special report – military training and simulation recording systems

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Military Training and Simulation Recording Systems SPECIAL REPORT Published by Global Business Media Sponsored by The Importance of Documentation and Debriefing in Training and Simulation The Role of Training and Simulation Programmes and Associated Recording Technologies in Preparing ISAF Member State Forces for Afghanistan The History of Training, Simulation and Modeling with Sound in Aviation in the Twentieth Century Modern Pre-deployment Readiness Training for Counter Insurgency in Afghanistan Simulation and Recording for Trauma Care Training at the Point of Injury and in Medical Centers

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Defence Industry – Special Report on Military Training and Simulation Recording Systems

TRANSCRIPT

Page 1: Special Report – Military Training and Simulation Recording Systems

Military Training and Simulation Recording Systems

S P E C I A L R E P O R T

Published by Global Business Media

Sponsored by

The Importance of Documentation and Debriefi ng in Training and Simulation

The Role of Training and Simulation Programmes and Associated Recording Technologies in Preparing ISAF Member State Forces for Afghanistan

The History of Training, Simulation and Modeling with Sound in Aviation in the Twentieth Century

Modern Pre-deployment Readiness Training for Counter Insurgency in Afghanistan

Simulation and Recording for Trauma Care Training at the Point of Injury and in Medical Centers

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Page 3: Special Report – Military Training and Simulation Recording Systems

SPECIAL REPORT: MILITARY TRAINING AND SIMULATION RECORDING SYSTEMS

Published by Global Business Media

Global Business Media Limited 62 The Street Ashtead Surrey KT21 1AT United Kingdom

Switchboard: +44 (0)1737 850 939 Fax: +44 (0)1737 851 952 Email: [email protected] Website: www.globalbusinessmedia.org

PublisherKevin Bell

Business Development DirectorMarie-Anne Brooks

EditorMartin Richards

Senior Project ManagerSteve Banks

Advertising ExecutivesMichael McCarthyAbigail Coombes

Production ManagerPaul Davies

For further information visit:www.globalbusinessmedia.org

The opinions and views expressed in the editorial content in this publication are those of the authors alone and do not necessarily represent the views of any organisation with which they may be associated.

Material in advertisements and promotional features may be considered to represent the views of the advertisers and promoters. The views and opinions expressed in this publication do not necessarily express the views of the Publishers or the Editor. While every care has been taken in the preparation of this publication, neither the Publishers nor the Editor are responsible for such opinions and views or for any inaccuracies in the articles.

© 2011. The entire contents of this publication are protected by copyright. Full details are available from the Publishers. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior permission of the copyright owner.

Contents

Foreword 2Martin Richards, Editor

The Importance of Documentation and Debriefi ng in Training and Simulation 3Dr. Christian Gutzen, Managing Director, BIOBSERVE GmbH

Advantages of a standardised solution

Joint training and debriefi ng

Customization

The Role of Training and Simulation Programmes and Associated Recording Technologies in Preparing ISAF Member State Forces for Afghanistan 5Marushka Dubova, Defence Correspondent

The advantages of training and simulation programmes and Serious Games over traditional training

The History of Training, Simulation and Modeling with Sound in Aviation in the Twentieth Century 7Meredith LLewelyn, Lead Contributor

The American Link Simulator

Commercial and military fl ight simulators are now a mature and diverse market

The advantages of simulator training for military aircrew

The licensing authorities

Modern Pre-deployment Readiness Training for Counter Insurgency in Afghanistan 9Don McBarnet, Staff Writer

Training with Avatars: cheaper than simulators

Simulation and Recording for Trauma Care Training at the Point of Injury and in Medical Centers 11Marushka Dubova, Defence Correspondent

Does training with simulators work?

References 12

WWW.DEFENCEINDUSTRYREPORTS.COM | 1

Military Training and Simulation Recording Systems

S P E C I A L R E P O R T

Published by Global Business Media

Sponsored by

The Importance of Documentation and Debriefi ng in Training and Simulation

The Role of Training and Simulation Programmes and Associated Recording Technologies in Preparing ISAF Member State Forces for Afghanistan

The History of Training, Simulation and Modeling with Sound in Aviation in the Twentieth Century

Modern Pre-deployment Readiness Training for Counter Insurgency in Afghanistan

Simulation and Recording for Trauma Care Training at the Point of Injury and in Medical Centers

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Foreword

THIS SPECIAL Report looks at the explosion in military interest in training, simulation and modelling systems and their

attendant recording technologies. The search for cost effective ways to prepare western troops in the diversity of intelligence, negotiating and survival skills for deployment to Afghanistan has led to the use of technological spin offs from the gaming industry, so called “Serious Games”.

