United States Air Force Battlestaff Training School and BLUE FLAG exercises: Capabilities and Challenges

摘要

The USAF Battlestaff Training School (BTS) provides command and control training opportunities for the Joint Force Air Component Commanders (JFACC) and their staffs who man the Joint Air Operations Centers. JFACC is responsible for all allied air operations in a theater of war and produces the Air Tasking Order for each day of the war. The BTS conducts this joint-service training via three BLUE FLAG exercises yearly for thousands of warfighters. Training emphasizes use of real-world plans, procedures, and command, control, communications, computers, and intelligence equipment. The BTS employs extensive computer simulation and uses distributed technology to train warfighters at local and deployed sites. This paper describes the BTS's training philosophy, strategies, and assets. In addition, it explores certain training challenges and opportunities that BTS is currently addressing. Applied research and development is being used to examine techniques and technologies that may enhance the BTS's capability. This approach has worked well given the main objective of the BTS is improvement of command and control decision making. However, wide area networking and Distributed Interactive Simulation (DIS) has now made it possible to link BLUE FLAG exercises with live and virtual assets. Advanced Distributive Simulation techniques have enhanced the ability to stimulate the command and control equipment with real-world datalinks and operational feeds. BTS has participated in demonstrations of this capability, but there are still many questions that remain about the utility of making these links that are discussed in this paper. Another topic of interest is developing better techniques for providing accurate and timely feedback to the JFACC staffs about their performance during BLUE FLAG exercises. Possible future approaches to automating the analysis and feedback function for use by t.