Bolstering the Battle Against Terrorism
TSWG's Training Technology Development Subgroup Develops and Delivers Training, Education and Mission-Support Products and Technologies.
by Benjamin D. Hamilton, Ed.D.
For 26 years, the Technical Support Working Group (TSWG) has served as the national interagency and international program for identifying and executing combating terrorism requirements. TSWG is one of three programs that make up the Combating Terrorism Technical Support Office (CTTSO) under the Assistant Secretary of Defense (ASD) Special Operations/ Low-Intensity Conflict and Interdependent Capabilities. The working group consists of 10 subgroups, one of which is the Training Technology Development (TTD) Subgroup.
The mission of the TTD Subgroup is to identify, prioritize and execute projects that satisfy interagency requirements for the development and delivery of combating- terrorism-related education, training, and mission performance support products and technologies. The TTD Subgroup accomplishes this mission through collaboration with partners such as: U.S. Army’s Research, Development, and Engineering Command's Simulation and Training Technology Center (RDECOM-STTC), Department of Homeland Security, Advanced Distributed Learning Initiative, Joint Improvised Explosive Device Defeat Organization, U.S. Special Operations Command, National Guard Bureau, U.S. Marine Corps, National Bomb Squad Commanders Advisory Board, and Hazardous Devices School. The TTD Subgroup’s projects are divided into four focus areas: advanced training and education, delivery architectures, training and information aids, and models, simulations and games.
ADVANCED TRAINING AND EDUCATION FOCUS AREA
The scope of this focus area is to develop programs of instruction, training packages, computer- and classroom-based combating terrorism training courses, and the advanced tools, techniques and guidelines required to analyze needs, develop solutions and evaluate results. Since many performance issues are not a result of a lack of training, this focus area includes the analysis of performance needs with the goal of identifying applicable solutions. Projects in this focus area may also integrate delivery technologies with combating terrorism training materials in order to increase the quality, effectiveness and accessibility of training.
One of the most popular areas for the TTD Subgroup has been the development of critical training support packages (TSPs) for immediate needs. A TSP typically consists of a package containing instructor guidance, a student manual, PowerPoint slides, supporting classroom video scenarios and a train-the-trainer video. Also included in the package is a DVD/CD-ROM containing all information in the manuals, PowerPoint slides, and video clips. The TTD Subgroup has developed the Battle Staff Operations in a Counterinsurgency (COIN) Environment TSP targeted at the brigade combat team (BCT)/battalion level with the goal of attacking the IED system proactively rather than reacting to the individual device. This proactive approach incorporates the full spectrum of operations to include information operations, civil-military operations, and partnering with host nations and non-government organizations. The Battle Staff Operations in a COIN Environment TSP has been integrated into the Battle Staff Non-Commissioned Officer course, and will be taught to all captains across the U.S. Army during the Captains’ Career course and all sergeants’ major during the Sergeant Major course. The TSP is built upon material presented in the Battle Command Training Program COIN Seminar and the Army’s Asymmetric Warfare Group Training Advisory Team training for deploying battle staffs. Another example project is the Site Exploitation: Evidence Collection Training Package developed in collaboration with the Marine Corps. This training package is used by unit level instructors and includes a TSP, a guidebook, supporting field reference cards, and a hands-on evidence collection training kit filled with the necessary evidence collection equipment. This training package will be incorporated into Marine Corps-wide site exploitation training standards.
DELIVERY ARCHITECTURES FOCUS AREA
The scope of this focus area centers on developing new, advancing emerging, and enhancing existing learning, content and knowledge management technologies. Projects have included developing software and hardware technologies, architectures and infrastructures to deliver information, education and training to personnel who are combating terrorism. Through collaboration with the ADL Initiative, projects have emphasized ubiquitous and distributed computing and have provided the basis for information and training technology interoperability.
