JELC-Lite is a new approach for providing relevant training between large-scale military exercises using a streamlined process. It utilizes distributed and virtualized training technologies to establish simulated scenarios in a fraction of the time of the traditional Joint Event Life Cycle (JELC) process. JELC-Lite training events can be developed and delivered in 2 weeks compared to 12-18 months for traditional JELC events. This allows for more frequent, shorter training events to maintain proficiency levels between major exercises. JELC-Lite follows four phases that parallel the JELC process but are reduced in scope and scale for faster development and delivery of training. It has been successfully used to provide agile, repetitive training for

1. JELC-LITE:
Unconventional Instructional Design for Special Operations Training
Gerald “Jay” Gendron
gerald.gendron@gmail.com
Mark Friedman, CKMP
Concurrent Technologies Corporation
friedmam@ctc.com
Abstract. Current special operations staff training is based on the Joint Event Life Cycle (JELC). It addresses operational level
tasks in multi-week, live military exercises which are planned over a 12 to 18 month timeframe. As the military experiences
changing global mission sets, shorter training events using distributed technologies will increasingly be needed to augment
traditional training. JELC-Lite is a new approach for providing relevant training between large scale exercises. This new
streamlined, responsive training model uses distributed and virtualized training technologies to establish simulated scenarios. It
keeps proficiency levels closer to optimal levels – thereby reducing the performance degradation inherent in periodic training. It can
be delivered to military as well as under-reached interagency groups to facilitate agile, repetitive training events. JELC-Lite is
described by four phases paralleling the JELC, differing mostly in scope and scale. It has been successfully used with a Theater
Special Operations Command and fits well within the current environment of reduced personnel and financial resources.
1.0 INTRODUCTION delivered by the Joint Staff and military
Services.
Unconventional
Personnel constraints are perhaps the most
The term unconventional not only describes challenging hurdle in training development.
a classic mission set of special operations Joint military training is inherently a
forces – it also describes the manner in humanistic endeavor. It relies on a very
which special operations trainers are particular and special subset of the
approaching training development in this profession of arms – the ability to discern
time of constrained resources and changing training needs of operational, uniformed
missions. Special operations trainers have members and then translate those needs
begun to use rapidly developed, distance into specific, achievable, and timely training
training ways and means to surmount the events. These events often include several
resource challenges and achieve their hundred live players, not to mention the
mission goals. virtual players linked from distributed
locations and synthetic forces generated
As special operations and conventional through constructive simulations. People
forces continue to realize the changing and their specialized training skills continue
global environment – and the resultant to serve as the most important element of
revision in their global mission sets – the joint military training enterprise spread
enabling functions like mission support, across the globe – the art and science of
acquisition, and training should likewise war. As a support function, they have taken
change to keep in step with the needs of the resource cuts in order to bolster operational
men and women in uniform. From the forces engaged in our nation’s wars. Yet
perspective of joint military training, the the operational forces need even more
revised mission sets will drive a requirement training than in past years to deal with force
for increases of relatively short training surges, increased uncertainty, and changing
events which augment the traditional joint mission sets.
training currently designed, planned, and

2. The complexity of the current and Most often, operational-level training results
foreseeable defense and security operating in the military Services working in concert
environments call for adaptive individuals, with the Joint Staff to establish a training
leaders, and units at all levels. While environment satisfying the training
acknowledging that these characteristics requirements. These are highly complex
already exist in the armed forces (to some events, but the Joint Staff has promulgated
degree), it is clear that the severity of the policy and instructions in order to maintain
challenges imply an urgent need to effectiveness of the resultant training while
significantly reinforce and extend them. We striving for efficiencies. A key process in
have entered a time when the uniformed joint training is the Joint Event Life Cycle
services must be able to train more (JELC). The Joint Training Manual for the
efficiently and with greater agility than ever Armed Forces of the United States [2]
before. defines JELC as:
2.0 MILITARY TRAINING A flexible sequential set of processes
DEVELOPMENT ENVIRONMENTS that can be modified to apply to various
levels of joint event intensity. Although,
2.1 Key Terms and Concepts nominally, a 12-18 month undertaking
for major collective exercises, the JELC
Each year, the Department of Defense can be utilized for any training event and
embarks upon a very challenging and the planning team needed to accomplish
broad-reaching joint training mission. the JELC is directly related to the scale
Fortunately for our men and women in and complexity of the training event
uniform, the Department continues to itself ([2], p. E-6).
