Combined Arms Operations at Brigade Level, Realistically Achieved Through Simulation II (COBRAS II): Report on Development and Lessons Learned

This report presents the development of the U.S. Army's Force 21 Training Program's Combined Arms Operations at the Brigade Level, Realistically Achieved Through Simulation 2 (COBRAS 2) training program. The COBRAS 2 program extends prior training research, providing expanded structured, simulation based training for conventionally equipped brigade staffs. A Brigade Staff Exercise (BSE) for the brigade commander and staff represents one program component. This BSE succeeds the original (COBRAS 1) BSE by incorporating a wider audience. The second component is a set of brigade staff vignettes. It augments the COBRAS 1 vignette library by including training for brigade staff members and staff processes not covered in COBRAS 1 vignettes. This report describes the COBRAS 2 program background, design and development efforts, and the resulting exercises and training support packages. The report discusses lessons learned regarding future program development, and concludes with an introduction to the COBRAS 2 follow on effort that employs COBRAS 2 project and related research findings in the development and testing of logical next steps in Force 21 Training Program efforts.Army Research Inst for the Behavioral and Social Sciences Alexandria VA is the author of 'Combined Arms Operations at Brigade Level, Realistically Achieved Through Simulation II (COBRAS II): Report on Development and Lessons Learned' with ISBN 9781423558972 and ISBN 1423558979.