TFCO MAJOR SITREP/27 - Future Training System (Update 2) and FTS Medical - Comms Center - UNITAF

Unit-wide Announcements / Headquarters
TFCO MAJOR SITREP/27 - Future Training System (Update 2) and FTS Medical


Friday 23 February 2024





Maj

Major James


Chairman
UNITAF


Good Evening,

Well we are finally there, it's been a month or so since we first introducted the Future Training System (FTS) and the Force Manual (FM) as the successors to the Legacy Training System and our SOP Portal when I announced our intention to phase out practice hours as the primary metric for Tier Progression earlier this year.

If you're not yet familiar with the Future Training System (FTS) you can read more about it here: https://unitedtaskforce.net/communications/update/133/tfco-major-sitrep24-force-manual-anti-vehicle-tier-update

 

Anti-vehicle review

Anti-vehicle was the first to launch to FTS and served as an opportunity to test the theory of the new systems. We chose it as a test bed due to it's medium trafficked roles and straightforward procedures. Ultimately on reviewing the data from the 2,800 assessments made in anti-vehicle we have decided to change course in a few ways which I'll explain futher below, to better realise the aims of the new system.

 

Updates to the Future Training System

Before Update: Everyone who holds a tier in any given combat area can view and rate it's skillcard
After Update: Only persons appointed to a skill card in any given combat area in one of the below roles can view and rate it's skillcard
Reason for Change: I believe we will generate higher quality ratings and training from a focused and dedicated subject matter training team than via unit wide ratings - I do appreciate this is a significant change of course, but I do this believing that this is the best way forward, having analysed the data from anti-vehicle and speaking to many of you in the process. I do plan however to introduce a method for reporting issues similar to dossier observations in future updates.

  • 1-2x Chief Instructor
  • 1-2x Staff Instructor
  • 4x Training Instructor
  • 4x Observer

These roles make up a combat area Training Team and you can find out who these persons are by looking at the skillcard in question, as seen below.

 

  • Each role in the training team is appointed by Training Command
  • Each role has differing weight to the ratings they make
  • Each role has specific requirements and capabilities and I've published this section of the Force Manual which explains more.
    • All members meeting the requirements stated in the Force Manual are eligible to apply to join training teams and applications should be made initially to the Chief or Staff instructors however space is limited in accordance with the published policies.

 

Before Update: Ratings were anonymous
After Update: Ratings are not anonymous
Reason for Change: With a limited pool of rating sources from each combat area the anonymity of ratings is questionable and after consultation with regular instructors and potential training team members all agreed that culturally it is more transparent for all members to be able to see the source of all ratings both for the owner of the skill card and all instructors who are contributing to it.

 

Below: Updated Skill Card UI from Update 2, notable changes include the addition of the training team roster, and organising of topics by chapter, as well as the indicated new icon for accessing one's own ratings or (if you have access to do so) analysing ratings of other skillcards you have access to.

 

Below: The new rating analysis page shows you all the active ratings against a specific skill, and a full breakdown of how the rating is determined

  • Transparent opinions from the training team
  • A graphical breakdown of how the system determines your rating
  • The weight (from 1-5) of each opinion based on the role of the assessor

 

Before Update: The grace period of 45 days for anti-vehicle was expired
After Update: The grace period for anti-vehicle has been extended by a futher 45 days
Reason for Change: With the changes mentioned above, of the 2,800 ratings of anti-vehicle made so far, only 600 were from the now appointed training team and will remain valid, the rest are no longer 'valid ratings' and therefore while not removed will sit dormant. To ensure this has no adverse effect, the grace period is extended.

 

Introducting KAT Advanced Medical - Medical joins the Future Training System

As mentioned, combat area Medical today has been published on the Force Manual - this is as close to a complete re-write as possible and introduces for the first time, more advanced medical treatment for UNITAF Operations you can find it in the Force Manual

Firstly, I must extend a few thanks as CSIP Medical (now FMDG Medical) was a non-staff initiated project over 2 years ago and many members have played a part in bringing this forward to reality. In fact UNITAF has since changed it's entire SOP and Training systems while this re-write was underway, and indeed it would not have been possible to launch this change without those changes.

  • SP1 Applechaster (FMDG Medical)
  • Capt Korean Falcton (FMDG Medical)
  • MSP Aiedail (FMDG Medical)
  • SSG Kevin (FMDG Medical)
  • Sgt Jochem (J6 Policy Staff)
  • The FMDG team also asked that I thank everyone who contributed to testing and test ORBATs during the testing phase.

 

With the content's being on the Force Manual as linked above I need not mention too much else other than some key points:

  • The grace period for medical will be set at 35 days - I realise that this is very short and far shorter than the planned 3 month grace planned for all other combat areas, but due to the fact that we will commence operations on the advanced medical system from April 1st 2024 - it is required that all medical roles understand the new system.
  • A number of FTX's will be planned in the next few weeks in order to get everyone up to speed and to ensure there is plenty of opportunity.
  • The initial training team comprises of;
    • SSG Kevin (Chief Medical Staff Instructor)
    • SP1 Applechaster (Chief Medical Instructor)
  • I know the Medical team will want to expand, so if you are interested in Medical and would like to help contribute to this area in UNITAF you can contact the training team about becoming an Observer or Instructor, we expect that this team, as well as others including Anti-vehicle will grow over time.

 

Before Update: Anyone can be a Chief Instructor, Training Instructor on an FTX, if approved by Training Command
After Update: Slots are limited to the corrisponding roles on the skill card of the combat area, Assistant Instructors can be filled at the discretion of the training team
Reason for Change: In accordance with the ownership principle outlined in the Training Team section of the Force Manual, unit command delegates the authority of Instructor management to the Combat Area's training team, as overseen by Training Command.

 

Reflections on FTXs

I will just on a personal note add that I will walk back a few of my previous statements around FTXs, I did state that we would likely phase them out under FTS, but with this new training team structure I expect that each Training Team will decide the best way to distribute and assess its skills, and that simply continuing with the detachment from Practice hours as the primary metric, will serve us well. So this may mean we indeed continue with shorter, more combat and less lecture focused practices for example where required.

 

What's next for FTS?

We are in the final stages of publishing Marksmanship to the Force Manual, so it's move from Legacy to Future systems should be announced within a few weeks, the grace period is expected to be 90 days. The team is now turning to the mammoth task of Core Infantry so if you'd like to help, do reach out to J6!

Finally, please do continue to let us know your thoughts as we continue this process, or if you have any questions - feel free to tag me in a discord channel. We've taken much of it onboard during the process of preparing this update and will continue to do so as we continue to overhaul our training system to achieve a less grindy, more effective and better way to access roles for both new and established members alike and into the future.


Major James
Chairman
UNITAF

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