perform well in this mission. It has
continued to enhance its operational-level This is a foundational concept of the joint
training events through new methods and military training system and serves as the
technologies. This paper focuses on primary construct for this paper.
training at the operational level of war which
encompasses the forces supporting the 2.2 Joint Event Life Cycle in Military
combatant commanders around the globe. Training Events
From the Department of Defense Dictionary Special operations training is not unlike
of Military and Associated Terms [1], conventional training from a process
operational level of war means “the level of perspective. In fact, special operations
war at which campaigns and major trainers utilize the same JELC principles
operations are planned, conducted, and and timelines. At the operational level, the
sustained to achieve strategic objectives JELC specifically addresses operational-
within theaters or other operational areas” level tasks and results in exercises which
([1], p. 271). From the same source, the typically last one week, though some are
term combatant commander is defined as two weeks in duration. These exercises
the “commander established and so (i.e., training events) prepare thousands of
designated by the President, through the members of the Armed Forces and the
Secretary of Defense and with the advice Department of Defense for the challenges of
and assistance of the Chairman of the Joint fulfilling its national security strategy around
Chiefs of Staff. Combatant commands the globe. These exercises typically require
typically have geographic or functional a 12 to 18 month JELC to design, staff, and
responsibilities” ([1], p. 60). build the final event. As a result, most
combatant commands have one, or possibly

3. two, full-scale training events each year. Knowledge Online for anyone in the
This flows from the personnel and schedule Department of Defense to use for their
constraints of a Joint Staff required to training needs. Immersive learning
support all the combatant commands. environments are a step beyond computer
based training. Rather than focusing on an
2.3 Recent Occurrences individual, the technologies allow small
Underpinning Change teams to train on staff processes similar to
those found at the operational level of war.
Continued themes surrounding national
security and the Department of Defense 3.0 ADAPTING PEOPLE AND
include uncertainty and change. In August PROCESSES
2010, Defense Secretary Robert Gates
announced his intent for an efficiencies The human aspects of quality training
initiative to review the fiscal and personnel preclude a total solution derived solely from
levels of the Department. The stated goal technologies alone. A truly effective training
was to shift resources – approximately $100 solution requires not only the technologies,
billion – to units and commands more but also the right people and processes.
directly supporting the war fighting missions.
The shift would come from reductions in 3.1 New Approach: More in Less
command staffs which grew, according to Time
Secretary Gates, during the war years since
2001. The JELC-Lite model proposed offers two
major benefits which make it ideal to
As these efficiency measures have been supplement the traditional JELC process:
executed, the Obama Administration has reduced development time for training
noted the need to go further in an effort to events, and reduced regression of staff
reduce national debt. Efficiencies once skills.
focused on a shift of resources has
transformed into a call for a reduction in Traditional joint training events have
Defense Department budgets by durations lasting approximately one week.
approximately $400 billion through 2023 [3]. In contrast, collaborative staff planning
Consider the situation highlighted in the events have an average duration of four
introductory comments of this paper: hours when using immersive learning
environments. These shorter events allow
 changing global missions operational commanders and training
demanding training support; officers to increase the frequency of events.
 constrained training personnel face Typical outcomes of these four-hour events
increased demand for support; and include: rehearsing existing staff knowledge,
 training is an inherently humanistic expanding the knowledge base from
endeavor. veteran staff to new team members, and
building (nurturing) relationships among
The Joint Staff has foreseen these future collaborative teams.
