Training Requirements for Visualizing Time and Space at Company and Platoon Level

Success in military operations increasingly rests on the ability of small units to counter asymmetric threats in the varied and foreign urban settings that typify the contemporary operating environment (COE). However, the physical dimensions and cultural characteristics of urban environments dramatically compress and complicate the dynamics of space and time so fundamental to visualizing and executing company and platoon operations. To help leaders visualize the interactions of space and time (VISTA), a cognitive task analysis (CTA) was conducted based on workshops with active and retired military personnel (n = 50). The CTA used a representative scenario and supporting vignettes to elicit and identify the cognitive skills required to visualize time and space patterns in the COE such as vehicle and human traffic, tribal and political boundaries, and culturally sacred structures. The CTA underscored the need for visualization training in small units and identified a related set of training principles, stages, and techniques. On that basis, prototype examples of visualization training were developed in five modules that feature scenario-based contexts, multimedia delivery, and deliberate practice. A limited evaluation of the training resulted in positive and constructive guidance for future development and utilization.