Engineer presents professional information designed to keep U.S. military and civilian engineers informed of current and emerging developments within their areas of expertise for the purpose of enhancing their professional development.
Issue link: https://engineer.epubxp.com/i/145930
■ Three mission command system laboratories capable of accommodating 172 people. ■ Three after action rooms with moveable walls (which provide a secure setting when required), each capable of accommodating 63 people, or a total of 189 people. ■ One video teleconference room capable of accommodating 30 people. ■ Two dedicated server rooms (one of which is secure). ■ Administrative space for 54 people. ■ Six hardstand external connection points for tactical vehicles. Soldiers receive instruction in the new, state-of-the-art DTF. Chemical, Biological, Radiological, and Nuclear School (USACBRNS) students. ■ Gaming instruction through the use of gaming products such as Virtual Battlespace 2 (VBS2)™, UrbanSim, Enhanced Learning Environments With Creative Technologies (ELECT) Bilateral Negotiation Trainer (BiLAT), and Moral Combat. Each of these games is designed to help achieve a learning objective based on the needs of the Soldier student. Game selections are designed to accommodate individual learners or collective groups. In some instances, instruction may progress from individuals to groups. ■ Constructive simulation exercises using capabilities for current and future simulations, with varying degrees of support requirements depending on the type of simulation used—primarily low-overhead simulation/stimulation capability types such as the Army Low-Overhead Training Toolkit (ALOTT) and its suite of simulation tools. The ALOTT is used in the following cases: Q Major combat operations brigade and above command staff processes. Q Major combat operations battalion and below command staff processes. Q Defense support of civil authorities operations brigade and above command staff processes. The DTF is equipped with— ■ Twenty 16-person tactical-operation centers. ■ Two 52-person laboratories. FBCB2/constructive simulation ■ Three gaming laboratories capable of accommodating 145 people. 40 Engineer ■ A storage area with a loading dock. The unique role of Fort Leonard Wood as an installation that supports the training and education of TRADOC and FORSCOM organizations and units through the use of virtual, constructive simulations and gaming devices provides the opportunity to create the integrated training environment that the Army envisions for the force. The MSCoE DTF offers common training tools for the institutional base and students attending professional military education courses and then facilitates the transition of those graduates who remain part of the operational force at Fort Leonard Wood into the home station environment, where they have the opportunity to use those tools. The DTF is primarily designed for the MSCoE TRADOC mission, but has further potential as a training platform for other venues, limited only by the imagination and the white space on the training calendar. For example, the DTF could be used for functional and multifunctional unit command post exercises, homeland security exercises, joint training exercises, and other interagency exercises. As the Army continues to pursue a live, virtual, constructive simulation and gaming integrated training environment with which to train its forces, the MSCoE DTF—properly resourced and managed—brings that vision one step closer to reality. Mr. McFarland is the education and training supervisor, Training Instruction Branch, Assistant Chief of Staff for Operations and Training (G-3), MSCoE. He is a retired Army infantry lieutenant colonel and former battalion commander. He holds a bachelor's degree in wildlife resource management from Southwest Missouri State University (now Missouri State University) and master's degrees in management from Webster University and in military arts and science from the School of Advanced Military Studies, Command and General Staff College, Fort Leavenworth, Kansas . May–August 2013