The fi rst part of the report examines the importance of high quality and effective feedback from training and how this is related to advanced debriefi ng tools. It examines the advantages of a standardised recoding and debriefi ng solution that can be used in all simulators, thereby achieving effi ciencies and cost savings, and how systems can be adapted to cover a wide range of applications including even physiological data.

The report goes on to discuss the central importance of proven training effectiveness and impact in the military search for training solutions to cover the full spectrum of operational capabilities expected of today’s professional soldier.

A long look is taken at the highly effective use of simulators with high defi nition sound, vision and motion in aviation and its potential role as a catalyst for simulators for land forces and medical care.

The report considers also the impact of the diversity of “Serious Games” and the prospect that their immersive, story telling and didactic qualities may facilitate effective training on laptops and PC’s away from expensive large simulators. In the pursuit of cultural sensitivity awareness working with Afghans, new softwares recording trainee actions are being developed. The goal is to record their responses, so soldiers can be monitored and coached to behave appropriately for the task in hand.

Training and simulation as an adjunct to teaching medicine is progressing fast. The value of simulation training for treating soldiers at the point of injury to improve recovery is a rapidly developing area with some degree of success. It has promise to improve soldier effectiveness in offering wound care in the fi eld and helping doctors to improve team communication.

Martin Richards

Editor

SPECIAL REPORT: MILITARY TRAINING AND SIMULATION RECORDING SYSTEMS

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The Importance of Documentation and Debriefi ng in Training and SimulationDr. Christian Gutzen, Managing Director, BIOBSERVE GmbH

SIMULATORS ARE planned and built with the latest and most sophisticated

technologies for the training itself but often without being accompanied by a powerful documentation and debriefi ng system. There are high-tech simulators in use without any kind of debriefi ng tool.

The big question is, without a high quality and productive training feedback for the trainees, has the lesson been learned?

Effective training is related, also, to an advanced debriefing tool that can reflect the training situation as closely as possible by providing realistic simulation in the best possible manner and in a fl exible way so that trainees can focus on the relevant events to learn as much as possible.

A good documentation and debriefi ng system should be able to record any kind of signal (video, audio, screens, other analogue and digital data streams like system messages) in its original quality and in a fl exible way so that the debriefing can be adapted for different requirements.

Furthermore it should be possible to integrate the system into existing simulators and training scenarios without interfering with the simulator equipment itself, to avoid potential problems with the original simulator vendor, for example, in connection with warranties.

Debriefing solutions that are provided by the vendor of any simulation system are only usable for that particular simulator. They often use proprietary techniques and data cannot be exported and used independently of the simulator. Furthermore, they often are unable to integrate signals that are not directly delivered by the simulation system. It is not even permissible to use an additional video camera where one might want to add material to the recordings.

Advantages of a standardised solutionA single recoding and debriefi ng solution that can be used in all simulators is cost effective and can set a debriefi ng standard throughout the whole organisation. In a joint simulation that involves various simulators of different vendors, a common and network-based recording system can record all scenarios and provide an overall debriefi ng for the whole joint simulation.

In addition, such a standardised environment allows the possibility of interchanging training documentation and observational results between different branches of the armed forces and enables the establishment of a team of documentation experts independently of the training scenario. Using the same tools for the same tasks such as recording, documentation, observational data acquisition and debriefi ng independently of the specifi c simulator or training scenario is the way to move forward. All high tech companies and organisations, (and the armed forces fall into this description nowadays), seek generalised solutions that work corporation-wide. They try to avoid isolated applications wherever they can because the total cost of individual ownership is much higher.

Joint training and debriefi ngWith an independent and standardised recording and debriefi ng solution that can interact with various simulators of different manufacturers it is possible to record joint simulations and training scenarios. With such a distributed system it is possible to run either joint debriefing for all trainees in different locations or a specifi c and very detailed debriefi ng for each group that took part in the scenario.

Much effort is made to build training systems that refl ect and simulate the real-world scenario as closely as possible and, of course, is the effectiveness of training is related to the ability of a simulation scenario to fulfi l this requirement.

