A Forced Entry Planning Module for Amphibious Air Assaults for the Joint Warfare Analysis Experimental Prototype

The most difficult challenge in modeling and simulating modem warfare is the attempt to address every possible scenario, operating plan and tactic. One such model is the Joint Warfare Analysis Experimental Prototype (JWAEP) being developed at the Naval Postgraduate School. A scenario in which JWAEP needs furthers development is littoral warfare, which for the Marine Corps represents amphibious assault operations. An aspect of this type of warfare is referred to as "forced entry" when friendly ports are not available in the region of interest. Forced entry occurs by air, sea, or a combination of air and sea. Although these missions are very complex, mission planning is similar for each mode of transport. This thesis introduces the Forced Entry Planning Module (FEPM), a tactical decision planning aid, and offers a test of the conceptual amphibious air assault portion of FEPM using the most current United States Marine Corps amphibious air assault doctrine. The concept was tested by constructing a standalone model, using deterministic combat attrition, to evaluate three potential methods for choosing a route to an amphibious air assault objective under uncertainty. The results indicated that each of the proposed methods predicted mission outcome under uncertainty with varying degrees of success. This limited testing has validated the concept of FEPM and the proposed methods. However, further refinement and testing is required before a final determination of which method is "best" for evaluating routes for forced entry missions is made.