20 July 2020

MASS retains UK JCAST contract

by Giles Ebbutt

The UK Ministry of Defence (MoD) has awarded MASS, part of Cohort plc, a contract to provide Joint Command and Staff Training (JCAST) for the UK’s Strategic Command, the company announced on 16 July. The contract is worth in excess of GBP11 million (USD13.8 million) over a two-year period.

MASS has delivered JCAST for the MoD for more than 20 years, providing training events to maintain general readiness or to rehearse particular types of operations. Under the new contract it will develop and implement exercises for Strategic Command, involving UK military personnel as well as a range of other governmental and non-governmental organisations plus participation by military staffs from partner nations, the company said.

The contract includes design, planning, preparation, delivery, and reporting of joint operational-level command and staff training at Tier 2+ (component) and Tier 3 (joint force) as well as strategic-level training led by the MoD at Tier 4.

The EXCON established at RAF St Mawgan in Cornwall for Exercise Joint Horizon 2015, a MASS-supported UK Joint Force Headquarters (JFHQ) exercise. (UK MoD/Crown Copyright)

MASS’s solution contains new features in addition to its current offering. These include a new version (Mark 2) of its Exercise Control (EXCON) team Toolset command information system (CIS); a new exercise planning and management tool (EPMT); a new focus on social media modelling; and an expanded Red Team capability.

MASS has partnered with 4C Strategies to provide the EPMT using its Exonaut software, which MASS said has been specifically adapted to support training at the operational level, and provide a customised exercise planning, execution, and lessons management capability.

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