1. Shotts, 15 June 2004
Aviation Training Exercises: Supporting Deployment in the 21st
Century
As the rehearsal concludes, the aviation task force operations officer reviews last minute
command and control tasks on the execution checklist with the aviation task force commander
before they head to their command posts. The aviation task force commander joins with the
infantry ground force commander as they head to in the UH-60 command and control aircraft to
fly top cover for the mission. Flight company commanders head back to their CPs to conduct air
mission briefing updates and review kneeboard packets with their aviators. The air is thick with
anticipation of the dangerous and challenging mission. Enemy ground fire, shoulder fired
surface to air missiles, dusty conditions on the LZs, and high tension wires crossing the outer
cordon area all combine to make this mission particularly hazardous for the flight crews.
(Picture of unit rehearsal, caption: 1-137th
Avn (OH NG) completes a rehearsal during a
recent ATX)
With final preparations made, the flight crews head to the flight line, climb in their
cockpits, conduct their permission communication checks, and depart for the mission. The flight
crews encounter no enemy activity as they traverse the desert terrain. When the flight of UH-60s
lands in the dusty LZ and drops off the infantry, the trail UH-60 suddenly encounters heavy
ground fire and is damaged as it departs the LZ. The infantry platoon is simultaneously pinned
down by heavy small arms fire and sporadic mortar fire. The AH-64D escort immediately goes
to work taking nine line requests for aviation support from the ground forces and uses close
combat attack to suppress the enemy allowing the infantry to establish the inner cordon
checkpoint in the compromised area as the damaged UH-60 manages to limp away for a short
period before making a hard landing in a nearby field.
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2. Shotts, 15 June 2004
As the situation unfolds the aviators are stretched to their limit. The ground and aviation
commanders in the command and control aircraft sort through the chaos of battle and apply
combat power at the appropriate areas to throw the insurgents off balance and send them
retreating back into the safety of the crowded city. They coordinate recovery of the downed UH-
60 with the tactical operation center. Back in the battalion command post, radios echo the urgent
reports from soldiers in close contact with a fierce enemy, and reveal aviators determined to
bring death and destruction to the insurgents with precision fires. The detail of the rehearsal
pays off as branches and sequels of the original plan are put into effect by vigilant battle captains
in the battalion TOCs. The importance of integrating air and ground forces in the urban
environment is apparent to everyone involved as the exercise progresses.
(picture of the TOC, caption: soldiers from C/193rd
Avn (Medium Lift) track the battle
from their company TOC)
However, the flight line is not in Iraq, it is at Fort Rucker, Alabama, and the aircraft
cockpits flown by the aviators are not real aircraft flying over Iraq, they are Fully-
Reconfigurable Experimental Devices (FREDs), traversing over virtual Iraqi terrain, fighting
against an enemy of semi-automated computer generated virtual forces in the Combat Aviation
Virtual Simulation (CAVSIM) facility. The scenario just described is part of an Iraq Aviation
Training Exercise (ATX). These exercises are being used to train units deploying in support of
Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF), Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF) in Afghanistan, and SFOR
and KFOR in the Balkans. Many active component and reserve component forces include the
ATX in their deployment training to augment Combat Training Center (CTC) rotations and
mission rehearsal exercises. The cost of an ATX is only a fraction of the cost to do a live
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3. Shotts, 15 June 2004
exercise (such as a field training exercise or CTC rotation), but the training value is equal or in
some cases greater.
The exercises at Fort Rucker are normally ten days long and include three days of
simulation training and battle staff preparation, followed by seven days of intense aviation
focused training that combines brigade, battalion, and company level battle command with
aviators flying virtual collective simulators. The scenarios are developed and led by the Director
of Simulation, Exercises Division, supported by a team of CSC contractors with years of
collective aviation experience. The exercise is also supported by a small group of individuals
from the training unit’s higher headquarters that make up a brigade/division level white cell as
well as a team of observer/controllers that evaluate unit performance and collect lessons learned.
(Picture of the stealth, caption: Observer controllers and white cell roll players monitor
the exercise from the stealth room)
The exercise is driven using a modular training support package (TSP) consisting of a
base order to set initial conditions, daily intelligence summaries that create a common thread of
enemy activity, and a full spectrum of missions in the form of Fragmentary Orders (FRAGOs).
The FRAGOs range from deliberate cordon and search missions integrated with ground role
play, to general support mail runs that serve as a distraction to the battle staff, but provide
valuable area orientations to the flight crews. All FRAGOs mesh with the intelligence thread for
a common operational thread throughout the exercise. The TSP is tied together with a master
events list and includes special instructions for white cell role players to bring realism to the
exercise. Observer controllers from the combat training center or from the reserve training
support battalions track the exercise using the Master Events List, and are able to monitor,
record, and play back for after action review every round fired by an AH-64, every radio
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4. Shotts, 15 June 2004
transmission made from the command and control aircraft, and every action directed by the
ground force commander. The ATX becomes a true learning experience for pilots, staff
members, and commanders alike.
