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Military Training Technology, Volume 18 Issue 2, April 2013
Citation preview
Image Generators O Military Police TrainingDesktop Virtualization
April 2013Volume 18, Issue 2
www.MT2-kmi.com
America's Longest Established Simulation & Training Magazine
Naval Trainer
Rear Adm. Donald P. Quinn
CommanderNaval Education and Training Command
PRSRT STDU.S. POSTAGE
PAIDLEBANON JCT., KY
PERMIT # 805
For more than three decades, Meggitt Training Systems has developed small arms training simulators and live fire field range and indoor solutions based on a fundamental principle – realistic, high quality training is essential for today’s ground forces. Meggitt’s leadership in simulation training solutions has produced numerous technical innovations. Most recently, our patented BlueFire® technology provides the industry’s first wireless, fully sensored simulated weapons, providing enhanced freedom for individual soldiers and teams to shoot, move, and communicate in a realistic training environment.
Proven reliable eFFecTive
RealViRtuallyReal
meggitttrainingsystems.com
Cover / Q&AFeatures
ReaR admiRal donald P. Quinn
CommanderNaval Education and Training
Command
16
April 2013Volume 18, Issue 2military training technology
Departments Industry Interview2 editoR’s PeRsPective14 data Packets26 team oRlando27 ResouRce centeR
28diRk schmidtSenior Vice President of Training & Simulation DivisionKrauss-Maffei Wegmann
13desktoP viRtualizationDesktop virtualization provides multiple student and instructor workstations from a centralized server environment, which eliminates physical workstations residing in an electronic classroom. By Steve vanderwerff
20image geneRatoRs Training in a virtual reality environment has become routine for modern military forces and law enforcement agencies. But behind the special effects, the key to these realistic simulations is image generator technology hardware and software. By nikki L. MaxweLL
23militaRy Police tRainingMPs are soldiers first and law enforcement officers second, and they need to be trained even more than public safety officials in order to perform that dual role. By karen kroLL
3
Insight from all of Program Executive Office for Simulation, Training, and Instrumentation’s (PEO STRI) project managers, focused on roles and responsibilities, challenges to be faced in 2013, and upcoming programs and initiatives. The Who’s Who section also includes a list of PEO STRI top 10 contracts from 2012 and a leadership pictorial spread of PEO STRI, which is the U.S. Army’s acquisition and contracting center of excellence for simulation, training and testing capabilities. In 2012
PEO STRI received $794.4 million in direct funding, which breaks down to $382.6 million in operations and maintenance, $166.5 million in research development test and evaluation and $245.3 in procurement. PEO STRI also received $1,408.7 million in customer funding and $413.8 million in foreign military sales. PEO STRI’s 2013 direct mission funding is currently held by continuing resolution to fiscal year 2012 funded levels. As of press time the 2014 numbers were still being reviewed on Capitol Hill.
sPecial section: Peo stRi PRoject management uPdate 2013
Since sequestration went into effect on March 1, 2013, the impact on the U.S. Army is significant. It could mean a reduction in 100,000 of the Army’s end strength including some Guard and Reserve, in addition to the drawdown of 89,000 set to occur over the next three years. General Raymond Odierno, Army Chief of Staff, recently testified to the House Committee on Appropriations and said that thousands of Army civilians could also lose their jobs. He added that 48 percent of the Army’s budget goes to personnel costs and that the cuts needed to be made.
“We have to stay in balance between end strength, readiness and modern-ization, and if we don’t do that we become a hollow force. Frankly, that’s going to happen pretty quickly,” he said.
These cuts mean the Army would have excess installation infrastructure, requiring the need for future rounds of base realignment and closure, said Odierno. In other words, main-taining unused facilities and bases would further drain the budget’s personnel, training and modernization dollars.
The across-the-board cuts of sequestration will also affect the Army’s readiness, said Odienro. The Army will have to cancel its combat center rotations where brigade combat teams (BCTs) are trained. The total number of BCTs cut is approximately 40 percent.
The Army has also reported a projected decrease in 10,000 to 14,000 recruits across the services this fiscal year as military entrance processing stations shut down one day per week.
Beginning in April, civilian entrance processing stations employees will be furloughed, said Lieutenant General Howard B. Bromberg, Army Deputy Chief of Staff. He added that this will also decrease the number of Army recruiters, scholarships and training at universities across the country and result in less advertising money for marketing campaigns to attract new soldiers.
From what I’m seeing in the media, the size of our nation’s Army is being decreased, the training that the soldiers we do have is being reduced, and the ability to attract and recruit new soldiers is also dwindling. While we may not have the doomsday situation that many in the media were projecting, the aforementioned scenario is not all that appealing and frankly, I find it a bit disturbing. If you have any questions regarding Military Training Technology, feel free to contact me at any time.
Recognized Leader Covering All Aspects of Military
Training ReadinessEditorial
EditorBrian O’Shea [email protected] EditorHarrison Donnelly [email protected] Editorial ManagerLaura Davis [email protected] EditorsSean Carmichael [email protected] Hobbes [email protected]. Bissell • Christian Bourge • Peter Buxbaum Henry Canaday • Erin Flynn Jay • Karen KrollNikki Maxwell • Kenya McCullum
art & dEsign
Art DirectorJennifer Owers [email protected] Graphic DesignerJittima Saiwongnuan [email protected] Designers Scott Morris [email protected] Papineau [email protected] Paquette [email protected] Waring [email protected]
advErtising
Associate PublisherLindsay Silverberg [email protected]
KMi MEdia groupPublisherKirk Brown [email protected] Executive OfficerJack Kerrigan [email protected] Financial OfficerConstance Kerrigan [email protected] Vice PresidentDavid Leaf [email protected] McKaughan [email protected] Castro [email protected] & Communications ManagerHolly Winzler [email protected] AssistantCasandra Jones [email protected] Show CoordinatorHolly Foster [email protected]
opErations, CirCulation & produCtion
Operations AdministratorBob Lesser [email protected] & Marketing AdministratorDuane Ebanks [email protected] Gill [email protected] SpecialistsRaymer Villanueva [email protected] Walker [email protected]
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Military training tEChnology
Volume 18, Issue 2 • April 2013
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U.S Army ProgrAm ExEcUtivE officE for SimUlAtion, trAining And inStrUmEntAtion
Military Training Technology
Top
Contracts10
Business Operations:Ken Wheeler
Project Support:Traci Jones
PM TRADE:Col. Mike Flanagan
PM ConSim:Col. Wayne Epps
PM Field OPS:Russ McBride
PM CATT:Col. Harry Buhl
PM ITTS: Col. Sharlene
Donovon
Acquisition Center Director/
PARC: Joe Giunta
Program Name: STOC II- Multiple Award IDIQ Contractor: Multiple Estimated Value: $17.5 billion
Program Name: Warfighter FOCUS Contractor: Raytheon Technical Services Company LLC Estimated Value: $11.2 billion
Program Name: Flight School XXI Contractor: Computer Sciences Corporation Estimated Value: $1.5 billion
Program Name: Range Radar Replacement Program (RRRP) Contractor: General Dynamics C4 Systems Inc. Estimated Value: $538.8 million
Program Name: Instrumented Ranges-DigitalRange Training Systems (IR/DRTS) Contractor: Lockheed Martin Corporation Estimated Value: $450 million
Program Name: Common Army Ranges and Target Systems (CARTS)- Multiple Award IDIQ Contractor: Multiple Estimated Value: $400 million
Program Name: Urban Operations Training Systems (UOTS) Contractor: Lockheed Martin Corporation Estimated Value: $287 million
Program Name: Systems Engineering and Technical Assistance (SETA) Contractor: Electronic Consulting Services Inc. Estimated Value: $270.5 million
Program Name: Synthetic Environment Core-CommonVirtual Environment Management Contractor: Science Applications International Corporation Estimated Value: $223.5 million
Program Name: Operational Test-Tactical EngagementSystem (OT-TES) Contractor: Argon ST Inc. Estimated Value: $251 million
PEO STRI PROjEcT ManagEMEnT UPdaTE
Insight from all of Program Executive Office
for Simulation, Training and Instrumentation’s
(PEO STRI) project managers, focused on roles
and responsibilities, challenges to be faced in
2013, and upcoming programs and initiatives.
The Who’s Who section also includes a list of
PEO STRI top 10 contracts from 2012 and a
leadership pictorial spread of PEO STRI, which is
the U.S. Army’s acquisition and contracting center
of excellence for simulation, training and testing
capabilities. In 2012 PEO STRI received $794.4
million in direct funding, which breaks down to
$382.6 million in operations and maintenance,
$166.5 million in research development test and
evaluation and $245.3 in procurement. PEO STRI
also received $1,408.7 million in customer fund-
ing and $413.8 million in foreign military sales.
PEO STRI’s 2013 direct mission funding is cur-
rently held by continuing resolution to fiscal year
2012 funded levels. As of press time 2014 num-
bers are still being reviewed on Capitol Hill.
2013
DPEO:Rob Reyenga
(SES)
PEO:Dr. James Blake
(SES)
www.MT2-kmi.com4 | MT2 18.2
PM CATT UPdATeU.S. Army Colonel Harry Buhl
Project Manager for Combined Arms Tactical Trainers
Q: What are PM CATT’s roles and respon-
sibilities?
A: PM CATT provides responsive immersive
virtual training simulation, gaming and mission
rehearsal capabilities to meet service, agency
and combatant commander needs. This scope
includes tactical trainers for maneuver, gunnery,
planning, maintenance and medical training.
Across this scope, we have the core acquisition
responsibilities of delivering capabilities at the
right cost and volume points as part of the broad-
er Army set of needs. In the past, those cost and
volume points were battalion sets of trainers for
every installation and gunnery trainers for every
battalion. Today’s cost and volume points have
us looking at embedded training interfaces, in-
teractive mission rehearsal, augmented reality,
distributed virtual training and whatever technol-
ogy and innovative creativity can package. While
the programmatic variables may change in mag-
nitude, our sacred trust to provide tough, realistic
training cannot be broken. Our goal is to ensure
no soldier experiences a situation for real without
first training for that situation in a virtual environ-
ment.
Q: What are the primary challenges PM
CATT will face in 2013?
A: The new year presents several challenges and
opportunities for PM CATT. With changes in the
Army’s training strategy, there will be increased
capabilities required in the gunnery and maneu-
ver portions of the CATT portfolio. Concurrently,
ensuring that fielded systems continue to keep
pace with service systems will be a constant
pressure. Opportunity will be evident as the
rapid growth in gaming technology and virtual
hardware enable cost-effective upgrades to key
capabilities—reducing costs and increasing ca-
pability. We also have the opportunity to posture
legacy programs that trained the Army from the
Cold War through Operations Enduring Freedom
and Iraqi Freedom as a hedge for the next gen-
eration of capabilities that technology and cre-
ativity can provide to the Army. These programs
will sustain our formations and soldiers in the
foundational training we will do for many years
to come. They will provide the catalyst to bring
collective virtual training to commanders and sol-
diers in high-risk and high-volume missions that
is as tough and realistic as possible.
Q: How will conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan
coming to an end impact PM CATT?
A: In delivering capabilities that enable the new
National Military Strategy [NMS] and the Army
Campaign Plan [ACP], PM CATT and industry
must work toward a greater synergy than has
been achieved previously. Within the bounds of
law and ethics, we must both understand the
long-term vision spelled out by the NMS and
ACP. This understanding should lower risk and
encourage industry to invest in ways that are
complementary to the limited resources the De-
partment of Defense has available. The end goal
is to get the best capabilities and solutions possi-
ble. We must do this while encouraging competi-
tive innovation to achieve currently unattainable
capabilities in areas of risk. I believe this philoso-
phy has a second benefit. While providing for the
economic success of industry in our competitive
environment, it also girds the broader economy
with information and opportunity through what
Adam Smith might have called an “invisible
hand” of risk-based investing in the continued
preeminent capabilities of our Army.
Q: What were the biggest highlights for PM
CATT in 2012?
A: Last year was a tremendously successful
era for Team CATT. We began fielding the first
immersive, virtual, dismounted infantry trainer
for Army use. The Dismounted Soldier Training
System is demonstrating fantastic results in pro-
viding safe training of very dangerous situations
without the overhead of live training.
Similarly, we started the fielding of Virtual
Clearance Training Suites, which have become
a highly utilized training tool for route and area
clearance missions across the Army.
