Interfacing command and control information systems and simulation environments: technical approach, operational payoff and procedural challenges

The paper describes a modular approach for the interfacing of simulation environments and command and control systems. It focuses on the type of interface that is required during the execution of a military exercise. Experiments have been conducted with prototypes that represent subordinate decision making. They tend to show that the same exercise effectiveness can be achieved while reducing the amount of support personnel considerably. A further reduction in personnel can be achieved by modelling of the formal reporting process. A prototype capability has been built and tested in which a report generation mechanism combines all relevant structural and content data stored in a single repository to produce valid reports. This approach has proven successful in the laboratory and must now be tested in the field. A spin-off result is the availability of data to support the monitoring and the analysis of the exercise. It is also necessary to highlight the security and performance implications of implementing such a tight interfacing between an operational command and control system and an exercise driver