Circumstance Descriptors: a method for generating plan modifications and fragmentary orders

Circumstance Descriptors are offered as a way to organize spatial and other military knowledge that may be difficult to formulate, particularly the kinds of details that are most often illustrated by example. The goal is better modeling of military command elements in simulations. These Circumstance Descriptors are applied to assimilate features, both terrain objects and units, into a frame based understanding of the Situation that organizes these into roles oriented around the decisionmaking unit´s plan. A Circumstance represents a configuration of objects that may be present on the battlefield. If recognized, the effect is to splice new roles into the frame, extending it to cover the new features. A prototype has been built which demonstrates the use of these Circumstance Descriptors in both the context of planning and execution