View From The Hill
The Benefits of M&S
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MODELING AND SIMULATION PLAYS AN IMPORTANT ROLE IN PREPARING OUR WARFIGHTERS, AND THERE IS A GROWING NEED TO DEVELOP A TECH-SAVVY WORKFORCE TO SUSTAIN THIS PROMISING INDUSTRY.
Last November, I joined my colleagues on the Congressional Modeling and Simulation (M&S) Caucus for a panel discussion at the Interservice/Industry Training, Simulation and Education Conference (I/ ITSEC) in Orlando [Fla.]. As we concluded our panel, two points were made especially clear: the important role that M&S plays in preparing our warfighters and the growing need to develop a tech-savvy workforce to sustain this promising industry.
About a week before I/ITSEC, Microsoft unveiled its new Xbox 360 videogame system, which was particularly timely to our discussion. In the last five years, the M&S industry, as it pertains to video games, has grown by leaps and bounds. However, the M&S industry as it pertains to national and homeland security remains a largely untapped market.
The Congressional M&S Caucus was formed because we, as elected leaders, realized the tremendous potential that exists to keep our troops the best trained in the world through the use of cost-effective M&S technology. Our goal is to foster the growth of M&S by promoting the continued cooperation between industry and the Department of Defense. In other words, we want to fully exploit the exploding capabilities and opportunities of M&S.
What is remarkable about the potential of M&S technology is its direct application to the warfighter. Many view M&S as an asset on the strategic level. However, having been to Iraq and had the opportunity to speak directly to our troops about the threats they face and how they could best combat them, I understand the implications that M&S could have on the tactical level are equally impressive.
A good example of this would be the threat represented by improvised explosive devices (IEDs), which account for over one-third of U.S. troop fatalities in Iraq. While we in Congress have been working to ensure that our troops continue to have the latest equipment to protect against IEDs, we are facing a resourceful enemy that is committed to killing as many American soldiers as possible and has shown that it can adapt to our defensive methods.
It is imperative that we stay one step ahead of the terrorists. M&S technology provides our troops with a cost-effective and safe way to train against and confront the IED threat head-on in order to minimize the effects of this terrorist weapon of choice. Specifically, M&S technologies can prepare our troops to deal with the threat of IEDs by training them on route planning, detection and tactics under attack.
Yet with all the possibilities that exist, they do us little good if we cannot get the technology to the warfighter. Bigger is not always better. Industry needs to concentrate on smaller, lighter and more portable systems that can be moved into forward areas where deployed troops can remain constantly trained and operating at a high level of readiness. Special operations forces, for which the 2006 Quadrennial Defense Review outlined a growing need, are specifically identified by their high state of readiness—they are ready to go at a moment’s notice. Portable M&S technology allows these specialized troops to constantly train and hone their skills, maintaining that readiness, without the costs and dangers associated with live-fire exercises. M&S technologies can give our troops the edge on planning, training and rehearsing for both known and anticipated crises of all kinds and sizes—developments that special operations forces could not otherwise train for.
As I mentioned earlier, the M&S industry—particularly the gaming sector—is growing at an exponential rate. Unfortunately, this also has the negative consequence of stretching the available talent pool thin. This is our great challenge: finding and training the labor force needed to sustain and grow this vital industry.
While partnerships between academic institutions such as Old Dominion University in Norfolk, Va., and industry should serve as an example of efforts to train the workforce, we must do more to invigorate the imaginations of future generations and encourage them to enter the industry workforce in the first place.
In January’s State of the Union address, President Bush called for an American Competitiveness Initiative, an effort to improve math and science instruction in our schools. The president recognized that the implications of this gap are serious and could have dire consequences on multiple sectors of the economy, particularly the defense-industrial base.
It is no secret that China and India are graduating more engineers and students with degrees emphasizing math and science than the United States. Being outpaced in developing a technologically savvy workforce could put us at a severe competitive disadvantage to competitors in [a] global economy, as well as potential military adversaries. But government is not the only solution. I joined the Congressional Modeling and Simulation Caucus in part because I believe that businesses play an important role in promoting math and science among our youth.
The M&S sector has the potential to be particularly appealing to young workers because it offers an exciting application of new technologies. We must never forget that this is “neat” stuff. Kids need to understand that the application of math and science can lead to exciting and rewarding careers. Businesses have not just an opportunity but an obligation to teach kids about the value and application of math and science in our daily lives, our economy and national security. It serves their best interests to develop the human resources that will be required for the United States to remain at the vanguard of M&S innovation.
My colleagues and I on the Congressional Modeling & Simulation Caucus are committed to bringing industry, educational and government interests to the same table in an effort to foster the necessary discussion to promote math and science among our youth and, in doing so, creating the framework needed to develop this workforce. As we move forward, I welcome and encourage your comments and suggestions. ♦