The New Inchon Goes to Sea
By Captain David M. Crocker, U.S. Navy
The USS Inchon (MCS-12)—the Navy’s new Mine Countermeasures Support ship—completed her $125 million conversion in March and left Ingalls Pascagoula, Mississippi, shipyard 29 May for workups at Naval Station Norfolk, Virginia.
She brings a capability long overdue: a permanent, state-of-the-art mine warfare command-and-control mother ship. The requirement for such a ship is not new. Between 1955 and 1970, seven ships—mostly amphibious warfare vessels—were converted to fill the mission on an ad hoc basis. Never before, however, has the mine countermeasures mission demanded such a high level of sophistication to succeed.
She will be homeported in Ingleside, Texas, to complement the growing mine warfare infrastructure already in place. Extended yard periods and home port changes are always difficult for the crew, but the anticipation of a new mission on a one-of-a-kind platform has kept them motivated to live up to their ship’s motto: “Never more brightly!”
Sea mines—relatively cheap and simple to deploy—have been a part of warfare since the early 1800s. Their potential use by littoral nations has become increasingly evident as real-world scenarios are debriefed, and potential conflicts are played out in war-gaming think tanks.
During Operation Desert Storm, mines seriously damaged the USS Princeton (CG-59) and the USS Tripoli (LPH-10) and hampered amphibious operations throughout the Persian Gulf. The mine detection and destruction campaigns were inadequately supported, both in terms of materials as well as command-and-control, for extended deployable operations. Following Operation Desert Storm, the Navy determined that it needed a ship dedicated to the primary mission of mine countermeasures support (MCS).
To fill this urgent need, the Navy conducted a series of rough-order-of-magnitude studies to select a candidate ship for the near-term conversion. These studies investigated several options:
► An Austin (LPD-4)-class amphibious transport ship
- A commercial cargo carrier using the Naval Operations and Maintenance Aviation Deck (NOMAD) concept
- A Forrestal (CV-59) or Midway (CV-41)-class conventional carrier
- New construction
- One of several Iwo Jima (LPH-2)-class amphibious assault helicopter carriers: the Tripoli (LPH-10), the New Orleans (LPH-11), or the Inchon (LPH-12)
The LPH was considered because of its relatively large flight and hangar decks (vice that of an LPD-4) required to support eight MH-53E and three search-and- rescue/spotter helicopters; its cost of daily operation and maintenance (vice that of the CV-59 or CV-41); availability and flexibility (vice that of NOMAD), as well as time and cost (vice that anticipated with new construction). LPHs also offered:
- Large existing troop spaces
- Previous MCM operational experience
- Large excess electrical generating capability
- Superb medical facilities
Of the three LPHs considered, the Inchon was the only one that was fully Grade-A shock qualified and not flag configured. Her operational schedule also coincided with the availability period required for the 14-month long conversion. This near-term solution will provide the necessary mine countermeasures (MCM) support needed for the next 10 to 15 years. She will be a permanently converted, dedicated naval ship configured to support a wide range of airborne mine countermeasures (AMCM), surface mine countermeasures (SMCM).and explosive ordnance disposal mine countermeasures (EODMCM) missions world-wide.
The most efficient method of conducting mine clearance operations is the coordinated use of airborne, surface, and special operations (explosive ordinance disposal) assets. In-theater connectivity between the MCM Group Commander and his Airborne Mine Countermeasure Commander, Surface Mine Countermeasure Commander, and EOD assets are essential to clearing mines and opening transit lanes to other vessels.
The embarked MCM commander will be required to direct these assets, collect and disseminate operational data, and coordinate the highly complex task of mine clearance operations. The Inchon's conversion represents a major improvement in mine warfare command-and-control. The technologies inherent in her upgrade rival those of any conventional aircraft carrier or amphibious transport ship. The ship also can serve as an interactive platform with fleet and unified commanders-in-chief, battle group commanders, and fleet assets in a variety of contingency scenarios.