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CustomizationBecause they don’t interact with the simulator, independent recording systems can be customised much more easily at lower costs. Once a special feature has been integrated, it can be used in any simulator of the organisation that is equipped with this recording system.

The recording and debriefi ng platform of the BIOBSERVE GmbH is a software/hardware combination built out of COTS components that provides the advantages of an independent state-of-the-art recording and debriefi ng system. Successfully installed in simulators and real-world scenarios in the USA, Europe and Asia, this solution has proven its capability to record any kind of simulation scenario and to provide high quality debriefi ng material.

In the BIOBSERVE system, all signals (video, audio, screens, etc.) are recorded digitally in their original quality, independently from each other but synchronised in time. The signals are not downscaled or mixed and, as a result, preserve the spatial and temporal resolution of the source signals. All signals are available as standard media fi les recorded with standard video codecs.

The recording equipment does not interfere with the simulator equipment. All the recorders require are external signal splitters that do not affect the simulator itself.

During the debriefi ng, the recorded fi les are replayed, perfectly synchronised, each fi le in a separate scalable and movable window. This fl exible presentation of the recordings allows the instructor to focus on the critical incidents by presenting only the relevant signals. A user-friendly annotation function can be used to mark important scenes or to register the behaviour of the trainees in a very detailed way.

Those bookmarks that have been made during the training can be used to jump directly to the appropriate scenes without wasting time searching for the scenes that are to be presented. This feature saves much time and makes debriefing even more efficient. The

integrated video editing tool can be used to create highlighted videos in a simple way and the customizable report generator automatically generates a pdf- based documentation.

The whole system can easily be resized. Thus it is no problem to start with a small solution and expand over time. If more signals need to be recorded, it is necessary only to integrate more recording stations into the recorder network. No major and fundamental changes in the system infrastructure are required. IMAGE recorder.tif

Even physiological data such as heart rate and skin resistance (to measure stress factors) of the trainees can be recorded and analysed to get more information about the physiological conditions during a simulation. IMAGE physio_recorder.tif and ecg.tif

Due to the fact that the recorded signals don’t need to be post-processed, debriefi ng can start immediately after the training has been fi nished. All recordings are available in a database on a network server, therefore the location of the debriefi ng can be completely independent of the simulator location.

With this independent recording and debriefi ng solution, BIOBSERVE provides a turnkey solution tailored for professional and highly effective training and simulation scenarios. Building a good simulator is the fi rst step but is only half the way. An advanced debriefi ng tool is needed to complete the whole simulation approach.

A single recoding and

debriefi ng solution

that can be used in

all simulators is cost

effective and can

set a debriefi ng

standard throughout

the whole organisation.

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The Role of Training and Simulation Programmes and Associated Recording Technologies in Preparing ISAF Member State Forces for AfghanistanMarushka Dubova, Defence Correspondent

Brigadier General Peter Palmer, Director, Accelerated and Capabilities

Development, US Army Training and Doctrine Command said his goal for the US Army in June 2008 was to:

“Provide Soldiers and leaders with the ability to excel in a challenging an increasingly complex future operating environment by developing tools and technologies that enable more effi cient training through live, virtual, immersive and adaptable venues.

Future training must enable the Future Force to impart more skills, faster, at lower cost and with a higher degree of retention than currently achievable.

Future training must be completely adaptable and scalable to cover the full spectrum of operational challenges facing the Soldier.”

In the United States the most basic recruit training for infantry soldiers can take up to 17 weeks, Marine Corps training 13 weeks. The British army basic infantry training takes up to 28 weeks, at a cost of £37,000 in 2005, to train a member of the elite parachute regiment.1 Officers and senior commanders obviously receive far longer time in training. This costly process is now increasingly under budgetary scrutiny to improve effi ciency and effectiveness. The Obama administration’s $671 billion defense budget for fiscal 2012 is $37 billion less than the current year’s request, although the numbers could change as the proposals pass Congress.2 Whatever the outcome in Congress, the search for defense budget cuts will also presage a search for effi ciencies in the

most expensive part of the budget managing and training manpower. Similarly across the Atlantic, the British Strategic Defence and Security Review in October 2010 has brought in an era of further stringent economies and budgetary restrictions on many aspects of training. There is a temporary suspension on some training of reserves and the part time Territorial Army and a reduction in the use of ammunition and fuel during training. It is in the context of the decision to protect front line forces deployed in Afghanistan and to cut elsewhere, that the rapid growth in training and simulation for soldiers preparing for operations in Afghanistan should be seen.

