MASS leads two military training exercises

MASS led a Joint Warfare (JW) support team that delivered two Joint Forces Command training events at HQ (Headquarters) British Forces Cyprus and at RAF (Royal Air Force) St. Mawgan in Cornwall, United Kingdom. The exercise Joint Horizon 18 (JH18) and Joint Venture 18 (JV18) were two separate events running concurrently.

The goal of JH18 was to train the UK Joint Force HQ in smaller-scale operations, while JV18 was to exercise the Standing Joint Forces HQ (SJFHQ) over a number of wider, training objectives. Both exercises included military personnel and a range of other governmental and non-governmental organizations and partner nations to help develop a pan-governmental and coalition approach to each task.

Planning began 10 months ago to develop a fictitious scenario to meet the different requirements of the two HQs. The scenario involved creating fictional countries with all the supporting geographic, environmental, demographic detail and challenges that a real military operation might encounter. This allowed the training groups to exercise in a simulated, deployed setting and practice joint planning and execution to explore and test command and control related interactions.

MASS’ support included a range of Subject Matter Experts (SMEs) from senior military and diplomatic staff to offer advice to members at the operational level. MASS provided simulation support including events management and real-life management support to replicate forces deployed in the exercise. The results are still being analyzed, but MASS says the initial feedback is both events provided training to help shape and inform current and future thinking for both headquarters.