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GMU C4I Center Seminar

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Challenges for modelling and simulation:
developing tools to support training and operations
in complex and populated environments

Major Kevin Galvin
British Army

Friday, November 30, 2007

ABSTRACT

The NATO Research and Technology Organisation's (RTO) Technical Report Land Operations in the Year 2020 (LO2020) came to the conclusion that NATO forces would potentially have to conduct future operations in urban areas which would be characterised by their physical structures, the presence of non-combatants and both complex well developed infrastructure on one hand and poorer ones in areas like shanty towns on the other, and that such operations will pose significant challenges for the Alliance. In addition our potential adversaries will seek to nullify our technical advantages in conventional high intensity conflict by fighting in towns and cities where collateral damage could have major impacts on our ability to ensure a local population support coalition endeavours. It is essential that NATO provides its commanders with a range of capabilities for dealing with the varying conditions of operations in urban areas. Modelling and simulation and terrain analysis tools have a key role in providing commanders with the appropriate decision support capabilities which need to be available in training as well as operations. This poses several challenges particularly if coalitions are to interoperable at all levels. This presentation will examine some of those challenges and how they can be met through the development of standards and the introduction of new behaviours so that the cultural and social aspects in complex and populated environments can be represented. In addition some UK initiatives based on recent research will be included.

BIO

Major Kevin E. Galvin BSocSc (Hons), MSc is a serving Infantry officer with over 33 years of service in the British Army. He is now the land military advisor to the UK's NITEworks project which is a MOD/Industry partnership conducting capability investigations in support of the UK's Network Enabled Capability programme. He received his MSc degree in Defence Modelling and Simulation from Cranfield University at the UK Defence Academy. His BSocSc (Hons) in Economic and Social History was from Birmingham University. He has collaborated on a number of papers at both the Command and Control Research and Technology Symposium (CCRTS) and in the Simulation Interoperability Standards Organization.