JOINT BASE ELMENDORF-RICHARDSON, Alaska -- A three-day conference for the Joint Integrated Test and Training Center took place at the Arctic Warrior Event Center on Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson June 27 through 29, 2023.
This training center, the first of its kind capable of joint- and multinational-force training, is expected to begin construction on JBER beginning in autumn of 2025.
In March 2023, Gen. Charles Q. Brown, Jr., Chief of Staff of the Air Force, directed all future Air Force platforms and relevant legacy platforms to transition to a joint simulation environment which blends synthetic and live-fly training. The JITTC will be the first in the world to integrate these facets of training into its simulation program.
“JITTC-Elmendorf is an [Office of the Secretary of Defense]-funded, single-site Joint Simulation Environment facility that will provide high-end training for the joint warfighter to validate operation plans, develop tactics, techniques and procedures and provide test data,” said U.S. Air Force Maj. Matthew Carey, JITTC director. “JITTC will differ from current simulator facilities in both the quantity of simulator platforms hosted as well as the unique flexibility to adapt to commander objectives and evolving technologies.”
Over 60 people from the Alaska District of AECOM – an American multinational infrastructure consulting firm – as well as service members from collaborating bases met at this charrette to validate the program needs for the facility, plan for the space allocations needed, confirm necessary utilities and services, and provide a cost estimate.
“The JITTC Total Force Integration team collaborated with the Department of Defense's top subject-matter experts to enable success while aligning and de-conflicting synthetic training efforts,” said Carey, going on to list the contributing stakeholders and their expertise. “These stakeholders, in particular the 412th Electronic Warfare Group from Edwards Air Force Base, have been critical in maintaining JITTC's tight design schedule.”
JBER is strategically located to maximize the use of multinational force training with partners not only in the Pacific but throughout the Northern Hemisphere.
“JBER provides the ideal location for this facility with its proximity to operational units and the Joint Pacific-Alaska Range Complex. Once constructed, the operational community will have a digital range to perform High-End Advanced Training events in operationally representative and realistic scenarios,” said Mr. Phillip Folson Jr., logistics division chief assigned to the 412th Electronic Warfare Group. “The training events held in the facility will provide complementary capabilities to open-air ranges or in some cases, capability that cannot be duplicated on open-air ranges.”
The draft charrette report will be delivered on July 28, with the 35% design report due Nov. 1, 2023. The construction project is set to start in 2024, and is estimated to create roughly 116 jobs to JBER once operational in 2027.
The draft report is a major input into the full design of the facility, and is crucial to ensure success of both the design and the construction of the building.