AFAMS’ Degnan on team that wins award

AFAMS’ Dr. Edward J. Degnan, representing the Air Force Live Virtual and Constructive (LVC) Enterprise, was among the highly dedicated individuals who received the Chief of Staff Team Excellence Award. Photo courtesy of AFAMS.

The Space Training Evolution Plan (STEP) team from the Air Force Space Command (AFSPC), led by Mike Newman, the Space and Missile Systems Center Training and Acquisition Office chief, were recently honored with the 2013 Chief of Staff Team Excellence Award, during an all-call at the Space and Missile Systems Center in California.

The Air Force Agency for Modeling and Simulation’s (AFAMS) Foundations Division chief, Dr. Edward J. Degnan, representing the Air Force Live Virtual and Constructive (LVC) Enterprise, was among the highly dedicated individuals who received the award from Gen. John E. Hyten, Air Force Space Command commander, on November 8, 2014. A respected educator and researcher, with a 35-year military, academic, and government career, Degnan is currently leading the Air Force Modeling and Simulation workforce and the LVC Integrating Architecture’s efforts through AFAMS.

“Without this team effort to fully integrate LVC, Warfighters will only be partially trained in a space environment, which does not fully replicate the operational structure they require and expect,” Degnan said. “This capability will allow commanders, staffs and crews the ability to stimulate all mission essential systems to train and rehearse the full range of space operations.”

The AFSPC’s STEP ensemble, which also includes members from Headquarters Air Force Space Command, the Air Education and Training Command, the U.S. Strategic Command, and the Air Force Research Laboratory, led the transformation of space training by standardizing the Training System Requirements Analysis (TSRA) process, and the space training system acquisition, development and sustained processes, saving approximately $100 million over the next five years.
Their efforts helped establish a distributed training capability for the Air Force and a space modeling and simulation (M&S) capability to support advanced training and exercises for the Combatant Commands and Services. These contributions allow the joint warfighter to fight in a realistic, virtual and space-denied and degraded environment, and experience the types of space effects they will encounter during combat operations and real-world operational missions.

Competing with 26 Air Force teams, the team was selected, on the second round, over the top three: the Tactical Critical Care Evacuation team, the Development team and the Theater Express Improvement team from the Air Mobility Command at Scott AFB, Illinois.

Through innovation and collaboration, these teams implemented process improvements yielding a combined potential first-year savings to the Air Force of $477.2 million. This recognition properly reflects the valued contributions made for the future of the Department of Defense’s space training capabilities and the advancement of LVC- Operational Training foundational capabilities in the U.S. Air Force.