Our Close Combat Tactical Trainer team
awarded a $115 million concurrency contract to
keep our simulators on par with the tactical ve-
hicles they simulate.
Our product managers also expanded the
portfolio in support of other services and agen-
cies. The nexus and cost-benefit of CATT pro-
viding virtual simulation capabilities was a great
benefit to the Air Force with the Boom Operator
Simulator System. The Veterans Health Admin-
istration, another nontraditional PM CATT cus-
tomer, executed nearly $28 million in acquisition
and contracting.
In all, 2012 was a very busy year with tremen-
dous success. Given the uncertain and complex
world, coupled with the ever-increasing demands
for tough, realistic, virtual training, this year looks
as exciting and rewarding. Giddy up!
Q: What is the long-term vision for PM
CATT?
A: The pace of technology and the demands
for ever-higher fidelity simulations will keep us
performing across the development and produc-
tion realms. The Army is looking with even more
urgency for innovative capabilities to provide sol-
diers the edge they need against an evolving and
adaptive threat.
Combatant commanders need immediately
proficient units to execute complex plans. This
has created a focus at the squad level and at the
brigade level for synergy of overmatch. Squads
need training capabilities to enable their employ-
ment as a decisive force. Brigades need econom-
ical, but effective, collective, multifunctional and
multi-echelon training to enable their employment
for unified land operations.
PM CATT, in concert with all Army stakehold-
ers, is developing strategies and hedge options to
bring the best capability to bear on these critical,
national demands. We will see more connectivity
across the training domains—cooperating even
more closely with live targets and constructive
project management offices.
We will also be breaking some of the tra-
ditional approaches. PM CATT will accept and
manage risk to provide capability that is the best
available to meet soldiers and commanders’
needs.
Q: How does PM CATT stay current with
the consistent advancement of simulation
technology?
A: We have a great relationship with the Simula-
tion and Training Technology Center. As we align
our requirements with that of our cooperative
PEOs, we identify science, technology and engi-
neering limits that must be matured to make them
feasible in our solutions at the right points in time.
This is primarily geared toward driving technology
rather than waiting for technology to appear.
While we may not have the volume to in-
dependently mature technology arteries, if we
have the military capability foci correct, we can
www.MT2-kmi.com MT2 18.2 | 5
PM Field OPS UPdATeRuss McBride
Project Manager for Field Operations
Q: What are PM Field Ops’ roles and re-
sponsibilities?
A: PM Field Ops’ mission is to provide integrated
training systems sustainment and training servic-
es worldwide for the U.S. Army, Marines, Navy,
Air Force, special operations and multinational
coalition forces. PM Field Ops maintains and
operates the U.S. Army’s training aids, devices,
simulators and simulations [TADSS] at home
stations, institutions, combat training centers
and deployed locations worldwide. Additionally,
PM Field Ops provides instructional and training
exercise support to U.S. uniformed services and
coalitions services.
Q: What are the primary challenges PM
Field Ops will face in 2013?
A: The major challenge to PM Field Ops is the
impact of potential sequestration and a year-
long continuing resolution impacting Army
training, our civilian workforce and our contrac-
tor workforce. The implication of these budget-
ary decisions is that training would cease or be
drastically curtailed for many elements of the
Army supported by PM Field Ops.
Q: What are the biggest highlights for PM
Field Ops 2012?
A: A significant highlight for PM Field Ops in
2012 was the pace of contract execution with
no interruption of training support or services.
We continued to grow our support to other ser-
vices, specifically special forces and the Marine
Corps. PM Field Ops executed $1.4 billion on
contract in fiscal year 2012, which is half of what
PEO STRI placed on contract last fiscal year.
Q: How was Field OPS involved in South-
west Asia in 2012?
A: PM Field Ops supports many training
operations directly in theater. Specifically,
PM Field Ops provides TADSS and range
support for ARCENT in Camp Buehring,
Kuwait; training for the Iraqi Army under a
State Department mission; training for the
Afghanistan National Army under a NATO
training mission to include pilot training and
counter-IED training; and training device and
simulator sustainment to U.S. forces in Af-
ghanistan.
Q: What are the top three things PM
Field Ops needs from industry?
A: Now more than ever, we seek flexibility,
responsiveness and innovation as we wrestle
with potential sequestration and year-long
continuing resolution impacts. We continu-
ally look for competitive pricing and partner-
ships in this tough fiscal environment.
PM iTTS UPdATeU.S. Army Colonel Sharlene Donovan
Project Manager for Instrumentation, Targets and Threat Simulators
Q: What is the PM ITTS mission and vision?
A: Project Manager for Instrumentation, Targets and Threat Simulators’ [PM ITTS] mission is to provide and operate effective and relevant test, training and threat capabilities in support of ser-vicemembers and other customers. Our vision is to be the leader for instrumentation, target and threat system enterprise solutions.
Q: What are some highlights for PM ITTS from 2012?
A: During the past year, PM ITTS has been very successful in a wide range of achievements.
The Threat Systems Management Office was granted and now maintains Army-certified opposing force computer network operators and DoD-certified “Red Team” personnel with the
primary mission to support the acquisition and testing communities in DoD- and Army-level ex-ercises and events.
The Instrumentation Management Office [IMO], with support from the PEO STRI Acquisi-tion Center, awarded the Range Radar Replace-ment Program [RRRP] contract to replace anti-quated 1950s- and 1960s-era instrumentation radars located at White Sands Missile Range at Aberdeen Test Center in the Redstone Test Center and Yuma Test Center. Awarded in June 2012, the contract has an overall ceiling value of $385.5 million. For their efforts, the RRRP team won the 2012 PEO STRI “STAR” award for con-tract execution.
Within our Target Management Office, the Aerial Target Flight Services Team received the DoD Value Engineering Achievement Award. The team’s innovative approach to convert Air
Force high-speed targets for Army use resulted in a fiscal year 2012 cost avoidance exceeding $10.4 million, including an Air Force savings of $1 million.
All three of PM ITTS’ management offices provided support to the Network Integration Eval-uations [NIEs] 12.1 and 12.2. This included robust and scalable threat electronic warfare and com-puter network operations capabilities.
Q: How does PM ITTS support the soldier?
A: PM ITTS develops systems for Army Test and Evaluation Command and the Office of the Secretary of Defense Test Resource Manage-ment Center [TRMC] that are used for testing equipment and weapon systems ultimately des-tined to be fielded to the soldier. Every major Army test event uses instrumentation, targets and
drive the unique technology and engineering
that will have the highest military payoff. In
our product lines, the commercial sector will
mature some technologies like gaming, pro-
cessing and graphics faster than the govern-
ment could ever influence. On that parallel
path, we need to ensure surveillance and co-
operation to leverage this great free-market
menu of innovation and capability.
www.MT2-kmi.com6 | MT2 18.2
PM TRAde UPdATeU.S. Army Colonel Mike Flanagan
Project Manager for Training Devices
Q: What are PM TRADE’s roles and respon-
sibilities?
A: PM TRADE is responsible for the development,
production and fielding of training devices to sup-
port collective training in the live environment at
homestations and the combat training centers.
Our primary customer is the U.S. Army soldier, but
we also deliver training solutions to the other ser-
vices and our allies [18 current international cases
in Europe, the Middle East and South America].
Q: What are the primary challenges PM
TRADE will face in 2013?
A: The current fiscal environment is the great-
est challenge facing PM TRADE in 2013. Along
with the rest of DoD, we are focused on continu-
ing to garner efficiencies that are in keeping with
the Better Buying Power initiatives that DoD has
implemented. In fact, at PEO STRI we have a
command-level annual award that is presented to
the top teams in the categories of contract execu-
tion and program execution that is based upon
the Better Buying Power principles as the criteria.
This past year, PM TRADE’s Live Training Trans-
formation [LT2] team was recognized as the top
PEO STRI team for program execution—a team
that has implemented initiatives such as common
components reuse across programs, live training
standards development with industry participation,
and technology insertion; to date, this approach
has resulted in a $400 million cost avoidance
across multiple programs.
Q: What are the biggest highlights for PM
TRADE in 2012?
A: The PM TRADE workforce and what we all do
is incredible and amazes me daily as we serve our
soldiers and our Army; there are many highlights
for 2012. My space is limited, so here are two at
the top. One, as we move more from a deployed
force and back to training at our combat training
centers, we spearheaded a Combat Training Cen-
ter-Instrumentation System acquisition competi-
tion effort in 2012 that was valued at $152 million
and was one of PEO STRI’s top priority acquisi-
tion efforts in 2012. That effort is now on contract,
and we are moving out to upgrade our CTCs with
a modern instrumentation system that will better
enhance soldier training. Two, the aforementioned
LT2 program recognized at the PEO STRI level for
program execution was also recognized at the
Army level for the same in an awards ceremony
hosted by the Honorable Heidi Shyu for its impacts
across Army training.
Q: How is the Army Live Training Campaign
Plan progressing as far as supporting the
Army Training Concept 2012-2020?
A: In keeping with the Army Training Concept
2012-2020, the PM TRADE Army Live Training
Campaign Plan is aligned. We are maximizing sci-
ence and technology development initiatives such
as our location of miss and hit technology that
provides soldiers’ qualification with their weapons
on targetry ranges, allowing them to qualify with
their weapons in half a day where in the past it was
a three-day event. In addition, as we move more
to homestation training, our Homestation Instru-
mentation Training System [HITS] is being fielded
across the Army. The HITS concept is aligned with
the 2012 Army Posture Statement produced by
the U.S. Army Training and Doctrine Command
that states, “In times of diminishing resources, we
must maximize homestation training capabilities.”
Q: How does PM TRADE work with industry
to meet its objectives?
A: PM TRADE’s work with industry is paramount
to our success in delivering live training capabilities
to soldiers. Each industry partner is an extension
of our total team toward that full success. Our Live
Training Portal (https://www.lt2portal.org/) is our
outreach for sharing information with our industry
partners. In the past two years, portal registration
has increased 400 percent with more than 100
collaboration sites. Additionally, I utilize our Live
Training Portal to announce our frequent and re-
curring industry breakfasts to provide the “State
of PM TRADE,” while at the same time garnering
their respective inputs. Later this year, we will in-
vite industry stakeholders to join us in developing
two new standards for live training devices that we
will incorporate next year in new solicitations. This
collaboration is even more important in the current
fiscal environment. The more industry knows and
understands our vision for live training, the better
they can focus their scarce resources to meet our
training needs.
threats developed and operated by PM ITTS. Our team is a huge contributor to ensuring the Army is
the best-equipped force in the world.
Q: What are some of the major projects PM
ITTS is engaged in?
A: The PM office continues to provide a cyber-
threat capability and create strategic partner-
ships with the cyber community. As the service
execution activity, PM ITTS is working closely with
TRMC to complete transition of the National Cy-
ber Range from the Defense Advanced Research
Projects Agency to DoD.
As mentioned previously, IMO will procure
a number of fly-out radars, close-in radars and
radar operation consoles from 2015 through
2019 via the RRRP contract awarded last year.
In 2012, IMO procured and delivered more than
100 velocity radars to Army Test Centers.
In support of TRMC and Central Test and
Evaluation Investment Program, PM ITTS is con-
ducting market research for new optical tracking
systems under the Advanced Range Test Instru-
mentation System [ARTIS] program. The ARTIS
timeline calls for a contract award in 2014 and
initial deployment by 2017. The new optical track-
ing systems will come in a small, easily deployed
model that can turn quickly for testing ground-
based tests, and a larger model to accommodate
bigger instruments for tracking aircraft, UAVs, bal-
listic missiles and aerial intercepts.
The Joint Urban Test Capability [JUTC] is
another major TRMC development project being
executed by IMO. JUTC, with a planned 2014
contract award, includes an urban environment
and test infrastructure to support developmental
and operational testing.
Q: What is PM ITTS role in cyber testing?
A: PM ITTS performs total life cycle management
for the acquisition, operations and sustainment
of validated opposing forces cyber capabilities
that includes tools, teams and operationally re-
alistic environments supporting Army and DoD
exercises and events such as the ongoing series
of NIEs.
www.MT2-kmi.com8 | MT2 18.2
www.gdit.com
General Dynamics IT is a key member of the Warrior Training Alliance and ready to meet PEO STRI’s training, education and coaching needs. Offering the broadest range of training systems and solutions available, General Dynamics IT continues to lead the way, enhancing combat readiness for any mission, in any situation.
