Joint Training, Experimentation, and Assessment: Conflict, Compromise, and Culture

Since the Defense Reorganization Act of 1986, the military has endeavored to become more integrated and better able to perform joint operations. The United States Joint Forces Command (JFCOM) was established to lead DoD's transformation efforts. Experimentation and assessment are necessary steps in the development and acquisition of new hardware, software, procedures, and doctrine. Field experiments provide the opportunity to perform these functions in an operational environment. Senior DoD leadership directed that joint training, experimentation, and assessment activities be performed simultaneously in order to take advantage of potential efficiencies. The planning, execution, and analysis of several combined venues to date has revealed that many compromises were necessary, many conflicts occurred, and stakeholders objectives were not met. Several studies have been undertaken documenting the different requirements and methodologies of training, experimentation, and assessment. The Director, Operational Test and Evaluation, has produced a strategic roadmap to improve the acquisition community's integration into combined venues. While this document provides recommendations that will benefit all stakeholders, it is biased toward improving experimentation and assessments. It is incumbent upon military leadership to produce an equivalent strategic plan that addresses commanders training priorities. This paper highlights several shortcomings of current doctrine and execution of combined venues and provides recommendations to improve the effectiveness of joint training.