The advantages of training and simulation programmes and Serious Games over traditional trainingWhile many armed forces find the cost reduction arguments for training and simulation technologies powerful, there are others. The environmental impact of the use of live weapons and explosives in training exercises is enormous and the explosion of just one J-Dam would be unacceptable environmentally, leaving aside the unit price of $70,000. There is a case also for reducing the wear and tear on weapons and weapons systems. But the most powerful arguments are those that describe the improvement in the transfer of skills learnt through modern training and simulation programmes. The immersive environment of simulators improves

Training men and women to win in combat is the fi rst and most important activity of the United States Army and indeed, all armed forces and is extremely costly.

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It is in the context of

the decision to protect

front line forces deployed

in Afghanistan and to

cut elsewhere, that the

rapid growth in training

and simulation for

soldiers preparing for

operations in Afghanistan

should be seen.

trainee motivation, persistence and knowledge retention. In some cases there is enhanced intra-team communication, tactical leadership skills and critical thinking under stress. For mission preparation and rehearsal the immersive quality of well-structured simulation programmes enables more effective mastery of declarative knowledge, procedural knowledge and therefore of synthetic operational skill which leads to improved critical thinking on operations.”3 These types of operational skills can only be acquired when the student is facing a simulation of the real world in an “on-the-job” training environment or an artifi cial but accurate representation of the real world”.

“We need to train like we fi ght and fi ght like we train and, too often, we don’t.” Donald H.

Rumsfeld, Secretary of Defense.

The dismounted soldier on the ground in Afghanistan must be able to sustain Situation Awareness from the use of a fl ow of data and take rapid decisions in the face of a constantly changing situation on the ground. The immersive synthetic battlefi elds that can be created by simulation and structured training products have been proved to enhance cognitive skills and soldier safety in the modern battlefield. In February 2011, Cubic Defense Applications signed a contract with the British Army for $40million for the expansion and modernisation of the basic training range. The award includes Multiple Integrated Laser Engagement System (MILES) individual weapon system gear, as well as range communications and after-action review upgrades. The case for Simulation and Training and Serious Games has been so rapidly adopted by Western armed forces in the last decade that there are now NATO Training and Simulation working groups assessing interoperability across NATO members and seeking to work towards Standardisation, Interoperability and linking live virtual and constructive simulations within the alliance. To quote Rear Admiral Fred Lewis, President of the National Training and Simulation Association:

“The explosion in computer processing power, which began in the last decade and which is continuing unabated, has enabled simulation training to migrate from platform trainers where single individuals interact with single training devices – the so-called man-machine interface, into a wide variety of immersive virtual environments, including those which link multiple actors into a unifi ed training matrix. It is becoming clear that in the not too distant future we will train with avatars, wholly immersed in a three dimensional alternative world.”4

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The History of Training, Simulation and Modeling with Sound in Aviation in the Twentieth CenturyMeredith Llewellyn, Lead Contributor

IT WAS the French Army in 1909 at Camp Châlons near Mourmelon-le-Grand

who developed “the Antoinette”, the first rudimentary fl ight simulator that comprised a half-barrel mounted on a universal joint, with fl ight controls, pulleys, and stub-wings (poles) to allow the pilot to maintain balance while instructors applied external forces. This used two wheels mounted left and right of the pilot, one for pitch and one for roll. A full-size model of the “Antoinette Barrel Trainer” is in the foyer of the Airbus Training Centre at Toulouse, France. During World War I the British developed a tra iner wi th a “rocking” cockpi t described by H G Anderson, and in the US the “Ruggles Orientor” was patented. In the same period, air gunnery skills to shoot from moving aircraf t were also simulated on the ground.

The American Link SimulatorIt was the American, Edwin Link, in Binghampton, New York who took the pitch and roll of the Antoinette and added yaw with an electric motor. With a covered replica cockpit with working instruments on the motion platform he was able to provide ground training without the restrictions of weather, and the availability of aircraft and fl ight instructors. This new device was demonstrated to the US Army and the Air Force who were not interested. It was not until the death of nearly a dozen Army pilots who were employed to carry the Mail in all weathers that the value of the simulator as a training device was appreciated and four Link Trainers were bought by USAAF.This synthesis of French creativity and American technology was developed through World War II through the development of commercial airlines and the “Cold War” to include analogue and then digital representations of the terrain. The Stewart Platform added three linear movements heave (up and down), sway (side to side) and surge (fore and aft). The addition of images from TV screens with collimated display systems and

accurate sound recordings improved realism and “depth perception” for visual scenes that included distant objects.

