Case-Studies of Decision Support Models for Collaboration in Tactical Mobile Environments

The paper addresses experimental studies of decision support models for collaboration in tactical network-centric operations. This project, supported by partners from Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory LLNL, US Special Operations Command SOCOM, Swedish Armed Forces, Austria, and Singapore. Naval Postgraduate Schools NPS Tactical Network Topology TNT is the base for the testbed, comprised of long-haul OFDM networks combined with self-forming wireless mesh links to unmanned aerial vehicles UAVs, radiation detection sensors, and geographically distributed experts. The case-study conducted by the NPS student team during the Summer of 2006 included Maritime Interdiction Operation MIO, High-Value Target HVT tracking, and Emergency Response coordination scenarios, in which geographically distributed command centers and subject matter experts collaborate to facilitate situational understanding and course of action selection. During the study NPS students observed communication processes of geographically distributed teams and were able to position collaborative process in the decision making space of Simon's problem solving model, Boyd's OODA Loop, and Alberts and Hayes' Collaboration Significant Influences model. The results show high fidelity of Alberts and Hayes' Collaboration Significant Influences model and reveal the requirements to collaborative network topology as well as multi participant team structures. Presented at the International Command and Control Research and Technology Symposium (12th) 12th ICCRTS Held 19-21 June 2007 in Newport, RI. The original document contains color images.