"Training Brain" provides intelligence solution for short notice training exercise

By Robert Saxon, First ArmyApril 27, 2012

Training Brain Operations Center Systems Integration Modeling and Simulation
(Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL

FORT POLK, La.-- Planning and coordinating the final validation training event for Army National Guard and Reserve units who deploy overseas normally requires from four to eight months. But what happens when that timeline allows only 75 days to create, plan and synchronize all the scenario-driven training events?

Planners and trainers from First Army's 205th Infantry Brigade located at Camp Atterbury, Ind. faced such a challenge when tasked to create a training event to test the headquarters staff of the Indiana Army National Guard's 76th Infantry Brigade Combat Team on their deployment to Afghanistan.

First Army decided to focus their efforts on assembling and leading a team of seven training enablers to build and conduct the exercise to support the 76th IBCT's training objectives.

Planners from the 205th turned to the the U.S. Army Training and Doctrine Command's Training Brain Operations Center to help with assembling the intelligence database needed to build the scenario.

The TBOC is a self-described facilitator and enabler that uses technology to build live, virtual, constructive and gaming environments to simulate downrange events for scenario-based exercises.

TBOC accomplishes this by taking classified data from ongoing worldwide operations, and converting it to exercise intelligence and operations reports to replicate the operational environment.

"We start off with the real world data and focus on the projected area of operations. We bend it in time and provide them with a historical intelligence database to drive the exercise," said Jeremy Haley from the TBOC Army Training Team. He said they provided information from real-world events in Afghanistan ranging from key leader engagements to improvised explosive device incidents to direct and indirect fire attacks.

The 76th's CTE focused on real world actions in the Uruzgan province of Afghanistan. "The products we provide depend upon the type of exercise," said Haley, noting that TBOC can use additional intelligence reports and additional layers of complexity to an exercise to focus staff members on certain unit training objectives.

Including TBOC as an enabler in the 76th IBCT exercise not only provided a more relevant and real-world experience for the training unit, but also helped First Army planners and trainers better understand the resources and support TBOC provides.

"TBOC is a new training enabler for First Army. We were particularly excited to have them involved in this exercise so we could work closely with them, watch what they do, see how they interact with the other enablers, and find out more about their capabilities and products." said James Clark, exercise planner for the training division at First Army Headquarters.

Haley explained that the process of preparing for the 76th exercise began after the main planning conference in early January.

"We worked with First Army to make sure our actions were synchronized with the operational plan and to de-conflict resources, such as time, to make sure we had the right people available to meet the requirements," said Haley.

TBOC's ability to provide data for exercises using real world data enhanced the level of realism for the Soldiers being trained and helped First Army planners and trainers focus their limited time on other synchronization tasks.

"The work TBOC does is of real value to all of us involved," said Clark, speaking about the savings in time and effort required to build scenario events. "In the past, we have had to do a lot of difficult and very time consuming work to either dig up information for the events from real world systems or make up situations to fit the unit training objectives."

Col. Timothy Newsome, commander of First Army 205th Infantry Brigade and exercise director, was impressed with TBOC's expertise and understanding of the exercise intelligence data requirements.

"TBOC came up with a number of situations, events and problems sets that fit into the scenario and that we wanted the 76th to solve or address as part of their training," said Newsome.

"They have made sure that all of the Afghan leaders in these scenarios use the actual names and personalities as those in country.

Newsome concluded, "What TBOC has done is taking actual situations from within theater so we are not just making this stuff up, and that speaks to the relevancy that we want in the exercise," he said.

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