The rapid improvement of virtual, augmented, and mixed reality simulators has dramatically changed how the Air Force trains Airmen in their specific technical skill sets. Some examples are pilot training, air operations training, security forces training, battlefield training, vehicle training, and medical training to name a few. However, the use of AR/VR simulations for educational and developmental purposes for soft skills is far less developed in the military. The lack of attention and effort to develop a virtual simulator that can allow military personnel to develop leadership or soft skills, through a mixed reality or virtual simulation has proliferated a growing skills gap with consequential impact on the personnel and industry. Like technical skills training, leadership training also requires authentic, immersive, and real-world scenarios in a safe, repeatable environment. For the past three years, Air University has explored, developed, and initiated a project to fill in the leadership development skills gap using a mixed reality simulator known as a virtual leadership simulator (VLS). Because human interaction can be the most difficult to predict, the VLS uses both artificial intelligence (AI) and live actors (simulation specialists) to deliver powerful simulations that mimic the most challenging situations that military personnel will face in their role as leaders. Now, the development of leadership or soft skills can be practiced in the same manner the military trains personnel for hard skills training. Expanding the use of AR/VR simulations into the field of leadership development is an innovative approach shifting the paradigm from not just a technical skill set need but the need for leadership development as well. This paper outlines the 3-year project, its results, the educational learning theories behind the VLS, and why the VLS has been so effective in revolutionizing how the military uses virtual simulators.
Training
Virtual Leadership Simulator – The Missing Gap in Soft Skills Training
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