Team performance in air combat:A teamwork perspective.

Publisher Copyright: © 2023 The Author(s). Published with license by Taylor & Francis Group, LLC.Objective: The objective of this paper is to describe a model combining taskwork and teamwork of a single-seat fighter aircraft team, or flight, during its performance episode. Background: In air combat, evaluations of team performance have focused on task performance. However, both teamwork and taskwork are required for high performance output. Attempts to address taskwork and teamwork in single-seat fighter aircraft flights have mainly settled for adopting existing models of teamwork to flights. As such, they have overlooked the unique nature of teamwork in air combat. Method: Existing models of teamwork and taskwork are reviewed and a flight’s tactical decision-making is described as an input-process-output model. A model combining flight’s teamwork, taskwork, situation awareness and transactive memory is conceptualized and operation of the model is illustrated with a case study. In the case study, the model is used to provide an alternative explanation for an air combat accident. Results: The model bridges the gap between the well-established concepts of teamwork and the unique nature of air combat. It rationalizes how the mission essential competencies, situation awareness and transactive memory interact with each other, and how they impact the flight’s performance output. Conclusions: The model helps scholars and practitioners in identifying the connection between the flight’s performance output and the underlying processes even when cause and effect are not adjacent in either time or space.Peer reviewe

Seizing the Moment: Realizing the Promise of Student-Centered Learning

This brief outlines policy recommendations for supporting student-centered learning at the local, state, and federal level

A Mixed Method Study Of A Former Special Operations Community: Identifying Factors That Effect Cross-Cultural Competency

The September 11, 2001 (9/11) attacks on the United States caused a series of military events, including the planning and deployment of troops to Afghanistan. In less than a month after that infamous September day, military Special Forces (SF) members and officers from the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) were operating in Afghanistan. The SF and CIA members were faced with not only the difficult geographical terrain but were hampered by inadequate time to prepare for the complicated human terrain of the Afghan culture. In the initial months of the war, these deficiencies were not evident; however, over the next decade, multiple cross-cultural failures in operations ranging from Afghanistan to Iraq, would have an impact on the culture of each nation, with bilateral frustration at best and suffering and death at worst. More than 15 years after 9/11, the military continues to operate in culturally challenging areas and struggles to prepare service members for such interactions. In 2017 the challenge remains how to increase every service member’s cross-cultural competency. These research questions are used to examine a specific subculture of the military, known as the Special Operations community, to include Special Operation Force (SOF) and Marine Expeditionary Unit Special Operations Capable (MEUSOC) members, and to explore the role cultural education may contribute to enhance individual performance. Findings suggest that there are definitive differences within the Special Operation Force community and these differences can be correlated to the varying degrees of cross-cultural training and education. Further, there is evidence that additional and specialized training assisted certain members of the SOF to better navigate the human terrain and understand the intricate nature of cross-cultural understanding. Additionally, it is clear there are areas needing improvement in the entire SOF community and the military in general. Conclusions realized from this study demonstrate the necessity for cross-cultural training and education as an important complement to the Band-Aids-and-bullets mentality in securing bilateral success in the varying human terrain for all stakeholders. It is essential for the Department of Defense and the SOF commands to identify where, when, what, and how to implement formal cross-cultural programs for the future success of the United States war fighting and peace keeping missions, as well as to serve the alliances of multinational collaborations

Train for war adapt for peace : a case study of the implications of risk management on static line parachute training in the ADF

