A New Connection in European Training during Exercise Saber Junction 15

By Sgt. 1st Class Caleb BarrieauApril 27, 2015

Airborne in Romania
1 / 2 Show Caption + Hide Caption – Romanian and American military training participants of a training event known as "Early Entry" conduct an airborne assault and unified land operations during Phase I of a multinational exercise called Saber Junction 15 that started in Smardan, Roman... (Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL
Analysts Connecting Militaries Throughout Europe
2 / 2 Show Caption + Hide Caption – James Martinez, a Training Analysis Feedback (TAF) team leader at the Joint Multinational Readiness Center in Hohenfels, Germany relays extensive information about the current exercise battlefield in Smardan, Romania, in real time to an Observer Coac... (Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL

SMARDAN, Romania -- Over 1,000 kilometers separate analysts in Hohenfels, Germany, from elements of the 173rd Infantry Brigade Combat Team (Airborne) and Romania's 300th Battalion soldiers. But they're all connected through a new digital tracking system used during the airborne assault, March 24, 2015.

This was phase I of Exercise Saber Junction 15, and was designed to test the collective training knowledge from the previous year's Saber Junction 14.

The airborne assault in Romania provided a unique training experience that the Army's only Europe-based combat training center -- the Joint Multinational Readiness Center in Hohenfels, Germany -- hasn't fully offered in the past.

The key ingredient was a deployable system known as the Mobile Instrumentation System (MIS), and it is proving that training can be tracked and monitored essentially anywhere in the world.

Most Army-led training exercises in Europe integrate Observer Coach Trainers, or OCTs, from both the JMRC in Hohenfels and Allied and partner nations. They analyze ongoing missions from the ground and in partnership with the JMRC's Training Analysis Feedback (TAF) team, they provide direct feedback to the training units through the use of after action reviews (AAR).

This has been standard procedure for the past two decades in Hohenfels.

The MIS takes this concept to the next level.

"This system is what makes connected training possible for our multinational partners", explained James Martinez, TAF operations analyst and team lead during the training exercise. "Having a direct link to our OCT's on the ground wherever they are in the world is priceless, considering the value added to the training units."

In Romania, the OCTs on the ground had access to real time video coverage and communications back and forth to their Hohenfels-located TAF during the airborne assault as if it were all happening at the same place. "It's being able to project our simulations footprint further throughout Europe while providing coverage as seen here at JMRC," said Martinez.

The MIS coverage is designed to enable our Allies and partner nations to train anywhere they want while still receiving technology options only found at major training centers like JMRC.

"Having seamless radio communication and video coverage to our TAF back in Hohenfels provides OCTs on the ground a 360 view of the battlefield without having a large team to cover every angle.", said Capt. Hector Rueda, Warhog OCT Team lead trainer in Romania. "We will be able to paint a better picture of what's happening on the ground through our communication with the TAF and in turn provide the training units an in-depth, realistic AAR."

The mission in Romania is the proving grounds for deployed Mobile Instrument Systems to provide comprehensive training for Allied and partner nations throughout Europe. The MIS is also tailor-made for each mission. When necessary, OCTs can use the Precision Real-Time Location Systems (PRTLS) GPS personal locator beacons that track each Soldier and piece of equipment in the battlefield in real time. Instead of creating a simulated brigade or larger battlefield, the MIS enables multiple countries to participate in one single massive training exercise connected digitally at their own country's training areas.

"It extends our battlefield almost limitlessly to our partner nations," said Martinez "and that's where the future of training will be, across all borders, with digital observation equipment in place to help connect and teach everyone from Commanders to Soldiers how to fight and win; better."