The FCS is a radical departure from the previous Army concept of operations. It is described primarily as a system of systems and is a new way to fight. The new concept of operations is network centric, with information from a large number of different types of sensors passing through the network to the C2 vehicle. This diverse information must be understood, situational awareness achieved, and, tactical decisions based on it must be made. Thus, the new soldier manning the FCS C2 platform is given much more information, more diverse in nature; and therefore has a much more cognitively challenging job.

Embedded training (ET) seeks to provide effective training anytime, anywhere. "Embedded training must allow individual and collective training on a digital terrain representation of the mission area and permit mission planning and rehearsal in both stand-alone and networked modes while enroute."[FCS Mission Needs Statement (MNS) 2001] Instructors are required to perform several instructional tasks, including instructing the student on relevant information, presenting appropriate examples, debriefing the student, and assigning remedial instruction. However, an instructor will not usually be available in the field, anytime, anywhere.

To realize the benefits of ET systems will require that these tasks, described above, be performed by software. This is the realm of Intelligent Tutoring Systems (ITSs). The ultimate FCS ITS would be interfaced to the ET simulation so that it could run the student through simulated scenarios and monitor his actions. The ITS would be able to plan a tailored course of instruction for the student FCS operator which would include basic system operation, tactical decision-making, and the employment of FCS systems during combat.

This paper seeks to describe the challenges for ITSs as they apply to ET for the FCS C2 Vehicle and the inherent difficulties in trying to train anytime, anywhere.