 Tour
highlights advances in modeling and simulation
As the modeling and simulation field continues to develop,
U.S. Joint Forces Command works with its partners to harness
this technology and share the command's work in this field
with a group of reporters.
By Jennifer Colaizzi
USJFCOM Public Affairs
(SUFFOLK,
Va. - November 8, 2005) -- Harnessing and applying a
constantly changing field like modeling and simulation
to help revolutionize joint warfighting requires a constant
collaborative effort between the command leading the transformation
of the U.S. military and its various academic, business,
alliance and interagency partners.
That
was the message delivered at U.S. Joint Forces Command
(USJFCOM) during the second day of a Virginia Economic
Development Partnership Modeling and Simulation Awareness
Tour organized for members of the media to have an up-close
and personal introduction to the various M&S elements
and players in Virginia and the Hampton Roads area, in
general.
According
to command officials, the event, like many recent M&S events, was an opportunity to showcase the command,
its partners, and advances in M&S that have occurred
in Hampton Roads.
During
the tour, command officials said USJFCOM will participate
in two important upcoming events, which will incorporate
new and emerging M&S systems including: the Interservice/Industry
Training, Simulation and Education Conference (I/ITSEC)
in Orlando, Fla., in December, and Multinational
Experiment 4 (MNE4), to be held at USJFCOM's Suffolk facilities and
at sites around the world in early 2006.
I/ITSEC
provides a venue for the command to show the need for
both live and M&S capabilities in conducting training,
experimentation, mission rehearsal, and current operations.
In
a world of tight budgets and schedules, M&S provides
timely, safe, and innovative solutions to military training
challenges, according to Air Force Col. Dan Henkel, USJFCOM's
deputy joint force trainer, capabilities.
Henkel
and Marine Corps Lt. Col. Rickey Grabowski, deputy director
of advanced training technologies (ATT) at USJFCOM
echoed the same message: M&S provides a "realistic
training environment for joint warfighters."
"By
integrating live, virtual, and constructive (L-V-C) forces
into a single synthetic battespace, it enables us
to do joint training at a fraction of the cost with a fraction
of the risk," said Grabowski.
According
to Marine Corps Col. Chris Conlin, deputy director of
USJFCOM's Joint Experimentation
Directorate, during
the MNE4 experiment participants will use M&S to bring
together economic, diplomatic, and culturally sensitive
information to provide unified strategic solutions to current
and future national threats and challenges.
Additionally,
in MNE4, we will be "harvesting the
best capabilities" from the other nine participating
countries.
According
to Jones Hooks, president and chief executive office
of the Hampton Roads Economic Development Alliance, "Hampton
Roads continues to experience the economic shot-in-the-arm
of modeling and simulation as a result of the Joint Forces
Command. Hampton Roads currently has approximately 4,000
jobs and nearly half a billion dollars of direct impact
from defense related modeling and simulation."
"The
2009 projections approach nearly $1 billion in direct
spending
while producing nearly 16,000 defense related M&S
jobs. The end-result result is not only an increase in
direct
jobs and spending, but the creation of educational support
programs," said Hooks. "These kinds of activities benefit
the community as a whole, allowing these skills and services
to become
available to a wide variety of companies and people alike."
Other
locations the media visited during the three-day tour
included: National Center for Collaboration in Medical
Modeling Simulation, Virginia Modeling, Analysis and Simulation
Center, Lockheed Martin Center for Innovation, George Washington
University Virginia Campus, and Valador - a small M&S
company in Herndon, Va.
"The media tour was an excellent opportunity to create
greater awareness of the modeling and simulation efforts
in Virginia and showcase the region and organizations that
are making the industry a success," said Christie
Collins, of the Virginia Economic Development Partnership.
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