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Army Lt. Gen. Bob Wood, deputy commander of USJFCOM, and Dr. Jim Blake, program executive officer for PEO STRI, signed a memorandum of agreement June 27 to ensure interoperability and commonality of modeling, simulation and training technology across the joint forces.
(Official U.S. Army Photo by Doug Schaub) |
USJFCOM partners with Army's Program Executive Office for Simulation, Training and Instrumentation
U.S. Joint Forces Command signed a memorandum of agreement with the Army's Program Executive Office for Simulation, Training and Instrumentation in Orlando, Fla. recently to enhance interoperability of training and modeling and simulation technologies used by the warfighter.
By Robert Pursell
USJFCOM Public Affairs
(ORLANDO, Fla. - July 3, 2008) - U.S. Joint Forces Command (USJFCOM) recently signed a memorandum of agreement (MOA) here with the Army's Program Executive Office for Simulation, Training and Instrumentation (PEO-STRI) focused on training and modeling and simulation (M&S).
The MOA will address interoperability and integration needs to enhance joint training and M&S technologies heading into the 21st century. Greg Knapp, executive director of the Joint Training Directorate and Joint Warfighting Center (J7/JWFC) explained the purpose.
"The overall purpose provides a structured linkage between PEO-STRI, which is a training system materiel developer for the Army and USJFCOM, which obviously has a joint warfighting advocacy role," he said.
"It helps improve the materiel solutions to map up to the warfighters' needs. It gives USJFCOM another way to influence what people are buying with the taxpayers dollars and it gives people who are buying things much more access to the joint warfighter perspective," said Knapp.
As part of the agreement, PEO STRI will offer its systems-of-systems approach to ensure interoperability and integration in training and M&S technologies across the joint forces.
"It puts STRI in a key position to create a realistic live, virtual and constructive immersive training environment for small units in ground combat and support all of the services as the irregular warfare materiel developer," said Jim Blake, program executive officer for PEO-STRI.
Knapp said USJFCOM is not in the business of building these actual systems and this agreement will provide the command with access to PEO-STRI's ability to develop systems, as well as their experience in acquisition.
"What it gives us is access to the acquisition community," he said. "Since USJFCOM is not a materiel or combat developer, we need to be able influence the developers in what they buy and how it supports the warfighter."
Knapp said PEO-STRI will also assist USJFCOM in developing joint requirements to improve training and M&S systems.
"To be able to take the general warfighter priorities and requirements and really decompose them into system solutions through requirements analysis, that's really an important feature of this relationship."
Knapp said PEO-STRI will provide a project manager whose responsibility will be to ensure the meeting of joint requirements, oversee contracting and acquisition activities, and attaining advanced technologies and products.
PEO-STRI will benefit from the agreement as well.
"What USJFCOM brings that nobody else can really give them is that we have access to the joint warfighter," said Knapp. "We have responsibilities in providing joint training globally, so we give them access to the information that we get out of that. We really understand what the warfighter requirements are, we understand what the integrated training environment is at a national level, and so what they get from us is knowledge and information about what the needs of the actual warfighter are. They get access to those programs."
This access includes PEO-STRI participation in development processes where USJFCOM develops standards and architectures. That gives PEO-STRI better information about what to build and buy, said Knapp.
The agreement between USJFCOM and PEO STRI is indefinite unless one of the parties opts to modify or terminate the agreement giving the other party a 60-day notice.
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