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Rob Wittman

The next generation of computer-generated forces are taking modeling and simulation programs to an unprecedented level. New technologies greatly expand the potential for various operations while providing a safe and cost-effective way to prepare for a wide variety of possible conflicts. Many MITRE staff, including Lead Engineer Rob Wittman, work hand-in-hand with customers on the architecture, development, testing, and integration of these new simulation systems.

Wittman, a fan of Orlando's warm winters and family atmosphere, has been at MITRE's Orlando, Florida, site since 1996. He has been working on the Army's One Semi-Automated Forces (OneSAF) Objective System for the past three years. OneSAF is the Army's next-generation, composable, entity-based simulation system. This simulation system is designed to satisfy a broad range of user requirements and will be used to train troops without the costs and dangers of working in the field.

When the project began in early 2000, Wittman jumped at the opportunity to develop a simulation system from the ground up. "One of the things I enjoy the most about my work is seeing things get built—being a part of the project from concept to actual implementation," he explains. "Prior to my work on OneSAF, I had been supporting an operational simulation-based training system for the Joint Community. But then the OneSAF opportunity came along and I was able to transition from supporting a simulation system to actually developing one."

Close coordination among the 100-plus-person simulation team has been key. "I am on-site with the customer in what they call the Integration and Development Environment," he says. "It is an office space where staff from government, contractors, and federally funded research and development centers are all co-located for the OneSAF project. We're all working in the same environment and working together toward the same goals. The proximity is great. You really understand what is going on—it's not just a monthly status briefing—it's day-to-day contact. Since software is so conceptually oriented, close coordination, especially in the architecture and early development stages, is vital. It helps you understand exactly what the other guy is thinking about in terms of building the individual components or building blocks."

During his tenure in Orlando, Wittman participated in MITRE's Accelerated Graduate Degree Program (AGDP) and completed his Ph.D. in Industrial Engineering Interactive Simulation at the University of Central Florida. "I had gone through the AGDP program for a Master's degree while I was working in Fort Walton Beach in the early 1990s, so I knew it existed and always wanted to go back and get a Ph.D," he says. "Plus, the University of Central Florida literally backs up to the research park that I work in now. It was incredibly convenient. And MITRE was really supportive in terms of helping me put together the AGDP package and making sure I had time for school.

"And my Ph.D. research was directly related to my current project work," adds Wittman. "The classes I was taking and the research I was doing were directly relevant to making sure that we were on the right track with the technology that was being implemented for MITRE customers."

—by Kay M. Upham

Established in 1993, MITRE's Orlando site is home to 12 employees. They support the Program Executive Office for Simulation, Training & Instrumentation, Air Force Agency for Modeling and Simulation, and the U.S. Marine Corps Program Manager for Training Systems.