•ExerciseManagementandSupport•ConstructiveEducation•TrainingRelatedAncillarySupport• InstructionalSupport•TADSSSustainment
TEACHTEACH
Creative, Effective
PM COnSiM UPdATeU.S. Army Colonel Wayne Epps
Project Manager for Constructive Simulation
Q: What are PM Constructive Simulation’s
[ConSim] roles and responsibilities?
A: PM ConSim strives to be the lead project
management office for relevant integrated and
interoperable simulation products in support of
soldier readiness and the nation. To do so, we
develop, test and field constructive simulations
and provide integrated simulations, simulators
and specialized solutions for the warfighter.
In order to meet the intent of PM ConSim’s
mission, my role as the project manager is to
scan the strategic horizon of both DoD and in-
dustry to ensure we seek and deliver the most
appropriate technological training capabilities to
our soldiers to continue honing their skills and
remain ready to execute any mission our nation
requires of them.
My daily responsibilities include defining the
scope of project work; leading the operational,
financial and technological aspects of the work-
force; and coordinating the efforts of industry
partners, government engineers, logisticians,
contracting officers and others. Furthermore, I
assess and determine risk management proce-
dures for portfolio programs; develop and foster
stakeholder relationships; and provide guid-
ance that is synchronized with the Army train-
ing strategy, along with overall responsibility for
operating within limits of cost and schedule and
ensuring adequate performance of assigned
products in order to develop and integrate sim-
ulations in support of DoD operations.
Q: What are the primary challenges PM
ConSim will face in 2013?
A: The challenges in 2013 include the typical
obstacles that are intrinsic with the stated roles
and responsibilities; however, this year adds
additional aspects. The continued troop draw-
down in Iraq and Afghanistan yields an influx
of troops at home station. Furthermore, the fi-
nancial budgetary issues that currently grip our
nation exacerbate the traditional management
concerns. With an anticipated reduction in re-
sources, funds and personnel, the challenge
will be providing the desired level of products
and product support. Following the reduction in
resources, prioritization of efforts becomes diffi-
cult in many cases. The art will be balancing the
competing requirements under more stringent
financial constraints. Other challenges include
development of new terrain databases based
on training readiness, simulations meeting the
needs of the various M&S communities—in-
cluding analysis, experimentation, testing, ac-
quisition, training, intelligence and operations/
plans—and finally developing or enhancing
constructive simulations that support cyber
requirements and functionality, and cloud re-
quirements as they emerge.
Q: What are the biggest highlights for PM
ConSim 2012?
A: I’d like to share a number of highlights, the
first being under the One Semi-Automated Forc-
es [OneSAF] program. The OneSAF program
successfully accomplished several primary mis-
sions during the year. One of the most notewor-
thy accomplishments was the software release
of OneSAF version 5.1.1. This particular version
of OneSAF supported several events such as
an Indirect fire protection capability analysis of
alternatives operational benefits analysis con-
ducted by the Army Materiel Systems Analysis
Activity, and the Simulation Experiment for Gain
and Maintain Operational Access event held at
Fort Benning, Ga.
The program’s various releases support
more than 200 customers throughout the U.S.
The program has a diverse customer base and
also releases versions to other countries as well.
OneSAF released a domestic version [5.5] and
an international customer version [5.0] and was
later used as the “simulation of choice” for the
Network Integration Evaluation [NIE] 13.1, at
Fort Bliss, Texas. As the base simulation it helps
support the unit’s training and rehearsals. The
OneSAF program also conducted co-developer
user events with the Marines and Space and
Missile Defense Command.
Because the program’s stakeholders want
to gain more information about what the pro-
gram is doing and also share new technologies
that they are developing, the program hosted its
first Co-Developer Technical Exchange Meeting,
September 4-7, 2012, in Orlando, Fla. This meet-
ing, attended by 175 participants, introduced a
wealth of information such as technical discus-
sions, co-developer briefs, demonstrations and
version release updates.
Another program, the Joint Land Compo-
nent Constructive Training Capability [JLCCTC],
also made great strides last year. The JLCCTC
Multi Resolution Federation-Warfighters’ Simu-
lation was successfully used during 11 crucial
Army exercises during 2012. Six warfighter exer-
cises were at the brigade level supported by the
Mission Command Training Program, two were
at the division level with the 2ID in Korea support-
ed by the Korea Battle Simulation Center, and for
the first time, three exercises at the Corps level—
two with III Corps at Fort Hood, and one in Japan
supporting the Yama Sakura annual exercise.
JLCCTC released an request for proposal for
a full and open competition, and source selec-
tion activities are underway; anticipated award is
the second quarter of fiscal year 2013.
In addition, the Army Low Overhead Train-
ing Toolkit was validated and fielded four initial
operational capability components to centers of
excellence and mission training centers.
The Warrior Training Integration team man-
ages the Live, Virtual, Constructive Integrating
Architecture [LVC-IA] program of record, which
successfully completed its government accep-
tance test [GAT] and a first user assessment
[FUA] at Fort Hood. The five-week GAT verified
the system and capability was developed ac-
cording to user requirements. The three-week
user-led FUA event resulted in CAC-T validating
the LVC-IA system for training.
PM ConSim also established an agreement
with RDECOM’s STTC to begin execution of the
ConSim Risk Reduction Test Bed [RRTB] initia-
tive. This effort is designed to ensure maximum
reuse of common components and to mitigate
risks. The RRTB will facilitate identifying capability
gaps across the entire ConSim portfolio of pro-
grams, and leverage existing research and devel-
opment efforts to close the gaps.
Other notable accomplishments in 2012
include the Battle Command Training Center-
Equipment Support program completing its fur-
niture, fixtures and equipment installation at the
United States Army Central Shaw Air Force Base
and at Fort Bragg and Fort Bliss. The Intelligence
Electronic Warfare Tactical Proficiency Trainer
[IEWTPT] program fielded its technical control
cell [TCC] capability to two new sites—Korea
Battle Simulation Center and the Army’s National
Training Center—and upgraded the TCC system
at all fielded locations. In addition, IEWTPT de-
veloped and fielded new signals intelligence and
geospatial intelligence training capabilities and
scenarios for its human intelligence control cell.
Another team, the Synthetic Environment
Core [SE Core] group, facilitates a robust capabil-
ity to better train our soldiers, from the individual
crewmember all the way to the senior staff officer,
by building common components for all confed-
erates. Examples of these common components
are common terrain for systems to operate on,
common semi-automated forces ensuring all
behaviors of the computer-generated forces be-
have tactically and doctrinally correct, and com-
mon visual models projecting a common scene
in the virtual and gaming domain. Commonality is
the key to ensuring a better fair fight environment
so all participants meet their training objectives
while expanding the scope and participants of an
exercise.
To ensure all of the information flows properly
between systems, SE Core developed commu-
nication gateways that enabled the information to
flow freely and completely, painting the complete
picture on all systems. Getting the terrain data
populated on the Mission Command or “real
world” systems has been a challenge. SE Core
has successfully stimulated many of the Mission
Command systems used in simulation exercises.
SE Core accomplishments have provided
new capabilities and enhancements to our
training environment, resulting in new systems
which were not developed with simulation in-
teroperability in mind into the confederation of
simulations systems. SE Core is charged with
the challenge of enhancing current capabilities
and providing enhancements to our existing
systems. SE Core’s value has been proven on
numerous occasions and will continue to be a
training multiplier for the foreseeable future.
And finally, the last program I’d like to men-
tion is the Simulation to Command, Control,
Communications, Computers and Intelligence
Interoperability, which conducted multi-service
and department work on geospatial issues and
begun a value of simulation study to determine
actual value of training with simulations for col-
lective training.
Q: How does ConSim adapt to advancing
technologies?
A: I recognize that there is a cost associated
with looking for advancing technologies. The
cost to explore and evaluate, not implement,
combined with the cost the program office in-
curs by allowing individuals to take time to look
at technologies, is worth every cent. This in-
vestment of money and time goes beyond the
typical “it’s part of the job” efforts of which we
are accustomed. We must include our industry
partners, giving them sufficient insight to long-
term efforts, so they can assist in the pursuit
for advancing technologies utilizing their own
investment capital.
Also, strategic alliances must be forged with
research organizations. We need to continue to
do a better job of getting our expected needs
out to organizations in advance of their planning
cycle. Industry partners need to be motivated
to use associate contractor agreements as well
as other contractually appropriate vehicles for
sharing technologies.
Possessing an understanding of where our
programs are going will enable us to look for the
right technologies. Each program should have
an advancing technologies roadmap, where at-
tention is paid to where we want to go and when
we are to be alerted about emerging technolo-
gies that we could leverage in accomplishing our
goals and objectives. The challenge is to quickly
determine the efforts that are worthy of pursu-
ing, as there are a lot of technologies that poten-
tially have promise, but we have to know when
to cease that pursuit with innovations that are
limited or premature. Overall leadership com-
mitment and involvement is essential to prudent
exploration efforts to discern which advanced
technologies will provide the best return on our
investment, with regards to meeting schedules
and maintaining current budgets.
Q: With conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan
coming to an end, how will ConSim adapt
its training systems as theaters of opera-
tions change?
A: In light of our leaders’ decision to draw
down troops in Afghanistan and Iraq, and the
return of those troops to the U.S., there will
be more competition for the limited physical
training space available. Combine that with a
reduction in the defense budget and, logically,
the increased use of PM ConSim products and
capabilities that save training resources —time,
money, fuel, etc. —affords soldiers an eco-
nomical, safe and relevant training opportu-
nity to hone their task proficiency. PM ConSim
provides the technical solutions to integrating
identified existing Army training devices to
achieve multi-echelon brigade combat team
and below training. This capability will pro-
vide home stations the ability to link some of
its existing live, virtual and constructive training
systems to expand the training space available.
The ConSim strategy includes a spectrum
of training capabilities that take a commander
and staff from a crawl level proficiency to walk
and run levels, thus facilitating home station
training that ensures successful training when
and if the units go to the combat training cen-
ters, and ultimately when and if they deploy to
execute their wartime functions.
PM ConSim continually reviews stated
requirements for system developments and
improvements to limit training gaps and un-
warranted overlaps. This is significant in order
to avoid expending resources unnecessar-
ily, while facilitating soldier training. As budget
execution complexities increase and our Army
transitions to a smaller, more versatile force,
it will necessitate PM ConSim approaches to
continue to save training time, money, fuel and
other resources in support of the integrated and
blended training environments. We strive to as-
sist stakeholders in understanding the architec-
tural decisions aimed to reduce costs and im-
proving training effectiveness. For example, the
architectural decision to promulgate the prod-
uct OneSAF will make database and behavior
updates easier and faster, thus providing the
soldier a relevant integrated and interoperable
training event. O
www.MT2-kmi.com12 | MT2 18.2
The commander of Naval Education and Training Command (NETC) recently visited the Center for Naval Aviation Technical Train-ing Unit (CNATTU) Keesler Air Force Base to see firsthand how the learning site has successfully implemented a virtual desktop initiative (VDI).
Rear Admiral Don Quinn, NETC commander, was briefed by Com-mander Jonathan Vorrath, CNATTU Keesler’s commanding officer, about the learning site implementation of VDI and how they use it to train students.
VDI is a five-year plan to deploy the VDI to more than 36,000 daily users and will replace 80 percent of the more than 23,000 desktop computers in more than 2,500 classrooms at 68 learning sites around the world.
Desktop virtualization provides multiple student and instructor workstations from a centralized server environment, which elimi-nates physical workstations residing in an electronic classroom.
“CNATTU Keesler is the first learning site to implement the vir-tual desktop initiative, which will expand throughout the NETC do-main,” said Quinn. “We have thousands of computers. To keep pace with current technology, security risks and software, each computer currently has to be updated. When you virtualize a classroom, you shift from multiple updates to an update of a single server. In this case, we went from 152 computers to three servers. Now when we update,
we only have to do it three times instead of 152. It’s a huge time and money saver.”
Besides being a money saving venture, Quinn said he is also pleased by how VDI saves electrical power and time, and benefits the students.
“There’s also a power issue—instead of running 152 desktops we now have only 152 monitors and three servers. So we save on electric-ity, manpower and time,” Quinn said. “In terms of mission effective-ness, the most important thing is speed. It’s so much better for the students. It’s reliable, it’s faster, and instructors now spend less time fighting technology and more time teaching. It is clear that once we incorporate this change in more than 2,500 electronic classrooms con-taining more than 23,000 computers, that this is a huge deal for NETC and the Navy.”
