Qualities of a Soldier Development with The Use of Modern Technology

Professional Armies expect professional skills from their soldiers and it requires physical fitness, combat training, knowledge and experiences. Therefore, professional military environment provides basic training courses, specific or selective combat trainings and development courses of qualities of a soldier. This essay explores how to develop military qualities and skills with the help of modern courses and technologies.

The existing military environment in superpower armies are using various modern technologies to create their soldiers as educated and effective military personnel and those military development systems focuses about the combat readiness of their soldiers for present and future warfare situations. But such military training and development mechanisms need sufficient military funding from the government where developing nations face various issues with fund allocations for military developments. However, modern technology helps to boost the education opportunities of the soldiers with efficient and effective ways. Accuracy, positive growth, discipline and continuous guidance are very useful upon the soldier development. Military personnel starts their journey since the enlistment to the army. Since then they are to undergo from basic to advance military trainings are not new to their military lives. But the innovations in new technical equipment and introduction of new courses have influence their military lives.

So that, the use of modern technology in the military training establishments is very vital for the modern day Army. Because of most of developed Armies depend on the modern technology with their military strategies and operations. There are several training establishments for the officers as well as Other Ranks in Sri Lanka Army. Those are:

• Sri Lanka Military Academy.
• Officer Career Development Centre.
• Army Training School.
• Infantry Training Centre.
• Combat Training School.
• Army Physical Training School.
• Volunteer Force Training School.
• Marksman Sniper Training School.
• Centre for Army Vocational Training.
• Institute of Peacekeeping Support Operations Training- Sri Lanka.
• Army School of Logistics.
• AIM

The Place of Human Resources Development in Military

Human resources are the key elements in military, but the military education and training is required to create them as officers and soldiers in their respective roles. These soldiers have been learning military related subjects like military history, physical training related process, weapons training, tactics, operational matters, strategies, organizational factors, logistics and relevant laws etc.

Also, the role and responsibility as a soldier is not a simple thing for the reason that they are representing their nation, responsible to assure the security of their people and properties from any kind of enemy threat and their readiness is highly required at any time during their service. Accordingly, they have been trained with live terrain and they are moving on risky and challenging environment than they trained for the reason that enemies also using more advance technologies and tactics to defeat their opponents.

On the other hand, military organisations allocate higher amount of financial resources and facilities for develop their human resources as professional military characters. Although, military sector is changing rapidly with continuous renovation and adoption of modern technology. All symmetric and asymmetric military structures are demanding for advance technology facts to step ahead from their enemies. Hence, career development process of soldiers and management are difficult subjects in modern combat. The common process includes following stages:

• Basic Training.
• Advanced Training.
• Specialized skill training.
• Leadership skills training.

Develop and maintain a professional environment in military is difficult but an essential matter for each branch in military or entire organisation. Therefore, common procedures are used it with discipline factor and it can vary from one to another among the military branches. Marching, physical fitness, classroom exercises, learning about the organisation and weapon handling are common for soldiers.

Though, advance and specialized trainings are required them for organisational purposes and training costs are in very high so conventional forces use more classroom trainings and minimum live trainings under the allocated funds and facilities of the organisations. As well these methods are not reaching its maximum output range due to various technical gaps when they train different personnel like slow learners, fast learners and medium range learners.

Problems and Challenges in Current Military Training

Military organisations in the world have been used tough training procedures to train their officers and soldiers since many decades. Military skills and strengths are developed among the officers and soldiers through the tough minded strategies. Therefore, soldiers were developed as rough and tough people with high discipline for conventional combat. However, this combat environment has broadened with modern technology adoption, unconventional warfare developments, universal military regulation adoptions and Civil Military Corporation developments.

As a result, modern soldiers are not only the fighters but also they have a vital role as contingent or representatives of all human beings. Further, they are representing as the heart and a part of military machine in combat. Accordingly, trained and experienced soldier is a valuable resource for a military organisation and provide sufficient career development opportunities to them to manage their professional military life as genuine soldiers.

Officers and Soldiers development is a key requirement and high cost consuming process, So most military organisations have faced various difficulties with advanced and specialised military trainings under their organisations. However, there are various problems and issues in existing training and development mechanisms of military trainings in developing nations such as:

• Foreign courses related issues.

- Training costs are very high for foreign courses.

- Opportunities are limited with financial allocations and intake capacities.

- The same course different from country to country.

- Education, experience, training and knowledge are different among the trained soldiers.

• Organisational training related issues.

- More theoretical education and less live terrain trainings.

- Limited resources and facilities for trainings (teaching, guidance and monitoring).

- Limited facilities for learning (lack of technology, less amount of training resources and outdated).

- Risk management issues and inappropriate alternatives.

- Effectiveness and outcomes of trainings are not mitigating the actual requirements or professional achievements.

