Research for EQUIPMENT

In this paper we summarize the results of a study conducted by the Center for Naval Analyses that identifies and analyzes how the Marine Corps might improve its ability to conduct Humanitarian Assistance Operations (HAOs). To achieve this objective, we (1) examined how the military has conducted HAOs in the past; (2) identified alternative ways the military can conduct these operations; and (3) assessed the relative costs of these alternatives in terms of changes in organization, training and education, doctrine and documentation, and equipment and supplies. This study is co-sponsored by the Marine Corps Combat Development Command and I Marine Expeditionary Force. We developed this summary from earlier analyses which present detailed discussions of HAO requirements and alternatives in the areas of planning, training, civil affairs and psychological operations, legal affairs, and logistics and engineering. This summary presents key results from these analyses, and integrates them into a greater whole.

In this research memorandum, we give a detailed assessment of military resources, including people, both civilian and military; useful expertise; permanent facilities, such as buildings, pools, and ball fields; and personal property items such as computers, furniture, and vocational training schools. See also CRMs 94-154, 94-155, 94-159, and 94-166.

This research contribution analyzes the problem of ordnance acquisition when the targets to be attacked are uncertain. It introduces the use of a utility function to evaluate the outcome of the attack process. Two models of the attack process are considered: The first assumes that the random target vector is attacked simultaneously with the available weapons. The second is a Sequential-Attack Model (SEAM) in which targets appear one at a time and the attack process continues as long as the current target can be attacked. The expected utility for a mix of weapons for the Simultaneous-Attack Model (SIAM) is computed as the weighted average of the expected utility of the mix of weapons against each target vector. The expected value for the SEAM is estimated by using a simulation of the attack process. It is argued that older methods of selecting weapons are biased towards special-purpose weapons and that the SIAM and SEAM models are not subjected to this deficiency. Furthermore, in spite of being the more complicated model, the SEAM approach appears more realistic in the way that it models that attack process. An operational example is used to illustrate the problem and the SEAM approach.

This paper determines whether manpower requirements can be developed that will lead to increases in the Navy's level of readiness.