Spearheaded by NETC’s information technology services depart-ment, the initiative stemmed from a mission imperative requiring cost-effective delivery of training content. O
Steve Vanderwerff is with Naval Education and Training Com-mand Public Affairs
For more information, contact MT2 Editor Brian O’Shea at [email protected] or search our online archives
for related stories at www.mt2-kmi.com.
Navy commaNder sees beNefits after traiNiNg ceNter visit.
by steve vaNderwerff
For Aptima, Inc., Military Training Technology is the precise vehicle for delivering maximum marketing ROI.
Aptima’s scientists study how humans think and learn in today’s technology-rich networked environments, using that knowledge to solve problems and provide solutions in defense, homeland security, healthcare, aviation and cyber security.
Contact Lindsay Silverberg at [email protected] or 301.670-5700 for MT2 Resource Center sizes and rates
Michael J. Paley, President, Aptima, Inc.
“Aptima has been advertising in Military Training Technology’s Resource Center since 2009. KMI’s Resource Center enables us to affordably reach our target audience with more frequency. The impact? Visibility that’s truly helped our business, with customers and prospects recognizing and mentioning us from MT2.”
www.MT2-kmi.com MT2 18.2 | 13
Data PacKetS
Vehicle Dynamics Software
One of the major new features of Mechanical Simulation’s BikeSim is the capability to “linearize” the vehicle math model to support classical analysis methods often used with simpler models. A common application for this feature is to identify vibration modes of the vehicle that can cause stability and safety problems. In testing the new feature, Dr. Yukio Watanabe, chief developer of BikeSim, confirmed that BikeSim correctly captured familiar vibration modes called “weave” and “wobble.” However, he also found a vibra-tion mode that has not been described in the technical literature. After contacting well-known motorcycle researcher U.K. Professor Robin Sharp, Watanabe found that the vibration is a mode called “chatter” that affects MotoGP racing teams when operating at high-speed and high cornering loads. According to Watanabe, “the new linearize command is a breakthrough
for detailed nonlinear simulations tools such as BikeSim. Although the vehicle is a complicated, nonlinear system, the new command can be applied multiple times during a simulated test to determine the effects of speed and other factors on motorcycle modes of vibration.”
Watanabe also noted that the math models include other extensions that have been requested by customers. There are several improvements in sensor ranging and detection, more options for the tire model, more options for chain drive configuration, and more easily configured nonlinear table functions.
Dr. Michael Sayers, chief executive officer and chief technology officer at Mechanical Simulation, added, “BikeSim 3.2 includes major improvements in the simulation environment that were introduced with the recent release of our CarSim software. BikeSim 3.2 brings spectacular
visualization from the driving simulator world to engineers using basic simulation to accel-erate their evaluations of vehicle performance. It provides advanced controls of the playback, heads-up displays of any variables in the models, multiple simultaneous views, and libraries of vehicles and proving ground areas developed by skilled video artists.”
Besides adding functions, BikeSim 3.2 includes many refinements to the user interface. As automotive engineers rely more on simula-tion for testing and development, many who do not have time to become experts in the details of simulation find themselves needing to work with simulation tools. Developers at Mechanical Simulation have responded by simplifying the interface for occasional users, while providing even more capabilities for the advanced users.
Dr. Yukio Watanabe; [email protected]
God Rays, Cloud Shadows to SilverLining in SDK
Sundog Software released version 2.7 of its SilverLining Sky, 3-D Cloud and Weather SDK, rolling out several new visual effects for game and simulation developers.
“SilverLining 2.7’s most eye-catching improvement is crepuscular rays, aka God rays,” said Frank Kane, founder of Sundog Software LLC. “Beams of light emanate from the sun when it’s behind clouds, leading to visually stun-ning scenes with no extra effort from the developer.” This update also provides new “shadow maps” that developers may use to cast shadows from the clouds on the ground, and “environment maps” that may be used for reflecting SilverLining’s simulated sky on water and other objects. These environment maps may be used with Sundog’s Triton Ocean SDK to produce realistic sky reflections on Triton’s virtual oceans.
“It’s a big update,” continued Kane. “In addition to new ray, shadow and reflection capabilities, we’ve expanded support for very large cloud areas to DirectX-based engines, made some fixes to our lens flare and real-time cloud growth effects, enhanced our support for customers using multiple viewports, and improved our integration examples for the Ogre engine and for C# development.”
Frank Kane; [email protected]
New Fiber Optics 1-2-3 Course and Manual for
2013The Light Brigade has launched its most significant
upgrade to its core course in fiber optics. Staying abreast of the latest innovations and changes in the industry, the Fiber Optics 1-2-3 course has been updated to feature the latest in fiber-optic technology, products and standards. The new manual contains 20 chapters and more than 470 pages that cover multimode and single-mode technologies from A to Z. It is considered the foremost technical primer and resource manual for anyone involved in fiber optics. Updates to the course and manual include:
• Multimode fiber technology featuring OM3, OM4, and bend insensitive fibers
• Restricted mode and encircled flux launch conditions
• Single-mode fiber technology, including G.652D, G.655 and G.657 fibers
• The newest termination products and techniques• Up-to-date standards and specifications• Fiber to the home, Ethernet and the Internet
protocol• Expanded installation and optical testing content• The latest active devices, including FTTx products• In-depth information on passive devices such as
optical switches and splittersJim Clodfelter; [email protected]
www.MT2-kmi.com14 | MT2 18.2
Submersible Virtual Maintenance Trainer
The Disti Corporation, a developer of inter-active 3-D software and customized training solutions, has successfully delivered the first virtual maintenance trainer for RRC Robotica Submarina to train personnel on routine main-tenance procedures for their fleet of deep sea remotely operated vehicles (ROV). The SIMA ROV virtual task trainer provides a comprehensive training experience integrated directly into the containerized control center that is deployed with each submersible unit.
RRC Robotica Submarina is a Brazilian company that specializes in deep-sea explora-tion work, as well as training personnel and customers on deep-sea exploration at their Deep Water Education Center. A component of this training is the use of ROVs by their commercial and military customers. With the procurement of several new ROV systems from Schilling Robotics, RRC contracted Disti’s professional services team to provide a virtual maintenance system called “Sistema de Manutenção Avançada” (SIMA), Portuguese for “Advanced System Maintenance.” The virtual maintenance trainer provides RRC with an enhanced and cost-effective method for training ROV personnel on pre- and post-opera-tion checks and routine maintenance procedures in a comprehensive easily accessible application prior to live hands-on experience.
Disti’s professional services team used a combination of GL Studio and Replic8 to develop the ROV maintenance training application. GL Studio provided accurate emulations of the intri-cate user interface of the ROV’s control station.
Replic8 provided the out of the box interactive 3-D lesson framework for rendering and control-ling the components of the virtualized ROV.
“RRC Robotica wanted a maintenance training system that could be used whenever the ROVs deploy onboard a ship to enable main-tenance technicians to train during downtime. Our solution was to install the maintenance training courseware on a computer in the ROV containers that control the actual ROV mission,” said Chris Giordano, director of global sales at Disti.
“RRC Robotica is delighted with the new SIMA software developed and customized by Disti to RRC Robotica. [The] RRC initiative having our maintenance system supported by interactive 3-D software such as SIMA is unique worldwide. I am sure our clients will perceive all the benefits, including: innovation, profes-sionalism, reduction of human mistakes and maintenance time throughout the years,” said José Ramos Duarte Jr., director president of RRC Robotica Submarina.
Chris Giordano; [email protected]
Training Tool to Enhance
the Future of Medicine
Simetri Inc. recently announced that they have been awarded a contract by the U.S. Army Research Laboratory (ARL) for the research and develop-ment of an interoperable common scenario repository for medical training. The effort seeks to explore and prototype hardware and a soft-ware application that standardizes scenarios for diverse Army medical training. Once accepted, the applica-tion will provide a centralized reposi-tory for validated medical training scenarios that will be interoperable with all medical training devices such as human patient simulators and desktop games.
“Working with ARL to develop this capability for HRED [Human Research and Engineering Directorate] Simulation and Training Technology Center and delivering it into the hands of Army medics for training is a tremendous undertaking,” said Angela Salva, president and chief executive officer of Simetri. “We are excited to be at the leading edge of this capability.” The contract effort also includes research, design and validation, using subject matter experts, of a set of constructed standardized scenarios to satisfy the specific learning objectives for Army medical training. The overall goal of the effort is to lower barriers to the creation of new medical training content by the Army medical commu-nity for use on existing and future training technologies.
The contract will consist of three phases beginning February 1, 2013, with the third phase ramping up in fall 2014. Partners in the new task include the University of Central Florida College of Medicine and ArtSimMagic Inc., a Central Florida small business focused on simulation and training research.
Angela M. Salva; [email protected]
Compiled by kMi Media Group staff
www.MT2-kmi.com MT2 18.2 | 15
Rear Admiral Quinn is a native of East Rochester, N.Y. He gradu-ated from the U.S. Naval Academy in 1979 and was designated a Naval Flight Officer in 1980.
He completed operational assignments with the “Knightriders” of Attack Squadron (VA) 52, based in Oak Harbor, Wash.; the “Night-hawks” of VA 185, based in Atsugi, Japan; and the “Fighting Tigers” of VA 65, based in Virginia Beach, Va. He also served as deputy chief of operations for commander, Joint Task Force Southwest Asia, directing Operation Southern Watch.
His shore tours include instructor duty in the A-6 Intruder Fleet Replacement Squadron; a tour as aide to commander, Medium Attack Tactical Electronic Warfare Wing Pacific, in-residence education at the Naval War College; joint duty in the Targeting Division of the Atlantic Intelligence Command, and a tour in Navy Personnel Command as di-rector of the Aviation Officer Distribution Division. He holds a Master of Arts degree in national security and strategic studies and a Master of Science degree in general management.
In 1993, Quinn was chosen for transition into the EA-6B Prowler Community and commanded Electronic Attack Squadron (VAQ) 139, VAQ-129, and Carrier Air Wing 9.
In September 2005, Quinn was promoted to flag rank. He has commanded the Naval Air Training Command, Strike Force Training, Atlantic, and Navy Personnel Command. His awards include the Le-gion of Merit, Distinguished Flying Cross, and the Bronze Star.
Quinn became the 17th commander of the Naval Education and Training Command on January 30, 2012.
Q. In your first year as commander of NETC, what have been the greatest challenges?
A: Our two greatest challenges recently have been a significant in-crease in enlisted accessions and the move from a single resource sponsor for Navy manpower and training to multiple resource spon-sors. The Navy is bringing in more than 41,000 enlisted sailors this year to stabilize our overall end strength, which is the largest num-ber of accessions in many years. That fact demands that we maximize the efficiency of our 792 different enlisted training pipelines to de-liver trained sailors to the fleet with minimal idle time by flexing our training resources—instructors, equipment and funding—to find the right balance to support the increase. The move to multiple resource sponsors for manpower and training was done to help the Navy better understand the total operational cost of our capabilities. Previously, training funding primarily flowed from the Chief of Naval Personnel. Now the funding is coming through the various resource sponsors, such as aviation and surface warfare. It definitely increases the com-plexity of the budgeting process, but should help create greater clarity
for the warfare enterprises as they balance the need for enhancements to existing capabilities against budget realities.
Q: What do you expect will be the greatest challenges in 2013?
A: Our greatest challenges in 2013 emanate from the ongoing federal budget issues. The Navy and Marine Corps are uniquely qualified and positioned to respond immediately to crises, to assure allies, to build partnerships and to deter aggression. But these capabilities are clearly at risk in the fiscal uncertainty we now face. Regardless of the amount given, it is very tough to maximize efficiency and effectiveness when you don’t have a budget to plan to, year after year. That condition also stymies your ability to properly fund and deliver powerful leading edge training initiatives.
We touch many aspects of Navy training, with more than 35,000 students enrolled on any given day in more than 5,000 different courses at 238 NETC activities and detachment worldwide, but our “bread and butter” is the training of all new accessions. As we bring in more new sailors than we have seen in recent years, a significant challenge in the current fiscal environment will be to ensure we have the instructors, resources and facilities required to provide them the knowledge and skills they need to succeed in the fleet. The resources for this year’s training were allocated in 2010 and did not anticipate this surge. The current fiscal realities have left us with little internal capacity to move additional resources where needed.
