Marine Corps completes MCTIS-WS End User Evaluation

Official Statements

• Portfolio Acquisition Executive Marine Corps, November 9: “Camp Lejeune, NC - In August, Program Manager Training Systems (PM Trasys), in coordination with Training and Education Command (TECOM), completed an end-user evaluation (EUE) for the Marine Corps Tactical Instrumentation System - Weapon Surrogates (MCTIS-WS). The School of Infantry (SOI) East provided over 20 subject matter expert (SME) Marines with experience in each of the seven systems to evaluate the surrogates and provide critical feedback.

  The EUE evaluated outdoor trainers of the M3A1 84mm Multi-Role Anti-Armor/Anti-Personnel Weapon System (MAAWS), M252A2 81mm Mortar, M224A1 60mm Mortar, FGM-148 Javelin, Mk19 40mm Grenade Launcher, M41A7 Saber Tube-Launched, Optically-Tracked, Wire-Guided Missile, and the Small Unmanned Aircraft System Appended Drone Targeting System Kit.

  “With the approach of off-the-shelf technology solutions, there is an inherent amount of risk that comes with an 80 percent solution. These end users are helping us find out what that 20 percent gap really is, which helps inform future engineering change proposals and get those capabilities to 100 percent,” said Justin Tygart, force-on-force team lead for PM Trasys.

  Beyond individual weapon-system training, MCTIS-WS expands the capabilities available within MCTIS-WS’s instrumented force-on-force training environment and supports broader live, virtual and constructive training objectives.

  Day one of the EUE began with vendor-led system familiarization, followed by hands-on evaluations by the SME Marines on its form, fit, function and training utility. On day two, the SME Marines, vendor representatives, and PM Trasys personnel conducted an in-depth after-action of the seven surrogate capabilities, identifying potential improvements and recommendations for each system.

  Karen Arnold, instruction system specialist for PM Trasys, stressed the importance of ensuring quality training environments and feedback from Marines.

  “We are really relying on the Marines’ feedback to help us determine what that next step is. So being able to get with the SME Marines who are out there in the field to determine what it is that they need and what the next step looks like is really what this evaluation is about.”

  Sergeant Derick Myers, SOI East Infantry Training Battalion (ITB), Delta Company, appreciated the after-action dynamics. “The after action was really beneficial because it allowed all the SMEs to talk about the systems and actually be able to improve the systems for the Marine Corps. Being able to bring the virtual world outside in a training was a really beneficial thing because it was not limiting us to a screen inside.”

  Sergeant Thomas Nelson, SOI East ITB, Charlie Company, discussed his thoughts on the systems being added to MCTIS-WS. “I was really happy to see the Javelin and the MAAWS. These are two weapons systems that, as of right now, there is no way to simulate their use in a force-on force exercise, so you are forced to default to an indoor simulator or live fire, which is really hard to get realistic training with these two heavier weapons systems. So, I was really excited to see how they were going to implement these where we could use this in a force-on-force scenario to develop better training.”

  Feedback collected during the EUE will be evaluated by PM Trasys to identify capability gaps, prioritize potential engineering changes, and inform the path toward fielding MCTIS-WS products. The effort is part of the broader modernization of the Marine Corps’ force-on-force training capability through MCTIS-WS.”