While not as serious as the issue prompting Apollo 13’s famous quote, the challenges with LVC’s foundation are solvable with equal resolve. Specifically, the problems with the foundation stem from stagnation to process improvements, time, costs, and personnel required to establish and execute LVC events in common virtual environments (VE’s). The fundamental causal issues are varied, but include technical, procedural, and policy aspects; not to mention emerging operational requirements such as cyber warfare.
Events that connect multiple virtual, constructive and live assets with a diverse topology into a single structured environment have been conducted since at least 1992. While individual technologies within these LVC environments have dramatically improved over the past 23 years, the team processes and level of effort to establish and execute the LVC environment have not. Operation Blended Warrior (OBW) was established as a Special Event at Interservice/Industry, Training, Simulation, and Education Conference (I/ITSEC) 2015 for the purpose of identifying, documenting, and understanding the challenges faced in creating and implementing a large-scale, interoperable LVC environment, as well as for suggesting and advocating specific actions and overall solutions for the issues encountered.
This paper will discuss the development of the 2015 OBW LVC effort, the challenges uncovered during its conception and implementation, and a process for advocating solutions that leverage the I/ITSEC intellectual capital and National Training and Simulation Association (NTSA) advocacy experience. Key areas of discussion will include standards, technical integration, Information Assurance (IA)/Cybersecurity, International Traffic in Arms (ITAR)/Export Administration Regulations (EAR), integration and testing processes, and resources required.