Penned 30 March 2017 as an official entry, ‘The Film Doesn’t Lie: Commercial Off-The-Shelf Video Motion Analysis to Enhance the Training and Education of the Maneuver Element‘ into The United States Marine Corps Commandant’s Innovation Challenge:
In the past five years, this technology has exponentially increased, in accordance with Moore’s law. Transcript is unedited from submission, sans imagery. The essay breaks down what Video Motion Analysis (VMA) is, describes the current standard of range After Action Review (AAR) and feedback, and existing VMA-centric training facilities, prior to discussing video-capable Small Unmanned Aerial Systems (SUAS) as a plausible training solution. At the time of this writing, myriad units across federal departments were requesting access to Commercial Off-The-Shelf (COTS) solutions for immediate use in both training and operational use. There were no domestic products available for acquisition as the industry was effectively saturated by the verboten Da Jiang Innovations (DJI), a Chinese Communist Party asset deemed as a credible threat to national security. The challenge received two-hundred and fifty-three submissions from military and civilian personnel across the Department of Defense; the winning article, titled ‘An MCDP on Ethics’, proposed creating a new Marine Corps Doctrinal Publication (MCDP), on Ethics.
Shortly after writing, the author assisted and advised the establishment of the SUAS Center of Excellence (COE) aboard the Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center (MCAGCC), a formal learning center designed to meet FMF operational requirements for training, standardization, and employment of SUAS and leading TTP development of loitering munitions as the FMF adopts new equipment and tactics.
The Film Doesn’t Lie: Commercial Off-The-Shelf Video Motion Analysis to Enhance the Training and Education of the Maneuver Element
It’s Monday, the day after the big game. The team comes in high off of the thrill of victory (or the agony of defeat), they greet each other, and huddle up around a screen. They’ll spend the next half hour watching the teachable highlights and lowlights of the previous days struggle, accompanied by a critical self-analysis to understand the actions they took, why they took them, and why those actions brought the results they did. This happens in every high school, collegiate, and professional level sports team in the country, week-in and week-out. The Video Motion Analysis (VMA) technology has come a long way since John Madden’s telestrator pen first illustrated our screens on Monday nights. Television networks broadcast twenty-four hour analytical coverage of the top plays and biggest errors across the spectrum of sports. With such widespread use across the gridirons, hardwood, ice, and diamonds of America, the ability to implement VMA and a Sports Psychology approach into the world of maneuver warfare would be highly feasible through Commercial Off-The-Shelf (COTS) products and services delivered to Training and Education Command (TECOM) and Combat Arms units across our Corps. By implementing Video Motion Analysis we will enhance training and education, improve the decision-making ability of small unit leaders, and ultimately develop a more lethal and effective force.
From the first stages of the Pre-Deployment Training Programs, platoon and company white-space training, to our culminating Large-Scale Exercises like the Integrated Training Exercise (ITX), Marines are methodical about applying our doctrinal need to critique via immediate range debriefs. Following any live-fire training exercise, units from the squad to battalion levels gather en masse to listen to the debriefs, internally, from their higher, and from the objective analysis of the orange-vested “Coyotes” of Tactical Training Exercise Control Group (TTECG). In the days and weeks following an ITX, TTECG caps it off by hosting an extremely thorough After Action Review for all parties involved to create “an atmosphere of open and frank dialogue in which all hands are encouraged to contribute.” (MCDP 1) The system that exists is good, and the Marines involved in any self-discussion will inherently grow. But what if we could discuss our actions better? What if in addition to the Coyote Debrief, platoons, companies, and battalion were given access to footage of their maneuvers to accompany the detailed feedback already given by the Coyotes? By leveraging an existing video technology into the debrief, we will effectively reach the ‘Visual Learner’ in the audience, and give all of our Marines a more comprehensive understanding of what went on by providing real, tangible examples of actions taken on the range. As the athlete certainly benefits from watching video footage, our Marines would equally benefit and feel more comfortable seeing themselves perform from this added dimension of self-analysis. This can be feasibly implemented by beginning to film and critique the Live-Fire and Maneuver (LFAM) exercises which makeup the cornerstone of our training.
