Glossary

CAX [Bi-SCD 75-3] : An exercise using modelling and simulation technology to create an
artificial environment, identical to the real-world, that will stimulate decision-making and
follow-on command and control actions. [JWC Definition]
• Distributed CAX : Participants remain at home stations, simulation resolution is
provided by special communication means from a central location, and information
is distributed by networked computers.
• Non-distributed CAX : All participants exercise at a central location.
Country book : The most complete description of a country according to different points of
view (geographical, historical, political, etc.)
Data : Representation of information in a formalized manner suitable to make its treatment
easier.
Data model : Description of the objects represented by a computer system related to the
simulation models.
Entity : The smallest object handled by an information system.
Exercise Commander (OCE) [Bi-SCD 75-3] : A commander taking part in the exercise
who will issue appropriate operation orders to forces placed under his (sic) control. He
(sic) may be allocated responsibilities regarding controlling, conducting, and/or directing
the exercise in addition to that of command. [AAP- 6(2010)] .
The OCE may assume the duties of Exercise Commander or they may delegate the task
to an appropriate Flag Officer. Exercise Commanders will issue orders to forces placed
under their operational command or control for the purposes of the exercise. The OCE
may be allocated responsibilities regarding controlling, conducting and/or directing the
exercise in addition to that of command.
Exercise Control (EXCON) [Bi-SCD 75-3] : EXCON is the term used to describe all of the
participants during the Operational Conduct of an exercise who are not in the training
audience and thus who are under the control of the Exercise Director (EXDIR). The
EXCON includes, among other entities: the EXDIR support staff; the evaluation and
analysis teams (under supervision of the Director of Evaluation (DIREVAL)); the
experimentation teams, the EXCON real life support, including CIS, visitors bureau and
public information; the training teams and mentors; the situation control elements
(scenario, RFI (Request for information) and MEL/MIL management); and the response
cells (HICON higher, LOCON lower, situational forces and non-NATO entities).
Exercise Objectives [Bi-SCD 75-3] : Exercise Objectives are defined by the OSEs based
on their overall strategic/operational vision, aim and intent for the exercise as well as the
Essential Training Goals. The Exercise Objectives are promulgated in the EXSPEC.
Exercise Objectives serve to focus exercise planning, execution and evaluation and
analysis to ensure that specific operational requirements are met. During planning and
execution of an exercise, if there is a conflict between achieving the Exercise Objectives
and the Training Objectives, the Exercise Objectives take precedence.
Exercise Type [Bi-SCD 75-3] : The type of an exercise is a further characterisation of the
exercise form (CPX, Exercise Study or LIVEX) by the manner in which the exercise is
delivered to the exercise participants and controlled. The exercise type will be selected by
the OSE to be the type deemed to be most effective in achieving the exercise aim and
objectives. More than one type may be designated below category, level and form.
• ADEX : An exercise in air defence that may include operations by air units, surface
 units, and submarines
• AIREX : Air Exercise
• AIROFEX : Air Offensive Exercise
• ALEX : Alert Exercise
• ARTEX : Artillery Exercise
• ASUWEX : Anti-Surface Warfare Exercise
• ASWEX : Anti-Submarine Warfare Exercise
• CASEX : Combined Anti Submarine Warfare Exercise
• CAX : Computer Assisted Exercise
• CFX : Command Field Exercise
• COMBEX : Combined Exercise involving two or more forces of two or more allies
• CONVEX : Convoy Exercise embracing both control and protection of shipping
• DEPEX : Deployment Exercise
• DEPREX : Deployment Readiness Exercise
• DISTEX : Disaster Exercise
• EWEX : Electronic Warfare Exercise
• FLTEX : A fleet exercise that may embrace all or part of carrier, amphibious,
convoy, submarine, mobile logistic support and maritime patrol air operations
• FTX : Field Training Exercise
• GUNEX : Gunnery Exercise
• INVITEX : National exercise to which forces of nations may be invited to participate
• JOINTEX : Joint Exercise involving forces of two or more services of the same
nation
• LOGEX : Logistic Exercise
• MAPEX : Map Exercise
• MCMEX : Mine Counter Measure Exercise
• MEDEX : Medical Exercise
• MINEX : Mine Laying Exercise
• MOVEX : Movement Exercise
• NCSEX : Naval Control of Shipping Exercise
• PASSEX : Exercise arranged with forces on passage
• PEX : Practical Exercise
• PHIBEX : An amphibious Exercise, including landing forces
• PREREADEX : Pre-readiness Exercise
• RECEEX : Reconnaissance Exercise
• SACEX : Supporting Arms Coordination Exercise
 • SAREX : Search and Rescue Exercise
• SEARCHEX : Sea/Air Search Exercise
• SIGEX : Signal Exercise
• SMASHEX : Submarine Search Escape and Rescue Exercise
• SOFEX : Special Operations Forces Exercise
• STRIKEX : Exercise involving operations of a Striking Fleet
• SUBEX : Submarine Exercise
• SWITCHEX : Circuit Switching Exercise
• SWMOVEX : Special Weapons Movement Exercise
• SYNAX : Synthetic Air Exercise
• SYNADEX : Synthetic Air Defence Exercise
Exercise Plan (EXPLAN) [Bi-SCD 75-3] : The EXPLAN is issued by the OCE and
provides detailed instructions to exercise participants and supporting commands, centres,
agencies or other activities for the preparation, conduct, support, evaluation and reporting
of the exercise. It establishes requirements, responsibilities and the schedule of activities
for the provision of training events and activities, scenario modules, simulation support,
real-life support, communications, exercise control and exercise analyses and reports.
