Main Subcommittee Category
Policy, Standards, Management, and AcquisitionHow would you label your submission?
AcademiaAbstract
The demands of today’s battlespace, whether the objective is achieving Multi-Domain Operations or integrating the newest technology into military systems and operations, require a degree of integration our forces have never experienced. The lines that once separated areas of operation are gradually disappearing as the aspirations of “any sensor, any shooter” are becoming a reality. The integration sought in the battlefield must also be experienced in the creation of operational concepts and training capabilities. Yet neither the live exercises, nor the simulation capabilities can present the full multi-domain environment. Live experiences are limited in time and space, and the availability of forces and equipment. Simulations, even as they have brought exciting capabilities to bear on training, lack capability in domains like cyber, electromagnetics, and human behavior—particularly as it is involved in complex decision-making. The challenge is best met by an integration of capabilities: wargaming in all its forms, simulation from engineering to mission level, and live exercises. Wargaming brings the complexity of human decision-making while simulation affords the ability to explore multiple sets of conditions flexibly, and finally, live exercises contribute a level of tactical performance not accessible in either simulations or wargames. This paper will explore the integration of capabilities in a methodology called an experimentation campaign; however, successful execution of the methodology presents a number of managerial challenges that will also be examined. The methodology is relatively easy, if complex. The real challenge is organizing, managing, and resourcing such a campaign in the absence of a joint coordinator and resource manager. The methodology, in part, is already used in acquisition—what we lack outside the more limited context of acquisition is policy and management.