Facilities such as The Infantry Immersion Trainer (IIT) aboard Camp Pendleton, Range 800 aboard Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center (MCAGCC), and even coalition facilities such as the King Abdullah II Special Operations Center (KASOTC) in Amman, Jordan [pictured in several photographs in this essay] have championed this process through dozens of day/night integrated CCTV Audio/Visual systems, a dedicated staff to provide video revision, and a edit video for unit review. The concept is admittedly nothing new, but a systematic approach to the capture, revision, and the distribution needs a second look. These facilities are all constructed at the expense of millions of dollars, require a massive, intricate Audio/Visual/Powered infrastructure, contracted interfaces, are limited to the confines of that designated training area, and for the domestic facilities governed by Range Control and Marine Corps Order 3570.1C/DA-PAM 385-63 are exclusive of LFAM (KASOTC is meticulously constructed to provide LF/LFAM capabilities within their MOUT CCTV facility). How can we logistically provide filming services in more remote locations as Sunshine Peak, Emerson Lake, the Blacktop Corridor, or the 200 and 400-series ranges? How can the revision be tailored to an effective and easily transferrable debrief? How can the Marines better analyze and understand their actions outside of their trustworthy note-taking gear?
First, in concern of the logistic capabilities of providing a video-capture in remote locations without requiring expensive and expansive infrastructures, the solution lies within the COTS Quadcopter Drones and Wearable Cameras. Imagine it is the first few days of ITX, a platoon gears up to run Range 410. Nothing changes from the normal conduct of the range save for the addition of two critical pieces of analytical gear; Each Coyote is now equipped with a Wearable Kevlar Camera, such as a GoPro, and tracking each squad’s individual maneuver is a hovering Quadcopter Drone, such as a DJI Phantom or Mavic. Both of these products provide excruciatingly high-resolution 4K imagery, and come with a user interface that is so simple it will require little-to-no additional training hours in order to operate. A large portion of the Marines in any infantry battalion already have used the GoPro for personal use in training and in combat. These worn Kevlar Cams will mount to the Coyote’s NVG Baseplate, and follow his exact field of view. This will enable the AAR to encompass the exact events the Coyote is referring to, from his perspective. The Quadcopter Drones are what will provide an extreme range of flexibility for the Video Motion Analysis of LFAM training. Many of the latest quadcopter drones have a maximum effective range of over four miles, enabling the entire range space to be viewed from a central location.
What may be the most groundbreaking about this approach is the ability to see our maneuvers as never-seen-before, from our Enemy’s perspective. A highly mobile camera Quadcopter Camera can be located above the Objective areas and provide a direct view of our Marines in the assault, as we’ve never been able to capture on film before. The visual of the individual Marine seeing how effective (or ineffective) his microterrain he chooses for cover is, is worth this capability in and of itself. Administratively, A central command hub operated by either company/battalion staff, or by dedicated TTECG Operators will provide a consolidated location in order to collect the video data, distribute additional batteries (the average flight time of the leading COTS Quadcopter Drones is currently just under thirty minutes), and launch/collect the Quadcopters. Necessary precautions and setbacks would be the greater familiarity for operators in regards to the Stay Above/Stay Below heights in coordination with Support-by-Fire positions, Gun-Target Lines, and other SDZ/MSD considerations, in order to mitigate the risks of trajectory interference of the projectiles and objects within the range area. As an initial investment, the inclusion of two dozen Wearable Cameras (GoPros) and a dozen Quadcopter Drones (DJI) would be at a relatively marginal cost in the ballpark of just under thirty-thousand dollars. These capabilities outfit each Coyote Lead and each squad, section, and/or platoon with video capturing abilities in any clime and place. Once this package is developed, the lack of permanent infrastructure in order to operate the hardware and software would enable our units to deploy with Video Analysis kits, providing sustained review for their internal training, even while forward-deployed to areas throughout the world, keeping our blade as sharp as possible.
Second, regarding the ability to quickly and effectively communicate this information back to our Marines, the framework is already there; we can model this after how successful sports programs conduct their Video Motion Analysis and post-game debriefs. Amongst our ranks we already have plenty of Marines who have seen the real-world benefits of VMA through high school and college experience. Talking with one such Marine, who played Division 1 NCAA Football, it was a mainstay, integrated into their daily training routine:
“We would watch every single rep of practice, immediately after practice ended in meetings. We would separate into different position groups and go over the whole practice, from individual drills all the way through team drills. Then, we would regroup and watch it all together as an offense. [We did the] same things for Games. [We’d] come in on Sunday for three to four hours to watch the games. Those would be available on the flight home on our iPad.”