Static line parachuting is an insertion method used by the Australian Defence Force to deploy combat troops. The Australian Army simulates the workplace environment during the delivery of Static Line Parachute training to meet safety requirements. Whilst training within the Army Registered Training Organisation (RTO) is delivered within the Army’s safety management framework, static line parachuting is still an inherently dangerous activity that can result in serious injuries to trainees. During 2009, the simulated environment used within the Army RTO to train basic static line paratroopers was analysed with a view to implement risk management strategies that would reduce if not eliminate injuries sustained by learners. These strategies were introduced during the 2009 training year, whereby 360 paratroopers completed the Basic Parachute Course in a modified environment. Training within the modified environment has continued, and the reduction in injury rates among learners has significantly decreased over 2009 and 2010 in comparison to 2008. Whilst injury rates have significantly decreased, there is a perception that the training outcomes detailed in the units of competency have not been achieved and that learners have not reached ‘job ready’ standard. The aim of this research was to analyse the workplace requirement of a static line paratrooper and the knowledge and skills obtained by trainees during the Basic Parachute Course. This analysis will help determine if a gap exists between the workplace requirements of a static line paratrooper and learning outcome of the parachute course. Literature related to the relationship between the learning environment and the workplace in the Vocational Education and Training (VET) context is limited, and whilst literature implies this relationship is a cornerstone of effective VET, literature also illustrates anomalies between the two. Furthermore, research focusing on the role of risk management within the VET learning environment for safety dependent vocations is also very limited. This study will provide valuable knowledge, leading to a better understanding of the relationship between a learning environment and the workplace, from a VET perspective, incorporating links to risk management strategies in a safety dependent learning environment

State of Health Equity Movement, 2011 Update Part C: Compendium of Recommendations DRA Project Report No. 11-03

State of Health Equity Movement, 2011 Update Part C: Compendium of Recommendations DRA Project Report No. 11-0

Applications of Artificial Intelligence in Military Training Simulation

This report is a survey of Artificial Intelligence (AI) technology contributions to military training. It provides an overview of military training simulation and a review of instructional problems and challenges which can be addressed by AI. The survey includes current as well as potential applications of AI, with particular emphasis on design and system integration issues. Applications include knowledge and skills training in strategic planning and decision making, tactical warfare operations, electronics maintenance and repair, as well as computer-aided design of training systems. The report describes research contributions in the application of AI technology to the training world, and it concludes with an assessment of future research directions in this area

Towards Predicting Completion for United States Air Force (USAF) Remotely Piloted Aircraft (RPA) Training

abstract: Civilian and military use of remotely piloted aircraft (RPA) has significantly increased in recent years. Specifically, the United States Air Force (USAF) has an insatiable demand for RPA operations, that are responsible for fulfilling critical demands in every theater 24 hours a day, 365 days a year (United States Air Force, 2015). Around the clock operations have led to a manning shortage of RPA pilots in the USAF. The USAF MQ-9 “Reaper” Weapons School trains tactical experts and leaders of Airmen skilled in the art of integrated battle-space dominance (United States Air Force, 2015). Weapons Officers for the MQ-9 platform are also critically under-manned, with only 17% of allocated slots filled (B. Callahan, personal communication, January 28, 2016). Furthermore, the leading cause of training attrition has been attributed to lack of critical thinking and problem solving skills (B. Callahan, personal communication, January 28, 2016); skills not directly screened for prior to entering the RPA pilot career field. The proposed study seeks to discover patterns of student behaviors in the brief and debrief process in Weapons School, with the goal of identifying the competencies that distinguish the top students in Weapons School.Dissertation/ThesisMasters Thesis Applied Psychology 201

OPTIMIZING PERFORMANCE OF THE MARINE CORPS FOR OPERATIONS IN THE INFORMATION ENVIRONMENT

The operating concepts and structure of the Marine Expeditionary Force Information Groups (MIG) evolved constantly over the first four years of its existence. To professionalize the Marine Corps approach to the Information Maneuver field, it recently developed new 17XX Marine Occupational Fields. The primary areas of focus will be command structure, manpower sourcing, training, and operational goals for the MIG. How the Marine Corps sources its manpower for the 17XX Occupational Field and Information Maneuver in general is a crucial piece to its success. The level and quality of training, the types of recruits screened, and the culture subsequently created will be as important to the Marine Corps' success as the equipment it fields. There are many steps required to develop a professional and innovative force that leads from the front in Innovation Maneuver. By reviewing the current Information Operations billets in the Marine Corps, the recent changes to the 17XX field, and best practices from across the military and private sector alike, this thesis seeks to provide recommendations to optimize future training and performance of information operations Marines. Specifically, this thesis suggests courses of action for Skill Enhancement Courses, greater foreign-language involvement in influence operations training, talent retention refinement, and publication of new warfighting and training publications to standardize Information Maneuver across the force.Captain, United States Marine CorpsApproved for public release. Distribution is unlimited