Joint Land, Aerospace and Sea Simulation begins at LeMay Center Published April 15, 2010 USAF Public Affairs Center of Excellence MAXWELL AIR FORCE BASE, Ala. -- Using the theme, "World on the Brink," students from five military senior level colleges unite at Maxwell Air Force Base to train the way they fight. The 27th annual Joint Land, Aerospace and Sea Simulation, or JLASS, wargame kicks off this week at the LeMay Center's Air Force Doctrine Development and Education's Air Force Wargaming Institute. It runs through Wednesday. George Daniels, deputy director, War Fighting Applications, said JLASS originated to promote joint professional military education. He said students from Air War College, the Army War College, Industrial College of the Armed Forces, Marine Corps War College and Naval War College will participate in the five-day engagement. Army Col. Sam White, this year's JLASS wargame director, said the major objective is for students to address key issues at the strategic and operational levels of war and enhance awareness of the interagency process, combined/joint staff and unified command issues. "The students will be using diplomacy and combined forces to execute national and theater-level strategies, which also helps each school meet their specific learning objectives," Colonel White said. Steve Crawford, a Northrup Grumman contractor lead in his 17th JLASS game, said 109 students, 34 faculty members from the colleges and an additional 100 controllers, administrators and information technology staff members are teaming up for the drill. He said the exercise is a two-sided, computer-supported wargame that takes place 10 years in the future. This year, Homeland Security events and issues will be more emphasized, as well as mobility and reserve mobilization issues, with three additional lesser contingency scenarios. Mr. Crawford said the Joint Land, Aerospace and Sea Simulation helps future senior leaders develop strategic and operational skills and also enhances student-to-student interaction, which is consistently listed as one of the high points during student and faculty feedback sessions. "Players gain a significant amount of knowledge in deliberate planning and crisis-action planning," he said. "They are getting a chance to meet face-to-face and may be working with each other down the road." Mr. Daniels noted that just as their war planning is designed to be real-world, the students will also face real-world obstacles, such as media and public pressures. The "World on the Brink" is the theme of news covered by the fictional Global News Network, or GNN, which airs daily news broadcasts. "The purpose of GNN is to expose the students to the media and help them develop the tools they need to be effective strategic communicators," said Karen Katzenbach, the JLASS media control chief and deputy director for curriculum development at the U.S. Air Force Public Affairs Center of Excellence at the Spaatz Center for Officer Education. Ms. Katzenbach said about 20 Reservists and National Guard public affairs specialists and broadcasters from all over the United States travel to Maxwell each year to role-play the media and develop realistic news products.