Vanguard Magazine

www.vanguardcanada.com AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2023 17 T R A I N I N G & S I M U LAT I O N (SFM) I would say yes, but it is evolving so quickly that it is often hard to keep up with the changes. We have an in-house profes- sional development program to ensure that our key exercise planners and other special- ists are being kept abreast of recent changes. This is especially the case for things like the explosive growth in all forms of UAVs and their integration with joint fires. The Ukrai- nians are leaders in this field, and we include where possible new concepts, technology etc. in both RED and BLUE Forces. More recently, simulation is supporting efforts by the Canadian Intelligence Regiment to trial and exploit a range of intelligence software applications to broaden CAIR effectiveness. The big delta is in the CAF's/CA's ability to keep its doctrine and tactics, techniques, and procedures (TTPs) up to date with these changes. The training we run for the CAF/CA is against specific training objec- tives that are related to doctrine and there is an increasing risk that some of these train- ing objectives and doctrinal concepts may be overtaken by changes that the CAF will be hard pressed to keep pace with. (JB) The Ukrainian Armed Forces ini- tially demonstrated an impressive adapt- ability by using commercial off the shelf (COTS) equipment in ways we have not in the west with the Russian Armed Forces trying to mimic the Ukrainian's success. The flood of small and medium sized commercial drones used to correct artil- lery fire, develop targets, detect mines, and directly attack with air dropped grenades have proven effective against mostly static forces and defences. The introduction and rapid increase in loitering munitions such as the US produced Switchblade and Rus- sian produced Lancet-3, along with the Ukrainian made Rubaka and Iranian pro- duced and Russian employed Shahed-136 have filled the air with lethal wee beasties. At Calian we want to be able to replicate and emulate the current battlespace, which would include loitering munitions and COTS UAS. This would provide the warf- ighter with a realistic challenge and drive home the need to remain mobile and un- predictable while requiring the forces to be protected by ground-based air defences. Q It has been said that the current Minister of Defence, Bill Blair, will not get more funds for defense spending and will likely focus much of defense spending on domestic operations. Do you believe this will influence Simulation/Training for NATO/UN ops, or are things status quo? (SFM) We have been involved in support of Domestic Operations (DOMOPS) with exercise programs for security at the 2010/ Vancouver Olympics and for the 2010 G8/G20 and the 2018 G7 Conferences. Ex NANOOK TATIGHT, an annual exer- cise for Joint Task Force North Headquar- ters is often centered around dealing with a man-made or natural disaster or humani- tarian situation. In 2023, the focus is on a potential large scale ice storm. This ex- ercise series features extensive involvement of the GoC and other stakeholders (i.e., Indigenous peoples). A Tabletop Exercise (TTX) has been developed, utilizing Seri- ous Gaming as the prime training delivery tool, centered on a natural disaster in a fic- tional country. Entitled the Civ-Mil Inter- agency Planning Seminar (CMIPS), it has been delivered in-person twice on behalf of the Director of Military Training and Cooperation -- the first serial in Colombia in fall 2022 and the next one scheduled for delivery in Indonesia in October 2023. This Seminar features representation from many nations within the region where it is being conducted and includes NGOs, IOs and other key stakeholders in dealing with the effects of natural disasters. We believe we are well positioned to support a greater level of effort in regard to DOMOPS. (JB) Nothing is status quo right now. We have seen a significant increase in train- ing demand since the end of COVID and the CAF's realignment to a more NATO focused approach. Domestic operations training is critical to ensuring that the CAF can go out the door when tasked and execute flawlessly, which makes Canadians safer – and is ultimately the reason any na- tion's military exists. This year's list of nat- ural disasters demonstrates why the CAF needs to be able to respond domestically when tasked, while the war in Ukraine is a daily reminder of the need to be able to project power abroad. Simulation pro- vides the training audience with the abil- ity to train at a high level, for a fraction of the cost of a live exercise in the field. Now there are still many times that you absolutely must have troops in the field, but when used in conjunction with a pro- gressive simulation-based managed readi- ness plan, more training can be done for the same or less money and you get better results. Therefore, I think the NATO/UN operations training will likely remain at the current levels with the likely result being that more simulation will be used across the board to support CAF training. Kean is a retired member of the Canadian Armed Forces who specialized in intel- ligence analysis. He has certifiable experi- ence writing background intelligence in sup- port of Operation IMPACT, country studies for deploying Naval assets in Africa and the Mediterranean and an extensive intelligence assessment of China's Belt and Road Initia- tive in Africa. Participants from several nations undergoing complex exercise scenarios during Ex UNIFIED RESOLVE 2018. Photo: DND Image Technician, UNIFIED RESOLVE 2018.

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