Beyond a Major Management Revision
BEYOND A MAJOR MANAGEMENT REVISION
The Modeling and Simulation Coordination Office is DoD focal point for M&S
activities. An interview with Jesse Citizen, director, MSCO.
In August 2007, Jesse Citizen assumed the position of M&S CO director, where he leverages his broad understanding of DoD missions, professional military operations and modeling and simulation experience. Citizen was an Air Force colonel with 33 years of service. His last military position was chief, Modeling and Simulation Policy Division, in the USAF Headquarters, responsible for developing all USAF modeling and simulation policy and providing oversight for all Air Force centrally-managed M&S programs.
Citizen has held a wide variety of operational positions including air battle manager duties within the North American Air Defense System Tactical Air Control System and has over 1,700 hours onboard the NATO airborne warning and control system. His international experience includes chief of the Air Command and Control Interoperability Section, at the Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe, now Allied Command Operations, where he oversaw the development of NATO air defense systems, political-military policy and operations requirements. In addition, Citizen served as the chief of the Air Force M&S Policy Division, military assistant to the Air Force chief information officer, readiness evaluator and military assistant to the DoD inspector general, and chief, Tactical Control Systems Integrations, Plans and Programs Directorate, Headquarters Air Force. This background, combined with his role as a consultant supporting M&S activities in DoD’s Training Transformation program, provides him a deep appreciation for the direct benefits of M&S to DoD missions, operations, and warfighters.
Citizen’s extensive and varied background will help him to generate new emphasis and focus on inter-service and inter-M&S community coordination. He is known for his innovative and consensus-building leadership style empowering those under his direction to articulate and advance DoD M&S vision and goals.
He has three master’s degrees, completion of the Marine Command and Staff College and Air Command and Staff College and attendance at the prestigious Air War College.
Q: The DMSO office was restructured. What is your current role in setting modeling and simulation policy?
A: I appreciate the opportunity to discuss many of the new developments and advancements within the DoD modeling and simulation [M&S] community. As I’m sure you already know, the Defense Modeling and Simulation Office [DMSO] has been transformed to the new Modeling and Simulation Coordination Office [M&S CO] under OSD’s Acquisition, Technology and Logistics [AT&L]. The creation of the M&S CO is one part of a larger effort at restructuring how M&S is managed and implemented within the Department of Defense. This restructuring is a direct result of the department’s recognition that the existing M&S management structure was not producing the desired outcomes, and as a result embarked on a major revision.
The department has made significant strides in implementing this new management structure through the publication of DoD Directive 5000.59 and the establishment of the DoD M&S Steering Committee [M&S SC]. The M&S CO, in support of the M&S SC, provides the day-to-day oversight of the M&S management process and serves as the focal point for DoD M&S activities. We have assumed more of a “shepherding” role to help community members execute better M&S.
The M&S CO coordinates the execution of policy and standards requirements for the M&S SC, and develops plans, programs, procedures and issuances, and pursues common and cross-cutting M&S tools, data, and services to achieve DoD goals. These goals promote visibility and accessibility of models and simulations by leading, guiding and coordinating investments in M&S; assisting collaborative research, development, acquisition and operation of models and simulations; maximizing commonality, reuse, interoperability, efficiencies and effectiveness of M&S, and supporting DoD communities that are enabled by M&S.
Q: How is the M&S CO working with the services at both the policy and the technical levels?
A: As part of the restructuring of the management of the DoD M&S community, the M&S CO not only works in close collaboration with the services, but also with the newly established M&S user communities. These communities are composed around six distinctive M&S functional areas: acquisition, analysis, experimentation, planning, testing and training. Integral to the changes to evolving leadership oversight is the process of having community stakeholders working side-by-side with service leaders at the M&S SC and at other levels. To meet the Departments’ integration and cross-cutting goals, direct participation from each of the services, the Joint Staff, and the leads of these six major M&S user communities is vital.
The newly structured M&S SC has formed a management group modeled around a board of directors concept to create greater synergy among the key stakeholders. The M&S SC consists of members of the Senior Executive Service, military flag officers, and other government officials, who act as the guiding force for oversight and strategic governance of M&S capabilities and resources. To support the M&S SC, the integrated process team [IPT] functions as a working group for on-going M&S activities and reports, while the M&S CO provides administrative support and dedicated community representatives to enhance the working group processes.
This governance structure allows for greater collaboration and identification of high-payoff investment areas within the department. Enterprisewide, corporate-level activities are a distinct focus for the M&S SC. For example, it will manage the Common and Cross-Cutting Business Plan, which will enhance effectiveness of the M&S communities by providing a persistent process by which they coordinate products and services. The Common and Cross-Cutting Plan derives from the six communities’ M&S business plans. With innovative strategic planning, a new DoD M&S Vision Statement, and the new 5000.59 DoD Directive signed, this new model has already lead to more collaboration and outreach efforts between the communities and services.
