Providing for Hybrid and Unforseen Threats

Dr. James Blake
PEO
PEO STRI
 

Q: The Chief of Staff of the Army has renewed the interest in homestation training. What is PEO STRI doing to support his effort?

A: With the drawdown of troops in Southwest Asia, we are preparing for an increased number of soldiers at homestation and limited available space for training. And even in this time of budgetary constraints, we must keep the training vital to the soldier as we plan for hybrid and unforeseen threats in this era of persistent conflict. So with more troops at home, less available space for training, an austere budget, but the need for critical training, PEO STRI holds the very solution to this seemingly daunting challenge—the implementation of a blended training environment.

We are at the forefront of the Army’s homestation training campaign because we equip commanders with live, virtual, constructive and gaming devices that they need to train their battle staffs.

Within the next year, we will begin fielding the Live, Virtual and Constructive-Integrating Architecture [LVC-IA]. The commander will then have the ability to build a training scenario in which live, virtual, constructive and game-based training can be seamlessly integrated. PEO STRI is responsible for providing commanders with a “toolkit” of live, virtual, constructive and gaming training capabilities and the means to integrate the four facets of training. Commanders will have the flexibility to easily create a host of training exercises related to the contemporary operating environment. Soldiers will get a more wholesome training experience, whether they’re the live guys on the range, the virtual guys in the aviation simulator, the constructive guys behind OneSAF or the gamers in a convoy.

The first blended training environment will be fielded next summer to Fort Hood, Texas.

Q: How does homestation training relate to Unified Land Operations?

A: Since General Ray Odierno, the chief of staff of the Army, expanded the Army’s focus on full-spectrum operations to Unified Land Operations, we’re training soldiers to conduct a fluid mix of offensive, defensive and stability operations or defense support of civil authorities, simultaneously.

As a result, units in the train/ready phase of the Army Force Generation Model are either contingency or deployment expeditionary forces, referred to as CEF and DEF respectively.

DEF units are specified for a definite deployment area, like Afghanistan for example, and have priority at training at any one of the Army’s three premier Combat Training Centers, such as the National Training Center in Fort Irwin, Calif.

CEF units, on the other hand, meet more general training objectives to support the Army’s broad array of tasks under the Unified Land Operations doctrine. Because these units may not have the opportunity to train at the Combat Training Centers, the Army has reinvested its interest in homestation training.

Q: How does the PEO STRI program portfolio support the Live, Virtual and Constructive-Integrated Training Environment?

A: A handful of our training devices will make up the blended training environment, and the centerpiece is the Live, Virtual and Constructive–Integrating Architecture.

For the first increment of this blended training environment, the virtual component will be comprised of the Close Combat Tactical Trainer and Aviation Combined Arms Tactical Trainer. The live part of this environment will be fashioned by the Homestation Instrumentation Training System. And the constructive piece—the part of the environment where commanders can replicate the enemy and friendly forces in combat to train all the complex enablers that today’s brigade, division and joint task force encounter on the modern battlefield— will be formed by the Joint Land Component Constructive Training Capability-Entity Resolution Federation and One Semi-Automated Forces [One SAF]. Three additional programs, Synthetic Environment Core [SE Core], Common Training Instrumentation Architecture and Instrumentable Multiple Integrated Laser Engagement System, are enablers that support LVC-IA.

Although only a select few of our training programs support the initial increment, we expect that many other mission programs could also become a part of the integrated training environment, such as the Intelligence Electronic Warfare Tactical Proficiency Trainer and A Low Overhead Training Toolkit.

Q: What new initiatives or programs does PEO STRI have planned for 2012?

A: Next year, we will deliver the first Dismounted Soldier Training System, an immersive virtual simulator that fulfills a longstanding training gap.

The Dismounted Soldier Training System provides the rigor and realism needed to execute tough and demanding training for current and future soldiers in a wide range of military operations, including major combat operations, irregular warfare, peacekeeping operations, limited intervention and peacetime military engagements, as well as offense, defense, stability and civil support. The training system allows leaders to plan and execute individual and collective tasks in a challenging virtual environment with squads or teams conducting multiple iterations to achieve training objectives and maximize training time.

Q: Please outline your scheduled 2012 outreach efforts and program briefing schedule for industry.

A: Based on the feedback we have gathered from our industry members, we have initiated a number of activities to facilitate an open dialogue with them.

We will continue to provide industry with a synopsis of every new business opportunity we foresee at the annual Training and Simulation Industry Symposium. The next scheduled TSIS will be held June 2012.

We will also provide industry an update on the TSIS briefings at each I/ITSEC, and the 2011 TSIS opportunities have been updated for this year’s I/ITSEC. At each of these presentations, we will afford industry a chance to ask questions and gain a better understanding of each opportunity.

Beyond the traditional business opportunity briefings, we host a series of industry day presentations to highlight large opportunities that we are working on. The purpose is to convey to industry what we are doing and solicit their ideas on how we can best achieve our objectives.

We believe an active and productive exchange of information best satisfies industry and the government.

Q: What steps were taken in 2011 to streamline PEO STRI’s acquisition process?

A: We have implemented several significant new business processes and polices over the last year to gain efficiencies across our acquisitions.

By far the most beneficial has been our full implementation of the Solicitation and Contract Award Peer Review Board process in accordance with DoD policy. We initiated the process in 2010 and fully institutionalized it this year, in which we have conducted more than 100 peer reviews across the organization. From these peer reviews, we’ve discovered everything from minor administrative errors in the documentation to missing clauses or contractual language.

