The United States Army is in the most dynamic period of change of its 227-year history. It faces an asymmetric threat requiring unconventional methods of combat. Cold War era tactics against massed forces are unlikely to occur in the future. Therefore, the Army is transforming to meet the enemy on a new battlefield. The battlefield is neither contiguous nor confined to country, continent or hemisphere. The battlefield exists in cyber-space and the key to success is knowledge.
The Army utilizes key technologies to increase its understanding of the new battlespace and its participants. Modeling and Simulation (M&S) consists of many of these key technologies. Two enabling efforts in M&S that are key to knowledge management and integration are Simulation to Command, Control, Communications and Computers Interoperability (SIMCI) Integrated Product Team (IPT), chartered by the Army Model and Simulation Executive Council, (cosigned by the CIO/G-6 and the Deputy Under Secretary of the Army (Operations Research)) and the Warrior-T effort.
The mission of the SIMCI IPT is to provide recommendations on Army level policy to the Army Model and Simulation Executive Council (AMSEC) for improving interoperability between the Models and Simulations (M&S) and Command, Control, Communications, Computers, and Intelligence (C4I) domains. Its objectives are to provide seamless interoperability between M&S and C4I systems; alignment of M&S and C4I standards, architectures and common C4I components; and identification of requirements for simulations; and C4I to support interoperability and integration where feasible.
The SIMCI IPT identifies investments that have high-value return in fulfilling the Army's M&S and C4I interoperability requirements or will fill gaps in current SIMCI capabilities. Based upon this analysis, the OIPT recommends SIMCI goals, objectives, and an investment strategy and a plan to achieve them. The IPT promotes joint and cooperative research, development, acquisition, and operation of SIMCI systems, technologies and capabilities among Army components. It recommends organizations for designation as SIMCI Development Agents for general use M&S or C4I applications.
The IPT fosters programs to develop and, where applicable, implement SIMCI interoperability architectures, standards and interface products. And finally it recommends processes to synchronize requirements between M&S and C4I Systems.
The Product Manager for Simulation Technology Integration (PM STI) together with the Chief, Readiness and Engineering Office, Program Executive Office for Command, Control, and Communications Tactical (PEO-C3T REO) co-chair the SIMCI IPT. The IPT co-chairs, with the concurrence of the AMSEC, may change SIMCI IPT membership as needed to fulfill their SIMCI responsibilities. This collaboration has identified numerous efforts to solve interoperability issues between simulation and C4I.
Through the use of information-centric technologies and a Web-centric interface, the Warrior-T effort as part of the Digital Integration Office working for the National Simulations Center (NSC), supports Army Transformation and Objective Force development by bridging the gap between digital products and the training that is required to operate them. Some of the products have had an immediate impact on the Army while others in development set a tone for the future. Some of the current products that are in use today are the ABCS Smart Book Series, Brigade TTP Series and Digital MDMP Trainer Series. These products are enabling commanders and their staff to leverage the existing infrastructure at Fort Hood to develop soldier training via a Web-enabled interface. The Warrior-T office has also developed the Digital Command and Control Rehearsal (DC2R) tool, which is an automated configuration management tool, which incorporates checklists and 'help' products from each system TRADOC System Manager (TSM) and TRADOC Program Integration Office. They are also currently working to provide a "Mixed Tactics, Techniques and Procedures (TTP) Manual," which blends the current Digital Operations TTP and Legacy TTP to provide techniques and procedures that allow corps and division units with varying degrees of digital equipment to maximize command and control capabilities enabling them to train and transform simultaneously. Through current information technologies within the Warrior-T, the Army has leveraged current Web-enabled systems to distribute the knowledge of a few to many across Fort Hood and the entire enterprise. This type of activity is enabling the Army to transform, and is providing a considerable Knowledge-Centric store of information. These are only a few of efforts currently underway to prepare and train Army soldiers to win the asymmetric battles of the future.