Q: Explain how your office is involved in promoting interoperability between DoD’s training, testing and acquisition communities’ systems.
A: As you have already seen, the M&S CO is working at the core of promoting DoD policies and processes. We are supporting the coordinated efforts of the six M&S communities and their representatives, the services, the IPT and the M&S Steering Committee. Our new management process is still evolving but has already produced collaboration and information sharing between the training, testing, and acquisition communities. A good example of this is the M&S Steering Committee sponsored study titled “Live, Virtual, and Constructive Architecture Roadmap” that is addressing the M&S needs of many communities. One benefit of this coordination is that these communities are committed to sharing information on requirements and data, so that we have less duplication of effort. We are supporting the faster development of M&S tools that can be shared between these communities, and others, thereby improving the efficiency and effectiveness of M&S as it support the DoD missions and operations.
Q: How is M&S CO outreaching to the U.S. modeling and simulation industry community?
A: Working in partnership with the modeling and simulation industry is a major focus for the DoD’s M&S collaborative technical and outreach efforts. This is a joint endeavor and success is measured by the level of participation and interaction among partners. For our part, the M&S CO supports the DoD M&S communities in their goals to work more closely with industry and academia both to define current and new technology requirements and to acquire cutting edge solutions. For the purpose of expanding participation in and collaboration with other outside agencies, the DoD has begun a concerted effort to reach out to commercial entities and academia to request their insights and inputs to new DoD projects. This emerging inclusion strategy works to maximize the availability of new M&S technologies.
An example of the M&S management inclusion strategy is exemplified by the DoD’s efforts to work with the commercial gaming industry to leverage their advances for the benefit of the training community. This is just one of the numerous outreach efforts we are making to improve the possibility of strategic partnerships between DoD and industry. One last point to make is the fact that the DoD is working with industry on the commercialization of DoD technology toolsets. An example of these efforts includes commercially available versions of the High Level Architecture [HLA] Run Time Interface software, offered by the Mak, Pitch/AEgis Technologies and Raytheon VTC.
The M&S SC works with the Defense Technical Information Center, which sponsors an M&S Information Analysis Center [MSIAC]. The MSIAC, working closely with community representatives and military services, has the mission to assist DoD activities in meeting their M&S needs by providing scientific, technical and operational support information and services in support of government/industry partnerships.
The M&S CO is the focal point for the M&S SC efforts to foster greater collaboration within the M&S communities and associated partners by addressing technology gaps and seams in areas like standardization, commonality, reuse and interoperability. The M&S Coordination Office supported the M&S SC-sponsored Defense Modeling and Simulation Conference [DMSC] in May, 2007, that was well-attended by DoD representatives, the international community, individuals representing a variety of commercial enterprises, and a number of participants from non-DoD government agencies. The U.S. Air Force and the Joint Forces Command co-hosted the DMSC.
Q: How is the M&S CO working with international partner organizations responsible for modeling and simulation policy in their countries?
A: The M&S CO is working closely with a variety of international groups to include the NATO Alliance in support of M&S steering committee objectives. OSD AT&L senior staff members are participating in several capacities. For example, Dr. William Rees, the deputy under secretary of Defense for Laboratories and Basic Sciences, is the principal United States representative to the NATO Research and Technology Board. Mr. Alan Shaffer, who is chair of the M&S Steering Committee, represents U.S. interests in the The Technical Cooperation Program, which is working a variety of M&S issues. Other DoD M&S senior leaders participate in formal international meetings as well as M&S-related conferences like ITEA, ITEC, SISO, SIMTEC-T and other gatherings.
In addition to the TTCP, the M&S CO staff has been working with several NATO groups in the areas of verification, validation and accreditation, as well as HLA groups. The M&S Coordination Office Director also leads the U.S. delegation to the NATO Modeling and Simulation Group, which consists of three forums: the Military Operations Requirements Panel, the Plans and Programs Panel, and the Plenary sessions. The U.S. delegation to these forums additionally includes military service representatives from the U.S. Army, the U.S. Air Force and the U.S. Joint Forces Command. Finally, the deputy director of the M&S Coordination Office is the chair of the military operations requirements subgroup that is currently defining NATO requirements. One new initiative that impacts on international groups includes funding approved by the M&S SC for research in areas such as building a standard set of unclassified scenarios for use by U.S. allies and defense contractors’ independent research and development programs.
The DoD M&S community has undergone a significant number of management changes that have enabled us to look at our processes in an entirely different perspective and undertake a new business model unique to DoD M&S. While change is sometimes difficult, the steps we are taking to improve our processes will provide a solid underpinning for DoD M&S governance and management for the future. These goals will further the achievement of the DoD’s M&S Strategic Vision, to empower DoD with modeling and simulation capabilities that effectively and efficiently support the full spectrum of the department’s missions and operations. ♦