Using the Range 410 example, we can continue this same method, breaking into each squad and section to review the individual footage of that squad’s progress, with the Coyote attached to that squad leading the discussion and analysis. Our platoons can then ‘regroup’ and watch it together as a team, observing the overall maneuver of the combined arms symphony, allowing our Riflemen to understand what their Machine Gunner brothers on Support-by-Fire Hill are seeing, our Assaultmen to review their rocket shots and breaches, and our Mortarmen to better grasp the impacts of their rounds they are dropping in support. This would be scalable from the squad, all the way to the battalion level. This raw footage can be compiled by modifying software that already exists in a COTS platform! Our D-1 Veteran Leatherneck also discussed the use of software, a quick search of the VMA applications all confirm that “Hudl” has the market cornered. Hudl is used at sports institutions around the world to by providing an all-in-one package able to quickly and effectively analyze performance by recording, reviewing, teaching, analyzing, fostering conversation, and easily and securely distributing the footage to every individual Athlete, we can adopt this to our Marines. With Hudl’s widespread use worldwide for Football, Baseball, Wrestling, Basketball, Soccer, Volleyball, Lacrosse, American Football, Track & Field, Wrestling, Ice Hockey, and Golf the adaptation of the software to shape towards analysis of LFAM should be compatible with relative ease.
Third, the ability to potentially give every Marine with a smartphone or tablet the capability to endlessly analyze their actions will truly be a force multiplier. Currently, Marines of all grades are typically limited to their trustworthy note-taking gear for the ability to write and retain information passed during debriefs and AARs. Adding a VMA application and placing it on the devices the Marines already own puts the power in the Marines’ hands. Whitespace training now becomes that much more refined, Squad Leaders can prove their squad really did run the best Range 410 in the Platoon, the Machine Gunners can have quantitative data with visual representation to set the standard for getting a gun “up” in the hot position, and a general spirit of competition will be fostered within our small-unit teams. We will empower our Marines by providing tangible, quantitative data that not only gives them the buy-in of numbers, but the objective view of how things really happened. As dozens of analysts and coaches have stated time and time again, ‘The Film Doesn’t Lie’! The initial foray into this program can be fielded through TTECG, much in the same way the current ‘Killswitch’ app has progressed, and ultimately revolutionized fire support, planning, and air-ground integration. Following a successful one-year trial-run over multiple ITX evolutions, the software and hardware can be refined into a true Program-of-Record and distributed to companies and battalions throughout the Marine Corps.
There are additional, far-reaching second and third-order impacts, securely distributing high-resolution footage can provide the Public Affairs Office with multitudes of pre-selected highlight footage to showcase the very best of each Large Scale Exercise. The School of Infantry, Infantry Officer Course, The Basic School, and all Training and Education Command institutions would reap the benefits of this footage, and even implementing kits themselves. In the middle of a PowerPoint lecture, they can insert real-world footage from a Victor Unit completing the topic being taught, while comparing it side-by-side to the footage of the platoon’s first attempt at LFAM. The film would also serve to begin establishing a historical record for posterity. Imagine being able to see live footage of Gunnery Sergeant John Basilone leading a Machine Gun Squad up to a SBF position, or Corporal Jason Dunham leading a squad in the assault on Range 410; future generations will be able to see the ‘gold standard’ of runs, and documented runs by the young Marines of today who will be the legends of the Corps, tomorrow.
As our world continues to adapt around us, we must aggressively seek to improve and refine the education of our Marines. Through implementing Customer Off-The-Shelf hardware and software designed for the sports world, but tailored for analyzing Maneuver Warfare, we can provide a portable, effective video analysis that can be widely distributed and clearly enhance every Marine’s ability to understand the actions they took, why they took them, and why those actions brought the results they did. This implementation will enhance training and education, improve the decision-making ability of small unit leaders, and ultimately develop a more lethal and effective force.
