ICT Teaches Information Analysis for Counter-Terrorism

Customer	U.S. Army
Users	Intelligence analysts for counter-terrorism, force protection
Need	With the ever-growing threat of asymmetric warfare concomitant with major force and resource reductions, the Distance Learning Office at Fort Huachuca, AZ, needed to create an online version of their popular “Intelligence for Combating Terrorism” course. The online tutoring system decreases the significant backlog of military and allied personnel waiting to enroll in the in-house resident course. Moreover, the online nature of the system allows any enrolled student to be trained entirely on the Internet, enabling the training facility to reach a wider audience that includes, for example, law enforcement organizations.
Solution	In the past, the military intelligence community could rely on indicators and templates to predict outcomes when faced with a conventional, known enemy. However, these traditional techniques are of limited use for today’s ill-structured and asymmetric warfare. Stottler Henke developed the Intelligence for Counter-Terrorism (ICT) system that relies heavily on simulated scenarios for learning and assessment in order to prepare the military intelligence community for unknown threats. It employs real-time coaching based on the current context and past history. It primarily teaches relationship analysis and the use of intelligence analysis tools such as association matrices, time event charts and link diagrams. The final objective of each scenario is to use the tools to analyze message traffic and develop a threat assessment report. Scenario-based training encourages learners to develop their own problem-solving model to apply in general ways rather than rely on specific procedures for particular events. Stottler Henke is also developed an authoring tool that helps authors create scenarios and vignettes, and it allows potential retargeting for law enforcement and anti-drug use. The ICT tutor is SCORM-compliant.
Status	The ICT tutor has been deployed as a part of the Army distance learning program.
Related Applications	The instructional approach embodied within the ICT training simulation can be adaptive to address other tasks that involve the scanning, filtering, analysis and interpretation of information, such as military intelligence, homeland security, and business intelligence.
Additional information	I/ITSEC 2000 paper: A Constructivist Approach to Distance Learning for Counter-Terrorist Intelligence Analysis