Teaching us how to think
Volume 11, No. 57, November 30, 2006

Training to win: Pages from the CMAP Computer Based Learning Package that will help develop commanders’ decision-making skills.

CURRENT operations in Iraq and Afghanistan are in an asymmetrical, complex environment against a morphing enemy, demanding soldiers who can think quickly and strategically.

To meet cognitive demands of the modern soldier, Training Command – Army (TC-A) is developing a multi media training package to foster decision-making skills.

Based on the Combat Military Appreciation Process (CMAP), the Computer-Based Learning Package will teach adaptive thinking.

Adaptive thinking is used to describe the cognitive behaviour of a person who is confronted by unanticipated circumstances during the execution of a planned military operation.

It is a relatively new concept that can be attributed to the training methods used by world-champion Soviet chess players between 1948 and the 1990s and successfully employed by the US military.

To prepare a soldier for a patrol in Al Muthanna Province or the Chora Valley, TC-A’s CMAP Adaptive Thinking CBLPs can teach soldiers how to think as opposed to solely focusing on what to think.

If battlefield commanders can instinctively cope with the many physical and cognitive demands of the actual battle, then they can free up conscious space to think beyond the battle.

The Adaptive Thinking CBLPs can be used to provide training and practice in realistic tactical situations. This can help the thinking processes to become largely automatic and the battlefield commanders can develop the skills to think and plan ahead.

The CBLPs contain a number of immersive scenarios that cover section, platoon, company and battlegroup situations.

The scenarios are based around field and urban situations and all scenarios will provide detailed feedback on performance.

Thinking ahead while physically acting to keep your platoon or section alive is what is required from the ‘strategic’ corporal and lieutenant.

The CMAP scenarios will complement the other command initiatives aimed at developing personnel that can think quickly on their feet in stressful environments.