The Naval Surface Warfare Center Panama City Division (NSWC PCD) A40 Analysis, Tactics and Simulation Division trained new members of Commander, Task Force-52 (CTF-52) on new concepts of mine countermeasures (MCM) via virtual war gaming, Oct. 26-30.

According to Operations Research Analyst Emily Waymire, from the NSWC PCD A41 Warfare Analysis Branch, the simulated virtual war games are funded with Naval Innovative Science and Engineering funding, which is a part of the Office of Naval Research's Naval Research-Science and Technology for America's Readiness program. Its purpose is the development of the next generation of Navy scientists and engineers to ensure that the Department of the Navy maintains a leading edge in warfighting technologies for national defense.

Waymire said CTF-52 visited Panama City from Bahrain to receive a two-step simulated virtualized training process. The process is initiated by giving the fleet specific scenarios, to which they'll need to respond by conducting MCM operations just as they would in theater.

"It allows all the actual fleet personnel to encounter issues that would really happen in the real world, and challenges them to react accordingly," she added. "We can even run a month's worth of work with our simulation applications at NSWC PCD, which just would not be feasible in the real world."

CTF-52 N8 Resources and Requirements Officer Lt. Andrew Watts said the readiness achieved from the simulation training was vital due to the inability to conduct such extensive training in real-world environments.

"This allows us to simulate operations in areas we wouldn't be able to do in the real world," added Watts.

The lieutenant also attributed a great deal of value in the training to the vast assets available at NSWC PCD.

"By using the Naval Mine Warfare Simulator, the Mine Warfare and Environmental Decision Aids Library Enterprise Architecture (MEDAL EA), and [Effects-Based Application of Risk] (E-BAR) programs, we can simulate an entire campaign to see how it plays out," he added.

Watts called MEDAL EA the "new and improved MEDAL," which helps war-game participants to plan operations faster and more reliably.

"MEDAL EA allows war game planners to look at the big picture and assign area tasking to subordinate units who, in turn, can then go and execute their task accordingly," he added.

NSWC PCD Senior Mine Warfare (MIW) Tactician Diane Kosky said advances in tactical planning tools such as E-BAR are just a taste of the exemplary return on investment when scientists and warfighters work together.

"This kind of interaction always leads to improved morale and dedication because the civilians see the relevance of their work and how it impacts the fleet," she added. "They see their work does make a difference."

Waymire echoed the sentiment that the war game simulation training goes beyond gaining proficiency with the MCM planning tools.

"CTF-52 staff members are learning planning processes, methodologies and learning how to react to problems they may face while forward deployed," Waymire said.

Watts said the war gaming training was essential to the readiness of the staff.

"I like to think of a strong MCM force as being like good life insurance," he said. "You hope you never need it, but should the times come and you find you do, you want to know that it's available and that it's good."

For more news from Naval Surface Warfare Center Panama City Division, visit http://www.navy.mil/local/NSWC/.