ISSUE 34 : May/Jun - 1982 - Australian Defence Force Journal

The Design and Ev«
of Simulation for Tr
By Major S. Ruhfus, AA Psych Corps, and
Mr A. M. Saver. ED, Defence Science and
Technology Organisation
". . .the results obtained from simulation have
to be interpreted and extrapolated to real-world
situations with great caution. In the final
analysis, the validity of simulation has to be
proven experimentally. It cannot be taken for
granted, no matter how impressive, internally
consistent, or elegant the simulation".'
INTRODUCTION
TRAINING in peace aims to prepare individuals
and units for war. Training should
be as realistic as possible, but use the minimum
of training resources in the process; ie, training
needs to be both effective and efficient.
There are numerous factors which can
degrade the effectiveness or efficiency of training:
a. Effectiveness
—constraints due to safety requirements
or environmental considerations (eg,
damage to terrain or vegetation).
—lack of realism in depicting the activities
of enemy or supporting forces and/
or the results of those activities (eg,
assessing casualties to men and material;
the effects of suppressive fire).
Major Ruhfus enlisted into SUR whilst an undergraduate
at Sydney University. He transferred to 12 Psych Unit
and was later commissioned. He spent two years as a
psychologist for the NSW Dept of Corrective Services
before taking up an ARA Commission in 1979. He is
currently OC I Psychology Unit.
Mr Saver, a graduate of Melbourne University, worked at
the Defence Research Centre Salisbury from 1962 until
1980, with overseas service as S03 in the Field Operational
Research Section, HO, AFV, during 1967-68. He is
currently Staff Officer (Science) at HQ FF Comd, and
also fills an Army Reserve posting as S02 (Research) at
HQ Reserve Command and Staff College.
Article received February 1982
— imperfect transfer of peacetime training
to a wartime environment because of
the inadequacy of peacetime training
eg, inability to simulate all aspects of
battle such as traumatic injuries and
death).
b. Efficiency
— lack of time available for training at
all levels: basic training, training for
skills acquisition and retention, and
collective training; whatever training is
conducted needs to employ the most
efficient training methods available.
— shortage and cost of equipment and
expendables (such as ammunition);
training should make optimum use of
the hardware available.
—cost of buying and maintaining operational
equipment; wear and tear on
this equipment should be minimised to
ensure a high level of operational availability.
These are some of the reasons trainers have
continued to seek ways to achieve more efficient
and effective training. One important
training technique that has the potential to
contribute towards this goal is simulation: the
physical, symbolic or procedural representation
of a real-world system.
In this article, the authors explain some of
the important issues to be considered in designing
and evaluating simulation for training.