13.03.2022.
State-of-the-art teaching aids used in cadets’ process of education
The Military Academy is constantly raising standards by introducing numerous new subject matters and technologies into the process of education, modernizing infrastructure and renewing instructional material, preparing future officers of the Serbian Armed Forces to respond to current and future challenges with knowledge and readiness.
Being ready for the future means having adequate means to achieve success - says Colonel Miloje Ilić from the Department of Tactics, Military Academy, and one such example is that Department’s classroom - the Tactical Level Training Command Post.
– The purpose of the tactical level training command post is, above all, to train the students attending the Basic Command and Staff Course and the Command and Staff School, for making decisions in the headquarters and it is also intended for the training of staffs. In addition, we have adapted this classroom so that students in final years of undergraduate studies can use it. The third and fourth year cadets of the Military Academy come here to learn about the requirements that a unit’s command post should fulfil in the future - Colonel Ilić points out.
He also explains that the emphasis is on visualizing the problem. Thus, for example, before going to the training area where the exercise will be performed, preparations are done in the classroom, allowing the participants to get acquainted with the area and process almost all segments relevant for decision-making.
– The teaching process involves the training of students for making decisions in military units, team work, and this classroom provides the students with the opportunity to visualize the battlefield during their work and provides all the conditions for making right and timely decisions. Hardware and software necessary for work are provided in this classroom, as well as accompanying devices and most modern components. The software used (GIS – Geographic Information System) was created by members of the Serbian Armed Forces’ IT service. Among the other modern equipment used in the classroom, there are modern optronic devices used for gathering intelligence about the area of operations and quadcopters, i.e. unmanned aerial vehicles used for real-time reconnaissance and collection of data on the characteristics of the environment and the area of operations - emphasizes Colonel Ilić.According to him, in the decision-making process, the classroom provides excellent opportunities for creating variants of use of one’s own forces and the enemy.
– For these purposes, we use the so-called smart board that allows you to create an interactive surface on different projection surfaces. Also, software has been developed which allows the deployment of forces on a smart board, in the assigned area, i.e. the deployment of tactical symbols of those forces, which ultimately results in quality war games that form the basis for making a future decision. The entire command post, all posts, are connected to the computer network so that the data can be put together in a central computer and be further distributed, and so that the process can be controlled by the commander and teachers. It is important to mention that the classroom is connected to the Simulations Centre, where the decision is checked - said Colonel Ilić.
He says that additional applications of MILES system, which is used by the armed forces, and innovations such as the M-84 tank simulator are being considered.- We would connect these simulators with the Simulations Centre, where, for example, a battalion-level exercise would run in the simulation software. Students attending the Basic Command and Staff Course would be, for example, in the role of company commanders, and students attending undergraduate studies would be platoon commanders. Some of them would be part of the virtual environment, and they would actually take part in combat operations using these combat vehicle simulators, such as the M-84 tank. The point is that we, as a school, have to make progress, because our future students belong to the generation that is used to living in front of the computer screen. We make sure that our training follows all the modern trends in the world - says Colonel Ilić.
At the Military Academy, it is crucial to encourage cadets to think, because the breadth of their thinking means the wealth of our armed forces, says Colonel Ilić, and he emphasizes that military personnel are trained throughout their career.
After completing their undergraduate studies, the Military Academy cadets can count on guaranteed employment in Serbian Armed Forces units, but also on numerous opportunities for further training at the Defence University, including master's and doctorate degree programmes, Command and Staff Course and General Staff Course, and Advanced Security and Defence Studies.
Students in the final years of four-year secondary and grammar schools have the opportunity to apply for admission to the Military Academy and the Military Medical Academy’s Medical Faculty until March 31, while the doors of the Military Grammar School and Secondary Vocational Military School are open for students who have finished elementary school.
For further information about admissions to military schools, please follow the link below: https://www.mod.gov.rs/cir/konkursi-za-upis-u-vojne-skole .