The Inchon's upgrade includes:
- Navy Tactical Command System (NTCS) Afloat
- Joint Maritime Command Information System (JMCIS)
- NAVMACS II processor that provides full JMCIS capability
- Link-11 Display System
- Navigation Sensor System Interface
- Shipboard Non-tactical Automatic Data Processing System)/NTCSS
- Tactical Information Management System (TIMS)
- National Intelligence Technical Exploitation System
- Tactical Information Management System (personal computer local area network)
Newly installed intelligence-cryptology systems include: Tactical Intelligence II; Joint Deployable Intelligence Support System; and an NTCS-A Imagery Exploitation Workstation.
The following systems have been upgraded:
- SLQ-32A Electronic Countermeasures suite
- SPS-40 Air Search Radar
- SLQ-25A Torpedo Countermeasures Suite
- Radar Display and Dissemination System
Communications improvements include MF/HF transmit and receive capability, VHF (line-of-sight), UHF (line- of-sight, broadcast, and satellite communications) and Superhigh Frequency satellite communications. The ship will be equipped with an upgraded hard-kill antiair warfare self-defense system to provide terminal defense against antiship missiles, complementing the SLQ-32A, as well as an upgraded Mk 36 Mod 12 Decoy Launching System. Weapons systems have been reduced, to include only the upgraded MK-15 Phalanx close-in weapons system and the MK-38 25-mm chain gun.
The ship’s four operating spots will support eight MH-53E AMCM helicopters and three spotter/SAR helicopters along with enough JP-5 fuel to support sustained Airborne Mine Countermeasures operations for seven to ten days. The hangar bay will be modified to make room for EOD-related equipment and will accommodate one MH-53E and one H-46 for simultaneous maintenance. The remaining space will permit stowage of six MK-105 sleds vice the four that LPHs normally carry.
The newly constructed, permanent shipboard working spaces and supply storage spaces eliminate the requirement for the 15 support vans typically deployed with MH-53E squadron’s mission-specific tools, parts, and consumables required to maintain not only the MH-53E, but also its wide range of minesweeping and hunting devices. These items include:
- MK-103 mechanical sweep gear
- MK-104 acoustic device
- MK-I05 magnetic sleds
- SPU-1W magnetic orange pipe
- Mk 2G rattle bars
- AQS-14 mine hunting sonar
- ALQ-141 acoustic device
The Inchon will be reconfigured with a high-hat crane for heavy-lift maintenance, primarily that associated with the aircraft's main rotor head, engines, and gearboxes. The aircraft crane will be replaced by a commercially procured pedestal telescoping crane in order to support deployment of the MK-105 magnetic sled. The motor whale boats will be replaced by Rigid Hull Inflatable Boats (RHIBs), with additional space and davits for embarked AMCM and EOD RHIBS. Storing the inflatables on sponsons frees additional hangar bay space, and eliminates the requirement to launch RHIBs with the crane—saving up to 30 to 60 minutes on MK-105 recovery times.
One of the more unusual modifications is the addition of support booms on the port and starboard sides to moor two Avenger (MCM-1) or Osprey (MHC-51)-class vessels on each side for maintenance as well as hotel-related services. The Inchon will be astern-refueling capable to refuel these vessels while underway. A surface intermediate maintenance activity will provide emergent maintenance support in hull, mechanical, electrical, and electronic repair of the MCM and MHC surface craft. This capability will be important to keep the limited number of surface mine sweepers ready for action.
EOD modifications include berthing-office, and support spaces for four detachments, a fly-away recompression chamber, and a transportable recompression chamber. Approximately 75 EOD personnel will be on board. During minehunting operations, these detachments would reacquire, identify, and exploit or neutralize the mines that were not otherwise detonated by the aircraft and ship systems. The major support equipment modifications to the ship include: flyaway dive lockers to sustain MK-16 mixed-gas underwater breathing apparatus; fly-away recompression chamber, and associated life-support skid to provide the capability to treat an injured diver for decompression sickness, and the transportable recompression chamber system for split-site diving operations.
