MS&T’s Pioneer Award Winner 2018

MS&T would like to recognize the 2018 Industry Award Winners one final time before the 2019 Winners are announced in mid-September. This week, we highlight the achievements of John Givens, former president of Bohemia Interactive Simulations Inc. (BISim), and the recipient of the 2018 Pioneer Award.

Whatis the Pioneer Award?

The defense S&T community plays an essential role insupporting military commanders’ development and maintenance of capability andreadiness. Within this community there are individuals who have demonstratedand continue to demonstrate outstanding and significant technical and socialleadership. This award recognizes their contribution to the defense S&Tcommunity.

Why John Givens, Bohemia Interactive Simulations, wasselected as the Winner:

John Givens served as president of BISim (US Office), basedin Orlando, Florida, from 2010-2019. Givens helped establish the office, whichhas grown to more than 60 employees.

A long-time participant in the S&T community, Givenscreated the first live, virtual, constructive (LVC) and gaming simulationdisplayed at I/ITSEC 2004. He identified six technologies from five companiesand integrated them into a single trainer. The system was later used to definesimulation capabilities for part-task trainers as well as collective trainers.

From 2004 to 2009, Givens led the design, integration andengineering effort to develop the first U.S. Army convoy training system usinggame-based technology at Fort Eustis, filling a training gap in the Army. Foreight years, he has been the BISim program manager for the U.S. Army,implementing VBS2 for the U.S. Army’s Game After Ambush Program of Record andVBS3 for the follow-on Games for Training Program of Record. He has also servedas program manager for the U.S. Marine Corps’ use of VBS3. Givens has beeninstrumental in the development of VBS IG, which is still positively disruptingthe industry by redefining the way simulators display on an image generator.VBS IG has saved the U.S. military millions of dollars while providing enhancedtraining capability for Close Combat Tactical Trainer (CCTT).

In 2019, Givens now serves as Advisor to the Board (Military),and his new role is to ensure the BISim Group serves U.S. and other militariesthrough a deep understanding of use cases for BISim technology. Givens maintainsa specific focus on U.S. Army, U.S. Marine Corps, United States SpecialOperations Command, Central and South America and other U.S. agencies.

WhatMr. Givens has to say about his MS&T 2018 Pioneer Award Win:

John Givens,Advisor to the Board, Military, BISim: “I’m very honored tohave been recognized by MS&T Magazine and its readers in 2018 as thefirst recipient of MS&T’s Pioneer Award. Our industry continues to grow andsupply needed training devices and software, which have a proven, direct effecton service member performance and awareness. I’m fortunate to work for acompany that encourages innovation and disruption by developing simulationcapabilities that enhance the way militaries train. Last year marked a pivotalmoment for BISim when we launched the company’s second major product, VBS BlueIG, a high-fidelity, high performance whole-earth image generator. VBS Blue IGis quickly being adopted by customers for leading-edge mixed reality andvirtual reality uses as well as traditional dome-based visualization solutions.We’re continuing this momentum by leveraging our state-of-the-art VBS Blueengine to power the next generation of our desktop training software. We lookforward to sharing more about this work in the months to come.”