OBW returns for second year with high expectations

OBW: Collaborative Effort for Live Virtual Constructive Training Environment

Operation Blended Warrior (OBW), in its second year, is a multi-year event designed with the primary intent to better understand and address challenges faced by the DoD in the development and execution of a Live Virtual Constructive (LVC) environment for training. Organizer Kent Gritton said, “OBW is both a demonstration of industry’s LVC capabilities in a representative, complex LVC environment, within a venue that encourages discussion with LVC experts about the challenges LVC participants face.”

And perhaps most important, notes Gritton, is that it’s a collaborative initiative between government and industry to find solutions to the uncovered LVC challenges.

As one of the initial participants in 2015’s Operation Blended Warrior (OBW), this year Marine Corps Systems Command’s Program Manager for Training Systems (PM TRASYS) will provide representative training systems integrated to illustrate how Live, Virtual and Constructive simulations can provide collective training to enhance combat readiness.

This will include participation in the Amphibious Assault vignettes of OBW with their Combined Arms Command and Control Trainer Upgrade System (CACCTUS) and Deployable Virtual Training Environment (DVTE) training systems. In addition, PM TRASYS will demonstrate the latest version of Animatronics technology used to provide immersive role players as well as graphical displays of its products and services.

“We are increasing our contribution this year by using CACCTUS and Command and Control Personal Computer (C2PC) for the first time to generate the Common Operational Picture (COP) for the entire event,” said Martin Bushika, Live Virtual & Constructive Training Environment Product Manager at PM TRASYS.

“C2P2 brings the tactical picture to a desktop and is supported by robust planning tools, decision aids and display capabilities,” Bushika said. “It provides real-time situational awareness and the immersion that’s mission critical for America’s military operations.”

C2PC enables sharing and editing the COP across multiple workstations and among several agencies, and it can also support operations in moving vehicles and work over tactical radios.

“This effort is a great opportunity for us to utilize C2PC and test CACCTUS’s ability to generate the messages needed to stimulate C2PC for a large exercise,” Bushika added.

This will be the first time that the U.S. Army Program Executive Office for Simulation, Training and Instrumentation (PEO STRI) will be participating in OBW.

“OBW takes advantage of all the government and industry LVC talent that gathers at I/ITSEC, and uses their expertise to identify the standards that work and any required improvements. PEO STRI, along with its partners, will use this information to determine which standards to adopt and which integration efforts to support,” said Jerry Sirmans, Chief Technical Officer and Acting G5 for PEO STRI.

PEO STRI participants support ground operations and include Games for Training (GFT) and Squad Overmatch.  “For example, GFT will represent mounted and dismounted Soldiers to protect workers in a Non-Governmental Organization (NGO) compound (on geo-specific terrain of Camp Pendleton) from hostiles, and to represent armored participants in a limited tank on tank battle,” explained Sirmans. “Squad Overmatch will demonstrate combat casualty care during a ground operation where others are depending upon the small unit to accomplish the mission, while keeping their injured battle buddies alive.”

Be sure to check out the Operation Blended Warrior demonstration schedule in booth #349!