Operations planning products developed for use by the training audience (operations
plans, exercise intelligence products/studies, exercise forces, planning directives,
messages, orders, etc.) are issued in accordance with operational procedures and are not
part of the EXPLAN.
Exercise Specification (EXSPEC) [Bi-SCD 75-3] : The EXSPEC is promulgated by the
OSE and specifies the exercise aim and objectives, the concept of the exercise including
the level, type and form of the exercise, the exercise area, scenario and/or Host Nation,
participation requirement and the designation of the Officer(s) Conducting the Exercise
(OCE) as well as the ODE and any required coordinating instructions.
Experimentation [Bi-SCD 75-3] : Experimentation is a procedure for discovery, testing of
hypotheses, or demonstrating known facts.
• Collective Experimentation. Collective experimentation involves the integration of
discrete experiment events into NATO and national exercises. It allows testing of
concepts under “operational” conditions and exposes the training audience to
possible future capabilities.
• Stand-alone Experimentation. Stand-alone experimentation requires venues that
are tailored to support the experiments themselves. These experiments typically are
not suitable for integration into a training exercise without having a disruptive impact on
that exercise.
Experiment Type [Bi-SCD 75-3] : The general types of experiments are: demonstration,
discovery and hypothesis-testing.
• Demonstration Experiment. Demonstration experiments are designed
experiments in which known truth is recreated, analogous to those in high school in
which students follow instructions to show that the laws of chemistry and physics
operate as the underlying theories predict. For NATO these activities are
cooperative demonstrations of technology to show that an innovation can, under
carefully orchestrated conditions, improve the efficiency, effectiveness or speed of a
 military activity. The technologies employed are well established and the setting
(e.g., scenario, participants) is orchestrated to show that these technologies can be
employed efficiently and effectively.
• Discovery Experiment. Discovery experiments are designed to create
recommendations of concepts that are most likely to produce successful future
military and/or political capabilities for the Alliance. Their outcomes are expected to
be insights rather than optimality or rigorous quantitative analyses; they do not
produce final answers. Discovery-type capabilities experiments produce actionable
recommendations that address desired operational capabilities and potential
investment streams.
• Hypothesis-testing Experiment. Hypothesis-testing experiments are the classic
type used to advance knowledge by seeking to falsify specific hypotheses (if...then
statements) or discover their limiting conditions. They also are used to test whole
theories or observable hypotheses derived from such theories. To conduct a
hypothesis-testing experiment, the experimenter creates a situation in which one or
more dependent variables can be systematically observed under conditions with
varying independent variables, while other potentially relevant factors (i.e., control
variables) are held constant, either empirically or through statistical manipulation.
Hence, results from hypothesis-testing experiments are always caveated with “all
other things being equal.
Interoperability [Bi-SCD 75-3] : The ability to operate in synergy in the execution of
assigned tasks. [AAP-6(2010)]
Message : Any thought or idea expressed briefly in a plain, coded, or secret language,
prepared in a form suitable for transmission by any means of communication : reports,
requests, orders.
Officer Conducting the Exercise (OCE) [Bi-SCD 75-3] : The OCE is designated by the
OSE and can be an ACO Commander or a national commander. The OCE is responsible
for the planning, executing and reporting the exercise results according to OSE direction.
The OCE can also be the Training Audience (TA) Commander or a participant. (cf exercise
commander ).
Operation type : Generic operation whose characteristics are given by the goals and the
rules of engagement. Operation types are not beforehand related to a specific theater.
