Delivering training solutions at the speed of need

By Rick Schmidt, CEO, Tipping Point Solutions

 

Rick Schmidt, CEO of Tipping Point Solutions, delivered the industry keynote address during the opening ceremonies of the most recent Interservice/Industry Training, Simulation and Education Conference (IITSEC) in Orlando, Florida, Dec. 3, 2024. IITSEC is hosted annually by the National Training & Simulation Association (NTSA). The following article highlights the address and his key messages and is printed with the author’s permission.

 

In 2024, the impact of emerging technologies has driven unprecedented advancements in training and development, resulting in a pivotal moment for the modeling and simulation industry. The Department of Defense (DOD) has transformed its approach to technical training and leadership development over the years to try to match this progress, and today we find ourselves at a crossroads where change is accelerating like never before. The modeling and simulation community has experienced a surge in innovation, from groundbreaking advances in hardware to the emergence of artificial intelligence (AI)-driven solutions reshaping training as we know it. These breakthroughs are not just keeping pace with the challenges of the modern battlefield – they are defining the future of readiness and capability.

 

It’s amazing to witness this progress and to assess how far the industry has come in just a decade, but has the training and development community fully realized the impacts to training that today’s technology offers?

 

Great Advancements but Still Not Enough Disruption

Despite the advances we’ve witnessed during the first two decades of the 21st century, training has yet to be fully revolutionized. In many ways, the adoption of these technologies has been more about substitution than transformation – using digital platforms and simulations to replace, rather than completely reimagine, traditional training models. As noted in “Disrupting Class” by Clayton Christensen: “True disruption often requires a fundamental shift in how we approach the problem.” While the industry has made incredible progress in leveraging technology to enhance training, we’ve only scratched the surface of what’s possible. The opportunity to alter the current paradigm exists now.

 

For the first time in our history, we have the technologies necessary to take these steps toward shifting the paradigm of training. However, to achieve this critical shift, we must also address two additional challenges. The first challenge will be to evolve the standards supporting training development, and the second is to improve and enhance the acquisition processes. This will be essential to achieve the realities of today’s new technologies and the rate by which we can now produce and deliver new training solutions.

 

The Rapid Change Occurring and Its Effect on Shifting the Paradigm
Advancements in artificial intelligence and its broad-reaching impacts on areas of immersive simulations, as well as adaptive training and real-time data analytics, poise the industry to redefine the way we develop and deliver military training. This shift will not only enhance the richness of the experiences we can offer our service members, but even more importantly, will transform the ways by which we produce training solutions altogether. We’re moving toward an era where training will be significantly more adaptive, personalized and effective in preparing our warfighters for the unpredictable challenges of modern warfare. It will adapt learning to become what each learner needs.

 

While it is natural to look at how technology enhances and enriches the learner experience, the area most likely to have the greatest impact on adaptive learning is to address how we can leverage artificial intelligence and other emerging technologies to exponentially increase the rate of speed by which we can adapt, deliver and sustain training solutions for the warfighter. We are now, finally, entering a period where we can realistically deliver training solutions at the speed of need.

 

In this new paradigm, supported by new technological innovations, we have the opportunity to incorporate these capabilities and truly disrupt the way we go about developing, delivering and consuming training altogether. The future of military training lies in our ability to innovate, to embrace change, and to prepare our service members, not just for today’s battles, but for the unknowns of tomorrow.

 

What’s Different Today that Enables this Change to Be Our New Reality?
As we look at the rapid progress being made in artificial intelligence, we are witnessing a transformation in the way we approach the production and consumption of training. While controversial and oftentimes misunderstood, AI is not just a tool. It’s becoming a co-pilot in our learning journey, as well as a force multiplier in support of the production of training content itself. AI enables adaptive learning solutions that adjust to individual needs, enabling real-time feedback to learners, and can be leveraged to provide automation support in the rapid production and adaptation of training products. These capabilities can exponentially enhance the quality and speed of training, offering tailored experiences that meet the specific demands of each learner. This level of customization was unimaginable a decade ago, but today it holds the key to preparing our personnel to be more effective and efficient than was ever thought possible.

 

How this Movement Compares to Other Advances of the Past
The process of change happening today is nothing new and relates to past disruptive innovations. Historical technological shifts demonstrate how recent advancements in technologies like AI can be expected to follow suit and reach that tipping point where they redefine industries, economies and even our daily lives. Reflect on the impact of radar during World War II, the rise of GPS in the 1980s, the proliferation of the internet in the late 1990s, and then smart phones following the release of the first iPhone in 2007. Each of these advancements brought about a new era in strategic thinking, disrupted our society and influenced our military capability and strategies. We are at a similar inflection point with AI and immersive training technologies. The difference is that this time, the pace of change is much faster, and the stakes are increasingly higher.

 

To draw a parallel, AI in training today is where the internet was in the later part of the 1990s. It is full of incredible, unknown potential and on the cusp of transforming how the world operates. Another key difference with the rapid influence of AI-driven applications is the extent to which their use will influence almost every aspect of how society functions. Much like the Space Race of the 1960s, countries across the globe are in a high-speed race to determine how they might influence strategic military advantage using AI, and how this influence will raise the need for our fighting forces to constantly remain current with their warfighting capabilities. In other words, it’s not going to be just about how AI will influence military decision-making, but rather how it will thread into our day-to-day lives and military operations. Most importantly to the training and development community, it will affect how military personnel will need to be trained to interface with this rapidly evolving capability.

