Subscribe
FORT LEE, Va. (Feb. 23, 2017) -- In a secure area on the edge of the Army Logistics University campus stands a building not many see the inside of without a clearance or a purpose.
Its tenant is the Logistics Exercise and Simulation Directorate, and the team there is responsible for providing real-world sustainment training to troops around the world through simulations, said Jay Grandin, director, LESD.
“We provide realistic and challenging training to sustainment units worldwide,” he said. “The simulation is like a big computer game that relies on action and reaction. A situation may be that an aircraft bombs a convoy and two Soldiers are killed, four wounded and two trucks destroyed. The commander and staff will get a situation report requiring them to assess the situation, develop courses of action and execute the commander’s decision.”
Grandin said the staff has to determine how to conduct medical evacuations, work on securing the area and discuss what can be done to retrograde the vehicles, among a wide range of other training opportunities.
“Our mission is to realistically portray the operational challenges faced in a real-world setting by using the Joint Deployment Logistics Model to conduct sustainment actions in an exercise environment. The objective is to provide commanders, staffs and Soldiers the opportunity to succeed and make mistakes in the computer simulations and learn from the experience. The lessons taken away from simulation exercise will prevent injury or death in a real-world operation.”
The top Army priority is readiness, and Grandin said that’s a primary focus for his team.
“We contribute to the training and readiness of sustainment units,” he said. “Our overall mission is to build and maintain readiness to win in a complex world.
“We provide realistic training to prepare Soldiers for war,” Grandin continued. “We are the premier provider of sustainment simulation support in the world. We’re a one-of-a-kind organization – there’s no one like us in the world. These units want to train, and they can’t take 1,000 people out into the field and drive the trucks everywhere – it takes up too much time and money. We can do a simulation much cheaper and faster, and we can give them a quality after-action review.”
LESD opened here in July 2009, coinciding with the ALU opening. The technical team built a Wide Area Network from scratch and can distribute exercises world-wide. This allows LESD to work multiple exercises for troops around the world, without the need to have personnel at each site to run the simulations, said Grandin.
“Our computer teams can work multiple scenarios from here,” he said. “If I didn’t have our network, I’d have to send out simulation support teams to each exercise location, and I just don’t have that many people. It also would be very expensive to send people out all the time.”
Grandin’s workforce includes a simulation support technical team, a futures team and an exercise support team who are logistics management training subject matter experts.
“All of them work together,” he said. “Our technical team stays here at Fort Lee and our exercise teams go forward to the exercise sites. They are called our ambassadors to the Soldiers. Their mission is to train, coach and mentor the troops on the use of the sustainment simulation.
“Every piece is critical,” Grandin said. “You have to build the database correctly and conduct technical and functional tests. You have to have the computers and networks running correctly. All of the teams need to work together to have a successful exercise. The ultimate success is that the training audience achieves their training objectives.”
The LESD also hosts students from the Department of the Army Intern Logistics Course for short on-the-job training sessions to learn more about logistics. This directorate is one of several that hosts interns on Fort Lee. Recent participant Naana Osei, who is working toward being a logistics management specialist, said she was thrilled she chose LESD as her first “assignment.”
“Being able to intern with an innovative organization such as LESD is a life-changing experience for me professionally,” she said. “Within these few weeks, I worked with some incredible people who taught me the logistics aspect of simulation. This exposure will go a long way to help me grow professionally in my career as a logistician. It is a great experience and has provided me various opportunities to gain a better understanding of the Army’s logistical operations through simulations.”
| Date Taken: | 02.23.2017 |
| Date Posted: | 02.23.2017 09:03 |
| Story ID: | 224413 |
| Location: | VA, US |
| Web Views: | 68 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, Logistics simulation operation offers digital sustainment training, by Amy Perry, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
LEAVE A COMMENT