The Use of Multi-Man System Trainers

Current training practices in the use of U.S. Naval weapon system trainers (WST) do not reflect some fundamental principles of learning. In the use of such devices for refresher training, fleet personnel seek only to 'practice' behaviours as they would when training at sea under operational conditions. Thus, training is, for the most part, unplanned, unstructured, and the benefits of using the device are less than optimum. A utilization guide for an ASW (anti-submarine warfare) trainer is described, setting forth four principles for effective, tactical team training. (i) Training objectives should be specified across the fuill range of device capability; (ii) each exercise should be structured and controlled with respect to the-objectives; (iii) progression through the training programme should be according to levels of difficulty; (iv) exercise sequencing should be based on measured trainee performance.