COMBINED ARMS BATTLE LOGISTICS SIMULATION

EVEN THOUGH THE NEED TO MAINTAIN COMBAT READINESS REMAINS HIGH, THE NUMBER AND SCOPE OF OPERATIONAL TRAINING MANEUVERS, LIVE-FIRE EXERCISES, AND LOW-LEVEL FLIGHT TRAINING CONTINUES TO DECREASE BECAUSE OF SAFETY, SECURITY AND ENVIRONMENTAL CONCERNS, AS WELL AS BUDGETARY LIMITATIONS. BECAUSE OF THESE CONSTRAINTS, A DISTRIBUTED SIMULATION OF A COMBINED ARMS BATTLE WAS PREVIOUSLY DEVELOPED TO PROVIDE TRAINING IN BATTLEFIELD TACTICS. HOWEVER, THE SIMULATION LACKS A REALISTIC TREATMENT OF LOGISTICS OPERATIONS. THE SIGNIFICANCE OF THIS DEFICIENCY WAS RECENTLY DEMONSTRATED BY THE MAJOR CONTRIBUTION THAT WELL-EXECUTED LOGISTICS MADE TO THE SUCCESS OF OPERATIONS DESERT SHIELD AND DESERT STORM. THE LONG TERM GOAL OF THIS PROJECT IS TO DEVELOP A REALISTIC LOGISTICS SIMULATION THAT CAN BE READILY INTEGRATED INTO THE EXISTING SIMULATION NETWORK. THE PHASE I GOAL OF THIS PROJECT IS TO DEVELOP REQUIREMENTS AND A CONCEPTUAL DESIGN FOR THIS SIMULATION. THE REQUIREMENTS WILL BE DEVELOPED IN A TOP-DOWN STRUCTURED MANNER. THE CONCEPTUAL DESIGN WILL INCORPORATE A KNOWLEDGE-BASED APPROACH. ANTICIPATED BENEFITS/POTENTIAL COMMERCIAL APPLICATIONS - SUCCESSFUL COMPLETION OF PHASE I OF THIS PROJECT IS A PREREQUISITE FOR THE DETAILED DESIGN AND IMPLEMENTATION OF THE LOGISTICS COMPONENT OF AN EXISTING TACTICAL TRAINING SIMULATION. THE APPLICATION OF KNOWLEDGE-BASED TECHNIQUES WILL CONTRIBUTE TO A DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE GOAL THAT HAS BEEN RECENTLY SET FOR BATTLE MANAGEMENT SIMULATIONS.