The interview that I conducted is with Capt Phil Alvarez. He is responsible for developing a multi-national exercise that is heavily reliant on technology. In the interview he discusses the four phases of the exercise and how the technology relates to the phases. He covers the different types of technology that he is using and some of the challenges that he is faced with. The specific technologies are not discussed due to the open nature of the assignment.
Hi TX,
ReplyDeleteThanks for the comprehensive, behind-the-scenes look at using technology to stage a military exercise. As you mention, this is a scenario where the technology largely defines the nature of the exercise; an exercise of this type would not exist without the enabling technologies. My guess is that cost-savings is a major driver. Even though this exercise brings up the cost considerations mentioned by Capt Alvarez, the reason technologically-framed exercises like this exist is because they are vastly less expensive than exercises involving actual troops, equipment, and munitions.
The language aspect interests me. I do a lot of Defense Language Testing in my job as part of the Navy's effort to identify Sailors with skills in languages on the Strategic Language List (SLL). Capt Alvarez's exercise presumes that all the participants will use English. It would probably get messy (just like real-life), but it would be interesting to deal with language issues in a technologically-based multi-national exercise like this.
KSU Cuz