FORT EUSTIS, Va. –
Fiscal constraints and lower TDY budgets are challenges to ensuring Soldiers are trained for combat and other missions.
To counter these challenges, the Army has an established program that reduces the need for TDY and allows one instructor to teach many Soldiers at different locations.
It's called the U.S. Army Video Teletraining (VTT) Program. The program broadcasts training courses to Soldiers whether they are in a Classroom XXI at Fort Benning, Ga., or at a Point of Delivery (POD) site such as a Digital Training Facility in Wiesbaden, Germany.
The VTT Program is administered by the Army Training Support Center at Fort Eustis, Va., and is part of a wider initiative to take training and education outside classroom walls. The effort fits well with the Army Learning Model (ALM) 2015, which is changing the Army's individual learning methods and processes.
ALM is moving the Army from relying on brick-and-mortar classrooms to one delivering training and educational materials on mobile and other devices to Soldiers whenever and wherever they need the materials.
Higher education institutions have followed a similar route. The VTT Program mirrors the approach of major colleges and universities that use a recent development and delivery of education called the Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs). Students take MOOCs to access a variety of classes at their convenience.
Under the Army's VTT Program, Soldiers can access previously recorded training sessions from content servers anytime and anywhere. Many Soldiers have participated in the VTT Program that started in 1990. It was the first national network to broadcast training to Soldiers using digitized, multipoint two-way audio and video systems.
The program has touched Soldiers around the world. During the last 10 years, the VTT network reached Soldiers in remote locations such as Kosovo, the Sinai Peninsula and Camp Victory, Iraq. The program contractor is the Sprint Communications Co., which provides network connectivity via the Internet on its commercial lines to more than 300 VTT sites worldwide.
The program offers a wide selection of courses. From 2009 to the present, the VTT Program has supported more than 200,000 hours of instruction that has included:
1) Battle Staff Non-Commissioned Officer Course
2) Defense Language Institute Courses
3) Virtual Battle Stations
4) Master and Post Driver Courses
5) Basic Officer Leadership Course
6) Dental Activities Training
7) Hazardous Materials Training
8) Structure Manning Decision Review
9) Medical Protection System Training
10) Fiscal Law
11) Total Ammunition Management Information System
12) Transportation Coordinator Automated information Systems
13) Emergency Medical Refresher Training
14) 68WP2 EMT Clinical Coordinators Training
15) Quality Assurance Evaluation Course
16) Central Issue Facility-Installation Support Modules (CIF-ISM) Supply SGT Training
17) Training Education Developers Middle Managers Course
18) Advanced Nurse Leadership Course
The VTT Program has the capability to bridge to other networks that include federal and state agencies, colleges and universities, and all branches of the military. By connecting with other institutions, VTT expands the number of course offerings.
In addition, the VTT program bridges to these networks: Government Education Training, Government Alliance Training and Education, Chief of Naval Education and Training, Defense Information Systems Network Video Service Global, Information Technology Center, National Guard Bureau, Naval Postgraduate School, U.S. Army Medical Information Technology Center and the U.S. Army Military Academy.
VTT customers include: the Air National Guard, Army Medical Department Center and School, Army Training Support Center, Civilian Human Resources Agency, Classroom XXI, Defense Commissary Agency, Defense Language Institute, Defense Personnel Security Research Center, Installation Management Command, Sergeants Major Academy, Soldier Support Institute, the Judge Advocate General's Legal Center and School, U.S. Army Distributed Learning System, 16th MP Brigade and the 128th Aviation Brigade.
Currently, the VTT technical support services functions on a 24/5 schedule (Monday through Friday) to accommodate multiple time zones and is capable of a 24/7 schedule based on customer requirements.
Future plans call for VTT capabilities to support virtual Mobile Training Teams and PODs with mobile or hand-held devices in wireless classrooms.
For more information on the U.S Army VTT Program, costs and services, contact Michael Andriliunas, program manager, Army Training Support Center, Fort Eustis, Va., 757-878-7001 ext. 6618.