In today's military computer simulations, the application of human factors to the computer generated force used for training and analysis has been identified as a growing need. While current simulations deal well with large unit formations, weapon system, and physical effects such as attrition, human factors, such as morale, cohesion, and effects of stress, are modeled less than adequately. Of the human factors affecting the psychology of a combat unit, military psychologists have identified cohesion as one of the most important. The concept of cohesion, referring to both the interpersonal relationships between soldiers in a military unit and to the moral solidarity of a military force, has been central to military analysis for many years.
Assuming that technique, tactics, and organization of combat units have changed though history, but the psychological factor of cohesion, that dictate the combat performance, has remained the same as– in other words the human factors are somewhat constant over the last centuries, it is theorized that it is possible to develop a model framework that can operationalize the concept of cohesion by measuring relationship between member of a small combat unit in relation to the individual soldiers reaction to battlefield stress. This framework will be such that it will be able to be implemented in any modeled environment that has the need to represent cohesion with in the context of a training or analysis experiment. To evaluate the assumption of constant human factors, the model will be applied within two scenarios: modeling a historical Greek phalanx unit and a modern small group conducting military operations in urban terrain (MOUT). It is objective of the thesis to evaluate the cohesion model itself as well as its influence on the observed operation results.
posted by William E.Warner, PhD @ 6:59 AM
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