The Inchon's precarious intact stability status posed one of the more interesting design challenges—increase in topside weight and corresponding increase in the vertical center-or-gravity—which required a direct tradeoff between the old equipment going off the ship and the new equipment coming on board. [See “The Inchon Will Support Minesweeping,” Proceedings, November 1993, pages 92-94.] Removal of miles of old cableway and literally inches of old lev- elite, tile, and numerous layers of old paint helped significantly. The addition of a flooding casualty control software and embedded cargo loading software package will assist the ship in monitoring the ship’s stability as stores and liquid loads are allocated. This computer aid will account for aircraft location on the flight deck, any ballasting and deballasting, and will take into account any battle damage that results in flooding.
To add to the overall programmatic complexity, the ship is transitioning to the Naval Reserve Force. The mix will be approximately 70% active and 30% reserve; up to 20% of the crew can be female. This brings with it a new set of challenges relative to the training and proficiency of the crew, sustainability, and operational capacity while deployed. As the Selected Reserve forces join the ship, the capabilities will be increased to achieve full operational status in all primary mission areas.
Captain Crocker, an unrestricted naval aviator (he commanded HS-17 flying SH-3s), commanded the Inchon throughout her conversion. Following her delivery to Ingleside, he has been relieved and is awaiting orders to subsequent nuclear-powered carrier command.
Why Not Diesel-Electric for the ’Gator Navy?
By Roger M. Jarmon
Captain John E. O’Neil, Jr., U.S. Navy, made a very strong case for the well proved diesel-electric propulsion plant in “Why Not a Diesel-Electric U.S. Navy?” (Proceedings, November 1995, pp. 83-84). It is questionable, however, that any single solution represents a panacea for all Navy applications.
Nuclear power, although expensive, has proved a good choice for aircraft carriers and submarines. Gas turbine power has proved advantageous for the surface combatants—frigates, destroyers, etc. However, the Navy does have considerable recent experience with diesel-electric propulsion systems in its ocean surveillance ships (T-AGOS), for example.
What operational or technical considerations caused these ships to use the diesel-electric alternative? One is the ability to isolate the diesel generator set linear vibration from the hull and. thereby, the sea—necessary for such ships for top performance of their towed array. Mechanical-drive propulsion systems are very difficult to isolate.
Another consideration is that these ships spend the majority of their actual operational time working at relatively slow speeds (3-5 knots). With a mechanical drive, this would mean the diesel engines would be operating at less than 10% of rated load. Low-power loading like this prevents the oil carryover in the combustion chamber from being burned, an undesirable situation referred to as “slobber” in the diesel vernacular. The diesel-electric alternative, however, with multiple units plus the ship’s service electrical load is added, typically operates at 40% load or more, eliminating the problems associated with light power loading.
The linear-vibration isolation also adds to the comfort of all embarked personnel, which brings up sound attenuation—certainly important to those on board. It is relatively easy to install sound-attenuation enclosures around diesel generator sets, as done on the USS Supply (AOE-6)-class.
What about an amphibious warfare ship such as the planned LPD-17? The expected operating load profile reveals that the propulsion power demand is quite low 65% of the time. Based on the planned mechanical drive system, the actual loading on the propulsion engines would be that shown in Table 1. The propulsion engines would be operating—inefficiently—at less than 15% load about 65% of the time, creating slobber and related maintenance concerns. The net result is increased fuel consumption and maintenance cost.
But what if the LPD-17 used a diesel-electric propulsion plant? Studies evaluated several different plant configurations. Considering the load variations, redundancy requirements, and efforts to work the engines in their fuel-efficient operating areas, a 45-megawatt plant—nine five-megawatt diesel generator sets—provides an excellent match for the operating profile. Table 2 depicts projected plant operation based on this configuration. Interestingly, present LPD- 17 plans specify nine diesel engines—four propulsion and five for ships service.