Examples in this focus area include collaboration with the ADL Co-Lab on the Content Object Repository Discovery and Registration Architecture (CORDRA) which is a model for facilitating the discovery, sharing and reuse of distributed learning content through interoperability of various repositories. The TTD Subgroup has also collaborated with the language community and the National Virtual Translation Center to develop a Linguist Language Broker which is a knowledge-sharing and terminology management tool. The web accessible application allows warfighters, linguists and translators to collaborate, share terminology, receive linguistic information (i.e. root, pronunciation, domain, etc.), and query multiple, interagency data and linguistic resources.
TRAINING AIDS AND DEVICES FOCUS AREA
The scope of this focus area is to develop job aids, training aids, performance improvement solutions, and training support devices to support mission performance and increase mission readiness. Some of the projects include creating pocket guides, flipbooks, and other aids for TSWG products and emerging areas of research in the combating terrorism domain.
One such project is the Sensitive Site Exploitation (SSE) Guidebook developed in collaboration with the U.S. Army Chemical School. The SSE Guidebook provides military personnel with information on planning, equipment, exploitation procedures, search methods and collection operations regarding the exploration of sites containing explosives, toxic chemicals, unexpended ordnance and weapons of mass destruction. The TTD Subgroup is also currently working on an Indicators and Warnings for Homemade Explosives (HME) Pocket Guide as part of the TSWG HME Working Group. The pocket guide provides military personnel and first responders with awareness information on precursors and lab equipment typically used in making homemade explosives.
MODELS, SIMULATIONS AND GAMES FOCUS AREA
The scope of this focus area centers on developing interactive models, simulations and games including tabletop simulations; field exercise simulations; immersive, virtual-learning environments; hands-on virtual reality; simulation models; and PC-based, three-dimensional and isometric simulations and games. Specific areas of interest include, but are not limited to crowd models, adversarial behavior models, network-based simulations, mini-simulations on specific combating terrorism– related tasks, and incorporating beneficial game charactethrough the full range of game genres (i.e., strategy, first person tactical, massively multiplayer online game, role-playing, etc.).
Representative projects in this focus area include a partnership with the U.S. Army’s RDECOM-STTC on a project called Adaptive Simulation Agents for Adversarial Behaviors (ASAAB). Simply stated, the goal of ASAAB is to get the warfighter ahead of the threat curve. ASAAB is designed to advance artificial intelligence and adaptive and autonomous agent-based simulation characters for current and potential threats. The project focuses on the representative behaviors, rules and effects within a distributed training system to prepare the warfighter and leaders for asymmetrical operations and threats. The intent is to allow warfighters to see and practice against new adversary tactics, techniques and procedures before seeing them for the first time in-theater. Also, as part of the TSWG International Program, the TTD Subgroup is collaborating with Singapore on the development of adaptive, artificial intelligent crowd models to be implemented in a realtime simulation environment. The crowd models (called COSMOS for CrOwd Simulation for Military OperationS) will be used to train warfighters and first responders in handling crowd-related scenarios (e.g. riot control, disaster management, emergency evacuation, rescue operations, urbanized conflicts, etc.), formulating strategies, answering “what-if” scenarios and evaluating contingency plans. Also, the TTD Subgroup is researching the impact of the emergence of virtual worlds on training and learning. The TTD Subgroup has a current effort focused on building a model cultural immersive learning environment by leveraging commercial investments in Second Life.
BUSINESS AT THE TTD SUBGROUP
The TTD Subgroup conducts an annual requirements meeting in early January (typically in near proximity to the annual CTTSO Threat Day). The TTD requirements meeting is open to all government personnel and presents an opportunity for the interagency community to identify their organization’s combating terrorism training requirements for available funding. Following the requirements meeting, CTTSO conducts an advanced planning briefing to industry (APBI) in February where the requirements are briefed to industry. Following APBI, CTTSO publishes the requirements through a broad agency announcement. Since the needs and requirements of the combating terrorism community do not wait for annual requirements meetings, the TTD Subgroup coordinates with stakeholders to respond to immediate requirements throughout the year. The TTD Subgroup is always interested in partnering with operational users to execute and transition combating terrorism training projects.