The application of modelling and simulation in support of operational decision making during land operations (original) (raw)

Contemporary military interventions are aimed to influence the complex dynamics of a conflict to create a stable situation in which further outside intervention is no longer necessary. To this end, an operational commander has to translate a desired end-state to tactical activities conducted by the units under his or her command, in coordination with other acting organizations. Modelling and simulation (M&S) could serve as a capability for a commander to structure available information and derive insight into the situation to assist decision making. Within the Netherlands Armed Forces, qualitative techniques, such as Causal Loop Diagrams and problem structuring methods such as MARVEL are used to this end (Barros & Monsuur, 2011; Heesmans, 2008; Veldhuis et al. 2015). However, the simulation capabilities of M&S methods (such as stock-and-flow models) are normally not used within the operational decision making process. This paper reports some results from an on-going study conducted ...