NATO Forces Train with JCATS

During the first two weeks of November 2008, Livermore conflict simulation experts were on hand in Stavanger, Norway, and Grafenwoehr, Germany, to provide technical assistance to officials of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and U.S. Joint Forces Command with Exercise Steadfast Joiner. Steadfast Joiner is a computer-assisted, command-post exercise to train and evaluate NATO’s Response Force 12. The 2008 exercise showcased the first use of the Joint Multi-Resolution Model Federation, which consists of the Joint Theater-Level Simulation (JTLS) and Livermore’s Joint Combat and Tactical Simulation (JCATS). This federation allows an organization to train from the operational level of war down to the tactical level. Lauri Dobbs, program leader for Livermore’s Conflict Simulation Laboratory, says, “By combining the two simulations, units could be passed into JCATS and dealt with at the individual level and then moved back to JTLS.”
The mission involved training forces to plan and conduct a NATO Crisis Response Operation that would restore peace and security, prevent further destabilization in the designated region, and support post-conflict reconstruction and humanitarian assistance. Training audiences were in Rome, Naples, Valencia, Corsica, and Madrid. Two experiments were embedded in the exercise. One was to divide control between two locations. Some of the interagency role players and tactical units were in Norway with the remainder in Germany. The goal was to achieve a capability that will allow NATO to distribute training and education across various alliance locations and enable nations to train together from home locations using the same decision points. The other experiment was to conduct civil emergency planning and improve processes for military coordination with civilian agencies regarding requests for assistance and support of peaceful operations.
With a split-based control group and training audiences in multiple dispersed locations, the communications support challenges made this the most extensive and robust exercise ever conducted by NATO.
The military uses JCATS for training, analysis, and mission planning and rehearsal. The model integrates ground, air, and sea operations as well as real-world command, control, communications, computers, and intelligence—known as C4I. It simulates operations in urban terrain, supports nonlethal as well as conventional weapons, and allows users to quickly assemble and disband units.
JCATS can control more than 100,000 entities, which may be individual soldiers, planes, or mob participants, at more than 150 player stations. The model provides a wide range of operations in a variety of dynamic simulated environments. Modeling the dynamics of individual soldiers, vehicles, and weapons, rather than groups, increases the realism of the simulation and allows more direct participation. JCATS has been integrated into numerous federations in support of U.S. Joint Forces, U.S. Army and Marine Corps, and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization.
“JCATS is totally data driven,” says Lauri Dobbs, program leader for Livermore’s Conflict Simulation Laboratory, which first delivered JCATS in 1997 and continues to improve it. “Any input will work for any scenario, either military or civilian. JCATS is extremely versatile.”
The Department of Energy uses JCATS to assess the security of its nuclear sites. The Naval Postgraduate School (Monterey, California) and the U.S. Military Academy at West Point (West Point, New York) use JCATS for training military leaders in tactical decision-making processes and analyses. In addition, the model is used by numerous Department of Defense (DoD) contractors to develop and analyze new technologies and equipment. DoD has sold JCATS to 20 allied countries who apply it to military and civilian scenarios. The program is in use at more than 350 sites worldwide. Since 2003, the Livermore simulation tool has provided support for operations in Afghanistan and Iraq.
JCATS is also an effective tool for emergency response planning, drug interdiction, and border patrol operations. “Simulations such as JCATS are a huge cost saver for both the military and other users,” notes Dobbs. “They can explore various options, see what happens in each, and then make an informed choice. Exercises with actual soldiers or first responders are very expensive.” Over 2,000 exercises with JCATS occur every year across the user community.
JCATS is the latest incarnation of Livermore’s combat simulation tools, which first appeared on computer screens 35 years ago. The landmark Janus program in the late 1970s was the first conflict simulation to use a graphic user interface. Succeeding generations have exploited the latest advances in computer hardware and software. Livermore’s close working relationship with DoD has been instrumental in understanding and meeting their simulation needs. Over the years, JCATS has evolved from a training tool into an operational planning and rehearsal tool.
“Clutter” Enhances CapabilitiesLivermore recently enhanced JCATS’s capabilities considerably with the addition of the JCATS Low Overhead Driver (JLOD). According to Tom Kelleher, JLOD’s primary designer, this program fills the gaps for U.S. Joint Forces Command exercises. “JLOD very inexpensively ‘puts a wrapper’ around an area of interest,” he says. “Now a JCATS play area does not have a knife edge around it. We can add civilian activity, merchant ships, or vehicle traffic.” JLOD’s specialty is adding the “clutter” that makes simulations more realistic.
“JLOD is Tom’s brainchild,” says Dobbs. “He saw the gaps in simulation capabilities and came up with a solution for filling them.” The beta version of JLOD has been tested for several years. Version 1.0 will be issued in June 2009.
JLOD first appeared in an exercise covering the area from San Francisco, California, to Seattle, Washington. JLOD was programmed to display civilian vehicle traffic such as tractor-trailers and cars during the day in the inner city. After the simulation was set up, no additional human intervention was required for the duration of the exercise. A similar exercise needed to include boat traffic, and JLOD was able to accommodate that requirement at minimal expense. “JLOD can replace one or two other simulations that require computer hardware and people to operate them,” says Kelleher. “Our goal for the program is to reduce computational requirements while training the same number of soldiers.”