P. NIKOUEE

PORTFOLIO // CASE STUDY 01

C2 Integration
Course

Designing a formal Marine Corps course to train tactical command-and-control integration across systems, echelons, and warfighting functions.

I led the curriculum development effort for a course built to help Marines understand how command-and-control systems connect, exchange information, support decision-making, and move operational data from company and battalion levels up to regiment, division, and higher headquarters. The course is now formally taught by the MAGTF Integrated System Training Centers (MISTCs).

CURRICULUM DEVELOPMENTC2 INTEGRATIONUSMC TRAINING
DATA FLOW ACROSS TACTICAL ECHELONS

SEC 01 // PROJECT OVERVIEW

Integration is the skill the schoolhouse wasn't teaching.

The C2 Integration Course was created to address a real training need. Marines often learn individual command-and-control systems in isolation, but operational success depends on understanding how those systems work together across warfighting functions, tactical echelons, and command-post processes.

The course was designed to move beyond basic operator training and focus on integration: how information is passed, validated, displayed, acted upon, and synchronized across the command-and-control architecture. Students leave understanding not just which systems are used, but how the architecture behaves as a whole — and what to do when it doesn't.

SEC 02 // MY ROLE

Curriculum lead, from concept to formal instruction.

I led the curriculum effort that turned an initial course concept into a structured, teachable, repeatable curriculum. That meant developing the course framework, organizing the instructional flow, building student and facilitator materials, refining practical exercises, supporting system validation, coordinating with instructors and subject matter experts, and folding feedback from pilot iterations into the final course design.

SEC 03 // THE TRAINING GAP

The training gap

BEFORE

  • Systems taught in isolation, one operator course at a time
  • Buttonology without operational context
  • No structured picture of how data moves between systems
  • Integration problems discovered for the first time during live exercises

WITH THE COURSE

  • Systems taught as one connected operational architecture
  • Information flow tied to the commander's decision cycle
  • Students validate real data paths and learn where they break
  • Command posts arrive at exercises already thinking in integration terms

SEC 04 // COURSE DESIGN & LEARNING PROGRESSION

Crawl. Walk. Run.

The course follows a deliberate progression: students first learn the operational architecture and the purpose of the systems, then validate individual data paths, then integrate multiple systems across echelons, and finally apply the full architecture in a scenario-based capstone event.

  1. CRAWL

    Academics & Systems Context

    Operational architecture, system purpose, echelon relationships, and information exchange requirements — the context for why systems connect.

  2. WALK

    Guided Labs

    Hands-on validation of individual data paths: confirm information moves, displays correctly, and reaches the right node.

  3. RUN

    Practical Application

    Multi-system integration across echelons — students connect the architecture and troubleshoot friction points as they surface.

  4. CAPSTONE

    Scenario Execution

    A scenario-driven event applying the full course architecture end to end, from company-level inputs to higher headquarters reporting.

SEC 05 // DEVELOPMENT PROCESS

From training gap to formal course

  1. Identify the Training Gap

    PHASE 01

    Marines needed more than individual system familiarization. They needed a structured way to understand how systems connect, how information moves, and how command posts use C2 systems to support operations.

  2. Build the Instructional Framework

    PHASE 02

    I designed the course around operational integration, warfighting-function alignment, echelon-based information movement, and practical application — organized so students understand both the technical and operational purpose of each integration step.

  3. Develop the Materials

    PHASE 03

    I produced and refined student-facing and instructor-facing materials: guides, practical exercises, system-context products, and capstone support materials — built to be teachable, repeatable, and usable by instructors across multiple MISTC locations.

  4. Validate Through Execution

    PHASE 04

    The course was exercised through pilot iterations at MISTC locations, testing the instructional flow, system architecture, labs, practical exercises, student comprehension, and instructor delivery model.

  5. Incorporate Feedback and Refine

    PHASE 05

    Feedback from instructors, students, system specialists, and pilot execution drove improvements: sharpening the academics, reducing unnecessary operator-level detail, improving lab flow, strengthening the link between systems and operational purpose, and making the course more hands-on.

  6. Transition to Formal Instruction

    PHASE 06

    After refinement, the course moved beyond pilot status and became a real Marine Corps course taught by the MISTCs — a structured curriculum that supports repeatable instruction and improves how the Marine Corps trains command-and-control integration.

SEC 06 // SKILLS DEMONSTRATED

Skills demonstrated

Curriculum Development Instructional Systems Design Command-and-Control Integration Systems Engineering Tactical Network Understanding Training Modernization Technical Writing Exercise Design Stakeholder Coordination Pilot Validation & Refinement Instructor Material Development Operational Workflow Analysis Marine Corps Training Support Defense Program Execution

SEC 07 // CASE STUDY SUMMARY

Executive summary

I led the curriculum development effort for a formal Marine Corps C2 Integration Course that teaches Marines how to integrate command-and-control systems across warfighting functions and tactical echelons. The project required translating complex technical architectures and operational workflows into a structured, repeatable, hands-on course. The final product moved from pilot execution into formal MISTC instruction and now supports Marine Corps command-and-control training.

"This project represents the intersection of operational experience, technical systems knowledge, curriculum design, and training modernization. It demonstrates my ability to take a complex mission problem, structure it into a teachable framework, and deliver a product that can be used across an enterprise training environment."