Rear Admiral Donald P. QuinnCommander
Naval Education and Training Command
www.MT2-kmi.com16 | MT2 18.2
Naval TrainerStabilizing Naval Overall End Strength
Q&AQ&A
Q: What programs or initiatives do you plan on implementing in 2013?
A: The most significant initiative we implemented in both 2012 and 2013 was Navywide Sexual Assault Prevention and Response [SAPR] training, both for E-7 and above [SAPR-Leadership] and E-6 and below [SAPR-Fleet]. This training, developed by our Center for Personal and Professional Development, provides the knowledge and skills to reduce sexual assault and promote a culture of respect and professionalism in our force, where every sailor is motivated to intervene and stop this crime. In developing this training, we made sure that it incorporated the best use of technology—in this case a realistic, hard-hitting, interactive video scenario—coupled with small group, facilitated face-to-face dis-cussions. By the end of March, nearly every sailor will have completed this training, emphasizing that this crime hurts our shipmates, hurts the operational readiness of our units, and must be stopped.
On the technology side, in February NETC began implementing a new Leaning Management System [LMS] in a phased roll out for shore-based training facilities. Although the current LMS has served the Navy well, the ever-expanding and dynamic needs of today’s distributed training environment call for a more flexible and adaptable technical architecture. Under the Enterprise Training Management Delivery Sys-tem modernization effort, the new LMS will replace the current LMS that supports Navy e-Learning [NeL] and has been in place since 2001. It will continue to help sailors ashore advance their careers and stay current with training requirements. Courses range from information assurance training—required of all sailors, Marines, civilians and con-tractors—to hull-specific training for individual afloat units. Personnel using NeL complete between 4 and 5 million online courses annually from an offering of over 8,000 courses. NETC also relies on NeL for use in schoolhouses to teach new individual skills and provide refresher training. Given that NeL is one of the world’s largest distance learning environments, LMS flexibility and efficiency are necessary to satisfy the 21st-century training needs of our sailors and Marines. The new system increases our capability and versatility to deliver, document, track and report online educational courses and training programs.
In 2013, we will continue to expand our use of virtual training. The costs of travel to conduct recurring, just-in-time/emergent, and ini-tial training continue to grow, as do the costs to operate and maintain our technical training equipment. Our Submarine Learning Center currently uses virtual reality and avatars via the Common Operator Analysis and Employment Trainer to train submarine crews around the world. This one-to-many initiative [instructor-to-student ratio] en-ables East Coast instructors to hold classes in electronic classrooms in San Diego, Hawaii, Japan or Guam. Simulation, combined with live, virtual and constructive training environments, enables us to immerse students in scenarios, causing them to react to complex, high-pressure situations without risk or the expenditure of precious operating funds. The savings can be applied to operations in support of our missions.
We have tapped into serious gaming and continue to look for more opportunities to leverage this technology. Virtual reality and avatars give today’s sailors a chance to interact at a level they are familiar with during recruit, apprentice, journeyman and master-level train-ing. These “pre-service exposures” to fleet environments accelerate the learning of our sailors when coupled with interactive curricula; both instructor-led and self-study. A good example of this is the Naval Service Training Command [NSTC] “Engine Room.” This virtual real-ity engine room environment allows students to experience the vary-ing conditions they will be exposed to in the fleet, including normal vs. adverse conditions, damage control and firefighting efforts. This
technology reinforces training objectives in a safe, “no consequences” environment, to build familiarity and knowledge prior to being placed in a live situation/scenario. NSTC is also seeking to expand the use of validated learning interventions involving the use of the Immersive Naval Officer Training System, a blended learning solution that ef-fectively uses virtual reality to teach counseling skills in our officer accession programs based in Newport, R.I.
Q: What is the status of the Navy Enlisted Supply Chain Planning and Execution [NESCPE] Program?
A: Our weapons systems and platforms are technological wonders, but it’s the sailors who man them that make the difference, especially in combat. Over the last three years, the leadership of the Navy’s Manpow-er, Personnel, Training and Education [MPTE] enterprise has worked collaboratively to implement the NESCPE Program, leveraging indus-try supply chain principles to improve the way we plan, recruit, train and deliver sailors to the fleet. This collaborative effort is led by the business improvement team [BIT], which is composed of senior leaders from the MPTE enterprise and fleet stakeholders. Rear Admiral Cindy Covell, the Deputy Chief of Naval Personnel, and I co-chair this group, which provides strategic direction and oversight of supply chain plan-ning and execution. To address supply chain issues, the BIT created two standing cross-functional teams for planning and execution.
The planning cross-functional team works to identify accurate, linked demand signals throughout each step in the supply chain. We have made great progress to date in inculcating industry supply chain principles into our daily jobs, but we must continue to emphasize that the real measure of success is how well we coordinate across the whole supply chain, not just one segment of it, to create value for our fleet cus-tomers. One of the major steps taken this past year was the introduction of the Initial Skills Training Production Plan, which more closely aligns NETC production priorities to the current fleet demand signal, vice the training plan crafted three years ago in budget development.
The execution cross-functional team has comprehensively ana-lyzed the health and training of 31 enlisted ratings, with 42 remaining. Channels of communication have been opened that enable issues and concerns to be brought forward, discussed and resolved at the action of-ficer level. In the past, much of this communication had to occur at the command level, significantly increasing the difficulty and decreasing our responsiveness to changes. The ability to conduct regular detailed discussions with all stakeholders in the supply chain has increased our situational awareness regarding the effectiveness of the whole process and improved our responsiveness to changes and challenges. For ex-ample, we have been able to identify and adjudicate disconnects in pro-duction planning for NETC schoolhouses and adjust class convening dates to allow the pairing of technical training courses, enabling more cost-effective training flow and sailors to get to their units faster with more training.
In 2012, this effort produced significant results in two critical Navy ratings: electronics technician [ET] and fire controlman [FC]. The number of ET sailors in awaiting training status was reduced from a peak population of 499 in January 2011, with an average wait time of 62 days, to 155 sailors waiting an average of 34 days in November 2012 eliminating 70.3 man-years of unproductive time. Sailors in awaiting training status went from a peak of 465 waiting an average of 80 days in June 2010 to 306 sailors waiting an average of 79 days in November 2012, eliminating 35.7 man-years of idle time. Aligning and optimizing planning and execution in our supply chain will enable us to respond
www.MT2-kmi.com MT2 18.2 | 17
more quickly and effectively to future changes in force structure, train-ing requirements and retention.
Q: One year ago you said the greatest challenge was the demand for technical training combined with limited resources; how has the NETC addressed that challenge?
A: One of the primary initiatives NETC implemented to address this challenge is the Virtual Desktop Initiative [VDI]. This solution affords greater flexibility and higher availability in our electronic classrooms. Desktop “virtualization” provides multiple student and instructor work-stations from a centralized server environment, eliminating individual workstations that reside in one electronic classroom.
We currently utilize thousands of computers. To keep pace with cur-rent technology, security risks and software, each computer is updated separately. When you virtualize a classroom, you shift from multiple updates to the update of a single server. In our first site, we went from 152 computers to three servers, meaning we only have to update three systems instead of 152. It’s a huge time and money saver. In addition to saving time and money and improving reliability and responsiveness, VDI saves electrical power.
VDI has been successfully deployed and is fully operational at our site aboard Keesler Air Force Base. Over the next five years, it will be deployed to more than 36,000 daily users and will replace 80 percent of the more than 23,000 desktop computers we currently use in more than 2,500 classrooms at 68 learning sites around the world.
As discussed earlier, another means to overcome the need for tech-nical training with limited resources is the targeted use of gaming tech-nology. The Navy’s Surface Warfare Officer School prepares engineering officers to manage complex shipboard engineering systems by employ-ing a combination of instructor-led classroom training and simulators. PC-based engineering simulators allow students to learn engineering plant operations and characteristics, while the Readiness Control Offi-cer Virtual Engineering Environment is a first-person gaming technol-ogy that allows students reporting to the Navy’s newest ship class, the littorial combat ship, to perform all functions of the ship’s engineering officer. The use of these simulators has decreased engineering officer of the watch [EOOW] qualification time and produced savings through a reduction in the number of underway days required to qualify. The aver-age EOOW time to qualify [TTQ] for sailors not receiving this training is 14 months while the average TTQ for those receiving the training and independent assessment is one month, an average savings of 13 months per student.
In general, new technologies combined with proven learning strate-gies continue to drive cost-effective improvements in training. These include intelligent tutoring systems and learning strategies leverag-ing simulation, virtual worlds and emerging technologies. They allow NETC to do more with less, all while improving training effectiveness and the timeliness of delivery.
Q: What is your strategy to be more cost effective in 2013?
A: We are always looking for ways to be good stewards of the taxpay-ers’ money. We recently set the course forward by establishing our NETC Strategic Plan 2013-2023, Charting the Course … Fleet Readi-ness Starts Here. Our first guiding principle is to apply innovative, cost-effective learning solutions. In application, this equates to using our established end-to-end curriculum content development and revision process to identify the most cost-effective solutions to deliver training
without sacrificing quality. Training devices are not getting any cheaper, so we have to get their acquisition and utilization right the first time. As new weapon systems and platforms are introduced, this process ensures that innovative techniques are considered and applied when appropri-ate, such as the use of interactive multimedia, simulators and avatars. Along with this strategy, however, we must work with the fleet and pro-gram resource sponsors to make those hard resource allocation deci-sions and only develop training that has been resourced to respond to a validated requirement.
In the plan’s execution, we developed an FY13 Integrated Business Plan to define strategic focus areas and desired effects to encourage more efficient use of our finite resources. One of our primary projects this year is to make the most of our capacity through development and testing of an enterprise training resource manager that will allow us to maximize capability—based on available instructors, classrooms and equipment—to meet fleet demands.
We will continue to modularize training to be used repeatedly at different schoolhouses, saving money and time while providing a stan-dardized curriculum to our sailors. NETC is developing requirements for a content repository that will contain all curricula and supporting files to be repurposed. For example, radar theory can be used by three different centers across surface, submarine and aviation training.
Finally, we will continue to package and run older training content which requires older versions of an operating system or outdated soft-ware to run securely in our current environment without having to spend precious resources re-engineering the training content just for technology reasons. Based on early test results, we are expecting a 90 percent success rate with this strategy.
Q: What do you foresee are the top three significant technological ad-vancements to have an impact on NETC?
A: First, the ever-increasing numbers and types of mobile devices offer many possibilities to enhance the sailor’s ability to access Navy training. We continue to seek ways we can leverage these devices to increase the availability of training and training content. We want to deliver train-ing using technology our young sailors are already familiar with, but we must work within the framework established by the Navy to protect information technology assets and data. We are leaning as far forward in this arena as the information security rules will allow.
Second, NETC has long been looking for a means to standardize NETC intranet and electronic classroom services, operations and sup-port. The diversity of all the various requirements presents many chal-lenges. As virtual desktop capabilities have technically matured, they appear to be a custom-made solution for us. As previously discussed, desktop virtualization will allow us to provide multiple student and in-structor workstations from a centralized server environment, eliminat-ing physical workstations residing in just one classroom. The extreme flexibility, simplicity, speed and capability of virtual desktops will allow a standard set of equipment and standard configuration to meet more than 90 percent of our electronic classroom needs while adding a layer of significant information assurance improvements and reducing op-erational costs by as much as 30 percent. It’s reliable and it’s faster. In-structors now spend less time fighting the technology and more time teaching. The additional benefit of our virtualization solution is that it’s not only engineered to meet our current requirements, but possesses the ability to expand to satisfy future demands.
Finally, personal computer simulation and part-task trainers are being developed to support specific training objectives. We are
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developing a part-task trainer to replace an aging radar system cur-rently used to train electronic technicians and fire controlmen. The outdated radar system requires extensive maintenance to keep it op-erational. PC simulation is being developed to enhance training by eliminating bottlenecks in training pipelines and provide additional opportunities to practice critical skills before using actual technical training equipment. This approach is also likely to be useful else-where in the training paths in our most technical ratings, which cur-rently require very specialized training for each of the many existing system configurations and baselines.
Q: What are the benefits of aligning and synchronizing with learning partners?
A: In my experience, no single agency has the 100 percent solution for training quality. We gain great synergy by working with others. We can-not discount the successes of other government agencies, businesses, industry, academia and our allies when it comes to good ideas.
