Background
Exercise CERBERUS 24 was the British Army’s biennial exercise in Europe that builds on the lessons learnt from Exercise CERBERUS 22. It provided the opportunity to test and validate six UK Brigade Headquarters within the Warfighting Division against a realistic scenario ensuring they are ready for warfighting operations. The British led exercise would see cooperation with several NATO partner nations, including USA, France, Germany, Estonia, Italy and the UK.
Challenge
The expansive Cerberus exercise took place across dispersed locations across Europe and saw 6 Brigades Headquarters from the UK, German and US Armed Forces take part, over 100 Exonaut terminals in use, 40 personnel collecting validation data, management of over 500 incidents with supporting documentation, and support from 4C consultants would be required to ensure smooth cooperation and execution across the exercise.
Solution
World-leading training and exercise management software, Exonaut, offered end-to-end exercise management. 4C’s team of experts were instrumental in supporting validation and data analytics in real-time, offering 24/7 collation of data against exercise objectives to simplify the vast data capture process and deliver meaningful insight on performance.
Exercise CERBERUS
Exercise CERBERUS 24 was a war fighting mission rehearsal exercise for the British Army’s only division at continual operational readiness. As such, testing, measuring and validating readiness – capturing accurate data in real-time from a broad array of sources – in this exercise was mission-critical.
The exercise provided the opportunity to test the six different Brigade Headquarters within the Warfighting Division against a realistic scenario in order to validate them and ensure they are ready to play their part in any warfighting operations.
This was a complex and challenging exercise to manage and control due to the need to support the cooperation and collaboration of so many different participants, locations, and headquarters
4C’s Exonaut platform and experts were tasked with:
- Managing the live exercise main event list and main inject list and providing the common operating picture alongside simulation systems.
- Enabling the collection of observations of performance and validation assessments, supporting command decision-making.
- Collect lessons learned through the capture of observations by the validation teams by all lower and higher controllers.
- Provide a visualisation of the exercise timeline and status of all event incidents and injects delivered in the exercise.
- Provide 24/7 manning and support for the delivery of exercise Cerberus 24, including training for both the validation teams and EXCON prior to the exercise starting.
“Exercise CERBERUS 24 exemplifies the power of collaboration, innovation, and readiness. Supporting the British Army and its NATO partners in such a complex, multi-nation exercise highlights not only the capabilities of our Exonaut platform but also the dedication and expertise of our people. At 4C Strategies, we are proud to help ensure that mission-critical operations are underpinned by accurate data, validated readiness, and seamless coordination — enabling our clients to train as they fight and operate with confidence.”
Paul Steel, Vice President EMEA Defence
A complex, multi-tiered environment
Exercise enablement was split into two main areas: Exercise scenario management and testing and validating primary training audiences.
Scenario management
To enable the effective management of the exercise, there was a large hierarchical control element consisting of a Higher Control (HICON) with representatives from Headquarters Allied Rapid Reaction Corps – a NATO high readiness headquarters ready for deployment worldwide.
Lower Controllers (LOCONs) simulating the brigade combat teams and the operational sustainment brigade within 3rd (UK) Division.
Side Controllers (SIDECON) simulating allied flanking formations at divisional level.
All of these exercise ‘players’ required access to Exonaut – in all there were over 100 Exonaut terminals in EXCON.
Validation teams
The validations teams were provided by the British Army’s Collective Training Group and each primary training audience had its own validation team. In all there were approximately 40 personnel collecting validation data for the exercise.
Validation data was collated every 24 hours by the 4C team of experts and consultants. The exercise objectives were also collated by the 4C team to simplify the data capture process. This was deemed highly valuable for teams who were deployed around the clock.
Physical and digital exercise support
In order to provide the necessary support, 4C consultants – all of whom had previous experience in the military and have a wealth of training and exercising knowledge – played an essential part in the assignment including supporting seamless use of our dedicated digital platform, the Exonaut Collective Training and Exercise Management System.
The combined delivery for the British Army’s Higher Formation Training Staff included:
- Training for all Exercise Control staff and validation teams on Exonaut use and capabilities
- First line support during the exercise
- Provision of subject matter expertise, ensuring observations were captured in the Observation, Discussion, Conclusion & Recommendation (ODCR) process
- Liaison between the MEL/MIL mangers and LOCONS/SIDECONS
