As the military continues to focus on reducing the overall cost of training while increasing the efficiency with which this training is provided -without sacrificing quality- Virtual Environment (VE) systems will become an increasingly attractive alternative. While current VE development efforts typically focus on supporting the individual user, rather than a broader, integrated collaborative environment, it is precisely this type of distributed, integrated and cross-platform environment within which the military typically operates and for which such VE systems must be developed. The VIRtual Technologies and Environments (VIRTE) research program was developed, through the Office of Naval Research, to support a solid Science and Technology base from which to expand this narrow development focus. VIRTE's research thrusts unite elements from the Modeling and Simulation communities with those from the Human Factors and Experimental Psychology fields in order to develop VE systems that are both technologically sound and performance enhancing, within a distributed virtual battlespace.

VIRTE's component systems are based on real-world operational requirements and are designed to easily transition. The systems include: a Virtual Environment Landing Craft, Air Cushion (VELCAC), a Virtual Environment Advanced Amphibious Assault Vehicle (VEAAAV), and a Virtual Environment Helicopter (VEHelo). These domains were selected precisely because military doctrine for Expeditionary Warfare including Marine Corps Strategy 21 and Sea Power 21 rely on elements from each of the real world vehicle analogues in order to be effective, thus forming a natural collaborative, integrated environment. The virtual systems are designed with the dual purpose of supporting training at the individual level, as well as at the level of distributed, team-based events, operating within a shared synthetic battlespace. This paper will describe the human centric process that was applied to the simulation development, the role of continuous training effectiveness evaluation, and key findings from this program that should be considered for future simulation development efforts.