Commercial and military fl ight simulators are now a mature and diverse marketFlight simulation is now used extensively in the aviation industry for the training of pilots and other fl ight crew in both civil and military aircraft. It is also used for the training of maintenance engineers in aircraft systems. There are simulators for training on almost all types of commercial and military aircraft and they are used to maintain and upgrade skills in pilots, or retrain in new modifi cations. The modern simulator has a high standard of fi delity in both physical cockpit characteristics and quality of software models, as well as several of sensory cues such as sound, vibration, motion, and visual systems. The trainer has many purposes: training on Cockpit Procedures (CPT), Basic Instrument Training (BITD), Flight and Navigation Procedures (FNPT), Full Flight Simulators (FFS) and the Full Mission Simulator (FMS). All have a role in training pilots, their crew and ground support staff.

The purchase and use of these flight simulators is expensive. But training in a simulator offers many advantages over infl ight training. Simulation based training allows for the practice of maneuvers or situations that may be impractical or dangerous to perform in the aircraft in the air. For example, electrical system failures, instrument failures, hydraulic system failures, environmental system failures, and even fl ight control failures can be simulated without risk to the pilots or an aircraft. Some manufacturers of simulators argue that the improved “feel” of fl ight in the most modern simulators adds to learning and therefore improved safety records.

The advantages of simulator training for military aircrewFor the trainer, the simulator can be more effective allowing an increased number of

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There has been an

undistinguished history

of joint interoperability

failures between

branches of the American

forces resulting in

communication diffi culties.

tasks to be covered in a lesson, and errors and misjudgments can be recorded and discussed with a coach. Running costs of a full flight simulator are lower than an aircraft, because fuel, aircraft maintenance and insurance can be discounted. The trainer is also greener that fl ight itself.

The licensing authoritiesThe degree of effectiveness of the training offered and verisimilitude of the simulators is controlled by Federal Aviation Authority licensing in 14 CFR Part 60, and in Europe by the European Aviation Safety Agency.

The L-3 Link Communications company, now provides simulators to the USAF to train pilots of F-16s offering high definition databases and physics-based processing technologies to replicate real world environments and crowd or people behaviors to maximize pilot readiness at relatively low costs. While others like MOOG offer trainers for helicopters as well as fi xed wing craft. The continuing rapid development in computer software capabilities from the commercial games industry is adding to the veracity of the immersive environments that can be purchased. And they are constantly changing and improving. Many are now networked to other players and can reproduce in a virtual world “the fog of war” and the ongoing effect of the unintended consequences of an action that can provide a stimulating and effective training environment for modern warfi ghters. Such has been the success of the use of simulators in the field of aviation that the processes and skills learnt in aviation are a catalyst to the use of simulators for medical training within the armed forces and preparation for land warfare.

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Modern Pre-deployment Readiness Training for Counter Insurgency in AfghanistanDon McBarnet, Staff Writer

THE EXPLOSION of training opportunities with simulators and computer video

games should not be underestimated. PEOSTRI, the United States Army Program Executive Office equips soldiers with the most advanced training and simulation systems. It is a $3billion acquisition agency, which supports more than 334,000 training devices at 472 sites worldwide. From the networked full mission simulator to the simpler but equally important vehicle access trainer there are simulations to pass on to the new recruit or the returning veteran the recent “lessons learned” on operations in Afghanistan.

The most basic trainers teach universally applicable skills: how to safely get out of a rolled over vehicle, like an MRAP (Mine Resistant Ambush Protected Vehicle), the detection and destruction of IEDS through the Route Clearance Training System or the Common Driver Trainer which allows soldiers to practice driving various military vehicles.