The ATX is designed to put a battalion or brigade level aviation task force through
mission scenarios they will likely encounter in their deployment environment. The virtual
helicopter simulation cockpits in the CAVSIM are linked to brigade, battalion and company level
command posts in the Aviation Warfighting Simulation Center (AWSC). The virtual cockpits
are also linked together in a virtual world that closely resembles the operational environment
they will encounter after deployment. The whole aviation task force is immersed in an operating
environment corresponding to their theater of deployment. The virtual simulators fly over
geographically specific terrain data bases that match the Iraq landscape as closely as possible.
The aircraft are linked to the their command and control headquarters by simulated radios (HF,
TACSAT, FM) and by command and control systems that replicate the digital ABCS systems
they will have available to them during deployment.
(picture of battle captain, caption: Gaining situational awareness in the battalion TOC
during a recent ATX)
The advantage to using simulators and simulation driven training is that the units have
many more opportunities to learn valuable battlefield lessons in a low-cost, low-risk training
environment. When a soldiers die in a live training accident or in combat, we only learn the
lesson if an accident investigation team is able to determine the cause. When soldiers die in a
training simulator, they live to share the lesson with other soldiers. Using observer/controllers to
log lessons learned and to provide feedback during the simulation driven virtual exercises gives
the unit the valuable information they need to sharpen their collective skills to fight and win in
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5. Shotts, 15 June 2004
any situation. The aviation training exercise has become a key element in the training plan of
many deploying units.
Simulation based training for aviation using collective simulators has few limits. As
Flight School XXI simulation services are put into place and the AWCS at Fort Rucker is
equipped with 18 floor mounted, Aviation Combined Arms Tactical Trainer - Army (AVCATT-
A) based, networked collective simulators, units will be able to conduct battalion sized aviation
task force missions. As additional AVCATT-A suites are fielded around the army, it will be
possible to links these suites together allowing an aviation brigade units of action to support joint
exercises with a full compliment of virtual aircraft simulators flying in support of virtual and
constructive ground forces linked to Air Force and Navy flight simulators and battle command
systems. The Joint National Training Capability (JNTC) is not too far in the future, and Army
Aviation is well positioned to become an active participant.
Army Aviation is leading the way in the use of virtual simulation for deployment
training. Since the first ATX was conducted in June 1998 to prepare a unit for deployment to the
Balkans we have been perfecting the use of virtual simulators for collective training. Collective
flight simulators are higher fidelity, terrain data bases are more realistic, the training can be
seamlessly integrated with the network centric Army Battle Command Systems, and more virtual
simulators are becoming available for use. Collective training is greatly enhanced by networked
virtual aircraft simulators, and when properly integrated into a larger exercise the training benefit
is unsurpassed. All units (Ground and Aviation) that participate in Aviation Training Exercises
are better prepared to meet the challenges of the modern battlefield through the use of our
nation’s critical army aviation assets.
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6. Shotts, 15 June 2004
any situation. The aviation training exercise has become a key element in the training plan of
many deploying units.
Simulation based training for aviation using collective simulators has few limits. As
Flight School XXI simulation services are put into place and the AWCS at Fort Rucker is
equipped with 18 floor mounted, Aviation Combined Arms Tactical Trainer - Army (AVCATT-
A) based, networked collective simulators, units will be able to conduct battalion sized aviation
task force missions. As additional AVCATT-A suites are fielded around the army, it will be
possible to links these suites together allowing an aviation brigade units of action to support joint
exercises with a full compliment of virtual aircraft simulators flying in support of virtual and
constructive ground forces linked to Air Force and Navy flight simulators and battle command
systems. The Joint National Training Capability (JNTC) is not too far in the future, and Army
Aviation is well positioned to become an active participant.
Army Aviation is leading the way in the use of virtual simulation for deployment
training. Since the first ATX was conducted in June 1998 to prepare a unit for deployment to the
Balkans we have been perfecting the use of virtual simulators for collective training. Collective
flight simulators are higher fidelity, terrain data bases are more realistic, the training can be
seamlessly integrated with the network centric Army Battle Command Systems, and more virtual
simulators are becoming available for use. Collective training is greatly enhanced by networked
virtual aircraft simulators, and when properly integrated into a larger exercise the training benefit
is unsurpassed. All units (Ground and Aviation) that participate in Aviation Training Exercises
are better prepared to meet the challenges of the modern battlefield through the use of our
nation’s critical army aviation assets.
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