NETC benefits from our alignment with the Inter-service Training Review Organization [ITRO]. This partnership between the military ser-vices allows us to assess the feasibility of training together and what re-sources are required. Through this voluntary cooperation, the services have benefited from sharing military infrastructure, allowing reduc-tions in resources dedicated to training. For the Department of Defense, the ITRO process has yielded significant reductions in the cost to train members of participating military services and the U.S. Coast Guard. One of the Navy’s best examples is the training we provide at the Na-val Diving and Salvage Training Center [NDSTC], in Panama City, Fla. NDSTC teaches 22 separate courses of instruction to students from all five armed services, as well as interagency and international partners. Graduates are trained in various diving equipment and the techniques necessary to accomplish operational missions such as salvage, harbor security, mine clearance, submarine rescue and special operations. As a result, all the services are not required to establish their own courses of instruction, avoiding significant investments in infrastructure, equip-ment and manpower.
NAVSCOLEOD, located on Eglin Air Force Base, Fla., provides high-risk, specialized, basic and advanced EOD training to more than 2,100 U.S. and partner-nation military and U.S. government personnel each year. These technicians learn how to deal with ground, aviation, un-derwater and improvised explosive devices. The list of nations coming through the training continues to grow with the first students from Albania, Peru and the island chain of St. Vincent and the Grenadines graduating from the basic EOD Technician course on February 13.
Q: As a performance driven organization, how does the NETC mea-sure success?
A: One of the primary ways we measure success is through training effectiveness surveys. NETC is partnering with Fleet Forces Command, type commanders and operational units on each coast to establish a more robust and systematic method to measure the effectiveness of our training programs in the fleet. This integrated Training Effectiveness Management Program will provide a standardized process to assess graduates of NETC training through the eyes of their deck plate leaders, verify that fleet requirements are being met, and provide quantitative and qualitative data we will use to get the most “bang for the buck” from our investments in initial skills training. This process supports the job, duty and task analysis work we do at the task level to comprehensively
identify the work sailors must be trained to accomplish, and strength-ens the human performance requirements review process, which vali-dates existing individual training requirements and identifies new ones as fleet systems and operating procedures evolve.
In addition to fleet feedback, which tells us if we are providing the right training, we use total quality indicators, such as formal course re-views and schoolhouse accreditation, that tell us how well we are teach-ing the course material.
Three years ago, the NETC Training Excellence Awards transitioned to performance-oriented awards based on established measurable mission-focused criteria. They recognize those learning centers and training support centers that achieve outstanding levels and functional excellence in business administration and support, planning and pro-gramming, total force management, logistics, information technology, curriculum management, training production, training support and financial management. These are all key supporting elements of our Strategic Plan.
Along these same lines, I believe there is a strong correlation be-tween employee satisfaction and the quality of the training delivered by an organization like ours. The Office of Personnel Management Federal Employee Viewpoint Survey results were released in late December and NETC is ranked in the Top 5 DoN commands, out of 292 government organizations, as a best place to work.
Q: As conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan come to a close, how will NETC adapt its training?
A: We will certainly take the lessons we have learned from past con-flicts and apply them to our training. As always, we will continue to imbue our sailors with skills and knowledge that enables them to re-spond to future challenges and threats. I don’t expect our mission to change dramatically as a result of the end of the current conflicts. What may change is what we teach, based on validated requirements from the fleet. We will remain agile, flexible and adaptable in the delivery of this training.
Q: Is there anything else you would like to say?
A: Training and operations are two sides of one coin, each inextricably tied to the other and competing for the same resources. Training en-ables optimum mission performance. Our challenge and obligation is to provide our sailors with the most relevant knowledge, skills and abilities as quickly as possible to achieve optimal knowledge transfer and make best use of the finite resources we have been allocated.
I remain excited and proud to be part of this great organization. NETC’s training and education programs continue to provide our Navy and Marine Corps the asymmetric advantage needed to win in combat. In 2012, NETC training practices were again recognized by the world’s largest association dedicated to workplace learning, the prestigious American Society for Training and Development, with three “Excel-lence in Practice” awards and two “Excellence in Practice” citations. For the fourth time in the last three years, Navy has been ranked in the top 20 of training organizations in the country on Training Magazine’s Top 125 list and we have been notified that we will be on the list again in 2013. Additionally, we were proud to be recognized with Alfred P. Sloan Awards for Excellence in Workplace Effectiveness and Flexibility in three areas, and with an honorable mention in a fourth. These awards are testament to the dedication and expertise of our military and civilian employees who embody our motto: “Fleet Readiness Starts Here.” O
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Training in a virtual reality environment has become routine for modern military forces and law enforcement agencies. But behind the special effects, the key to these realistic simulations is image genera-tor (IG) technology hardware and software. The specialized hardware (computers, graphics cards and operating systems) push pixels out to the display device, or the software development kits and tell the hard-ware what to do.
“In an Army virtual simulation and training system, the IG is probably the most critical component,” said Gabriel Argueta, visual systems engineer for the Advanced Gunnery Training System, U.S. Army Program Executive Office for Simulation, Training and Instru-mentation (PEO STRI). “It renders the virtual representation of the entire training environment to include vehicles, maneuvers, sights, sensors, weapons systems and its interactions, weather, illumination conditions and more.”
According to Argueta, IGs support the immersion of the soldier into realistic geographic locations, without having to leave their home base. This allows soldiers to plan their missions, test their plans and make changes to improve success by helping them gain familiarity with the actual environ-ment they will be deployed to.
“IG-rendered virtual training environments pre-pare individual soldiers and commanders to detect, recognize, identify and acquire targets or threats by interacting with the details of the real world environ-ment simulated in the virtual trainer,” Argueta said. “The evolution of hardware and software IG technol-ogy by industry and its implementation in the Army simulation systems is critical in closing the gap to the ultimate simulation challenge, which is to replicate war scenarios as close to reality as technology allows.”
He added that the use of IG in simulators to train soldiers is not a substitute for real-life training, but its effectiveness in preparing them to accomplish their missions has been proven in previous conflicts.
“IG training scenarios are a very strong complement to real life training and result in saving lives by preparing soldiers for any situa-tion in the battlefield,” Argueta said. “The bottom line is IG technology directly affects the visual realism [of a simulator], which is critical to the soldier’s immersion and learning benefits. More realistic and dy-namic effects [human characters, vehicles, weather, explosions, terrain details, etc.] contribute to a more effective and believable virtual train-ing system.”
Historically, replacing a training device’s IG was very costly due to the effort required to develop new data packages between the host computer and the IG, and the high cost of custom, proprietary hard-ware. To lower that cost, the Army is moving toward solutions that utilize more open and common standards.
“For example, the Common Image Generator Interface open source communication protocol, which interfaces a host computer with an IG,
has resulted in the modularization of these two critical components in a simulation system,” Argueta explained.
He said the trend is to utilize more commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) PC hardware and gaming software technology that drives hardware to provide high-fidelity scenarios and special effects. Addi-tionally, the IG technology evolution has facilitated the integration of gaming technologies rendering more accurate representation of the real world environment.
“Fueled by competition, the industry has performed a quantum leap in both IG hardware and software,” Argueta said. “Today’s personal computer-based IGs are capable of rendering high-fidelity training sce-narios allowing more realistic special effects and animations closely re-sembling real world scenarios, supporting the soldier’s immersion into the virtual world.”
He said most virtual training systems used by the military are sched-uled for a technology refresh every four to five years during their life cycle, but the IG replacement effort can be synchronized with the tech-
nology refresh phase to minimize required resources. “Therefore, military simulation systems can main-
tain a specific IG throughout its system lifecycle only if vendors keep evolving their software to take advantage of the rapidly evolving computer graphics technologies,” Argueta said.
Evolving software and developing new IG tech-nologies are not new considerations for MetaVR. Since 1997, the company has developed commercial PC-based software for military simulation and training markets, featuring high-speed visualization of 3-D content and rapid creation of networked virtual worlds using real-world data.
“MetaVR’s goal is to provide our customers geospe-cific real-time visual simulation systems with the fidelity of game-quality graphics,” said W. Garth Smith, co-founder and chief executive officer of MetaVR. The company’s IG product is Virtual Reality Scene Generator (VRSG). MetaVR also develops MetaVR Terrain Tools for Esri ArcGIS, a plugin for building 3-D terrain from geospecific imagery, el-evation and shapefile data to visualize in VRSG. The products are COTS and run on game-level Windows computers.
MetaVR’s new Scenario Editor component of VRSG (currently in beta testing and due to be released shortly) enables users to build-up dense areas of 3-D terrain with content and create scenarios with ve-hicle and character entities in a drag-drop interface.
“Our customers use our products in a wide variety of applications such as UAV payload operator training, manned flight simulators, mis-sion planning and rehearsal, JTAC simulation training, urban opera-tions training and aerial refueling boom operator training,” Smith said. “Since 2009, VRSG has been used in various configurations to simulate the functionality needed for JTAC warfighter training in close air sup-port (CAS) exercises, ranging from desktop to dome systems.”
successful traiNiNg through virtual reality.by Nikki l. maxwell
mt2 correspoNdeNt
W. Garth Smith
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MetaVR teamed with Battlespace Simulations Inc. (BSI) to provide a comprehensive CAS/Joint Fires training system for JTAC simulation training. The Michigan Air National Guard’s Combat Readiness Train-ing Center at the Grayling Air Gunnery Range in Alpena, Mich., uses the MetaVR VRSG/ BSI Modern Air Combat Environment solution in its JTAC simulator called the ‘Grayling 4m JFIRES Dome,’ placing trainees in Afghanistan-based dynamic scenarios (using MetaVR’s Afghanistan 3-D terrain) including danger-close, force-on-force, multiple airframes, full-motion video feeds and artillery.
Disti, another veteran company in the IG technology field, began producing software tools for interface development in 1999 through an SBIR grant from the U.S. Air Force Research Lab in Arizona. The result was the release of their flagship product, ‘GL Studio,’ a tool used for producing high-fidelity interactive 3-D graphics for cockpits and instru-mentation. The first projects delivered with GL Studio were virtualized cockpits for the A-10 Warthog and F-16 Falcon.
Scott Ariotti, director of global marketing and Replic8 product manager for Disti, said helping the military simulator user prepare for real-life missions is a priority for Disti, and part of that preparation is how to manage the war fighting gear.
“Our warfighters are exposed to a lot of interfaces and have to be-come fluent in the ‘knobology’ it takes to control and interact with their weapon systems,” Ariotti said, explaining that GL Studio is designed to generate that kind of interactive content. “The problem domain for ren-dering interfaces is unlike a typical IG software package that is geared towards drawing and managing gigabytes of terrain and imagery data for flight and ground training. The interface rendering environment has to handle all of its data within arm’s reach of the trainee, not what’s 50 feet or 50 miles downrange.”
He said the interface rendering environment also has to handle trainee interaction events on the graphics to deliver the correct re-sponse, including toggle or momentary buttons and switches, freely rotating, constrained or dented knobs, thumbwheels and switch guards.
“In the case of multi-function displays found in today’s advanced helicopter and fighter platforms, accuracy in display appearance and re-sponse is critical,” Ariotti said. “GL Studio is geared at delivering a one-to-one pixel correlation between the training device displays and the
real aircraft systems. The result is a training device that has equivalent form and function to what they will fight with.”
The company CAE has integrated visual systems into simulators for more than 40 years. CAE’s first military IGs were for rotary wing platforms, and by the early 2000’s CAE’s IGs expanded into Fast Jet and military transport/tanker training.
“CAE Medallion IGs have been used on Black Hawk and Chinook combat mission simulators we developed for the U.S. Special Operations Command,” said Phil Perey, senior director of business development for CAE. “Our IGs were also used as part of a visual system upgrade pro-gram for the U.S. Army’s AH-64A Apache combat mission simulators.”
The new CAE Medallion-6000 IG is used on C-130H simulators that CAE operates at its C-130 Tampa Training Center. There, cus-tomers, including the U.S. Coast Guard, do their C-130 aircrew and maintenance training.
“The CAE Medallion IG was amongst the first to adopt COTS com-ponents almost 10 years ago to help lower costs and increase scene con-tent,” Perey said. “This innovation has now been more broadly adopted.”
Perey said CAE has invested heavily in the open standard called the Common Database (CDB), originally developed for the U.S. Spe-cial Operations Command, which revolutionizes how digital content is used and shared across simulators. He said it brings significant benefits to the user, including correlated training environments, fast database updates and ease of sharing content across several IG manu-facturers, “unshackling the end-user from a single vendor, which in-creases competition.”