Table 3 estimates 20-year life-cycle operations and maintenance costs plus maintenance and efficiencies, based on a combination of computer simulation and industry experience. Fuel consumption is virtually the same for both alternatives, but data indicate significant savings in total engine operating hours, maintenance costs, and maintenance man hours. Savings resulting from having a single diesel configuration on board are likely, but are beyond the scope of this study.
With 45 megawatts of electrical power available once our Marines are ashore, it might be reasonable to use this power for base camps, etc. In military operations other than war, even power to a city is a possibility. The USS Lexington (CV-2) did just this in Tacoma, Washington, more than 60 years ago.
Amphibious ships seem particularly suited to diesel-electric propulsion systems. There may be lower life-cycle costs with little or no initial cost differences; reduced manning may be possible. The ships may have capabilities beyond the defined combat roles. Significant weight and space savings could make room for more support material for the landing force. There are no panaceas—only logical choices. Why not diesel-electric for our new 'Gator Navy?
Mr. Jarmon, an electrical engineer, is Engines Account Manager for Caterpillar, Inc., in Washing' ton, D.C..
Joint Overseas Training Is Natural Reserve Mission
By Lieutenant Commander Douglas D. Wright, DC, U.S. Naval Reserve and Master Chief Dental Technician John Hood, DC, U.S. Naval Reserve
The U.S. Atlantic Commands’s Joint Overseas Training (JOT) program offers reservists an opportunity to provide humanitarian and civic assistance to civilians in developing countries where active-duty personnel are providing construction assistance in conjunction with scheduled exercises.
The program is the result of efforts begun in the mid-1980s to allow unified commanders to interact with developing nations. Since its inception, providing health care to the civilian populace of developing nations has been recognized as a valid military mission when conducted under exercise auspices.
Put into practice, it is a valuable training exercise. Exercise Related Construction (ERC) is defined as minor construction projects outside the continental United States that remain after the exercise ends. ERC objectives include training for engineering troops and fostering good will. Once construction begins, reserve construction personnel are rotated to the exercise location for two-week active duty for training periods; reserve medical, dental, and civilian affairs personnel are add-ons.
The program’s joint-service aspects are striking. During an exercise in the Dominican Republic, U.S. Air Force Reserve personnel constructed a medical clinic—which then was staffed by medical personnel from the Puerto Rican National Guard. Dental care was provided by reservists from the 4th Dental Battalion of the 4th Marine Division.
Medical and dental care providers are challenged with providing field care in developing nations, whose citizens have medical needs far different from those seen in practices in the United States or at military health care facilities.
Crowd control can be a concern for exercise participants. In Grenada, the host country provided police officers to help maintain order among those waiting for care. In the Dominican Republic, Dominican military personnel worked with U.S. personnel, acting as guards for dental and medical equipment stationed at outlying clinics.
The overwhelming need for care in these areas presents opportunities for enlisted personnel to provide it in the field with direct supervision. Learning to overcome language barriers is an excellent real-world experience. An added benefit is the opportunity for both male and female personnel to hone leadership skills in the field.
During the 1994 Dominican Republic exercise. Lieutenant Commander Sheila Norman, NC, U.S. Naval Reserve, a cardiac research nurse at the Scripps Clinic in La Jolla, California, was the senior nurse corps officer present. "Usually the personnel in my unit provide support to a limited number of clinical areas during a two-week exercise. During our [active-duty training] we handled every aspect of clinic management from administration to pharmacy and laboratory services. This exercise was unique in the abundance of training opportunities available for our people.
“Each of the nurse corps officers onboard during the exercise was placed in charge of different aspects of our clinic. Control of the practice environment and the provision of patient care came as a natural extension of the field conditions and the dedication of our nurses and corpsmen to quality care,” Commander Norman said.
There have been some objections to the use of military personnel for JOT exercises. Critics maintain that using reserve health-care personnel overseas limits their availability to military health care facilities in the United States; that the care provided is episodic and of limited value to the host-country nationals; and that highly qualified military doctors and staff can undermine local health providers’ credibility.