However, there are many more sophisticated products in use. Virtual Battlespace 2 is a fully interactive, immersive combat environment providing a synthetic battle experience. It is used to train soldiers on operation. Soldiers drive vehicles, fl y, use small arms and engage communication technologies and counter interactive opposing forces.5 There is also the Tactical Digital Hologram, which is in use by soldiers preparing for operations in an urban environment that has tall buildings or sub terrain bunkers. The hologram turns into a 3D map that aids in mission planning and human intelligence briefings. The Advanced Smart On-Board Data Interface Module (AS-MODIM)

supports Block III Apache pilots in practising their aviation missions during live training exercises. Apache pilots can practice working with unmanned aerial systems.

However, the cost of a FMS, (Full Mission Simulator is high). The new lead in training technologies is coming from the Institute of Creative Technologies in Southern California amongst others.

“ICT was established in 1999 with a multi-year contract from the US Army to explore a powerful question: What would happen if leading technologists in artificial intelligence, graphics, and immersion joined forces with the creative talents of Hollywood and the game industry?”

Today’s US Army recruit will have visited the “America’s Army” website and played “The Offi cial U.S. Army Game”. They will have followed the entreaty to “Empower yourself. Defend freedom” and maybe considered joining up as a result. Once in training, they might have an opportunity to play Serious Games. The use of Serious Games is now a key part of basic training for American and many other soldiers.

The game, Full Spectrum Command is intended “to develop cognitive skills: tactical decision-making, resource management and adaptive thinking.”6 Full Spectrum Leader is said to offer more:

“Unlike most simulations which have a fi xed OPFOR (Opposing Force) plan, FSL’s opponent attempts to recognize players’ actions and respond dynamically. Additionally, FSL includes Close Air Support, Artillery Calls-for-Fire and Casualty Evacuation to heighten the realism and

“The current challenge is to create a battle space that convincingly mimics those characterizing small unit operations in Iraq and Afghanistan.” Rear Adm. Fred Lewis, USN (Ret.) President, National Training

and Simulation Association

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The use of Serious Games

is now a key part of

basic training for American

and many other soldiers.

training value. It is anticipated that, in addition to the US Army’s Infantry Center at Fort Benning and the Singapore Armed Forces (SAF), FSL will be used at the US Army Field Artillery School at Fort Sill to train young offi cers.”

Training with Avatars: cheaper than simulatorsThe advantage of Serious Games over large simulators, for example those used in flight training, is that they are inexpensive, available on DVD and potentially used on a laptop or PCs remote from the training center. They encourage motivated self-teaching of skills in a medium that many young people fi nd attractive and motivating. But to quote the marketing video for ICT products, the intention is now to move from video games that are “First person shooters” to “First person thinkers”. In video games like UrbanSim the aim is to practise:

“The art of battle command in complex counterinsurgency and stability operations. UrbanSim consists of a game-based practice environment, a web-based multimedia primer on doctrinal concepts of counterinsurgency, and a suite of scenario authoring tools… trainees direct the actions of a battalion as they attempt to maintain stability, fight insurgency, reconstruct the civil infrastructure, and prepare for transition.”

One of the innovative aspects of the game is “deep social simulation built into the training applications including models of population and culture groups, key individuals, social networks, and links between the human terrain and the physical terrain.”

The intention to train soldiers for the cultural diversity of the task in counter insurgency warfare is included in games like Elect and Bilat Elect where soldiers are encouraged to develop their inter-personal skills with other cultures, so that they can negotiate, infl uence and work with Afghans on operation. New developments like Visual Sensing allow the trainee soldiers movements while playing the game to be monitored, to develop self-awareness of posture, position and actions. In doing so it uses “3-D motion and shape data inferred from 5 video camera sensors, enabling different viewpoints for body construction”. The underlying philosophy underpinning the use and development of these games, is that by practicing these seemingly intangible skills online, qualities like leadership, motivation and decision-making can be transferred to counter insurgency operations in Afghanistan.

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Simulation and Recording for Trauma Care Training at the Point of Injury and in Medical CentersMarushka Dubova, Defence Correspondent

THERE HAS been a revolution in trauma care for soldiers wounded on operation.

Since 2001 and the beginning of the ISAF campaign in Afghanistan, deaths from wounds rates on operation have dropped dramatically. As the New York Times reported earlier this year:

“Nearly 5,500 American troops were wounded in action – more than double the total of 2,415 in 2009, and almost six times the number wounded in 2008. In all, fewer than 7.9 percent of the Americans wounded in 2010 died, down from more than 11 percent the previous year and 14.3 percent in 2008”7.

