Conducting Warfighting Experiments at the National Training Center

Publication Date: January 1995

Publisher: RAND Corporation

Author(s): Jon Grossman

Research Area: Military and defense

Type: Brief

Abstract:

This documented briefing discusses how warfighting experiments at the National Training Center (NTC) can provide important qualitative insights into proposed changes in doctrine, training, organization, leadership, materials, and soldiers (DTOLMS). However, limitations in the NTC database, along with the statistical problems associated with a single "experimental" rotation, will limit the usefulness of the quantitative data generated in the warfighting experiment. The briefing also discusses how the NTC training environment further limits the usefulness of this data. To maximize the usefulness of these experiments, the author presents a methodology for selecting the right topics for experiments at NTC and shows how the analytic community plays a key role in the selection process. In addition, the author shows how the analytic community can utilize the data from the experiments to further analyze the concepts behind the experiments. Lastly, the briefing discusses how the high-stress training environment at NTC represents a significant source of data that can be used to determine what new equipment is needed, how new equipment can perform in combat, and how to make current simulations more realistic, particularly in the area of command and control.