On the other hand, enlisted health care personnel on these exercises have an opportunity to get the type of hands-on training in a developing nation rarely seen in the United States. Supporting U.S. personnel under field conditions is more challenging and may be necessary in future conflicts as active duty force size shrinks—and reserve personnel can transition to U.S. facilities with little additional training. Many reservists find the duty rewarding and it probably helps attract and retain highly qualified personnel.
While it is true that the care provided to adult ambulatory patients is of limited value if long-term follow-up is unavailable, much of the care provided during these exercises includes preventive medicine such as vaccination and public health instruction. Dental visits for pediatric patients, early treatment of dental cavities, and procedures designed to prevent future dental decay are provided. Training for local health care workers in up-to-date medical techniques such as cardiopulmonary resuscitation provides benefits to citizens of the host nation long after the exercise is over.
Since each host nation has different medical and public health needs, programs providing the best chance for long-term benefits should be constructed in the planning phase of the exercise.
Any meeting between U.S. personnel and host nation professionals requires tact and diplomacy. Motivated civil affairs personnel are essential to the successful outcome of the exercises. All participants should be selected based on their maturity and an understanding that the over-all mission objective includes the practice of health care sciences with host-nation colleagues in a professional and respectful environment.
Requests for joint overseas training and exercise related construction come from the Commander in Chief, U.S. Atlantic Command; humanitarian and civic assistance is the responsibility of the Directorate for Plans and Policy, Nations Assistance (J5NA). The Command Surgeon (JO2M) has responsibility for coordination with J5NA for evaluating medical, dental and veterinary readiness and training exercises. Military attaches for American diplomatic missions in countries wishing to arrange for humanitarian and civic assistance programs in their countries should contact the Atlantic Command’s J5NA office.
Defense planners foresee military missions that will require short-notice deployments to less-developed areas for low-intensity or peacekeeping operations. The mission described is a valuable way to train health care providers for these missions and to foster goodwill to those living in developing nations.
Lieutenant Commander Wright, who practices in Ellicott City, Maryland, is the Executive Officer of the 24th Dental Company, Detachment 2. He has provided dental care in Grenada and the Dominican Republic as a reservist. Master Chief Hood, a conductor for the Norfolk Southern Railroad, is the 4th Dental Battalion's Command Master Chief. He has served in the Dominican Republic and Guatemala as a reservist.
Analog Grunt Confronts Digital World
By Major Thomas R. Spence, U.S. Marine Corps
I just attended my first Interservice/Industry Training Systems and Education Conference. Its theme was “Today’s Technology, Tomorrow’s Training”—and there is plenty of high-speed technology available to train the warfighting world. It is obvious that the Marine Corps has doubled its catch-up speed in the world of simulation, and industry is ready to respond—for a price. The question is: What do we really need?
Computers and simulators have long been suspect; if we weren’t shooting real bullets, it wasn’t real training. Fortunately, that view has changed. Unfortunately, the plethora of technology available today confronts us with difficult choices, and with some temptations we must avoid. I’m new to the training systems and simulations world, but perhaps I can contribute to the discussion regarding interactive courseware (ICW), distributed interactive simulation (DIS), and hyper-text markup language (HTML) before the system absorbs me.
Much of the interactive courseware that I have examined lately is simply repackaged computer-based learning. When I embark upon what is advertised as ICW, I expect interaction. Many vendors have reduced the definition to pointing-and-clicking on a personal computer monitor; some have added sound clips—applause for correct answers. To a large degree, unfortunately, we have accepted this standard.
I expect more. By all means let’s use personal computers—but let’s exploit their full potential. Today’s ICW should be a personal mentor. Based upon student input, the courseware should select responses that balance challenge and support to promote growth and learning. It must teach a common core to students in a given program, but it also must be ready to challenge the quick learner while accommodating the slower one. That which opts for the middle ground wastes technology.
Software engineers co-located with the subject-matter experts can develop such a mentor. Often it will reside in a school, but provisions must exist for individual instruction, and the courseware must provide what resident schools cannot—limitless, mentored instruction. The adage that you get out of an education what you put into it should be the maxim.
