FEATURED CASE STUDIES

Red Cape: Crisis Action Planning and Execution

Red Cape

The Problem

The Army National Guard needed to better prepare its officers to respond to potential homeland security and natural disaster scenarios. The current trend in training – with its emphasis on unstructured practice in whole-task environments, and the use of costly, high-fidelity simulation – was an inefficient approach. The Army was looking to develop cost-effective, medium-fidelity simulations that officers can complete before participating in more costly, high-fidelity simulations. Aptima recommended the development of a “training accelerator“ that uses deliberate practice to train officers in the necessary crisis management skills.

The Solution

Background Research – Aptima interviewed Subject Matter Experts from numerous Indiana state, county, and municipal agencies, including: the Indiana Army National Guard, the Indiana Department of Environmental Management, the Indiana Department of Transportation, the Bartholomew County Emergency Management Agency, the Indianapolis Police Department, the Indianapolis Fire Department, the Indiana Department of Homeland Security, and the Indiana State Police.

Identify Critical Skills – From these interviews, nine crisis management skills were identified, including: Maintain a Focus on Mission Priorities; Use All Available Assets; Understand the Public Need; and See the Big Picture.

Develop Training Scripts – Next, “Hollywood-style” scripts were developed for 15 different homeland security and natural disaster training scenarios. Example scenarios include: Dirty Bomb Attack; Storm of the Century; Airplane Crash in a Restricted Area; and Animal-Borne Disease in a Stockyard.

Develop Training Content – Multimedia training was developed in FLASH for all 15 scenarios. Each FLASH animation included:

Satellite maps with animation overlays
Stock photography
Narration and character dialogue
“Key facts” screens to highlight main points
Agency-specific challenge questions

Develop Agency-Specific Feedback – For each scenario, agency-specific feedback was developed for four separate stakeholder groups: the Army National Guard, first responder agencies, coordinating agencies, and supporting agencies.

Develop Supporting Documents – A series of supporting documents were developed to enhance the training experience. These include a detailed user’s guide, instructor notes, and challenge questions to probe for additional understanding.

The Results

Red Cape was deployed in 2007 as an operational training tool through the US Army Research Institute for the Behavioral and Social Sciences. Red Cape provides 15 opportunities for National Guard officers, first responders, coordinating agencies, and supporting agencies to practice their crisis management skills. An independent panel of 6 crisis management experts confirmed that the Red Cape content is critical to homeland security and natural disaster relief efforts. A separate panel of 40 learners demonstrated significant gains in learning over time. Qualitative feedback indicated that the training was challenging, position-relevant, and met the trainees’ expectations.

For more information, see also:

Beaubien, J. M., Shadrick, S. D., Paley, M. J., Badugu, S., Ennis, C. W., & Jacklin, S. (2007). Using deliberate practice to train military-civilian interagency coordination. Proceedings of the Interservice/Industry Training, Simulation and Education Conference (I/ITSEC). Arlington, VA: NDIA.
Shadrick, S. B., Schaefer, P. S., & Beaubien, J. M. (2007).Development and content validation of crisis response training package Red Cape: Crisis Action Planning and Execution. Research Report No. 1875. Alexandria, VA: U.S. Army Research Institute for the Behavioral and Social Sciences.