2003 IMTA Proceedings - International Military Testing Association

620
Whom Among Us? Preliminary Research on Position and
Personnel Selection Criteria for MALE UAV Sensor
Operators
Captain Glen A. Smith
Canadian Forces Experimentation Centre
Ottawa, Ontario, Canada K1A 0K2
gsmith42@uwo.ca
Abstract
Net-centric warfare and interoperability are fast becoming basic tenets of modern military
strategic thought. The Canadian Forces and its NATO allies are currently conducting
research into the effective use of current and emerging technologies such as airborne
sensors and uninhabited aerospace vehicles (UAVs) to enhance their intelligence,
surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) capabilities. Effective sensor operation is critical
to the successful support of UAVs to Canada’s joint and combined net-centric warfare
capability. The selection, training, and employment of Canadian Forces personnel as
sensor operators will depend upon an accurate analysis of this position’s requirements
and upon the determination of whom among us has the appropriate training and
experience to competently fill this vital ISR position. Canadian Forces UAV
experimentation is developing an understanding of the generic task and knowledge
requirements of the Medium Long Endurance (MALE) UAV Sensor Operator position to
that end. This paper discusses the methods and techniques used over the course of three
major research events to determine the position and personnel selection criteria for
MALE UAV Sensor Operators and provide preliminary results from Canadian Forces
research to date.
Introduction
At the turn of the millennium, there is an apparent fundamental shift pervading
current military strategic thought. Ongoing research into the effective use and practical
application of secure information technology and information management techniques to
improve C4ISR capabilities between tactical, operational, and strategic units to exploit
opportunities and increase mission success are leading to the common development of
net-centric warfare principles and procedures. In a related area, HR reviews have been
conducted among the components of the United States Department of Defense, within the
Australian Defence Force, as well as the Canadian Forces’ Military Occupational
Structure Analysis, Redesign, and Tailoring (MOSART) Project in order to assess its
capabilities to meet the expected human resources demands to the year 2020. Assessing
both the capital and human resource assets of the Canadian Forces with a knowledge of
the common strategic thought of incorporating net-centric warfare serves to focus both
national objectives and international commitments and to synergize the interoperability
between allied nations.
45 th Annual Conference of the International Military Testing Association
Pensacola, Florida, 3-6 November 2003