What should we do? First, get rid of the distracting bells and whistles. A student trying to understand a concept—and succeeding—does not want to be interrupted by applause. The single exception is language training. Congratulatory responses provided here—in the language itself—reinforce learning. We must harness technology to challenge the students, not amuse them.
Most of the conference exhibitors proudly announced their world wide web (WWW) addresses. Electronic Mail (E- Mail) addresses were passé: to be somebody, you needed a Universal Resource Locator (URL). There is much information on the web—and much concern regarding how much of it is useful to Marines. Viewers can browse Smithsonian Museums or online graphics of the Dead Sea Scrolls, but is this really what a commanding officer wants his adjutant to be doing when he is supposed to be revising the interior guard order? I have visited the Marine Corps Home Page (http://www.hqmc.usmc.mil) and found some interesting information there, including a hypertext link to Marine Mail (http://www.hqmc.mmail.htm). What I have not found is any exploitation of the web’s utility to support Marines.
Some directives and publications are accessible from the Marine Corps Web Site, but the menu is limited. The web, though, together with hypertext markup language (HTML) and the hypertext transfer protocol (HTTP), has great potential to help Marine customers.
Placing new directives and changes on the web would make distribution almost instantaneous. Savings in recurring shipping costs for tons of documents quickly would pay for high-speed modems, additional telephone lines, and browser software. In addition, units rotating to and from Okinawa could save time turning over documents.
The current distribution system grants units considerable autonomy in determining what—and how many copies—they need. No automated electronic system allows potential customers to preview a publication; someone has to find a copy, thumb through it, order what looks appropriate with an online system—and wait for the mail. If any of a hundred eventualities come to pass, the user waits longer. The impatient borrow a copy from another unit and run the nearest copy machine at the cyclic rate until it dies.
Publications on the web offer instant gratification. We can never be totally paperless, but we can help the postal system a good bit.
The web’s real jewel is the hypertext markup language. If you have used a computer help menu, you probably have used hypertext—actually a tag that normally moves the browser to another location defined by a Universal Resource Locator. The text generally appears in a different color or format than its surrounding untagged text. Knowing how it works is not as important for Marines as realizing what it can do.
How many times have you found yourself in directive defilade—five or six of publications heaped high on a busy desk—attempting to answer a simple query? Of course, the first one you looked at referenced another one, and so on. What if the documents were linked so that you could focus upon the related sections of each one? You can—and HTML is the vehicle.
When the Marine Corps puts documents on the web, they should be written in HTML. Every reference to another publication must have a tag with a corresponding URL taking the user to that publication if he wants to go there, which is the beauty of HTML. Click on the hypertext, read what you need, and return. Few have the time to read a publication cover to cover; researchers go to the source and decide how much supporting information is required. Our directives are written as books but we use them as webs. HTML and the world wide web are the key to a system that meets our publication and directives needs.
It will take a lot of work, but not extra work. Every directive receives an annual review; during the next review, experts can add the HTML tags to referenced directives. If we stay on our review schedule, this should be a one-year transition. For maximum benefit, the entire Department of Defense should transition. Consider being able to link similar subjects in a Fleet Marine Force manual and an Army field manual.
The advantage of using HTML in checklists and acronyms becomes apparent. The Inspector General of the Marine Corps Automated Information Reporting System checklist is almost an all-encompassing document; it references the directives from which it was derived, so why not make those references hypertext and go directly from the checklist to the reference via HTML tags. Further, every inspection checklist should be linked to its parent references.
Acronyms should get the same treatment. Today, a single acronym may have different sets of words attached to it depending upon the domain in which it is used; some use an acronym so frequently that they have forgotten the source words. Used in a single context, can most of us remember what the acronym represents? Here comes hypertext to the rescue. Every acronym must be tagged with hypertext; clicking on it would yield the full description. Additional hypertext could link the reader with references to doctrinal terms as needed.
