Thesis (M.S. in Modeling, Virtual Environments, and Simulation (MOVES))--Naval Postgraduate School, December 2009. / Thesis Advisor(s): Buss, Arnold. Second Reader: Meyer, David. "December 2009." Description based on title screen as viewed on January 28, 2010. Author(s) subject terms: Discrete Event Simulation, airlift operation. Includes bibliographical references (p. 145-147). Also available in print.

This project deals with the modelling and the simulation, its basic characteristics as well as its respective branches. The majority of the project is aimed at modelling and simulation in military environment with a description of the asset in this area while considering different uses of these simulations. I also introduce the development of modelling and simulation in the army of Czech Republic. The project also deals with the constructive simulation and tries to bring out the OneSAF Testbed Baseline simulation system. At last, I propose some concepts of models for this particular simulation system - the model of psychological effects and the model of generating the rubble during the operations of the artillery.

[pt] Desde o início de do século XIX, simulações de combate são utilizadas em treinamentos militares. Para que um treinamento ocorra de forma confiável é necessário envolver uma grande quantidade de militares nos adestramentos. No final de 1940, a ideia de agentes computacionais em inteligência artificial se mostrou uma excelente ferramenta, contribuindo para reduzir esta quantidade de pessoas envolvidas nas simulações de combate. Agentes capazes de perceber o ambiente em que estão inseridos e tomar decisões, agindo sobre ele, seguindo um conjunto de regras podem representar o comportamento de um soldado. Agentes inseridos numa simulação militar devem então, perceber o campo de batalha e tomar uma série de ações com base em uma doutrina militar. Logo, o objetivo deste trabalho é apresentar, através da modelagem de agentes computacionais uma definição do comportamento destes baseados na doutrina militar, para que estes agentes possam substituir parte dos militares evolvidos em uma simulação de combate, sem afetar a confiabilidade desta. Além de tornar os sistemas de simulação mais eficientes reduzindo a quantidade de militares necessária para a sua correta aplicação, este trabalho também ajuda a verificar a consistência lógica das ações descritas nos manuais doutrinários. / [en] Since the beginning of nineteenth century combat simulations are used in military training. It s necessary to involve lots of military to these trainings occur reliably. In the late 1940s the idea of computational agents was developed in artificial intelligence and showed as an excellent tool to reduce the amount of personnel involved in combat simulations. Agents perceive the environment where they are inserted and take actions upon it following a set of rules. That reminds the behavior of a soldier. A soldier, or a group of then, perceive the battlefield and take a series of actions based on military doctrine. Therefore, the scope of this work is to present a viable way to define the behavior of computational agents based on military doctrine, so that they can replace some of the personnel involved in a combat simulation without affecting the reliability of the training in course. In addition making more efficient simulation systems, reducing the amount of required military for its proper implementation, can also help to check the logical consistency of the actions planned in the doctrinal manuals.

This dissertation describes a research study conducted to determine the benefits and use of ontology technologies to support a simulation environment that evaluates countermeasures employed to protect military aircraft. Within the military, aircraft represent a significant investment and these valuable assets need to be protected against various threats, such as man-portable air-defence systems. To counter attacks from these threats, countermeasures are deployed, developed and evaluated by utilising modelling and simulation techniques. The system described in this research simulates real world scenarios of aircraft, missiles and countermeasures in order to assist in the evaluation of infra-red countermeasures against missiles in specified scenarios. Traditional ontology has its origin in philosophy, describing what exists and how objects relate to each other. The use of formal ontologies in Computer Science have brought new possibilities for modelling and representation of information and knowledge in several domains. These advantages also apply to military information systems where ontologies support the complex nature of military information. After considering ontologies and their advantages against the requirements for enhancements of the simulation system, an ontology was constructed by following a formal development methodology. Design research, combined with the adaptive methodology of development, was conducted in a unique way, therefore contributing to establish design research as a formal research methodology. The ontology was constructed to capture the knowledge of the simulation system environment and the use of it supports the functions of the simulation system in the domain. The research study contributes to better communication among people involved in the simulation studies, accomplished by a shared vocabulary and a knowledge base for the domain. These contributions affirmed that ontologies can be successfully use to support military simulation systems / Computing / M. Tech. (Information Technology)

