedded, scenario-based training aid would substantially increase combat readiness.

The ITS addresses these problems by teaching tactical decision-making and the proper tactical use of FBCB2 by presenting course material and examples, then testing the commander in tactical situations simulated by OneSAF Test Bed (OTB) and displayed in FBCB2. The ITS first evaluates the student's plan, entered as an FBCB2 overlay and provides an automatic critique. It then monitors the student's actions in the simulated scenario, assesses their correctness for the current situation, and debriefs the student by automatically assembling an After Action Review (AAR). It then infers the knowledge deficiencies of the student, and formulates a remedial instruction plan, which normally includes further course material, examples, and further exercises to practice and test the student's weaknesses.

This paper will first describe the requirements for an embedded training system, give the general capabilities of ITSs and explain why ITSs meet the embedded training requirements, describe the FBCB2/Tactical Decision Making ITS, list the lessons learned from this effort and conclude with work planned for the future. The ITS description begins with an overview, followed by a description of the ITS's functionality, followed by a description of each component, and ends with a description of how evaluation is automatically performed and modeled.