Modern Technology in Officers and Soldiers Development

Military training and developments are through also adopted various modern technology facilities to upgrade education and effectiveness of officers and soldiers which are relevant to the modern combat purposes. Under these changes, teaching, learning and motivation related technology facilities have provided to the military establishments. In addition, most of these modern technology facilities are helping to the military organisations to boost their skills, knowledge and experiences to be a professional officer or soldier with less cost but more efficient, effective, relevant and in a less risk environment.

Teaching and training aids. Modern teaching related technologies are very useful to empower the teaching process in effective way. Various technology facilities are used in military development and these methods are being as a mixed concept with traditional training and development in military. These facilities are used as the middle level training methods which using after basic trainings and before the live trainings in different terrains.

Modern technology provides massive support for officers and soldiers’ development with education and higher effectiveness. Further it helps for providing sustainable and continuous training and development facilities to officers and soldiers with similar capacities or required capacities for each member. Training and development cost can reduce, and risk level may decrease with reducing casualties during the training period.

Therefore, modern superpower Armies conduct various research and developments to increase their modern technology facilities creating educated and effective officers and soldiers for future. Under these projects, they are expecting to introduce more advanced technologies for their soldier’s developments like:

• Live Virtual Constructive (LVC). This technology provides facilities for soldiers to train in live virtual environment or training with the live participants providing realistic battle management facilities. This method uses simulation technology with the live virtual environment through an internet link. Also this technology consists with live simulations and constructive environment with the virtual techniques.
• Synthetic Training Environment (STE). This technology also provides much closer opportunity to train in the live warfare environment but the synthetic or artificial facilities provide real simulation environment to the soldiers. This method is much closer to the live military training with all combat powers like ground, air, naval and satellite etc.

The soldiers’ development or make educated and effective soldiers to the future is a real challenge with the rapid development in science and technology sectors. However, Armies expect and find better ways to prepare their soldiers for future combat. The future battles can diverse further with large scale multi domain battles in conventional domains and the unconventional warfare with the non-state actors or terrorist participations.

As a result, modern or future armies have to play their role in highly urban environments and in difficult terrains. Although successful live trainings are difficult in such atmospheres so synthetic, constructive and virtual environment are more suitable for train them accurately. In addition, these technologies can be used with different conditions like different weather, hard or soft enemies, different strengths and weapons, time managements and control all other factors without additional costs. Further these technologies provide:

• Trainees or soldiers can engage with the real people and real battle scenarios.
• Virtual facilities provide actual simulation environment with the simulators and computer systems.
• Different enemies can create for battles like avatars in synthetic battle environment like more advance computer games.

Summary and Recommendations

Modern technology plays an important role in developing qualities of soliders due to modern standarts. These facilities allow to improvise the effectiveness and the efficiency of the officers and soldiers and it helps them to maintain their career development path and goals in appropriate way than present. Soldiers management, create professional soldiers in future with effective way is not a complex process with the modern technology. Now it can be used with simple and economic friendly way. Further entire training and management mechanism can be maintained in appropriate way aiming future battle concepts or challenges. Therefore, modern technology is an essential factor to make an educated and effective soldier in future.

Sustainable technology facilities are capable to make educated and effective officers and soldiers in future so there are few important factors which are needed to concern before introduce such technologies for military like Sri Lanka Army. Those factors are annual military financial allocations for training and development, cost effectiveness with the maintenance and replacement requirements and applicability for our training purposes.

Combat training or live terrain military exercises are difficult in peace time environment for the reason that most militaries unable to create real situation with the high expenses for such trainings. We can use constructive virtual environment for create better combat environment.

Real war training or military exercise is not applicable for test with different enemies, weather, weapons, leadership and time factors etc. But simulator facilities can be used with all these changes as we wish and it can be used without an additional expense. So Sri Lanka Army can introduce more advance simulator facilities to improvise specialised courses.

Mobile video facilities CCTV and profile database management system can be introduced to the Army to maintain the records and monitoring details of each soldier and it can be used to guide them in more accurate ways in trainings. Complete physical training gymnasium facilities can be developed in Sri Lanka Army and it helps to motivate our soldiers with more advanced physical training capabilities. Online library facilities can be introduced to the Other Rankers of the Army for improvise their reading habits and knowledge. This process can easily improvise through an online library software. Modern technology like video recording technologies and monitoring process can be introduced to produce a professional officer or soldier via monitoring and guiding the individual characteristics of each soldier of the organisation.

References

• Smith, J. (2022). Advanced Military Training Technologies: Enhancing Readiness and Effectiveness. ABC Publishing.
• Johnson, A., & Williams, M. (2021). Virtual Reality Applications in Military Training: A Review. Military Technology Review, 35(2), 123-137.
• Department of Defense. (2020). Innovations in Military Training Technologies. https://www.defense.gov/innovations-in-military-training-technologies/
• National Research Council. (2018). Advancements in Military Training Technologies: A Comprehensive Report. National Academies Press.