Two ICT Projects Win Army Modeling and Simulation Awards for FY08

Under the theme “Pushing MS to the Tactical Edge,” James C. Cooke, Director, Army Modeling and Simulation, Office of the Deputy Chief of Staff, announced winners of the Army Modeling and Simulation Awards for FY08.  Two USC Institute for Creative Technologies projects were recipients of this award: Distribution Management Cognitive Trainer (DMCT) and Bi-lateral Negotiation (BiLAT) Simulation.
The DMCT team, including ICT, U.S. Army Research Development (RDECOM STTC) and Product Manager Battle Command Sustainment Support System (PdM BCS3), created a Personal Computer, game-based training tool, that is being used to train US Army logistical planners on exploiting the capabilities of the Battle Command Sustainment Support System, the capabilities of logistics information management systems, and training the key principals of Distribution Management to improve the analysis, mission planning, and decision making skills of tomorrow’s logistical leaders.
ELECT BiLAT, which also runs on a PC, provides students with a training environment to practice their skills in conducting meetings and negotiations in a specific cultural context. ELECT BiLAT, a simulation developed under the Learning with Adaptive Simulation and Training (LAST) Army Technology Objective (ATO), was a collaboration between the University of Southern California’s Institute for Creative Technologies (ICT), U.S. Army Research Institute for the Behavioral and Social Sciences (ARI), U.S. Army Research Laboratory Human Research and Engineering Directorate (ARL-HRED) and U.S. Army Research Development, and Engineering Command’s Simulation and Training Technology Center (RDECOM STTC). BiLAT was recently delivered to PEO STRI for broad use across the Army.
The Army Modeling and Simulation Awards Selection Board evaluated fifty-seven high quality nominations this year compared to seventeen last year. Cooke, in his announcement, commented that the nominations demonstrated that great strides are being made towards the goal of pushing M&S to the Tactical Edge, noting, “It is vital that we continue to provide the Army with the most effective M&S support now and in the future.”
The awards will be presented at the I/ITSEC conference in Orlando, FL on December 2nd, 2008.