Matrox developed the EIDS computer-based training system for the U.S. Army in 1986, and recently continued developing computer-based graphics-related products for simulation and training.
“Matrox Avio KVM extenders are among the few fiber-optic-based KVM-extension solutions available in the market to offer the maxi-mum blend of no latency and compression, display density and ease-of-deployment,” said Samuel Recine, director of sales–Americas and Asia Pacific, Matrox Graphics. “The density we have brought to the video wall market space has significantly reduced the cost of building extremely high-performance video walls and also greatly encouraged new solu-tions, competition and exciting new features by supporting the rise of
by Nikki l. maxwell
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dozens of new players in the field. We are now doing the same thing for video distribution over IP.”
A new Maevex video distribution, over IP technology, enables the capture of DVI or HDMI into a H.264 com-pressed standard IP stream, which can be viewed in soft-ware on devices with software video players or on dedi-cated Matrox decoding hardware.
“Our technology is part of the state-of-the-art equip-ment used in combat vehicle simulators, procedural trainers, command and control operations, navigation consoles, visualization rooms in defense, automotive, oil and gas, life sciences, and much more,” Recine said.
Concurrent Computer Corporation began producing IG products for military use in 1996. Today, Concurrent’s ImaGen Vi-sual Server family offers fully integrated, affordable high-performance IG solutions for real-time simulation and modeling applications, ac-cording to Ken Jackson, vice president, Concurrent Real-Time.
“ImaGen servers help provide very realistic training environ-ments for our nation’s warfighters, and deliver the technology needed to rapidly develop and deploy accurate, real-time 3-D visual solutions for applications such as civil and military simulation, mis-sion planning, homeland security, scientific and medical imaging, architectural design and energy exploration,” Jackson said. “Powered by Concurrent’s RedHawk Linux, ImaGen is the ideal platform for truly interactive, virtual reality, landscape, architectural, and aerial, ground and marine simulation.”
With the U.S. military facing the reality of do-ing more with less, there is a challenge to meet the needs of training for the mission, while staying within budget.
“When procuring new virtual training devices, the U.S. Army considers requirements that are criti-cal in supporting the development integration and lifecycle support of a particular training system,” Ar-gueta said. “This includes the ability to maintain the IG capability for the life of the training device.”
He said the hardware architecture should sup-port the ability to refresh the technology without major redesign costs, and lower overall life cycle
maintenance costs. ‘The Army also considers the proprietary limitations some ven-
dors impose in IG component rights and the impact it has on the Army’s ability to maintain the systems over its life cycle,” Argueta said.
He said it is impossible to predict the virtual simulation and train-ing arsenal for the future, but he has an idea of what DoD will be looking for.
“[The U.S. Army] would like to see a continued push towards lower cost COTS hardware solutions, open software and interface standards and gaming-style realism,” Argueta said.
“Our Scenario Editor, currently in beta testing, provides a game-level-editor-like graphical interface of tools and content libraries with which users can easily build 3-D scenes and scenarios on terrain in VRSG,” Smith said. “This level of realism is important for our users for training in simulated environments such as dense urban scenes, airfields, and forward operating bases.”
In 2012, Disti announced a new runtime architecture for GL Stu-dio called Lumen, developed to handle the requirements of today’s interface development demands—touchscreen events, multi-touch support, gestures (i.e., multi-finger drags and pinches) and advanced animation controls.
“This new architecture will support the image display creation de-mands for the next 10 years,” Ariotti said.
“CAE invests approximately 10 percent of its annual revenue into research and development,” Perey said. The company recently launched a capability and solution called the CAE Dynamic Synthetic Environment. “We are always focused on enhancing scene realism to achieve cinematic qualities, while lowering cost of ownership with the latest COTS advancements.”
According to Jackson, Concurrent continuously strives to im-prove their IG products by upgrading the ImaGen brand to include new start-of-the-art rendering technology.
“ImaGen offers the latest NVIDIA graphics cards such as the Quadro K5000 and GeForce Titan. In addition, our RedHawk Linux real-time operating system includes optimized NVIDIA graphics driv-ers to provide deterministic performance,” Jackson said.
When asked about the new products Matrox is currently devel-oping for use in simulators, Recine has one simple answer: “It’s a secret…”
Whether through virtual battlefields, urban warfare, manned flight simulators or other military training, IG technology saves lives, time and money through virtual preparation, and that is reality. O
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The military police have played an important role within America’s armed forces since General George Washington authorized the formation of the Marechaussee Corps in the Revolutionary War, according to information from the U.S. Army Center of Military History (CMH). The men of the Marechaussee Corps were respon-sible for patrolling the camp and its vicinity, keeping an eye out for fugitives and thieves while also watching for enemy attacks from the rear, according to the CMH. As this job description sug-gests, military police units are soldiers, yet also assume law en-forcement and security responsibilities.
To be sure, the emphasis placed on each of these responsibili-ties has evolved over time as the military’s needs have changed. Before the attacks against the USS Cole in 2000 and the Septem-ber 11, 2001, attacks, the military police units within the Navy were more like masters at arms, focused primarily on law enforcement, said Robert Burgett, Master-At-Arms and “A” School course curriculum model manager with the U.S. Navy. After those events, the military police became a more encompassing secu-rity force, he added, focused on both law enforce-ment and protecting the force.
Because of this shift, the training military po-lice officers undergo has changed as well, and now places a greater emphasis on security force train-ing, Burgett noted.
Military police “have to be soldiers first, and then have law enforcement duties on top of that,” added Steven Didier, chief executive and co-owner of Phoenix RBT Solutions LLC, a provider of training solutions for law enforcement and military personnel, and the sales and training arm of Ultimate Training Munitions (UTM). “Besides fighting wars, they have to deal with people. It’s a unique split.”
For instance, the mission of the security forces of the U.S. Air Force is to “protect, defend and fight to enable Air Force,
joint and coalition missions,” said spokesperson Captain Natasha Wag-
goner. This is done through six core capa-bilities, including base security operations, law
and order operations, and nuclear security. Given the range of responsibilities they handle, mil-
itary police must gain not only the warrior and weaponry skills that all soldiers need, but also must know, for instance, how to act as first responders in emergencies, conduct criminal investigations and provide security for military bases and in-stallations. While always acting in accordance with the Uniform Code of Military Justice, depending on the situation, military police may also need to use force in accordance with the U.S. Constitution, Didier said.
bleNd of traiNiNg methods
To meet these needs, the training military police undergo typically blends classroom, online, laboratory and simulation exercises. The Navy, for instance, is incorporating more com-puter-based training, Burgett said.
Incoming enlisted members of the Air Force Security Force start with basic training for eight weeks before moving to 65
days of specialized security force training. Com-missioned officers participate in 78 days of se-curity force training after completing their ac-cessions training, Waggoner said. They’ll learn about the elements of an offense, searching and handcuffing, and the use of force. Because of the role they play in base defense, the airmen also will learn about on- and off-base patrolling, nuclear security, and defeating enemy threats.
The Air Force Security Forces’ training in-cludes both classroom and practical applications of the skills they’ll need, Waggoner said. For instance, they might practice responding to do-mestic incidents, running military convoys and
defending an airbase under attack. The exercises can take place at technical school, their home station and in advanced train-ing, she added.
Technology is incorporated into the training, as a core com-petency of the Security Force is “to sustain a warrior’s ethos with a technological aptitude,” Waggoner said.
traiNiNg warfighters to be both soldiers aNd law eNforcemeNt.
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Steven Didier
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oNliNe traiNiNg
One way in which technology is incorporated into military police training is through the use of online in-struction, which may supplement or even replace some classroom training, said Paul Terry, general manager with the professional education division of Blackboard Inc., an education technology company.
In contrast to online training programs of years past, which often required no more than simply click-ing through a presentation burned to a CD, today’s online learning programs offer a “social learning envi-ronment” that’s engaging and dynamic, Terry said. This could include, for instance, a discussion board in which students can answer questions and talk about various approaches to the different scenarios they’re learning about. The boards also allow students to remain con-nected even after official courses are complete.
An online discussion board also allows individuals who are more reflective to voice their opinions at their own pace, Terry noted. In an actual classroom setting, these students may be overshadowed by more dominant classmates. And the online training enables all students to come better prepared to classroom instruction, which means that everyone’s time can be used more ef-fectively, he added.
virtual traiNiNg
Virtual firearms training systems can help mili-tary police gain skills in weapons safety and marks-manship, said Eric Perez, director of virtual military systems sales for the Americas with Meggitt Train-ing Systems, a provider of weapons training systems for the military. “Additionally, these systems prepare military police for potentially lethal situations within a non-lethal training environment.”
The systems consist of several parts. One is a large projection screen that may show, for instance, a street scene or the interior of a house. A scenario plays out on the screen, and the soldier in training reacts as if he or she is responding to the situation. For instance, the soldier would acknowledge a door and that he/she is checking to see if the door to a building is locked or unlocked.
The soldier works with an actual weapons sys-tem, although the parts that fire live ammunition have been removed and can be tethered or tether-less. Meggitt’s BluFire technology uses Bluetooth wireless technology to allow the weapon to feed data back to the system and the trainer. The fully sen-sored weapons, combined with the system software, allow the trainee and trainer to review deficiencies
in marksmanship and/or areas for improvement within a judgmen-tal training scenario.
Virtual training enables soldiers to gain realistic practice in marksmanship and weapons use, but in an environment that can be more accessible than conducting a firing session on a live range, Perez said. Moreover, the instructor receives feedback on each soldier’s per-formance and can review it with them, with an eye toward helping them improve.
In addition, the judgmental training scenarios (video or CGI) have become increasingly realistic. “A lot of these guys grew up with Nintendo or PlayStation and won’t stand for something that looks ar-chaic,” Perez said.
The benefits go beyond the cosmetic. For instance, if the scenario shows wind or rain, the student must make the necessary adjustments. The system software works with the ballistically accurate weapons to ensure the student is training within a true-to-life environment. This helps the student to learn to adjust to a changing environment, just as he or she would in a real conflict.
Studies conducted by Meggitt have shown that weapons practice conducted in a simulated environment provides the types and levels of stress similar to what students might experience in actual combat, Perez said. Some of this research was summarized in the September 2011 issue of Law & Order magazine. The conclusion noted that “the use of firearms simulators can indeed produce stressors replicating field encounters requiring a lethal force response.” It went on to say that while simulation should not replace other types of judgmental/firearms training, it should be an added component.
role playiNg
Reality-based training offers another approach in which military police can learn to respond effectively to stressful situations, includ-ing combat and conflict resolution scenarios. “The whole purpose
24 | MT2 18.1
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of reality-based training is that it provides a platform for a unit or individual to test his or her strengths, the limitations of the pro-tocols and tactics,” said Didier. “The goal is to provide a means to see what works and what doesn’t, and serve as a springboard [to improvement].”
Phoenix RBT does this through what Didier calls “reality-based immersion” that replicates the various environments—say, an ur-ban street or a battlefield—in which soldiers must operate.
This occurs in several steps. To start, soldiers’ guns are made fail-safe with UTM conversions, allowing soldiers to use their duty weap-on in training. The converted weapons shoot UTM non-lethal train-ing ammunition. “The pain penalty of the UTM Man Marker Round feels like getting hit with a big rubber band,” Didier said. Along with the weapons conversions, munitions and equipment, Phoenix brings in actors to play the role of, for instance, an active shooter.
As a result, the soldier uses his or her own weapons to “engage and take care of the situation in real time. They can test protocols and see what works and what doesn’t,” Didier said.
Didier compares this to boxers’ training, as soldiers are, figura-tively speaking, getting into the ring. “You have to be able to repli-cate what it’s like in real life.” As a result, they’re better prepared to handle the range of situations they’re likely to face, concluding them more quickly and with less risk to all involved.
Role playing can occur throughout a soldier’s career, Didier said. Because the skills a soldier acquires are “very perishable,” as Didier said, it’s important that training continue on an ongoing basis. “If
you don’t stay up on them, you’re taking two steps back in the next conflict.” Such training decreases the chance of a soldier shooting the wrong person or committing an unintended discharge, while increasing the odds of hitting the correct target.
Other experts agree that soldiers’ training needs to be ongoing. The Air Force, for instance, offers its Security Forces various op-portunities to attend additional professional military training and security forces advanced training throughout career, Waggoner said.