La pratique de simulations militaires ne cesse de croître en popularité au sein de la population civile québécoise, et nous en savons jusqu’à maintenant très peu sur ces activités marginales et sur le risque que peuvent poser de tels entraînements. En considérant divers processus d’apprentissage, nous nous intéressons aux simulations militaires pour mieux comprendre la façon dont ces apprentissages peuvent mener à la création d’un capital préjudiciable pouvant expliquer un passage à des actes de violence extrême. Nous proposons et appuyons empiriquement une approche sociocriminologique visant à mieux comprendre ce qu’on appelle la radicalisation violente, en avançant que tout comportement délinquant doit être appris, au même titre que n’importe quel autre comportement, ce qui suggère inévitablement qu’une certaine compétence est nécessaire pour exécuter un acte délinquant. Ainsi, nous posons la question de recherche suivante : comment pourrions-nous mieux comprendre le processus menant à la commission d’un acte de violence extrême en nous intéressant aux apprentissages découlant de simulations militaires et menant au développement d’un capital préjudiciable? En utilisant une méthodologie mixte comprenant des observations, des questionnaires et des entretiens, nous faisons ressortir que l’étude de la radicalisation dans une perspective uniquement idéologique est insuffisante pour dresser un portrait complet de ce phénomène complexe. Même si nos résultats démontrent que, dans les communautés que nous avons étudiées, de nombreux affects positifs amènent les participants à adopter des comportements prosociaux, nous établissons aussi qu’ils développent un capital préjudiciable. Ces affects positifs se présentent sous différentes formes de contrôle social informel issues des normes sociales dominantes, de la pluralité des acteurs et des personnalités influentes du milieu. Quant au capital préjudiciable, il provient premièrement d’apprentissages de techniques de combat avancées pouvant faciliter la commission d’actes de violence extrême. Les participants apprennent notamment le maniement tactique d’armes à feu et d’autres engins explosifs improvisés. De plus, nous soutenons que ces activités peuvent avoir un impact sur leur jugement moral, puisqu’elles présentent plusieurs formes de banalisations pour des pratiques liées à la commission d’un acte violent. Parmi celles-ci, nous soulignons que l’activité consiste à pointer et tirer quelqu’un avec une arme de manière répétitive, alors que les participants rationalisent ces actions en utilisant un vocabulaire qui ne décrit pas concrètement les gestes violents qu’ils commettent. / Civilian military simulations are gaining more and more popularity within the Province of Quebec, and we know very little about what constitutes this marginal activity and the risk that can account from this type of training. Considering different learning processes, we suggest to look at military simulations to see how the learning of detrimental capital can explain how an individual or a group are achieving acts of extreme violence. We propose and empirically support a socio-criminological approach for a better understanding of extreme violence radicalization, and we think that delinquent behavior must be learned, as any other behavior, which inevitably suggests some competency to achieve it. Thus, we ask the following research question: through exploring the acquisition of detrimental capital in civilian military simulations, how can we better understand the process leading to the commission of an act of extreme violence? Using a mixed method of ethnographic observations, surveys and interviews, we highlight how the study of the processes of radicalization in a single ideological perspective is insufficient for having a complete picture of the phenomenon. Even if we are demonstrating that within the observed communities, lots of positive affect are influencing participants toward unfavorable definitions for delinquent behaviors, we are also showing that they acquire detrimental capital. These positive affects come in different forms of informal social control from dominant social norms, plurality of actors and internal influential personalities. Regarding detrimental capital, it originates from the learning of advanced combat techniques that are often used for the commission of extreme violence. Among them, participants learn particular tactical handling of firearms and other improvised explosive devices. In addition, we figure that these activities may have an impact on their moral judgment, since they offer several forms of banalization of practices related to the commission of such acts. Of these, we emphasize that the activity consists in aiming and shooting at someone repeatedly with a gun, whereas participants rationalize these actions using terms that do not directly describe their violent actions.

This dissertation describes a research study conducted to determine the benefits and use of ontology technologies to support a simulation environment that evaluates countermeasures employed to protect military aircraft. Within the military, aircraft represent a significant investment and these valuable assets need to be protected against various threats, such as man-portable air-defence systems. To counter attacks from these threats, countermeasures are deployed, developed and evaluated by utilising modelling and simulation techniques. The system described in this research simulates real world scenarios of aircraft, missiles and countermeasures in order to assist in the evaluation of infra-red countermeasures against missiles in specified scenarios. Traditional ontology has its origin in philosophy, describing what exists and how objects relate to each other. The use of formal ontologies in Computer Science have brought new possibilities for modelling and representation of information and knowledge in several domains. These advantages also apply to military information systems where ontologies support the complex nature of military information. After considering ontologies and their advantages against the requirements for enhancements of the simulation system, an ontology was constructed by following a formal development methodology. Design research, combined with the adaptive methodology of development, was conducted in a unique way, therefore contributing to establish design research as a formal research methodology. The ontology was constructed to capture the knowledge of the simulation system environment and the use of it supports the functions of the simulation system in the domain. The research study contributes to better communication among people involved in the simulation studies, accomplished by a shared vocabulary and a knowledge base for the domain. These contributions affirmed that ontologies can be successfully use to support military simulation systems / Computing / M. Tech. (Information Technology)