Response Cells (RCs) [Bi-SCD 75-3] : These are Cells within the EXCON that represent
absent superior, equivalent, or subordinate levels of command reactions during an
exercise. They are the main tools for creating realism for the players. They replicate all
agencies that the players would interact with in a real operation. Response cells inject
incidents in the most realistic manner possible, task the players and are tasked by the
players. For SYNEX, these cells, among other things, provide the interface between the
participants’ doctrinal information exchange media and the simulation computer system.
Scenario [MSG-053, p. 2-3] : Description of the hypothetical or real area, environment,
means, objectives, and events during a specified time frame related to events of interest.
• Operational scenario : Military description of a real or fictitious “piece of the world”
of interest described in terms the user is familiar with. Provided by military user or
sponsor.
• Conceptual scenario : Refinement of the operational scenarios developed by M&S
experts (possibly assisted by sponsor). Described in more technical and specific
terms (reflects transfer of responsibility, more structured scenario specification,
more precise use of terms, possibly use of specialized tools)
 • Executive scenario : Specification of a specific (military) situation which provides
all information necessary for preparation, initialization and execution of a simulation
environment.
Simulation model [Wikipedia] : Collection of related, structured activities or tasks that
produce a specific service or product (serve a particular goal) for a particular customer or
customers.
Surrounding animation : Cell from a training center dedicated to bring an answer for
each action of the training audience in a space-time framework. There is different types :
LOCON, EXCON, White Cell, EXDIR support staff, evaluation and analysis teams,
experiment teams, EXCON real life support (CIS, visitors, bureau and public information,
training teams, mentors, situation control, etc.).
Training [Bi-SCD 75-3] : The generic term for the permanent process of preserving and
improving the ability of military individuals, staffs and forces to conduct sound military
operations. It encompasses individual and collective training. basic training, battle staff
training, collective training, combat enhancement training, commander's conceptual
training, component command training, Force intefration training, functional area/systems
training, individual training.
Training Audience (TA) [Bi-SCD 75-3] : Collective term that includes both the Primary
Training Audience and the Secondary Training Audience.
• Primary Training Audience (PTA) : The PTA is that headquarters / command /
participant / unit identified in the MTEP/EXSPEC as the main focus of the training.
The OSE’s exercise aim and objectives and OCE`s approved training objectives are
designed to satisfy PTA training requirement.
• Secondary Training Audience (STA) : The STA is that headquarters / command /
participant / unit related to the PTA, whose participation in the exercise is identified
in the MTEP/EXSPEC or by the OCE as necessary to assist in achieving the
exercise aim and objectives. The STA may be able to exploit additional training
opportunities within the scope of the exercise, in which case they become a
secondary focus. Collectively the PTA and STA are referred to as the training
audience (TA).
Training Objective [Bi-SCD 75-3] : A desired goal expressed in terms of performance
under set conditions related to a defined standard. It describes the knowledge, skills or
attitudes to be reached during the conduct of training.
Tools : Information systems like simulation, C2 systems, MEL/MIL systems, etc.
Vignette : A reusable, self-contained course of events.
 Glossaire

Vignette : A reusable, self-contained course of events.

Country book : The most complete description of a country according to different points of
view (geographical, historical, political, etc.)
Entity : The smallest object handled by an information system.
Message : Any thought or idea expressed briefly in a plain, coded, or secret language,
prepared in a form suitable for transmission by any means of communication : reports,
requests, orders.
Operation type : Generic operation whose characteristics are given by the goals and the
rules of engagement. Operation types are not beforehand related to a specific theater.
Surrounding animation : Cells from a training center dedicated to bring an answer for
each action of the training audience in a space-time framework.
Data : Representation of information in a formalized manner suitable to make its treatment
easier.
Data model : Description of the objects represented by a computer system related to the
simulation models.
Simulation model : Collection of related, structured activities or tasks that produce a
specific service or product (serve a particular goal) for a particular customer or customers.
Tools : Information systems like simulation, C2 systems, MEL/MIL systems, etc.
Scenario : Description of the hypothetical or real area, environment, means, objectives,
and events during a specified time frame related to events of interest. [MSG-053, p. 2-3]
Operational scenario : Military description of a real or fictitious “piece of the world” of
interest described in terms the user is familiar with. Provided by military user or sponsor.
Conceptual scenario : Refinement of the operational scenarios developed by M&S
experts (possibly assisted by sponsor). Described in more technical and specific terms
(reflects transfer of responsibility, more structured scenario specification, more precise use
of terms, possibly use of specialized tools).
=> Describes all what may happen in the scenario.
Executive scenario : Specification of a specific (military) situation which provides all
information necessary for preparation, initialization and execution of a simulation
environment.
Operational data : This includes : ORBAT (order of battle), map data, called signs, radio
networks, doctriness