Battle Command 2010 (BC2010) is a tactical decision game used by Command Prep Course students at the Command General Staff College at Fort Leavenworth to play battalion level tactical scenarios in a dynamic, 3-D environment. The use of this simulation, however, still required the effort of an instructor to observe the student's actions and provide an after action review (AAR). It was determined that the addition of an Intelligent Tutoring System (ITS) to BC2010 would off-load the instructor from these duties and allow the students to execute scenarios without requiring an instructor for the AAR. This paper presents the lessons learned from that experience.
In BC2010, students playing a scenario must first read the mission background which includes the mission objectives and five paragraph order. They then develop a plan and input that plan into each unit under their control. They monitor the execution of their plan and the tactical situation in 2-D and 3-D views. Enemy units are only shown when they are sighted by friendly units. During the simulation the students can issue real-time commands.
The ITS is interfaced to BC2010 via the High Level Architecture (HLA.). Initially the student's plans are transmitted from BC2010 through HLA to the ITS, before simulation execution begins. These plans are critiqued by the ITS by comparing them to good and common bad plans for the scenario, as determined by a subject matter expert. The student receives this feedback and corrects the plan. Execution then begins. BC2010, through HLA, sends to the ITS both the locations and actions of vehicles and the commands sent by the student. The ITS evaluates the correctness of these actions, given the current circumstances, determines which tactical principles the student has correctly applied and which have been missed, and automatically assembles a debriefing. It can then recommend further study and additional scenarios to improve the student's weakest areas.