The Theater Air Ground System (TAGS) elements have no persistent common synthetic battlespace in which to train. Because the TAGS includes the operational and tactical levels of war, it requires vertical and horizontal systems integration within components and between components. This has long been a training challenge due to limitations on exercises, ranges, and airspace allowing the live participation of air and ground forces. Planning, coordinating, tasking, controlling, and assessing can be the hardest aspects of Joint operations, yet we do not have the continuation training tools to enable us to do this regularly and affordably. Relying solely on large-scale Joint training events is too expensive, infrequent, and can lead to readiness shortfalls and operational risk.

This paper will define an initiative that will leverage systems integration of ongoing Joint Live, Virtual and Constructive simulation for TAGS training to include each Service's distributed command and control (C2) training network and the Joint National Training Capability (JNTC). It will focus on multi-Service efforts in developing a Joint Theater Air Ground Simulation System (JTAGSS) to link horizontal and vertical simulation elements of the C2 kill chain. This includes Joint Terminal Attack Controllers (JTACS), Joint Fires Observers (JFOs), Air Support Operations Centers (ASOC), Fire Support Cells (FSC) and eventually to Joint Air Operations Centers (JAOC) for persistent Joint and component training. In addition, JTAGSS would be designed to enable Joint integration of distributed links to Marine air ground C2, airborne C2, and close air support (CAS) platform simulators and simulation systems. This system would also include a recording and after action review (AAR) capability. The challenges to make this Joint team training a reality include adequate connectivity, sharable databases and scenarios, open Modeling and Simulation (M&S) architectures (standards compliance), common scheduling tools/processes and funding.