OR History

MORS Oral History Project

In the September 1993 PHALANX, Clayton Thomas, FS, AFSAA/SAN, listed several books as classics in Military Operations Research (MOR). According to Thomas, these classics "have been especially influential in the development of MOR or MOR analysts."

	Blackett, P.M.S., Studies of War, Nuclear and Conventional, Hill and Wang, New York, 1962.
	Brothers, L.A., "Operations Analysis in the United States Air Force," Journal of the Operations Research Society of America, 2(1), 1954.
	Hitch, C.J., and McKean, R.N., The Economics of Defense in the Nuclear Age, Harvard University Press, Cambridge, 1960.
	Kent, G.A., "On Analysis," Air University Review, 18(4), 1967.
	Koopman, B.O., Search and Screening: General Principles with Historical Applications, Pergamon Press, NY, 1980.
	Lanchester, F.W., Aircraft in Warfare: The Dawn of the Fourth Arm, Constable and Company, London, 1916.
	Morse, P.M., and Kimball, G.E., Methods of Operations Research, Peninsula Publishing, Los Altos, CA, 1970.
	Quade, E.S., Analysis for Military Decisions, Rand McNally, Chicago, 1966.
	Solandt, O., "Observation, Experiment, and Measurement in Operations Research," Journal of Operations Research Society of America, 3(1), 1955.

In 1998 MORS republished Morse and Kimball's Methods of Operations Research; in 1999 republished Search and Screening by Bernard Koopman; and in 2000 republished Analysis for Military Decisions by E.S. Quade. Contact the MORS office to order your own personal copy of these MOR classics.

Kent's "On Analysis," was republished in PHALANX, see http://www.mors.org/publications/phalanx/feb00/OnAnalysis.htm.

As professional MORSians, we frequently read reports that are exceptional examples of good MOR analysis. If we mentor other analysts, we often pass these reports on as recommended reading. Since our MORS theme last year was "mentoring the junior analyst" we are assembling a collective recommended reading list that includes input from MORSians throughout the community. I submit the following three reports as examples I have recommended to others:

Gilchrist, Col. H. L., "A Comparative Study of World War Casualties from Gas and other Weapons," Chemical Warfare School, 1928.

Heilenday, Frank W., "V-1 Cruise Missile Attacks Against England: Lessons Learned and Lingering Myths from World War II," RAND, 1995.

Timenes, Nicolai, "Defense Against Kamikaze Attacks in World War II and Its Relevance to Anti-Ship Missile Defense," Vol I, CNA, 1970.

If you have examples of exceptional reports you've referred to other analysts as recommended reading, please send them to me at bs@group-w-inc.com. Restrict your inputs to sources readily available to most MORSians, e.g., available in the Pentagon Library or from DTIC. From your suggestions, we will publish on our web site a recommended reading list that encompasses the finest examples of MOR for our junior analysts' benefit.

Dr. Robert Sheldon, FS
MORS Past President

The following two articles were taken from the Encyclopedia of Operartions Research and Management Science. Eds. Carl Harris and Saul Gass. New Millenium Edition. Kluwer Academic Publishers. You must have Acrobat Reader to view these files. If you do not have Acrobat Reader, you can download it from the Adobe site.

AIR FORCE OPERATIONS ANALYSIS. Thomas, Clayton J, Air Force Studies and Analyses Agency, Washington, DC and Robert S. Sheldon, Military Operations Research Society, Alexandria, VA

MILITARY OPERATIONS RESEARCH. Thomas, Clayton J, Air Force Studies & Analyses Agency, Washington, DC

OR History

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Please read our disclaimer.
Send mail to corrina@mors.org with questions or comments about this web site.
Copyright 1997-2007 Military Operations Research Society
Last modified: February 01, 2007

MORS Oral History Project

Some of our links are in portable document format (pdf); they will be indicated by this symbol . To read these files you must have Acrobat Reader®. You can download Acrobat Reader® by following this link .

Please read our disclaimer. Send mail to corrina@mors.org with questions or comments about this web site. Copyright 1997-2007 Military Operations Research Society Last modified: February 01, 2007

Some of our links are in portable document format (pdf); they will be indicated by this symbol . To read these files you must have Acrobat Reader^®. You can download Acrobat Reader^®by following this link .

Please read our disclaimer.
Send mail to corrina@mors.org with questions or comments about this web site.
Copyright 1997-2007 Military Operations Research Society
Last modified: February 01, 2007