Call-for-fire trainer and the joint fires observer

FA Journal, March-April, 2005 by Stephen D. Mitchell

C45, this is C71, SEAD [suppression of enemy air defenses] Polar, over. Suppression, Direction 1820, Distance 3000; Mark, Direction 1860. Distance 3500, over. SA-6 dug-in. Q, illumination mark continuous.

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CAS [close air support] TOT [time-on-target] 1011, over.

Viper 7, this is C71; are you prepared to copy 9-line?

This commo cut was captured during training in the Army's newest and most state-of-the-art simulator, the call-for-fire trainer (CFFT). The CFFT is a leap ahead of the old training set fire observation (TSFO) and guard unit armory device, full-crew interactive simulation trainer (GUARDFIST). Instead of using pictures, it uses high-resolution terrain databases accurate to better than one meter on the ground.

The CFFT trains all the required tasks of the joint fires observer (JFO), including FA, mortar, naval gunfire and CAS. Units can tailor it to train against a variety of opposing forces (OPFORs), from "technicals" in pick-up trucks to a massive attack that one might see in the mountains of Korea. Observers can pick their observation points (OPs) to best cover their zones or sectors from anywhere in the terrain database.

This gives the field a cutting-edge trainer to teach and maintain observer skills throughout the force and, because of the pressing need, fielding has been pushed to the right. In fact, Fort Sill teamed with the Program Executive Office for Simulation, Training and Instrumentation (PEO-STRI) to push this program through, from writing the requirements document to first production models, in less than two years--a tremendous success story.

The first CFFT pre-production models are on the ground now and being used in training at Fort Sill for the Military Occupational Specialty (MOS) 13F Fire Support Specialist NCO Education System (NCOES) courses, the captain's career course (CCC) and officer basic course (OBC) plus the Special Operations Command (SOCOM) Special Operations Terminal Attack Controller (SOTAC) course. Forty percent of SOTAC training is conducted on the CFFT simulator.

CFFT represents a major advance in capabilities, technological fidelity and interoperability in the joint training arena. As Operations Iraq Freedom (OIF) and Enduring Freedom (OEF) continue to shape defense requirements, the Department of the Army recognized the CFFT as a Tier 0 (must fund) Army priority.

CFFT Capabilities. The CFFT incorporates the Army's new one semi-automated force (OneSAF) constructive simulation as a force generation tool capable of creating any type of friendly, enemy or neutral force the commander or instructor desires. The SAF mission profiles can be saved as scenario files to be used repeatedly as well as modified to suit any number of operational and training requirements. CAS, naval gunfire and mortars are just some of the CFFT's joint fires training; it is flexible enough to create SAF aircraft as well as combat surface vessels. The range of current and programmed weapons and munitions establishes CFFT as a major player in training joint fires. It incorporates the recognition of combat vehicles (ROC-V), enhancing the JFO's ability to identify vehicles in combat. The high level of fidelity in munitions effects and accurate simulation are great improvements over former observed fire training systems.

Use of simulated military equipment, such as the lightweight laser designator rangefinder (LLDR), increases the student's ability to replicate tasks seldom allowed in a field environment. Other simulated military equipment under development include the Viper laser range-finding binoculars and the mini eye-safe laser infrared observation set (MELIOS).

The flexibility in simulated military equipment allows a unit to tailor its CFFT to reflect its table of organization and equipment (TOE).

The CFFT has three basic configurations: 1:4, 1:12 and 1:30. The first number represents the number of instructors required, and the second represents the number of Soldier/student stations. The 1:4 and 1:12 systems are fully deployable and take about 20 minutes for an experienced operator to set up in any classroom.

The Windows-based CFFT supports open architecture protocols and virtually unlimited connectivity to other training and command, control, communications, computers and intelligence ([C.sup.4]I) systems. Specifically, CFFT is interoperable with other training systems such as the Soldier-combined arms tactical trainer (S-CATT), virtual emergency response training system (VERTS), close combat tactical trainer (CCTT), unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) simulator, digital battle staff trainer (DBST) and other distributive interactive simulation (DIS) and high-level architecture (HLA) compliant systems.

We recently had one connected to an engagement skills trainer 2000 (EST 2000) where the observer in the CFFT was supporting a direct fire engagement. The effects of the fires called in the CFFT were seen in the EST 2000 and vice versa. This connectivity will give trainers a tool that is only limited by their imagination.