JULY 2021CIOAPPLICATIONS.COM9disrupt and deny this environment. However, this EMS conflictisthe forefront of the battle. Moving within the dark confines of cyberspace - before, during, and after the battle­are thecyber and information warriors instilling mistrust, deception, and sometimes destruction within adversarynetworks and systems while defending their own. These actionscreate the constant companions of complexity and unfamiliarity into the environment, further increasing the cognitive load this congested, contested environment demands ofits practitioners.To truly conduct effective all-domain operations, the larger community needs a common, realistic understanding of the environment and the ability to implement creative training and educational solutions. Current training solutions and environments are not adequate to address these challenges; therefore, newvenues, methodologies, and opportunities are requiredto gain dominance in the operational environment.Supportingthe significant cognitive flexibility and innovation of thoughtrequired to seamlessly interconnect the domains of this battlefield will require a different simulated environment; an electronic world whereteams can test new ideas, challenge processes and preconceived notions, and take risks knowingly and for the right reasons. Most importantly, it provides a venue to establish different tactics, techniques, and procedures for operating in a constantly fluctuating EMS, fraught with deception, misinformation, and outright attacks on perception.Our human perception is a very important aspect of this new domain. How do you know what you are seeing is true or not? What do you have to do to sustain trust in the information flow?Theanswers to those questions will have to mirror the revolutionary changes in the new joint all-domain command and control (C2) programsthat will drive how humanssense and understand anall-domain battlefield.Underpinning ourC2 systems are the Positioning, Navigation, and Timing (PNT) assets that encircle the planet. All weapon systems, platforms, sensors, and communication networks rely upon the accuracy of this globally available information network to function and to synchronize operations. Anticipating thatthis will be a contested environment, the DoD and the services are working on solutions to assure or create resilient PNT solutions that provide alternatives to traditional methods of C2, to include the networks that connect them. A vital component of these systems, whichneeds to be better understood, is the data that supports and enables C2 and where it is stored, transported, and how its integrity is maintained. These alternateC2 systems, coupled with a contested EMS, will amplify the mentally tough and rigorous environment future practitioners will face. Therefore, simulations need to accurately replicateC2assets and networks for training, experimentation, and testing events ­ each with their own standards and fidelity requirements.With the right cognitive and technical ecosystem, the most important integrator ­ the human warrior - can be prepared for the future operational environment. Revolutionizing these simulationswill require several major steps. The first step isreplicating the tactical and enterprise networks in sufficient fidelity so owners can measure and investigate networkfunctionality in differentconditions -all within real-time and utilizing the same tools they will use on the battlefield. The secondstep is integrating high-fidelity engineering models into a much lower fidelity combat simulation. Understanding the complexities of this battlefield requires accurate replication that these models can produce, accountingfor different aspects of the terrain and atmosphere, to include the operational limitsof the equipment. Additionally, practitioners will have to understand the technical aspects of the battlefieldand howto properly synchronize an operation within the context of their granted authorities and capabilities. Given hundreds of mission repetitions within a constantly changing and complex environment, this understanding of the battlefield is possible. An enhanced simulated environment providesthe conditions to think creatively and react thoughtfully to complexity, unfamiliarity, deception, and confusion. It sets the conditions for all-domain warriors to practice mission assurance and maintain overmatch on the all-domain battlefield,regardless of conditions.
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