challenges and has supported the
development of new training technologies JELC-Lite also reduces the amount of time
and methods to surmount them. These new to develop training events on a per training-
technologies have been in immersive hour basis. As noted, the JELC operates
learning environments. They have been over a 12 to 18 month timeframe to design
developed and are hosted on Joint and build a one week training event. This
typical situation results in a development-

4. delivery ratio of 52:1 (52 weeks:40 hours). technology has afforded the learning
Experience has shown that JELC-Lite industry. Learners can now focus on a very
events can be designed and created in narrow and specific topic, instead of having
approximately 2 weeks. This results in a to rely on large, broad, and generalized
development-delivery ratio of 20:1 (2 events. Not disparaging these larger,
weeks:4 hours). The JELC-Lite aggregated training events – but the
performance ratio is 62 percent more opportunity to narrowly-focus and train on
efficient as compared to the JELC (i.e. specific mission essential tasks provides the
requires 62% less labor to create an hour of trainer flexibility to create and deliver many
team training). This makes JELC-Lite times more training events which are much
training processes nearly three times more easily adaptable to the ever-changing
quicker than traditional ones. set of requirements in today’s uncertain
environment.
Joint observer-trainers note staff
performance is heightened by its 3.2 Four Phases of Proposed JELC-
participation in a one-week event on an Lite
annual basis; however, the staff
performance level steadily declines over the Traditional JELC has five defined stages [2]:
course of the intervening year until the next
event. The need for long duration,  Design
comprehensive training events using JELC  Planning
processes will persist, but JELC-Lite  Preparation
provides the opportunity to augment these  Execution
yearly events with short duration training  Evaluation, Analysis, and Reporting
opportunities. Fortunately, the guidance
from the authoritative source on joint JELC-Lite has four phases, which closely
training not only allows adaptation of the mirror the standard Joint Event Life Cycle:
JELC but also encourages it to “fit the scale
and intensity of the training event itself” ([2],  Concept Development
p. E-6).  Plan-Build
 Pre-Execution Preparation
Adapting JELC for JELC-Lite will allow the  Execution
execution of relevant training to learners,
both before and between the large-scale The primary differences between JELC and
exercises, in order to maintain higher levels JELC-Lite lay in the scope and scale, with
of proficiency with greater consistency – the Lite version being more responsive and
avoiding the bathtub effect of decreased agile. It has been expressly designed for
performance that often occurs between use with immersive learning environments
large-scale events. Not only are staffs more capable of rapid training scenario
capable, but training events are more development. The four phases are
beneficial when the regression of staff skills described below. A guide detailing the
is lessened. JELC-Lite process is being written by the
authors to provide training developers and
JELC-Lite results in “a lot of a little” – an training audiences guidance on employing
idea based on the book The Long Tail: Why JELC-Lite in their events.
the Future of Business Is Selling Less of
More by Chris Anderson. Anderson [4]
describes how the Internet revolution has
been shaped by a specific nuance that

5. 3.2.1 Concept Development toolset capabilities like those in the Small
Group Scenario Trainer (SGST), visual
Concept Development has three main diagrams can be created, shared, edited,
purposes: establish expectations, develop and finalized over web services [5].
initial action items, and finalize the requests Aristotle said it best: “The soul does not
for support from customer to training think without a picture.”
development team. Most important is
setting proper expectations – especially 3.2.3 Pre-Execution Preparation
when developing training under JELC-Lite.
There is a longstanding understanding of Having drafted and constructed the training
traditional JELC processes. Users must event, this phase is designed to rehearse
appreciate that a rapid development effort the event with the customers to ensure
will require a different approach to building expectations for players, controllers, and
the event under JELC-Lite. role players are satisfied. Pre-Execution
Preparation can be accomplished in the
The focus needs to be on the training JELC-Lite model via simple email and
audience and their ability to play in the teleconferences. This phase is very
event rather than the technologies used. An important in the distributed, lightweight
example of the checklist used during this JELC-Lite model, since face-to-face
phase: the developers facilitate a session coordination may not be possible during
wherein customers determine event rapid development. A side benefit is that it
objectives, identify a geographical location reduces loads on personnel and fiscal
for the scenario, determine the number of resources as compared to traditional
hours for event execution, and scope the preparation under JELC.
number of scenario injects the players will
have to manage. 3.2.4 Execution
3.2.2 Plan-Build Lastly, the Execution Phase includes
scenario delivery, a hotwash with the
Where JELC typically has four planning training audience, and an internal lessons
conferences, the JELC-Lite Plan-Build learned session among the developers.