Part of the improvement in these statistics and reduced risk of death to soldiers is from fielding doctors closer to fighting troops, positioning Medevac helicopters further forward so that evacuation may happen more easily, but importantly all soldiers are now trained through simulators in trauma care at the point of injury. Soldiers now carry tourniquets to stop bleeds in extremities and U.S. Army Research Laboratory’s Simulation and Training Technology Center, uses programs like the HemSim medical simulation prototype. The device teaches non-extremity hemorrhage-stopping techniques to medics and combat life savers.

Further, CIMIT (the Center for Integration of Medicine and Innovative Technology), and TATRC (the Telemedicine & Advanced Technology Research Center of the US Army Medical Research and Materiel Command) have developed an immersive simulation for sustainment training of soldier medics… and any organization involved in the care of trauma patients at “point of injury”.

The simulator CAESAR has an “intuitive interface with preset autonomous trauma scenarios developed based on the skills, validation requirements of the soldier medic program. Following the completion of simulated exercises, the instructor has the ability to debrief the learner by reviewing the treatments performed by using an automatic event log that captures what injuries CAESAR had, what treatments were provided and when those treatments took place. The ability to

have this immediate debrief allows the learners to observe what decisions they made and actions they took and discuss care improvement strategies while the scenario is still fresh in their mind.”8

Does training with simulators work?The scale of investment in new technologies to teach complex processes and cognitive skills to soldiers preparing for deployment in Afghanistan on counter insurgency operations is incalculable. Research is still taking place to ascertain whether the benefi ts of these cost reduction training processes are of value. Research for the US Army9 evaluating Game-based Training Effectiveness concluded that the intention that games would improve training motivation, application and declarative knowledge through their immersiveness was established however, unit process, unit cohesion, unit cohesiveness and unit effectiveness were all dependent on the involvement of the leader in the training process. The research suggests that more questions need to be asked about the role of the leader in reinforcing the training process.

However, others are more critical.“In the past, some of the diffi culties with game-

based training included a lack of appropriate instructional techniques, unrealistic or inappropriate training scenarios, and poor communication between instructors/SMEs and game developers”10.

Nevertheless, in teaching communication skills and declarative knowledge, simulators have been shown to be of value in working towards better teamwork in delivering patient care.

“Effective communication and teamwork is essential for the delivery of high quality, safe patient care. Communication failures are an extremely common cause of inadvertent patient harm. The complexity of medical care, coupled with the inherent limitations of human performance, make it critically important that clinicians have standardised communication tools, create an environment in which individuals can speak up and express concerns, and share common “critical language” to alert team members to unsafe situations. “

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12 | WWW.DEFENCEINDUSTRYREPORTS.COM

References:1 http://www.armedforces.co.uk/army/listings/l0138.html

2 http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-02-15/republicans-may-fi ght-obama-s-671-billion-2012-defense-budget.html

3 Student and Expert Modeling for Simulation-Based Training: A Cost Effective Framework Yacef and Alem

http://resources.metapress.com/pdf-preview.axd?code=fq404622270076p1&size=largest

4 http://www.trainingsystems.org/publications/NTSANov2010News.pdf

5 PEOSTRI fl yer at Army Aviation Association of America in Nashville, Tennessee

6 http://ict.usc.edu/about

7 http://www.nytimes.com/2011/01/08/world/asia/08wounded.html?_r=1&pagewanted=2

8 h ttp://www.marketwire.com/press-release/Trade-Press-Release-CAE-Healthcare-launches-CAE-Caesar-innovative-

trauma-patient-simulator-TSX-CAE-1384298.htm

9 Krista Ratwani, Kara Orvis and Bruce Knerr for the US Army Research Institute for the Behavioral and Social Sciences:

The Evaluation of Games-based Training Effectiveness: Context Matters

10 PEDAGOGICALLY STRUCTURED GAME-BASED TRAINING:

DEVELOPMENT OF THE ELECT BILAT SIMULATION

Randall W. Hill, Jr. USC Institute for Creative Technologies

James Belanich U.S. Army Research Institute for the Behavioral and Social Sciences

H. Chad Lane & Mark Core USC Institute for Creative Technologies

Melissa Dixon U.S. Army Research Laboratory

Eric Forbell & Julia Kim USC Institute for Creative Technologies

John Hart U.S. Army Research, Development, and Engineering Command

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