Evaluating Simulated Military Training Exercises

The Joint Kill Chain Event (JKCE), designed by the Air Force’s Distributed Mission Operations Center (DMOC), provides an interesting case study for evaluation of simulated military training. JKCE places Army Air Defense Artillery Fire Control Officers (ADAFCOs) into an Air Force Control and Reporting Center (CRC) simulator. From the CRC, the ADAFCO leads an air missile defense scenario, protecting friendly assets (airfields, bases, missile launchers, etc.) and coordinating surface-to-air missile strikes. This scenario serves as the operational capstone event in the Army’s ADAFCO certification course, which qualifies officers to perform a vital missile authorization function in major combat operations. The current course configuration consists of two weeks of classroom-based academics followed by one week of simulator practice and testing. The didactic portion of the course is designed to teach the students those skills required of an operational ADAFCO. The simulator-based portion of the course, JKCE, tests those new skills in a