{"id":30558,"date":"2021-12-02T22:29:51","date_gmt":"2021-12-02T22:29:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/uncategorized\/2021\/12\/02\/us-marines-eager-to-adopt-synthetic-training-systems-for-infantry-that-usually-sees-live-only-training-events\/"},"modified":"2026-08-07T22:32:15","modified_gmt":"2026-08-07T22:32:15","slug":"us-marines-eager-to-adopt-synthetic-training-systems-for-infantry-that-usually-sees-live-only-training-events","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/land\/2021\/12\/02\/us-marines-eager-to-adopt-synthetic-training-systems-for-infantry-that-usually-sees-live-only-training-events\/","title":{"rendered":"Advanced threats, operational changes drive training transformation for US Marines"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

ORLANDO, Fla. \u2014 The U.S. Marine Corps is focused on bringing synthetic training systems to its infantry members, acknowledging that advanced threats and operational changes under the Force Design 2030 adaptation effort necessitate a change from traditionally prized live training events.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Marine generals on different panels at this year\u2019s Interservice\/Industry Training, Simulation and Education Conference<\/a> painted the same picture of live infantry training: Marines maneuver around the desert with so-called coyotes \u2014 other Marines assigned to training groups who supervise and mentor during live exercises, wearing bright orange vests to distinguish themselves from the players in the event. The coyotes run around participants, \u201carbitrarily\u201d telling individuals they\u2019ve been shot or identifying a vehicle hit by indirect fire.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But no one can keep up with the coyotes\u2019 moves in real time, meaning other units and leaders up the chain of command have to make decisions without seeing a conflict\u2019s progression in real time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The generals agreed that\u2019s not how the Corps will fight in the near future, and therefore that\u2019s not how it should train.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe\u2019re going to have to be able to train like we fight, and part of that means to operate [under the Expeditionary Advanced Base Operations concept that\u2019s shaping Marines\u2019 plans]. It\u2019s all about that network: It\u2019s information at the right place, at the right time, in a usable fashion so we can make decisions at the lowest level,\u201d Brig. Gen. Matthew Mowery, the assistant deputy commandant for aviation, said during a Dec. 1 panel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He added the Marine aviation community fielded good simulators on the United States\u2019 East and West coasts as well as in Japan, but the challenge for the next couple budget cycles will be developing training interoperability with ground forces.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ideally, he said, pilots from the air combat element and Marines in the ground combat element of the same Marine expeditionary unit should be able to train together, seeing the same scenario and being able to attack a problem together.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He noted that another upcoming focus will involve developing smaller and more rugged versions of aviation simulators that can go to more locations and on deployments.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cTo fight a peer threat, you\u2019ve got to be able to train to that all the time, not just once a year at some of the larger training bases,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

An ideal scenario<\/h1>\n\n\n\n

During the same panel, Maj. Gen. Austin \u201cSparky\u201d Renforth, who leads Marine Air Ground Task Force Training Command and Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center Twentynine Palms, described his wishes for what ground combat training should look like.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Live, force-on-force drills, he said, come down to training commanders to make the best decisions on the battlefield. As the Marine Corps modernizes in line with Force Design 2030, these commanders are gaining access to more data and information from near and far, but they\u2019re having difficulty comprehending their access as well as trusting the intelligence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The situation is worsened when training ranges aren\u2019t networked to allow commanders to see a real-time common operating picture of the battlefield.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What would go a long way in helping, he said, would be an instant replay type of capability on the ranges. If he and his staff could go back to pivotal moments in an exercise, ask commanders why they made certain decisions and then show them what data was overlooked, that could lead to improved decisions, Renforth said, plus commanders could learn to consider and trust new streams of information during training, hopefully then coming to rely on those sources during a real-world operation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
U.S. Marines with 2nd Battalion, 3rd Marine Regiment, 3rd Marine Division are supervised by U.S. Marine Corps coyotes, Tactical Training Exercise Control Group, Marine Air Ground Task Force Training Command during Integrated Training Exercise 2-21 at Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center, Twentynine Palms, California, Jan. 19, 2021. U.S. Marine Corps Coyotes supervise, teach, and mentor units that participate in all the Integrated Training Exercises conducted aboard Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center. (Lance Cpl. Gustavo Romero\/US Marine Corps)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Additionally, with live-only training, Renforth can\u2019t insert threats synthetically to force a commander to make a tough decision, and he can\u2019t fully replicate how he expects a peer adversary to complicate operations \u2014 compromising or denying command-and-control systems and communications, for example, Renforth said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He currently contracts surrogates to play the adversary and attempt high-end tactics as best as possible.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI think we\u2019re doing an OK job, but that shouldn\u2019t be good enough. We can do much better,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Simulation before combat<\/h1>\n\n\n\n

