M.A. / Please refer to full text to view abstract

Naval operational planning is complex because it is dependent on uncertain future combat conditions. Effective decision making is directly related to the validity of assumptions regarding future combat scenarios and the appropriateness of selected procedures. A two phase procedure for comparing multiple combat tactics is developed in this thesis. In the first phase of the procedure, simulation models are developed to replicate combat under each tactic. The models generate data for performance measures that are relevant for comparing a wide range of tactics. In the second phase of the procedure, the data for the performance measures are analyzed using the sign test or the Wilcoxon signed ranked test. The applicability of simulation modeling, appropriateness of the performance measures, and the use of sign test to compare combat tactics with any degree of complexity is established in this study. An application of this procedure is illustrated using two hypothetical tactics. / Master of Science

Approved for public release, distribution unlimited / S) technologies to demonstrate a prototypical planning tool that can be used by today's deployed warfighter. All research and work is conducted in a web-based, 'user-centric' fashion utilizing a combination of user-driven and agentbased control of entities for simulation iterations, along with various open source technologies which include Extensible 3D Graphics (X3D), Scalable Vector Graphics (SVG), and Extensible Markup Language (XML). Conventions are demonstrated for the integration of the many academic disciplines utilized during this research to achieve automatic generation of tactically significant scenarios. In order to give the end-user the greatest insight towards potential drawbacks in the tactical planning against surface-borne terrorist threats, various 2D and 3D media provide both real-time and non-real time scenario playback. The result of this work is a fully integrated, prototypical, Java-based application that demonstrates how various Open-Source, web-based technologies can be applied in order to provide the tactical operator with tools to aid in Force Protection planning. Scenarios can be auto generated, viewed, analyzed, and manipulated by end users with little to no computer experience necessary beyond requirements for operation of a desktop personal computer (PC) in the Information Technology for the 21st Century (IT-21) environment at sea. This approach has broad applicability to improve the tactical awareness and defensive posture of ships defending against terrorist attacks in port. / Lieutenant, United States Navy

Thesis (M.S. in Computer Science)--Naval Postgraduate School, March 2003. / Thesis advisor(s): Donald P. Brutzman, Curtis L. Blais, Gordon Schacher, John Hiles. Includes bibliographical references (p. 216-224). Also available online.

CHDS State/Local / Approved for public release, distribution is unlimited / This thesis proposes the development of a Massively Multiplayer On-Line Game (MMOG) to deliver Weapons of Mass Destruction Training to the nation's first responders and civilians. MMOG technology offers a cost effective alternative to existing training methodologies. Existing first responder WMD training often uses traditional in-residence classes. These current training methods are expensive, lack standardization, and do not have provable outcomes. Scaling up existing training to meet the needs of millions of responders would be cost prohibitive. Modern information technologies such as MMOGs offer a safe, efficient, effective and fun alternative mechanism to deliver training. MMOGs could scale to meet the volume of training need at a fraction of the cost of traditional methods. The DoD has proven the effectiveness of simulation games as a training tool, and the use of gaming and simulations is recognized in academia. / Captain, Seattle Fire Department

We consider the problem of strategic adversarial planning in a Real-Time Strategy (RTS) game. Strategic adversarial planning is the generation of a network of high-level tasks to satisfy goals while anticipating an adversary's actions. In this thesis we describe an abstract state and action space used for planning in an RTS game, an algorithm for generating strategic plans, and a modular architecture for controllers that generate and execute plans. We describe in detail planners that evaluate plans by simulation and select a plan by Game Theoretic criteria. We describe the details of a low-level module of the hierarchy, the combat module. We examine a theoretical performance guarantee for policy switching in Markov Games, and show that policy switching agents can underperform fixed strategy agents. Finally, we present results for strategy switching planners playing against single strategy planners and the game engine's scripted player. The results show that our strategy switching planners outperform single strategy planners in simulation and outperform the game engine's scripted AI. / Graduation date: 2013

Thesis (M.A. in Security Studies (Homeland Security and Defense))--Naval Postgraduate School, June 2004. / Thesis advisor(s): Ted Lewis, Rudy Darken. Includes bibliographical references (p. 105-113). Also available online.

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Thesis (M.S. in Modeling, Virtual Environments and Simulation (MOVES))--Naval Postgraduate School, September 2009. / Thesis Advisor(s): Blais, Curtis ; Appleget, Jeff. "September 2009." Description based on title screen as viewed on 5 November 2009. Author(s) subject terms: Genetic algorithms, military decision making process, mission planning, course of action, wargaming, battle simulation. Includes bibliographical references (p. 97-98). Also available in print.