We are also documenting the timelines associated with the different contract types across the PEO, allowing our requiring activities to gain a solid insight into how long a specific procurement type may take. It helps them plan better for future contracting actions. As a result, our PMs and requiring activities are able to more accurately coordinate with their TRADOC and industry stakeholders so they can make more informed business decisions.

Furthermore, we have initiated an internal effort to engage directly with industry more often throughout the acquisition process. The initiative, called the Procurement Administrative Lead Time Update, is conducted on a monthly basis and is open to all of our industry members. The session facilitates communication between the PEO STRI Acquisition Center and industry on the status of ongoing procurements as part of an open agenda driven by our industry partners. This exchange of information has allowed industry to weigh in on multiple procurements, which has had a very positive impact on our business decisions.

Lastly, our principal assistant responsible for contracting has established a permanent source selection advisory team that is responsible for maintaining consistency among PEO STRI source selections. The team develops standard training packages, captures lessons learned and then integrates them back into the process where appropriate. The team has been in place since July and has already made significant impacts on our formal procurement process. On a side note, the team is conducting a PEO STRI source selection workshop on multiple days at I/ITSEC this year and the sessions will be open to all industry members.

Q: What is PEO STRI’s role in the Department of Veterans Affairs SimLearn Program?

A: We support the VHA SimLEARN national program by providing front-end analysis of VHA training requirements, developing alternative acquisition strategies to satisfy those requirements, executing the contracting actions to acquire the required materials and services, assisting VHA SimLEARN with the delivery of products and services to the field, and providing sustainment support, as required, for those products and services.

Q: How do you feel advancements in simulation and virtual technology made in 2011 will impact military training in 2012?

A: The Dismounted Soldier Training System, which we awarded the contract for this year, will have a major training impact on our military not only in 2012, but also far into the future. The Dismounted Soldier training capability will revolutionize the way the Army trains its soldiers by providing the firstever, fully immersive simulation system focused on the squad and individual soldier.

The system will enable soldiers to train on the critical skills of mission planning and mission rehearsal in virtual reality that will replicate all of the complexities that modern-day soldiers may face in current operations.

Q: What are the top three challenges PEO STRI will face going into 2012?

A: Our training budgets are being reduced while the demand for training is increasing. Our challenge, together with the resourcing and requirements community and our industry stakeholders, will be to maximize the resources we are allocated and continue to provide soldiers with the decisive edge in training.

As I’ve said before, there is an increasing demand on training enablers at Army installations as troop deployments are reduced and units spend more time at homestation. As the demand for rotational units in theater comes down, we’re already seeing evidence of competing demands for training enablers at home—a situation that commanders have not had to deal with for nearly 10 years. Some installations are experiencing a “full nest” effect with three or four maneuver brigades all at homestation simultaneously, where previously there may have only been one. We’re ready to respond to these surges in training demand by moving training devices between installations or surging capabilities to certain installations for specific periods to support peak training events and minimizing any lost training time.

Thirdly, we’re experiencing manpower reductions across DoD for both government and support contactor positions, and we must balance how to achieve manpower targets while maintaining program performance. My goal is to make sure we stay focused on our mission to support the training needs of the soldier and the nation while taking the necessary steps to meet those targets.

Q: How will PEO STRI’s role be affected as troops are brought home from Afghanistan?

A: As the Army’s deployed footprint in both Iraq and Afghanistan draws down, we are anticipating an increase in demand on the homestation training enablers at each installation. Unit commanders will demand training across the spectrum of conflicts to address the hybrid threats of the future. These complex training needs will drive a requirement to continue to modernize and improve our fielded training enablers to maintain relevancy with the current environment, doctrine and weapon systems.

Q: In your view, what is PEO STRI’s greatest success of 2011?

A: We migrated two of our key virtual trainers—the Close Combat Tactical Trainer and the Aviation Combined Arms Tactical Trainer—to the OneSAF and SE Core baseline, which allows for an interoperable training environment.

Although we will not deliver this capability to the Army until 2012, much of the heavy lifting was done this year. The strides we made in the materiel development community, together with our industry stakeholders, were enormous when you consider where we started at the beginning of this year and the technical challenges we faced. The collective commitment and technical skills brought in from all the members of the team have done a tremendous job in paving the way toward a blended training environment.

Q: Is there anything else you would like to say that I have not asked?

A: In today’s environment, we’re acutely aware that the force must be ready to not only destroy and defeat, but also to build, govern and secure. It must be ready for decisive action at a moment’s notice and properly balance combined arms maneuver and wide area security, both of which are an essential component of the joint force’s ability to achieve strategic goals.

The U.S. Army recognizes the importance of maintaining an agile force equipped to respond to offensive, defensive and stability operations or defense support of civil authorities. It’s our responsibility, in the simulation and training community, to provide the systems and support necessary to provide adaptive soldiers qualified to fulfill the Army’s doctrine.

The Army of today—and the Army of the future—trains soldiers for an era of persistent conflict against hybrid threats and uncertain future challenges. The same holds true for our sister services.

Training benefits are not constrained by the uniform worn by the individual. Training is a team sport. The tremendous technological advances we are making in simulation, training and testing reach far beyond just benefiting our nation’s warfighters. Through the affiliations that we form in the military, government services, industry and academia, we are able to have a significant impact on the training of not only our own military forces, but also those of our coalition partners.

Time and again, our simulation, instrumentation and testing products have proved to excel at meeting the training objectives in the field, as well as saving time and money for the units using them. ♦