Brig. Gen. A.J. Pasagian, who leads Marine Corps Systems Command, said during the panel that he is committed to developing and understanding mature and stable requirements for this kind of force-on-force ground training system, as well as properly resourcing it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhat I\u2019ll tell you, force-on-force \u2014 free-play, interactive, using real, live data from human beings [performing both the blue force and red force roles], in a networked manner, using a capture and networked after-action to provide instant feedback to those gun fighters \u2014 is being invested in as we sit here today,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cCan I see it?\u201d Renforth interjected, to audience laughter.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Pasagian acknowledged the Corps hadn\u2019t made these investments before but is now doing so thanks to Commandant Gen. David Berger\u2019s commitment to overhaul and modernize the force in preparation for a potential fight against a high-end adversary, like China, by the end of the decade or sooner.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhat you hear the commandant say is: \u2018I think Force Design is going well, we\u2019re making great progress, but the two areas I want to concentrate on are talent management \u2026 and then training and education.\u2019 So now you\u2019re seeing as a result of that \u2026 we\u2019re making investments, we\u2019re putting [in] the resources and we\u2019re really drilling down into the requirements for these programs,\u201d Pasagian said of the ground training capabilities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Marines with Company L, 1st Battalion, 25th Marine Regiment, 4th Marine Division, Marine Forces Reserve, receive feedback from a coyote, Tactical Training Exercise Control Group, on how efficiently the platoon attack exercise went aboard Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center Twentynine Palms, Calif., June 12, 2015. Coyotes with TTECG are subject matter expert Marines that are used as exercise controllers and evaluators during live-fire exercises. (Lance Cpl. Ernesto Rojascorrea\/US Marine Corps)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Maj. Gen. Julian Alford, who leads Training Command, said during his opening remarks that the commandant tasked him with revamping the infantry community to support Expeditionary Advanced Base Operations and other emerging concepts and missions. He said improvements in individual training is already happening and will continue as the service invests in new capabilities, even ahead of these infantry Marines being ready to join the large, force-on-force drills the other generals discussed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He noted Marine aviators learn in a simulator before they risk their lives in a plane, but the same is not done for infantry Marines.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe first time a Marine goes into combat should not be the first time they go to combat; because when you go down to flight school, before a pilot ever gets in an airplane, takes off in the airplane, lands in the airplane, drops a bomb in an airplane \u2014 they do what multiple times? Simulation. So we owe that to our young front-line troops, infantrymen, to do the same thing,\u201d Alford said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He said the service has fielded an infantry immersion trainer, similar to one that communications Marines go through, \u201cwhere the Marine is under stress, having to operate, for instance with the comm school, touch his radio, work his radio, take it apart, put it back together, all under stress: loud explosions, lights going on and off, having to do it in the dark with headlamps and so forth. We\u2019re doing that with our infantry, too,\u201d he said, adding that two systems on the East Coast and one on the West Coast were recently set up.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In a separate panel discussion on Nov. 30, Lt. Gen. Kevin Iiams, who leads Training and Education Command, said he wants to see the Corps train with all its weapons and systems networked together against a properly replicated adversary able to challenge Marines in all domains. In this training world, Iiams wants Marines to leverage the highest-end tools available, even if they\u2019re classified or otherwise sensitive assets.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

All those needs, he said, point to using synthetic training to a degree the Marines have never before considered.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe believe that this necessitates synthetic training domains \u2014 enclaves, if you will \u2014 where we can generate effects inside those enclaves and then play them into the larger picture so that we can conceal our playbook from the prying eyes and exploitation and then still enable full play. I believe the synthetic [Live Virtual Constructive Training environment] is the only place where we\u2019ll be able to put all our assets on the table, exercise all of them with all the bells and whistles we know hide behind the black curtains,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cOur future training systems must replicate a vast and complex future battlefield and develop the cognitive capabilities of our future leaders. There\u2019s only one training regime that does this.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Marines say live training is the gold standard for infantry \u2014 but they’re increasingly seeing where that needs to be supplemented with synthetic training opportunities.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":66495,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-noindex":"","_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-nofollow":"","_yoast_wpseo_canonical":"","_acf":"","_yoast_wpseo_primary_category":0,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","_smg_distribution_targets":[]},"categories":[160,29,90,14,36,26,164],"tags":[],"coauthors":[3354],"class_list":["post-30558","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-daily-news-roundup","category-digital-show-dailies","category-itsec","category-land","category-newsletters","category-training-sim","category-training-simulation-report"],"acf":{"subheadline":"","legacy_arc_id":"R5JNLFXKIFDNJC4EE2CVSXESLY","arc_canonical_url":"\/digital-show-dailies\/itsec\/2021\/12\/02\/us-marines-eager-to-adopt-synthetic-training-systems-for-infantry-that-usually-sees-live-only-training-events\/","remove_feature_photo":false,"is_sponsored":false,"subtype":"","redirect_url":"","disable_inline_ads":false,"native_logo_pretext":"Presented 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