Default Operational Representations of Military Organizations

Abstract

This report is a result of a study commissioned under the auspices of the C4ISR(a) Cooperative Research Program (CCRP), within the OASD(C3I)(b), to attempt to identify why information integration between battlefield systems has not progressed at the rate expected. It was observed that sometimes the most fundamental issues of battle command are overlooked, especially when automation is involved. This is because of one's natural inclination to automate manual procedures rather than exploit the true capabilities of new technologies. This report addresses one of these cases: the identification of many entities inside many interconnected computers, sometimes called the "naming problem." It is argued that this problem strikes at the heart of battle command automation process and, consequently, the development and execution of mission capability packages. However, one must not be deluded into believing that this is merely a computer science problem; it is primarily a military science problem with some computer science technology "sprinkled in." The thesis is presented that the concept of organization (or task organization) is the central around which all battle command representations revolve. In essence, the organizational structure forms a framework to which all other battlefield entities can be related, making the organizational data structures the rallying point for the integration of other databases, such as logistics, personnel, and communications. Further, it is shown that fluid orders of battle (OOBs) can most always be built by re-linking existing organizations that are part of a stable default organizational structure. For this to be effective, however, the default structure must include more nodes than provided by current staffing documents.

Open PDF

Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Feb 01, 2000
Accession Number
ADA375711

Entities

People

  • Samuel C. Chamberlain

Organizations

  • United States Army Research Laboratory

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Air Platforms
  • C4I
  • Ground and Sea Platforms
  • Human Systems
  • Materials and Manufacturing Processes
  • Space
  • Weapons Technologies

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Air Force
  • Application Software
  • Command And Control
  • Computer Programming
  • Computer Science
  • Computers
  • Doctrine
  • Flight Crews
  • Information Systems
  • Military Organizations
  • Military Science
  • Naval Warfare
  • Navy
  • Organizational Structure
  • Personnel Management
  • Unified Combatant Commands
  • Warfare

Readers

  • Database Systems and Applications
  • Joint Military Operations and Doctrine.
  • Strategic Security Studies