It's a local product, map-based and not computerized. As you might expect, it deals more with airpower theory at the higher tactical/operational level and puts cadets against each other in four teams (two sets of allies, so they have to practice a sort of coalition warfare).
"On the plains and mountains of the American West, the United States Army had once learned everything there was to learn about hit-and-run tactics and guerrilla warfare."
T.R. Fehrenbach This Kind of War
Is this being done at USAFA or Maxwell AFB?Originally Posted by Steve Blair
You should talk to Mo Morgan, I believe he's at Maxwell. They are using a commercial program that's been modified. I believe the focus is on planning an air campaign.
It's ROTC, and it's a local product. I've seen the computerized air campaigning planning stuff, and it doesn't really suit our needs. We have to run it in a fairly limited window (although we're working on a joint possibility that would involve the Army and run most of a semester), and it's geared more toward immediate planning and execution (one turn equals one day) with less of a focus on logistical placement. We've also tailored the air forces so that each team has to work within certain limitations created by both equipment and political considerations.
An earlier version of the exercise was offered up through the AFROTC chain a couple of years back, and no one else seemed to be interested. So we keep plugging away in our little corner of the world.
"On the plains and mountains of the American West, the United States Army had once learned everything there was to learn about hit-and-run tactics and guerrilla warfare."
T.R. Fehrenbach This Kind of War
Same here in regards to plugging away. The Army opted for a first person shooter, which I was involved with, but to be honest it falls short of our requirements. Now the Army wants to push the FPS into the captain's career course which I cannot reconcile. I've been involved with using games for training for a long while, first at CGSC using Decisive Action and now at West Point. I guess you could say I know a little about using games for training.
It's been something of a struggle here at times to keep cadre interested, but once they see how much the cadets enjoy it (and the handful of non-cadets who've taken it and often 'beat' our folks) they start to come around. It's part of a wider weapons course, so it's not as long as I'd like, but it's a start. We also opted to keep the map-based exercise so that cadets who had completed the course could come back and serve on White Cell. They've also enjoyed that part of it.
"On the plains and mountains of the American West, the United States Army had once learned everything there was to learn about hit-and-run tactics and guerrilla warfare."
T.R. Fehrenbach This Kind of War
I'm in the same situation, at first the instructors don't see the value until they hear the comments from their cadets that are along the lines of "Why don't we do this more often" or "I've learned more in one hour than I have in the last six".
Our game was designed with both the training audience and the instructors in mind. If the game is to challenging to use the instructors will not want to use it. If the game interface is to hard no one will want to use it.
Our interface is easy, and the game engine itself is streamlined and easy to use. I've had cadets who went through the class turn around and resolve combats and situations with only an hour of training beforehand. Since it's geared to be freeplay (within the scenario limitations), instructors exist to answer rules questions and that's about it during the exercise itself.
"On the plains and mountains of the American West, the United States Army had once learned everything there was to learn about hit-and-run tactics and guerrilla warfare."
T.R. Fehrenbach This Kind of War
Posting Permissions
Bookmarks