We also should exploit the world wide web’s recruiting potential. The target audience must be expanded from the high school population to a much younger age group. Elementary school students use online services for school projects—why doesn’t the Marine Corps have a site that supports their queries? A 5th grade student writing about France probably would be surprised to learn that U.S. Marines are connected with a pace called Belleau Wood. Current events on the web certainly would have included Captain Scott O’Grady’s rescue and Marine involvement. Our recruiting pool for the 21st century has fewer and fewer young men and women with parents who have served in the armed forces. The Marine Corps can tell its story to today’s youth online—and they will love it. The medium remains to be exploited.
Unit bulletin boards cover only some directives—and those posted have been copied front-to-back and head-to-head so that you have to read every other page upside down. How many Marines are going to use the bulletin board just outside the sergeant major’s hatch? Orders concerning request mast and leave-and- liberty are there, but why isn’t the unit bulletin board online and accessible to Marines in the barracks, or on a dial-in basis from their quarters? More and more Marines come into the Corps with some computer literacy and experience with online service. Why not give them the option to read the safety message before noon on Friday instead of watching them turn two powerful tools—a mind and a personal computer—into just another medium for entertainment?
Electronic mail can be more than a message service. Consider the posting of e-mail correspondence for major projects or exercises to a bulletin-board folder where it would facilitate information exchange for users—present and potential—and build a turnover file. Points of contact would be self-contained in each contribution.
For those who manage information parochially, this may be a difficult adjustment. Anyone trying to hoard knowledge won’t like this approach. But if your unit is going 100 miles an hour and getting all your key players in one place at the same time is always a challenge, then this is an excellent supplement to face-to-face communications and one-to-one e-mail.
Marine Mail is available online and I have used it. While the Commandant didn't restructure the Corps based upon my input, my comments were acknowledged. Nothing new here—it is just an electronic suggestion box. Of course, suggestion boxes sometimes have strange effects on managers who take things personally. If Marine Mail is viewed in the same manner as our professional journals, however, it will be effective. For this reason, I believe that Marine Mail is better served by a Bulletin Board System, in which suggestions are posted and others have the opportunity to respond. Those at the highest levels must actually read them, but the best test of a new idea is an open forum.
Marine Corps information online offers a potentially great service to the entire Corps. The individual charged with the responsibility of keeping his information current and useful has his credibility on the line every day, and we do all we can to help him. Changes to checklists and directives must be annotated and summarized. Many a “new” or “revised” checklist contains only a typographical corrections. A summary of revision—a concept which has been around for a while in the directives world, but has eluded the domain of the checklist—is absolutely essential. Releasing authority should be tied to an actual signature copy or an electronic signature of the officer authorized to sign directives to ensure authenticity. Security managers and Privacy Act coordinators must not be permitted to inhibit the process.
Simulators also offer a big payoff. The latest development is the call to link simulators together with specified protocols. Distributed interactive simulation (D1S)—the simulator buzzword of the late 1990s—can, however, be either a blessing or a burden.
In a simulated exercise, linking a company commander’s fire support team and his battalion’s fire support coordination center training at Camp Pendleton with an artillery fire direction center at Twentynine Palms, a direct air support center, and pilots in aviation trainers at various air fields offers tremendous training value. The same can be said of an exercise that brings all players for a combined arms exercise together for training and rehearsal via DIS.
The temptation, however, is to insist upon DIS for all simulations. Many simulators are best used to hone individual and small-unit skills. Data capture from these trainers may become a standing requirement, but DIS must be a conscious decision based upon training value. Simulators must give us more training opportunities, not reduce our Marines to training aids.
Technology offers better training if we can resist the bells and whistles. We must seek only the technology that meets our needs and not rationalize that our needs will be met by whatever the latest technology has to offer.
Major Spence, an infantry officer, is a Project Manager with the Naval Air Warfare Center Training Systems Division, Orlando, Florida. He has served with the United Nations in Iraq and Kuwait, and most recently was executive officer of the 3d Battalion, 4th Marines, Camp Pendleton. California.