Identification of Critical Factor Sets for Close range Engagements in Urban Operations

The dynamic and asymmetric environment of today´s battlefield and the proliferation of technologically advanced equipment at the soldier level have increased the need for more accurate and higher-fidelity modeling of the individual soldier in combat Traditionally, the focus of the combat modeling community has been on large-scale battlefield platforms and unit-level analyses. Consequently, the representation of the individual soldier on the battlefield has not kept pace with other representations. These Infantry soldier models require unprecedented fidelity in terms of the Infantry soldier entity, his behavioral and decision processes, and his environment. In order to enable the modeling community to more accurately represent the individual soldier in combat simulations in a timely and cost-effective manner, it has become important to first identify and develop the critical factors and functions that have the greatest impacts on soldier lethality, survivability, and combat effectiveness in close range (0-50 m), team sized engagements. We used the systems decision process (SDP) to identify these critical factors and recommend to our client the order in which they should be addressed by the modeling community. Our application of standard systems engineering tools led to a unique characterization of the factors considered most critical for the accurate representation of individual soldiers in close range engagements. The result will be an ordered set of factors that will help to focus the efforts of the modeling community and ensure the more timely and cost effective integration of soldier behavioral and decision-making aspects into combat simulations. Our paper will discuss the problem background and methodology we applied to find critical factors that will enhance the modeling and accurate representation of the individual soldier in a close combat situation.