Phase is performed only once, focusing on These are very similar to the activities in a
a small target set of objectives. The primary traditional JELC process.
objectives in this phase of JELC-Lite are for
the customer to decide on the player roles 4.0 A PROMISING VIEW OF THE
(how many? how broad?); to define the FUTURE
activities within the event (one planning
activity? planning with a fast forward to JELC-Lite processes have been
deployment?); and to storyboard the successfully used at a few combatant
activities and roles against the desired commands from 2010 to the present. Three
training injects and synchronize timing. The overarching benefits have been observed
Plan-Build Phase co-exists with a series of among training developers and audiences
product reviews at 30 percent (review inject employing JELC-Lite.
products), 70 percent (review overall event
flow), and 90 percent (review details and 4.1 Expand Training Reach and
synchronization). Recall that this phase Responsiveness
may last only a week, so these reviews help
drive the process through the longest JELC-Lite supports the philosophy “a lot of
portion of development. By leveraging a little”. This means not only a greater

6. number of events, but with the correlating sustain the idea flow. In other words, the
effect resulting from more frequent events. shorter cycle time aids the addition of
Customers can avoid having to wait for the innovation into the training. Without the
next large-scale exercise to rehearse or shortened cycle time for training
train techniques, tactics, and procedures. In development, there would simply be less
fact, now operational commanders can have opportunity to achieve this level of
their staffs go through those experiences as innovation.
a build up for the large-scale event.
Training can become not only more frequent 4.3 Evolutionary Approach
but also more penetrating in developing our
human capital. There exists a subtle (yet Finally, this new streamlined, responsive,
significant) side benefit to this increased and agile training model called JELC-Lite
reach – increased responsiveness. affords trainers the opportunity to reach
Developers and analysts involved with under-reached training audiences and
training recognize that the 18 month time allows for agile, repetitive training events to
spans needed to develop large-scale events take place where needed. This mimics a
are more susceptible to obsolescence due popular paradigm found on the Internet in
to changes in global environments that alter the commercial sector – that being Apple’s
the mission focus. More frequent event iTunes delivery capability. Consider the
development and training reduces risk in an iTunes inventory: it is a huge assortment of
uncertain operational environment. media which is instantly available to
customers. Meanwhile, the iTunes process
4.2 Agile Solution is highly repeatable, has very low
transactional cost, and offers very efficient
The responsiveness inherent in reduced management overhead. Thus, the
JELC-Lite development cycles fosters agility evolutionary adaption of JELC-Lite to
for the training audience. In today’s augment the JELC could be whimsically
constrained resource environment, there called iJELC.
should be a shift in thinking that large and
situationally-specific scenarios will be Who are the under-reached and under-
reused in the future to gain economies of served training audiences? There are four
scale. Rather, training developers can levels of penetration when expanding reach
espouse the benefits of situationally-specific to users:
scenarios that are smaller in scope and
easier to develop in order to remain agile to  Active Duty Military Forces;
training needs – and ultimately cost less.  Reserve and National Guard Forces;
 Interagency Partners; and
"The need to learn quickly and adapt in a  Multinational Partners.
dynamic environment is seminal for both
military and civilian organizations" ([6], p. Among active duty users, consider newly
165). arriving members of a joint, operational
staff. A study [7] commissioned in 2008 by
The added benefit of this agility is that the the Joint Staff J7’s Joint Training and
trainers are able, and encouraged, to Exercise Division found officers serving on
update, revise, and improve the training operational-level joint staffs were not
content between each cycle of delivery. performing as well as senior leaders had
Since there is no end-state to the idea of expected. Reasons for this cited by the
“better” and “continuous improvement” – study include the facts that these officers
JELC-Lite provides the opportunity to were on their first joint tour, their first staff

7. tour, and their first time working with a members than the rest of the interagency,
diverse workforce such as other military but uniformed military members often fail to
Services and the interagency. Experience realize this disparity in personnel
with operational joint staffs points to a lack resourcing. Again, these other members of
of process-oriented training on staff the interagency could benefit from
techniques and skills. Newest members of collaborative staff training using distance
a combatant command must seek on-the- training tools and techniques. It would
job training in preparation for the large- increase interaction among key mission
scale, annual training exercise. Newly partners.
