SIMEX
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Nothing worthwhile is easy, and so it was for the 8th Medical Brigade Simulation Exercise (SIMEX) conducted on Fort Dix, N.J., January 19-21, 2007. The SIMEX was the culminating event in a process that started one year ago and created a team of teams: medical professionals, subject matter experts and doctrinal trainers working in professional collaboration to build a realistic, challenging and doctrinally correct battle command staff training (BCST) exercise for the 8th Medical Brigade headquartered at Fort Wadsworth on Staten Island, N.Y.
Simulation exercises are challenging, doctrinally correct, BCST exercises conducted in a digital environment utilizing or replicating applications and systems (army battle command systems, common operating picture, Web portal, and other collaborative tools) currently employed at brigade level and above headquarters in theater. The 8th Med Brigade SIMEX was based on a Caspian Sea operations order (a generic scenario used for training), Operation Dragon Strike, and conducted in a digital environment similar to a medical brigade headquarters deployed in a theater of war.
Despite the monumental efforts it took to develop the exercise, what made this exercise unique and remarkable were twofold; the number of “firsts” associated with the SIMEX, and the team of teams created to support the SIMEX. The firsts included: a first use of the enhanced Lightning Battle Projection Center; first joint exercise for 1st Brigade (BCST), 78th Division (or Lightning Brigade); and first use of two highly specialized software applications. Each of these firsts included some risk, but each was intensively managed to benefit the exercise rather than detract from it. An exceptional team of professionals working methodically in the background provided management assistance and support to the training event to ensure the success of the exercise and the execution of the commander’s training objectives for both the 8th Medical Brigade and the Lightning Brigade.
The soldiers of the Lightning Brigade developed and executed this event with cutting-edge technology using virtual machines and thin client servers, technology that is available to industry, but has yet to be fielded to the Army. This technology is still being validated by the Lightning Brigade and consolidates multiple battlefield functional area (BFA) applications as virtual machines into a single cluster of smaller servers and allows them to run as virtual machines hosted by the cluster. Lieutenant Colonel Ray Palma, 1st Brigade’s S6 and technology integration chief, explained that virtual machines are actually software that performs like hardware and isolates the user’s particular application from the computer. Any application loaded on the virtual machine can therefore be operated from any computer platform instead of having to produce separate versions of the application for each computer and operating system. Virtualization technology allows a unit the flexibility to build, configure and manage content from the server in a manner totally transparent to the user.
Virtualization has the potential of reducing the number of servers, decreasing failure recovery time and increasing efficiency through centrally managed work load balancing. Another technology utilized during the exercise was thin client computing. Thin clients are essentially keyboard and monitor workstations that are connected to the server. They are “stateless” and have no resident memory so they are ideal for secure environments. An additional benefit of the thin client is that maintenance and upgrades are managed at the server location, dramatically reducing hands-on maintenance.
This technology has dramatic implications in terms of decreasing response time for IT repair, eliminating maintenance personnel, sharing and cloning the latest versions of software, and has the potential to radically reduce the initial expenditures and life cycle replacement costs for information technology in each headquarters. It also eliminates hundreds of pounds of computer gear for soldiers to transport and set-up. Palma also advised that despite the sophisticated architecture of the technology the user sees a very familiar Windows scheme, and operation is almost intuitive.
The Lightning Brigade first integrated and validated this technology during a recent SIMEX and continues to test, benefit from and advance the technology with every new SIMEX and leads the BCST community with its systems.
The exercise was managed from Building 5519, the Lightning Battle Projection Center (BPC) at Fort Dix. In anticipation of the 8th Medical Brigade SIMEX several infrastructure upgrades were recently completed in the BPC. Fort Dix DPW resourced critical electrical, lighting and security upgrades and reconfigured space in a portion of the building to maximize the training venue. This SIMEX was the first use of the BPC after these interim improvements and the value was immediately apparent to those controlling the exercise. Major (P) John MacDonald, deputy exercise director, was extremely complimentary and appreciative of the improvements. He indicated that his team was better able to focus on the training unit because of the new technology, security and work areas.
With the cooperation and support of the Fort Dix DOIM, the Lightning Brigade significantly improved the level of service for the Medical Brigade over previous simulation exercises. The Fort Dix DOIM provided ADSL service to the tactical training area which permitted a broadband connection to the AR network and enabling the 8th Med Brigade Web access to do patient management and tracking as they would in theater.
Additionally, Fort Dix DOIM provided the Lightning Brigade with its own ADSL circuit for the Brigade’s closed tactical network, improving bandwidth by 30 times over the network circuit previously used to connect the exercise higher headquarters in the Battle Projection Center and the subordinate unit in the tactical training area. The pace and realism of the exercise benefited dramatically from the improved speed and capacity of network services. To enhance authenticity this training event required additional applications and services unique to the medical community; specifically a Webbased patient management and tracking system, the TRANSCOM Regulating and Command and Control Evacuation System (TRAC2ES). This was the first use of TRAC2ES for the Lightning Brigade. This by itself was a major accomplishment and could easily have been a show-stopper for the training. The brigade established digital connectivity with USTRANSCOM at Scott Air Force Base, Ill., and accessed the patient information training database.
While the execution had technical challenges, use of TRAC2ES enhanced the realism of the exercise, allowed operator certification, and built professional confidence within the 8th Medical Brigade.
Operators for the TRAC2ES system were provided by the 305th Med Group from McGuire Air Force Base. An aeromedical staging team worked with the 8th Medical Brigade’s Combat Support Hospital to assist in the management of patient evacuation from theater. The team articulated patient transportation needs and coordinated patient movement requirements from theater to final destination. The use of TRAC2ES also assists USTRANSCOM in allocating aircraft for deployed patient aeromedical evacuation. This was the first Lightning Brigade Joint exercise and the efficient integration of Air Force personnel provided realism, credibility and value to the training. Lieutenant Colonel Don Cole, administrator for the 305th Medical Group, enthusiastically supported Air Force involvement in the exercise because his TRAC2ES operators typically don’t get this level of training until deployed in theater.
