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Gestalt's applications within the architecture create new levels of security, previously thought to be unachievable. AFICE allows R&D centers to test the compatibility and viability of various simultaneous projects without compromising the intellectual property of individual contractors. This capability can cut the current system evaluation process to a matter of days, instead of the months that it currently takes. Gestalt has already been successful in demonstrating the success of the application by connecting multiple Air Force R&D centers to industry partners. The vision is to allow all Air Force R&D centers and decision-makers to benefit by bringing together the development tools, testing capabilities, and modeling and simulation systems to improve the timeliness and quality of the products that get delivered to Air Force warfighters. Realistic, on-demand simulations for air power training: Training preparation, planning, and execution processes have historically been very time consuming and expensive. Training and exercises for the Air Commander and his staff are critical in preparing and keeping warfighters ready for battle. Additionally, because of the dynamic nature of modern warfare and the changing combat environment, training, command and control systems, and simulations are all changing to keep pace. The Air Force needed an innovative solution to more efficiently integrate new training technology and provide appropriate testing environments while minimizing the costs of operations. The Air Force selected Gestalt to lead the Air Force Modeling and Simulation Training Toolkit (AFMSTT) Program because of our long history and strong record of success in the simulation industry, as well as our ability to respond quickly to changes in new methods and developments through our Pathfinder process. This customer-focused, highly effective approach enables exercise and training users to reevaluate and reprioritize their requirements at frequent intervals, allowing training audiences and system testing events to keep up with changing operational concepts. The Gestalt team is applying our experience with net-centric technology capabilities to update the AFMSTT. Gestalt is transforming the system so it can be accessed remotely and easily distributed to provide on-demand training capabilities. Gestalt is restructuring each component of AFMSTT to be net-centric, while simultaneously maintaining the system and supporting exercises worldwide. The restructured system will allow for rapid implementation of new training simulation solutions. The result is a training system that is aligned with the changing needs of warfighters around the world, as well as warfighters who are better prepared for today's wars. AFMSTT helps the Air Force train personnel by providing realistic, scalable training simulations that are tailored to the needs of the warfighter. The program supports more than 25 training exercises annually, preparing warfighters and homeland security personnel for mission critical operations. The system is currently supporting training in the US, Korea, the Middle East, and Germany. Net-Centric Army Unit Status Reporting : Managing readiness for operations, by knowing current personnel strength, level of training, and status of assigned equipment, is a challenging task. The U.S. Army, including the Reserves and National Guard, has 5,000 units deployed throughout the world. The current system for reporting readiness, the Global Command and Control System - Army (GCCS-A) could not keep pace with the demands that the active duty Army and National Guard have been facing for the last decade. The readiness reporting system needed to be modernized so that it could operate in a net-centric environment. Gestalt was chosen over several leading defense contractors because of our extensive experience in web-based and SOA architectures, deployed in both commercial and defense sectors. We were tasked with improving the usability and data accuracy of the system, as well as increasing the speed of data entry. Gestalt developed a more user-friendly interface and automated the data entry. Net-Centric Unit Status Report (NetUSR), the application we delivered in less than seven months, two months ahead of schedule, provides a streamlined flow of information enabling the military to make more efficient and well-informed Force Readiness decisions. Ultimately, the Army leadership has a much more accurate assessment of the readiness of individual units, which will better ensure that the units are given tasks that they can accomplish. NetUSR is being used by all 5,000 ARMY active duty, national guard, and reserve units, including those posted in Iraq and Afghanistan. Realistic Training via Automated Scenario Generation : Within the US Air Force training and simulation community, there was a widely accepted, large-scale problem in the preparation process for warfighter training exercises. Thousands of manual data entries were required to plan and initialize the simulations and models used for training and testing events. In major exercises, hundreds of people were deployed to the exercise locations for long periods of time. The effort to load, initialize and continuously synchronize the various simulations was very time consuming and a non-productive use of valuable resources. Based on our extensive modeling and simulation experience developing and managing the Air Force Modeling and Simulation Training Toolkit Program and other critical training and exercise systems, the Gestalt team developed the Scenario Generation System (SGS), an innovative approach that automates the air mission and threat data entry process during preparation for, and development of, a simulation exercise. In this system, scenario data is entered into the SGS one time and then exported into all other databases used in training, allowing for quicker set-up of simulations and better representation of the real world during an event. Friendly forces, enemy forces, command and control systems, and intelligence capabilities are entered on the appropriate mapping and imagery tools. Unlike the previous manual entry process, SGS allows changes to be made to the scenarios closer to the start of the exercise, providing the most up-to-date, effective simulations for today's warfighters. The SGS is currently deployed at the U.S. Air Force's Distributed Mission Operations Center (DMOC) and has helped improve the Virtual Flag Exercises with more efficient workflow processes, mission planning, and defined air space, yielding better real world planning situations. Originally created in 2003, SGS development is ongoing and continuously adding new capabilities, including full ground and naval force scenario data. Presently centered on the Air Force, the system's exercise capabilities will also be expanded for training and simulations needed by other training organizations and other service components, particularly for Joint service events organized and supported by the US Joint Forces Command. Communication and Collaboration Tools for C2 Systems: The systems developed in the Cold War era only allowed internal communication within each military service, branch, or mission area because external communication of the information and data was not crucial. Historically, military communications have been very confined to tight "cylinders of excellence", preventing the information within systems from being accessible by other organizations or weapons systems. Today, combat operations are more dynamic and interrelated, requiring that communication systems, once effective during the Cold War, be replaced by systems that are interoperable and web-enabled. Currently in Iraq and Afghanistan, all military units, regardless of mission or service, must communicate with each other quickly and efficiently to enable Joint Operations where all aspects of the available forces, including coalition partners, are necessary for success. Recognizing our unique C2, telecommunications, integration, collaboration, and web services technologies experience, the Department of Defense awarded a contract to Gestalt to develop tools and systems to facilitate communication and collaboration within and across military command and control systems. Through careful analysis of warfighter needs and communication with potential users, Gestalt created the Distributed Mission Interoperability Toolkit (DMIT), a suite of proven technologies that allows the military to communicate effectively internally within a branch, and externally across different branches. The DMIT has the attributes of an "internet", automating information flow and allowing users to see, share, and collaborate with other users. Information reaches warfighters faster and more accurately than before, cutting across services or systems whether terrestrial or airborne. Tactical Service Oriented Architecture for Ground Forces: Given the massive volumes of information contained in disparate command and control systems, the Army has been challenged to communicate at every level of the organization -- across units and ultimately between forces on the ground and senior level leadership. Based on our years of experience in defense Service Oriented Architecture implementation, the Army chose Gestalt to implement a network technology solution that connects Army warfighters with the upper echelon of the military in real time. Gestalt's Tactical Service Oriented Architecture (TSOA) bridges the current Army Battle Command System with upcoming capabilities provided in Future Combat Systems. By enabling two-way communication and information sharing between ground forces and strategic level leadership, TSOA allows Army leadership to react quickly to changes on the ground and implement strategies that accurately reflect the situations facing the warfighter. TSOA is currently in development for use on several key Army projects and is being touted by many experts as a significant achievement in the military's transition to net-centricity.