assigned members of combatant
commands and the Joint Staff represent an Finally, the military supports the Department
under-served audience during their first four of State diplomatic mission by participating
to eight months of time on the staff. in Security Assistance activities like training
and educating our multinational partners. A
Secondly, consider the Reserve and key problem is a lack of persistence in
National Guard forces who volunteer to contact due to costs and distance
support active duty units. Most frequently in challenges of working with multinational
the special operations community, these partners. Additionally, not all our partners
groups of warfighters augment the active are supported at similar levels. This is to be
duty components by deploying on multi- expected. However, when it comes time for
month Joint Special Operations Task Force execution it is not desirable to expect less of
tours. While they are often able to take long a less-served partner. Fiscal and personnel
blocks of time from their civilian jobs to constraints make it difficult, if not
support the military mission, they can have impossible, for the Department of Defense
difficulty getting additional, smaller blocks of trainers to travel and support these
time away from work prior to the multinational partners frequently enough to
deployment to support important training maintain the performance levels achieved
workup events as preparation for the after the live security assistance training.
deployment. This results in a less than fully Distance training and a JELC-Lite process
prepared group of staff members who could may bring recurring opportunities to smaller,
benefit from collaborative staff training using lesser-served – but nonetheless important –
distance training tools and techniques prior partners.
to deployment.
5.0 CONCLUSION
Beyond the uniformed members, there has
been a notable increase in cooperation, Today’s operational-level training events are
engagement, and mission execution among designed, constructed, and executed under
the entire interagency including Department a well-established process called the Joint
of Defense, Department of State, law Event Life Cycle (JELC). Special
enforcement agencies, and more than a operations training events use the JELC as
dozen other governmental agencies. One well. The JELC typically requires 12 to 18
persistent problem cited by non-defense months to plan a one week joint training
members of the interagency is the inability event. However, a changing landscape in
to train with uniformed staff members. national security, and tightening constraints
There are just so much fewer personnel in on critical resources, such as people and
non-defense agencies and this leads to money, requires the Department of Defense
difficulties to engage in training with the to reconsider guidance in CJSCM 3500.03C
military – especially when travel is required. stating it is appropriate to adapt the JELC to
The Department of Defense has many more

8. the scale and complexity of the desired [4] Anderson, C. (2006, July 11). The long
event. tail: Why the future of business is
selling less of more. New York, NY:
As the military realizes changing global Hyperion.
mission sets, shorter training events using
distributed technologies will increasingly [5] Joint Knowledge Development &
augment traditional training. JELC-Lite is a Distribution Capability. (2009, August
new approach to provide relevant training 31). Small group scenario trainer
between large scale exercises. This paper (SGST): Users guide. Suffolk, VA.
articulates the four phases the authors have
defined for JELC-Lite and the benefits [6] Mains, S., & Ariely, G. A. (2011).
JELC-Lite has for operational commands. Learning while fighting: Operational
Overall, a greater number of short training knowledge management that makes a
events points to a future where higher difference. PRISM, 2 (3).165-176.
performance levels are maintained between
large-scale training events. Maintaining [7] United States Special Operations
more optimal proficiency levels reduces the Command. (2010, October). US
performance degradation inherent in special operations command joint staff
periodic training. This new streamlined, officer site visit. Tampa, FL.
responsive training model uses distributed
and virtualized training technologies to
establish simulated scenarios. It can be
delivered to military as well as under-
reached interagency groups to facilitate
agile, repetitive training events.
6.0 REFERENCES
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of military and associated terms (JP 1-
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[2] Department of Defense. (2011,
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[3] Winter, D.C. (2011, May 31). Defense
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