Warfare with near-peer adversaries will require extraordinary integration between warfare domains. For the Navy, this means that commanders of air and sea platforms must coordinate sensors and weapons through informed, timely, and decisive tactical command. Cross-platform command training is rare, so are simulations to support it. Virtual simulations enable operators to execute tactics on one platform, but the cross-platform challenge requires training in command (not execution) between (not within) aircraft and surface vessels. Constructive simulations represent multi-platform battles, but they generally do not enable trainees to coordinate realistically over decisions or manage the execution of complex orders; nor do they typically measure decision making and its effects, or directly support well-specified instructional strategies. A system of instructional techniques and technologies was developed to train cross-platform teams in tactical decision making. This solution consists of: (1) an instructional strategy in which users from air and sea platforms view the battle, argue their tactical options, and issue orders; (2) a graphical user interface on which students issue those orders simply by specifying the asset(s) and tactic(s) to apply to emerging threats; (3) the Next Generation Threat System (NGTS) simulation of the battle assets (platforms, sensors, weapons) and the battlespace; (4) an executive agent that transforms trainee orders into simulator commands without human control; (5) an engine that measures and assesses decisions and their effects; and (6) an After Action Review (AAR) system that reports events over time, reports performance on decision skills, and recommends discussion points during AAR. The Navy is putting this technology to work in training in 2016. This paper describes the instructional strategy, aspects of the system that supports it, and feedback from users of the system.
A Tactical Decision Trainer for Cross-Platform Command Teams
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