A Site Selection Methodology to Optimize Task Training

Successful execution of missions is contingent upon learning a range of skills for a variety of tasks. The U.S. Army identifies common core tasks as well as tasks specific to each Military Occupational Specialty (MOS), and organizes them by skill level to support the learning progression throughout a Soldier’s career. While operational units are ultimately responsible for ensuring Soldiers are trained, the Noncommissioned Officer Education System (NCOES) plays a crucial role in Soldier development by providing both institutional classroom training and computer-based structured-self development. Over the past decade, several tasks have emerged as a result of new operational requirements, and many are trained in institutional settings. Subsequently, questions have been posed regarding the optimal placement of tasks that may quickly become less relevant to the Warfighter, especially considering the resources required to update institutional and computer-based training. The purpose of this paper is to report on an effort to identify the characteristics of NCO (Noncommissioned Officer) tasks that are enduring across operational and mission environments versus non-enduring, and to identify the factors considered for optimal placement of tasks in training sites. A domain analysis was conducted to facilitate understanding of the Army’s site selection process. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with subject matter experts (SMEs) from the NCO Academies. Qualitative analysis techniques were applied to ascertain the factors associated with selecting the institution, the operational unit, or structured self-study as the optimal training site. Twelve discriminating factors were identified and used to create a front-end analysis (FEA) methodology for site selection. To support the recommendations of Critical Task and Site Selection Boards (CTSSBs), an Excel-based site selection tool was created to implement the front-end analysis methodology and subsequently assessed. The methodology supports the Army Learning Model by supporting life long learning through the efficient placement of training.