The 8th Med Brigade SIMEX presented him the opportunity to increase the readiness of his own personnel and expose them to joint operations before being deployed.
During the exercise design process, Lightning Brigade Soldiers reviewed the 8th Medical Brigade Commander’s training objectives and determined the simulation’s ability to meet those training objectives. Where limitations in the simulation existed, designers developed a series of major events that would drive the exercise and allow it to meet the commander’s training objectives. Those events were woven together into a storyline that flowed continuously throughout the exercise.
The Army approved software management tool to systematically develop, implement, edit, track and observe those events is the Joint Master Scenario Events List or JMSEL. The 8th Med Brigade SIMEX was not just the first Lightning Brigade use, but the first Army Reserve use, of the JMSEL and a great deal of discovery learning occurred within the Lightning Brigade as a result. But JMSEL technical support personnel in Hawaii were extremely helpful and rescripted events on short notice to support the exercise. JMSEL automated many of the functions required to launch individual events during the exercise and reduced the number of personnel required to implement the scenario and drive the exercise.
Through JMSEL the exercise management task force was able to streamline the exercise planning life cycle, develop robust reports to retrieve data faster to support exercise planners and executors, and assist in the exercise observation/comment collection process. Ultimately, the use of JMSEL allowed observer, controller/trainers to focus on observation of the critical events and provide accurate and meaningful feedback to the training unit more efficiently and effectively following “threads” that were systematically embedded in the scenario.
The team of teams extended well beyond the Fort Dix area. Medical subject matter experts from a variety of organizations established quality standards and assisted the 8th Medical Brigade to achieve the commander’s training objectives. Three field grade officers from the 5th Brigade (BCST), 75th Division in Houston, Texas, contributed as members of the higher headquarters. Their enthusiastic participation in the exercise provided additional medical expertise not available in the Lightning Brigade and further cemented cooperation between the commands in the Battle Command and Staff Training community.
Regional Training Site-Medical (RTSMed) based at Fort Gordon, Ga. worked with the Lightning Brigade trainers and the 8th Medical Brigade personnel over the last year to assist with doctrinal training and a better understanding of medical best business practices. Three senior trainers from RTS-Med provided subject matter expertise and mentorship to the unit during the SIMEX. Colonel Peg Bradley, RTS-Med OIC opined, “During the exercise, it was obvious that all that training had paid off. The simulation exercise was complete with realistic scenarios for a medical brigade and the unit staffs responded to actions and requirements with the competency and sense of urgency expected of battle-ready staffs.” She expects that collaboration between RTS-Med and the Lightning Brigade will continue in the future based on the complementary skills of the two organizations.
Lieutenant Colonel Robert Maxham supported the SIMEX as a medical subject matter expert. Ordinarily he is assigned to the Directorate of Combat Developments and Doctrine at Fort Sam Houston, Texas, and is more familiar with active component medical exercises. His impression was that the 8th Med SIMEX was a “top of the line exercise.” The technology, resources and preparation challenged the 8th Medical Brigade with a realistic and stressful exercise that permitted them to recognize new areas for training. He is conversant with large exercises and was very impressed by the efficiency of the exercise support staff. Maxham indicated that the Lightning Brigade trainers and analysts were always engaged and working multiple tasks simultaneously to support the exercise. He was surprised at the economy of force exhibited by the Lightning Brigade.
Commander James Armstrong from the Navy Bureau of Medicine’s First Call Team, a Navy medical element prepared to respond to disasters on short notice, attended the exercise as part of an observer team. He appreciated the real time/real constraints character and sophisticated technology of this medical exercise. He said that he was so enthused about the training that he briefed his admiral by telephone after the first day of the exercise. Armstrong is an advocate of joint training having spent all of 2005 in Kuwait under the command of an Army medical brigade. He is convinced that every joint training event builds confidence, provides an opportunity to recognize commonality, and offers the chance to share ideas in an attempt to identify better solutions in patient care.
Colonel Menard, the 8th Medical Brigade’s deputy commander stated that he was very impressed with the training and the professionalism of all the trainers, “This exercise added to the 8th Medical Brigade staff’s ability to survive on the battlefield. Person to person the observer, controller/ trainers gave us insights and raised our battle skills to a level not previously seen.” The 8th Med Command Sergeant Major Gallucci, was also enthusiastic about the event. He felt the exercise was crucial to preparing his soldiers for their role in a combat environment. “It gave the staff a chance to critically analyze their skills providing a sounding board for discussion on command and control. The atmosphere was not threatening, enabling staff members to speak without hesitation as they selfevaluated their performance during the training.” Sentiments about the quality of the exercise were shared by the Lightning Brigade exercise control element. Colonel Leanne Chabior, the exercise director, was extremely gratified with the weekend’s results, “A lot of time and effort went into preparing for this exercise and I’m impressed with the level of enthusiasm, dedication and professionalism the 8th Medical Brigade and its subordinate units brought to the exercise. That response made the exercise so much more rewarding for everyone involved.”
This exercise stretched the limits of the 8th Medical Brigade and the 1st Brigade, 78th Division; it wasn’t easy. Both commands and the collaborating elements had to coordinate resources, energies and time over many months to meet the exceptional demands of this high technology training. But the end value was worth the investment as both commands exceeded all reasonable expectations in achieving a new appreciation of themselves, developing their procedures, advancing their capabilities and enhancing their potential to the U.S. Army. ♦