A Complex Dragon in a Chaotic Sea: New Science for USMC Information Age Decisionmakers.

Abstract

This paper explores the applicability of the 'new sciences' of nonlinear dynamics, deterministic chaos, and complex adaptive systems to the analysis and design of military decisionmaking processes for the information age. It begins with a review of Newtonian scientific concepts that created a worldview of system behavior still dominant today. The emergence and tenets of the new sciences are then developed with emphasis on nonlinear systems and their unique characteristics. A model of the military decisionmaking process associated with military command and control is then presented in terms of an information feedback system. This model shows the nonlinearity of such systems and the impact of their chaotic and complex attributes. Finally, the United States Marine Corps' information age concept of advanced warfighting, 'Sea Dragon,' proves well suited for a decisionmaking process designed with new science principles in mind.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Jan 01, 1996
Accession Number
ADA309477

Entities

People

  • Robert R. Logan

Organizations

  • United States Army War College

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Materials and Manufacturing Processes

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Adaptive Systems
  • Closed Loop Systems
  • Command And Control
  • Complex Adaptive Systems
  • Dynamics
  • Feedback
  • Nonlinear Dynamics
  • Nonlinear Systems
  • United States

Readers

  • Adaptive Control and Estimation with Uncertainty in Dynamic Systems.
  • Maritime Combat Support and Expeditionary Logistics.
  • Systems Analysis and Design

Technology Areas

  • Fully Networked C3
  • Fully Networked C3 - Command and Control