In order to train personnel of the Headquarters Multinational Corps Northeast (HQ MNC NE) in efficient use of the Corps’ Command and Control Information System Szafran, the Headquarters’ Information Management cell organised training for the whole staff, which began on 31 January 2011 and will take several upcoming weeks.
The Command & Control Information System Szafran will be the main tool to be employed during the upcoming Little Eagle exercises in 2011 and 2012, the Bold Eagle exercise in May 2011, and the Crystal Eagle exercise in 2012. For that reason, all HQ MNC NE personnel need to be able to plan, prepare and execute exercises using Szafran.
The super-users of Szafran were trained by the Telecommunications Research Institute (PIT) already last year. That training was followed by the super-users preparation for conducting the training of the remaining HQ staff. The training schedule has been coordinated with the newest upgraded version 3.2 of Szafran delivered in January 2011. After technical and operational tests conducted on the new version of Szafran and repetition courses for users, the first out of the three planned Basic User Courses started on 31 January 2011.
The Corps’ Command Group, Chiefs of Staff Divisions and other staff members, altogether 30 persons, were among the first trained group. The super-users, who served as instructors, gave a short introduction showing an overview of the system, the interaction of the many modules and then focused on the three basic modules needed for a basic user: the Tactical Display Subsystem, which is a Geographic Information System used to handle the maps loaded into the system, the Tactical Situation Display Module, a tool that help the user to get information from the database (e.g. current situation or a plan) and present it as overlays on the map, and the Message Handling System based on Lotus Notes. This system supports users in the preparation of orders and reports using build-in templates. The internal preparations processes are supported by lamp indicators, procedures for approval, final distribution, archiving etc.
The remaining part of the HQ staff will take part in Basic User Courses within the next two weeks. Afterwards, the super-users will prepare the Szafran system for exercises and support the Functional Area Training. Starting from the end of March, a new group of super-users will be trained. At first, they will be instructed by Headquarters’ super-users, then – by representatives of the PIT Company in order to receive possibly deepest knowledge of the system.
All participants of the first Basic User Course evaluated it as very good and intensive, but it will not end the overall training schedule though. Further Basic User Courses will be organised shortly before the Little Eagle II exercise in autumn 2011 to train newcomers, and additionally, the Crisis and Emergency Establishment (CE/EE) personnel taking part in the Corps’ exercises.