 

A Present Case: The Conflicts in Ukraine and Israel
The need for the delivery of rapid training solutions has never been more evident than in the current conflicts unfolding in Ukraine and Israel. These regions are stark reminders of how quickly military dynamics can shift, driven by advanced tactics such as drone warfare, cyber operations, and precision-guided munitions. For our personnel to be ready for such rapidly evolving scenarios, they must be equipped with the latest training solutions, ones that can quickly adapt to new threats as they emerge. The lessons learned from these theaters of conflict underscore the importance of real-time, scalable training solutions that can keep pace with the speed of change on the battlefield.

 

Rapid Development Requires a Modernization of Acquisition Strategies
Technology alone, while capable of faster production than ever before, will not enable this change without the need to also modernize the DOD’s acquisition strategies to better leverage the fluid and dynamic development and sustainment process offered by these advancements. Together, both industry and the DOD must ensure training solutions no longer suffer the long lifecycle that in many cases results in training reaching obsolescence by the time it is fielded, or shortly thereafter.

 

To achieve success, the DOD must create a more flexible framework that allows us to tap into industry innovations and their rapid training content production without the traditional acquisition delays that oftentimes restrict rather than enable. Initiatives like NavalX’s Tech Bridge and Central Florida’s Tech Grove have shown the potential of collaborative ecosystems where military needs and industry expertise align to create agile and innovative solutions.

 

By streamlining the path from requirement to deployment, we can ensure that our training capabilities remain current to match the speed at which threats evolve.

 

We Must Evolve Our Development Ecosystems
A final component to achieve this vision is the synchronization of the training development ecosystem within the DOD to standardize efficient processes in training development and sustainment. The rapid pace of technological advancement demands that both the DOD and its industry partners elevate and standardize development methodologies to build a robust ecosystem capable of efficiently creating and sustaining high-quality training solutions. Enhanced methodologies and unified standards are essential to support agility and interoperability across the Defense Industrial Base, allowing for streamlined, plug-and-play integration of new training content and technology. This approach will reduce the training development cycle, save the government considerable dollars and improve the adaptability of training solutions, ensuring they remain relevant and responsive to future threats. By establishing these consistent standards, the DOD can expedite the deployment of advanced training solutions and foster a collaborative environment where industry innovations can seamlessly enhance the military’s training capabilities. This alignment between development practices and sustainment processes will ultimately result in a more agile and responsive training ecosystem that equips service members with the knowledge and skills needed to maintain a decisive advantage.

 

Innovation in Action
2024 has brought many innovative solutions that defense contractors are pioneering to advance adaptive and rapid-response training capabilities. Training and development companies are leveraging generative AI to enhance real-time scenario adjustments, enabling adaptive training environments that respond dynamically to a learner’s stress levels and performance metrics. By collecting data from physiological sensors, we are tailoring the difficulty and feedback within simulations, making each training experience uniquely challenging and effective. Another notable example is a virtual reality platform that uses AI-driven scenario actors to provide immersive, free-roam training experiences for military and law enforcement. This system adapts scenarios based on real-time performance, creating high-fidelity, situation-specific training that mirrors real-world encounters​.

 

These advancements illustrate how defense contractors are presently harnessing AI to promote rapid development cycles and highly customized training that evolves alongside operational needs. By adopting these adaptive methodologies, the defense industry is paving the way for a training ecosystem that is not only responsive but capable of evolving in real time to prepare personnel for the ever-changing complexities of modern conflict.

 

The Change is Already Happening
The time to act is now. As a country, we can no longer afford to be reactive. We must be proactive in our approach to training and readiness so that we can be the first to implement new technologies and be the first to equip our warfighters with the necessary knowledge and proficiencies to outperform our adversaries. As our adversaries adapt their strategies and embrace new technologies, we must ensure that our men and women in uniform are not just catching up but leading the way. The future of warfare will be defined, not only by who has the best technology, but also by who can master it the quickest and to the greatest effect. By embracing the significance of proactivity, those of us here today can have a greater influence in preventing the next conflict through deterrence by demonstrating that our nation’s training ecosystem offers a superior fighting force capable of greater military outcomes.

 

Closing Statement
We stand at a pivotal moment, as a country and its training developers, where the demand for agile, responsive training has never been more pressing. Creating training products at the speed of need is not just an ideal, but it will soon become an imperative. This is about more than keeping up with technological advancements; it’s about securing the readiness and resilience of our forces in an ever-evolving landscape of threats and challenges. Our goal is to stay ahead, to anticipate needs, and to act with foresight and agility.

 

Let’s commit ourselves to this transformative vision and ensure that our training systems are not only current but also capable of swift adaptation. With the right approach, we can empower our service members with the knowledge and skills they need exactly when they need it. The responsibility to realize this vision rests with each of us. Together, we can shape a training ecosystem that doesn’t merely react to the future – it defines it. Now is the time to push forward with purpose, knowing that our commitment today secures our military’s advantage