From @StaffRideGuy: ARMY's "Training Brain Operations Center"
January 30, 2013
TRADOC's Training Brain Operations CenterWhat is it?
The Training Brain Operations Center, or TBOC, is a key component of the Operational Environment Enterprise. This Enterprise manages how the Army identifies, defines, replicates and integrates the depth and complexity of the present and future Operational Environment, or OE, for training, leader development and education, and concept and capabilities development. The Enterprise uses extensive real-world information, including reporting from the combat theaters, to create realistic live, virtual, constructive and gaming environments for Soldiers, leaders and units. The TBOC transforms this real-world information to support exercises, creating visualizations of actual combat events and training simulations for individuals and units.
What has the Army done?
Under the direction of the U.S. Army Training and Doctrine Command, deputy chief of staff, G-2, the TBOC supports active, Reserve and National Guard units during home station, pre-deployment and contingency training exercises. In accordance with commanders' objectives, the TBOC provides scalable exercise design and thousands of real-world reports and messages tailored for that unit's training, to include political and cultural demographics and network analyses. The net result is the most accurate replication of the OE to date. The TBOC's modeling and simulations team develops visualizations, simulation trainers, 3-D models and geospecific terrain products that are used by all the services as well as coalition partners. Also, the TBOC's Attack the Network training team develops and teaches holistic social network analysis methods and techniques.
What continued efforts does the Army have planned for the future?
The TBOC is developing the Training Brain Repository, which is a Web-based capability that gives exercise planners access to OE data, exercise content and training support packages. Also, in conjunction with U.S. Army Research and Development Command, the TBOC is developing the Enhanced Dynamic Geosocial Environment, or EDGE, which uses multiplayer gaming technology to enable Soldiers to interact in a virtual representation of the OE.
Why is this important to the Army?
The Army requires an adaptable force whose training and leader development in all domains (operational, institutional and self-development) are based on the complexity, depth and unpredictability of the OE. The Army Capstone and Operating Concepts summarize these changing operational realities as conditions of uncertainty and complexity, requiring ground combat forces with operational adaptability. To support the operating force in achieving these and other goals, the TBOC enables the institutional Army to replicate complex current and future OEs in coordination with joint, interagency, intergovernmental and multinational partners. The TBOC's work supports the Army Learning Model in leveraging technology to establish a learning system that provides engaging, relevant and rigorous resident, distributed and mobile learning.