As the nature of conflicts changes, military police units are likely to see some shifts in their training. Because of the U.S.’s involve-ment in two wars and the increase in incidents of active shooters, USAF Security Forces training is moving away from set patterns of responses to incidents, and evolving to what the USAF refers to as “effects-based operations.” The intent is to allow airmen greater flexibility in their training and the way in which they accomplish a mission. In addition, the USAF is incorporating more leader-led training, Waggoner said. “The goal is to move training expertise to a lower rank level, subsequently advancing the maturity of the lead-ers, while exponentially growing our mission capability.”
The overarching goal, of course, is to continue to train military police so they can carry out their responsibilities as safely and ef-fectively as possible. O
Be prepared!Practice to improve skills.
RUAG Schweiz AG | RUAG DefenceAllmendstrasse 86 | 3602 Thun | Switzerland | Phone +41 33 228 22 [email protected] | www.ruag.com
For more information, contact MT2 Editor Brian O’Shea at [email protected] or search our online archives
for related stories at www.mt2-kmi.com.
www.MT2-kmi.com MT2 18.2 | 25
The location of miss and hit technology (LOMAH) has existed for many years, but late last summer/early fall, the Project Manager for Training Devices (PM TRADE) Target Modernization team saw their concept to modu-larize and streamline LOMAH become a reality when it passed its government acceptance test (GAT). PM TRADE, an organization of the U.S. Army’s Program Executive Office for Simulation, Training and Instrumentation (PEO STRI), is the new system’s materiel developer, and since that GAT, they have been busy fielding two addi-tional LOMAH ranges, demonstrating LOMAH’s training potential and gaining momentum for their modernized LOMAH technology.
This LOMAH projectile locating system for small arms marksmanship triangulates the location of rounds fired on or near targets to support basic rifle marksmanship training, which increases rifle range efficiency, improves training effective-ness, and saves training time for commanders and soldiers.
An important part of this technology is its ability to give immediate feedback to the shooter, thus helping to identify what adjustments must be made to “zero” his/her weapon. James Todd, the project director/lead systems engineer for target moderniza-tion, PM TRADE, conceptualized the improvements and is the driving force behind this modularized LOMAH system.
Over the last five years, Todd and his team have been standard-izing the small arms ranges to a common set of standards, as part of the Future Army System of Integrated Targets, and utilizing a common, government-owned target control system called Targetry Range Automated Control and Recording (TRACR). They felt now was a perfect opportunity to take their TRACR system and extend its functionality to include LOMAH.
The Army has a pass rate of only 40 to 45 percent during quali-fication, and from test data observations, it appears that a signifi-cant contributing factor is that weapons are not zeroed. Zeroing a weapon means making sight adjustments on the weapon that align the round’s point of impact to the soldier’s point of aim.
“When we went to Fort Benning, they gave us 16 hard-luck cases, who wouldn’t have graduated if they did not pass qualifica-tion,” said Todd. “When we brought them to the range, they were all downtrodden and wouldn’t even make eye contact.”
Using LOMAH, this group shot to confirm their zero first with 20 rounds, and then went straight to the qualification round. In the first attempt, 11 of the 16 passed, and a 12th would have passed but had a weapon malfunction. Based on the feedback from the LOMAH system, the five that didn’t pass spent time with the range cadre to review some basic skills, and they all passed after
a subsequent attempt. “At the end, we had 16 smiling kids on the top of the world,” Todd said.
The team presented their product and findings to the PEO STRI, Dr. James Blake, as well as to Brigadier General Michael Lundy, deputy commanding general, Combined Arms Center-Training (CAC-T), during a visit he made to PEO STRI earlier this year. Lundy saw the potential in the modular LOMAH and inquired about retrofitting an existing Forces Command range to modernize it. In February, both Todd and Michelle K. Garcia Gomez, a systems engineer for target modernization, joined Lundy at Fort Eustis, where Lundy himself tried out the LOMAH technology.
“His first group of shots was a tight group, but to the left and a little high,” said Todd. “The LOMAH data was interpreted for his shots and the adjustments were made to the weapon. He followed up by hitting dead center on his next two shots, and after firing his third shot, he said, ‘It’s a flyer!’” The LOMAH data confirmed what Lundy already knew—his breathing was off and it sent his shot slightly high, although still on target.
The LOMAH technology has reached outside of the Army and has the interest of some of their Team Orlando partners, espe-cially the Marine Corps. They’ve also discussed it with the Navy, plan to meet with the Air Force, and think that the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center is another potential user.
Savings is a key word these days—especially in this fiscal climate. Through immediate feedback, this new LOMAH tech-nology speeds up the training for quicker qualification and scales back what used to be three days of training on multiple ranges to one day of training on one range. The efficiency of the LOMAH technology gives the Army, and other services, a better way to train their warfighters in small arms marksmanship while saving time and money. O
PM TRADE Develops Next Generation of LOMAH Technology
by dolly rairigh glass
An important part of the new LOMAH technology is its ability to give immediate feedback to the shooter, thus helping to identify what adjustments must be made to “zero” his/her weapon. [Photo courtesy of Team Orlando]
www.MT2-kmi.com26 | MT2 18.2
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Concurrent Real-Time . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21www.real-time.ccur.comGameTech . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22 www.gametechconference.comGeneral Dynamics Information Technology . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 www.gdit.comITEC 2013 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24 www.itec.co.uk/mt2Janus Research Group Inc . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 www.janusresearch.comKrauss-Maffei Wegmann . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .10-11 www.kmwsim.comL-3 Link Simulation & Training . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27 www.link.comMeggitt Training Systems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . C2 www.meggitttrainingsystems.comMetaVR . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . C4 www.metavr.comRaytheon Technical Services Company . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . C3 www.raytheon.comRuag Defence . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25 www.ruag.comThe Tatitlek Corporation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12 www.tatitlek.com
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L-3 Link Simulation & Training is proud to salute U.S. Army Lt. Col. (Ret.) Earle L. Denton for his service to our nation. Lt. Col. Denton is a highly decorated veteran who served in both the Korean and Vietnam Wars. In Korea, he was a platoon leader and company commander of a rifle company in the 31st Infantry, 7th Division when it fought in the Battle of Pork Chop Hill, where he earned the Silver Star. Later, during the Vietnam War, he commanded a battalion that conducted missions responsible for the capture of enemy personnel, weapons and supplies. After retirement from active duty, he spent 40 years supporting modeling and simulation from its infancy through today’s advanced capabilities. We salute Lt. Col. Denton and all of the brave men and women who are helping to keep our nation free.
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www.MT2-kmi.com MT2 18.2 | 27
Dirk SchmidtSenior Vice President of Training & Simulation Division
Krauss-Maffei WegmannDirk Schmidt has been the senior vice presi-dent of KMW’s Training & Simulation divi-sion since 2002. Before joining KMW, he worked for several companies in the defense area and has specialized in simulation, vetronics, C4I systems, robotics and crew sta-tion technology.
Q: Can you describe Krauss-Maffei Weg-mann’s history and evolution?
A: Krauss-Maffei Wegmann GmbH & Co. KG [KMW] is the product of a 1999 merger be-tween two rail industry companies with a his-tory dating to the early 1800s; each became involved in defense business during the World Wars. Today KMW is as a leading supplier of tracked and wheeled military vehicles.
Each company had well established train-ing and simulation businesses, which com-bined to form KMW Training & Simulation which focuses on simulation for military and civilian vehicles, reflecting KMW’s deep vehicle knowledge and high-quality training devices.
Q: What are some of your key products in the DoD training and simulation industry?
A: KMW delivers a broad spectrum of train-ing equipment for virtual and live training. In virtual this includes driver and gunnery train-ing, combat, tactical, C4I system-simulators and combat support. In live training, KMW delivers driver training tanks and live-firing monitoring equipment.
Common to all simulators is the KMW SW framework, which provides core services for all virtual simulations. This flexible scal-able framework, consists of modules for ve-hicle simulation [logic, dynamics], weapon simulation, image generation, computer-generated forces, exercise control, AAR and terrain databases.
This technology forms the core of every KMW simulator, is the same regardless of sim-ulator type, and using this framework, simula-tors for new vehicle are easily developed. The framework includes networking [all KMW simulators can work together] which is a key enabler of our “dynamic terrain,” where real-time distributed changes to polygonal struc-ture of the virtual environment in response to
events are handled within the environment. A crater is not a simple texture change—under-lying polygons are modified, which affect CGF navigation and ownship dynamics. Further-more, since terrain changes are distributed real-time over the network, all network simu-lators see the same thing at the same time, ensuring ground truth faire-fight conditions.
Q: What are some of the new training/simu-lation technologies Krauss-Maffei Wegmann is developing?
A: We are enhancing our “advanced dynamic terrain” in the area of soil physics. Earlier-generation dynamic terrain craters have the same dimensions regardless of underlying soil type; advanced dynamic terrain crater dimensions depend on soil type at point of impact. Additionally, this technology is well suited for simulation of construction vehicles such as excavators.
Our weather server implements dynamic weather for virtual simulations creating local-ized changes; this virtual dynamic weather provides variable weather conditions within terrain databases which change over time. The result is changing environmental condi-tions such as a frontal system creating locally changing weather as it moves through the database.
For live training we are developing intelli-gent control systems for shooting range mov-ing targets to expand training capability from “gunnery training” to more realistic “tactical training.”
Q: How are you positioned for the future within the military?
A: We have diligently developed a worldwide network of business partners who are experts within their fields and can provide the best technology at best price. Therefore, we are
prepared for in-country and global competi-tion. In the U.S., our subsidiary Wegmann USA manages projects and develops software for U.S. customers and partners extensively in the U.S.; as such, we are well positioned to support U.S. military training needs.
Q: What is Krauss-Maffei Wegmann‘s con-nection with the defense community?
A: KMW has a longstanding commitment to its customers and the defense community. We established an annual international simulator user group meeting alternately at KMW [Mu-nich] and customer training centers around the world. The group consists of military users of KMW simulators and guests. The purpose is to provide an open forum for users to exchange ideas and experiences with KMW simulators and discuss future training requirements and technology trends.
Q: What is an example of your success in the military, and what are some of your goals [specific to the training/simulation industry] over the next year?
A: Success: A soldier returning home safe and sitting in a driving/gunnery simulator saying that it feels exactly like the real thing. Goals: continue technology leadership, continue to increase competitive edge and expand global network.
Q: How do customers benefit from Krauss-Maffei Wegmann’s varied resources and ex-pertise?
A: KMW’s T&S expertise is based on vehicle know-how, i.e. first-hand knowledge regarding technological improvements in vehicle design and functionality and we transfer this to our simulators. KMW simulators are always very high-fidelity replications of original vehicles.
Q: How do you measure success?
A: KMW measures customer satisfaction di-rectly via questionnaires and indirectly by various performance factors. Increasing “cus-tomer satisfaction” factor year [after] year is how we measure overall success. O
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THE WARFIGHTER’S GREATEST ADVANTAGE?
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www.MT2-kmi.com28 | MT2 18.2
Raytheon’s Warfi ghter Support Services (WSS) provides an extensive range of turnkey
training support. From customized training and engineering services to logistics support, we offer affordable, innovative solutions — including the
Warfi ghter FOCUS program — that effectively address your training needs today and tomorrow. So you can count on integrated, combat-proven
services that enhance readiness, improve decision-making and ensure mission success.
WARFIGHTER SUPPORT SERVICES
www.raytheon.com | Keyword: WSS
INNOVATION IN ALL DOMAINS
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© 2013 Raytheon Company. All rights reserved. “Customer Success Is Our Mission” is a registered trademark of Raytheon Company.
THE WARFIGHTER’S GREATEST ADVANTAGE?
READINESS.
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Real-time screen captures are from MetaVR’s visualization system and Afghanistan 3D virtual terrain and are unedited except as required for printing. The real-time renderings of the 3D virtual world are generated by MetaVR Virtual Reality Scene Generator™ (VRSG™). 3D models and animations are from MetaVR’s 3D content libraries. Photograph of the MetaVR-BSI JTAC desktop simulator courtesy of the Illinois Air National Guard, Peoria, IL. © 2013 MetaVR, Inc. All rights reserved. MetaVR, Virtual Reality Scene Genera-tor, VRSG, the phrase “Geospecifi c simulation with game quality graphics”, and the MetaVR logo are trademarks of MetaVR, Inc.
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