PHALANX Online December 2001 Volume 34 Number 4
Welcome to PHALANX Online, the electronic complement of the premier quarterly MORS Bulletin.
Table of Contents
- The First Word
- Announcements
- MORSS News
- Honors and Awards
- President's Corner
- Highlights From the Printed Edition
- Lead Article
- The Last Word
Feedback
THE FIRST WORD
2001 will be a year remembered in so many
ways. While this article bids homage to those associated with Military
Operations Research who were lost in the tragic events of 11 September, there
were so many good things accomplished relating to our field this year as well.
That includes the highly successful 69th MORSS at the Naval Academy in
Annapolis, MD with almost seven hundred presentations and record breaking
attendance. With a full agenda of workshops and mini-symposia, we look forward
to keeping operations analysis on the forefront in 2002.
We finally have a CD of presentations which
were validated with public disclosure forms available at the MORS office. It
contains about 100 of the unclassified presentations given at the 69th MORSS.
You can obtain one by calling the MORS office.
There are also plenty of copies of the 35th
Anniversary PHALANX Archive CD available in the MORS office.
Lee Dick, PHXOE
ANNOUNCEMENTS
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Analyzing Effects-Based Operations |
Space Workshop |
September 11, 2001 Memorial
Membership Mailing List
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MORSS NEWS
HONORS AND AWARDS
President's Corner
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HIGHLIGHTS
From The Printed Edition
Alan
Washburn concludes his article on
rising challenges in information modeling in Bits, Bangs, or Bucks? The
Coming Information Crisis -- Part II.
Dr Henry
L. Eskew revives a long-standing debate in his article Is Present-Value
Analysis Relevant in the Department of Defense?
David
F. Davis looks at a practical use of
M&S in Developing Models and Simulations for Peace Support Operations.
Robert
Estell addresses modeling fundamental
qualities in his article Abstraction and Reality -- A Fundamental Dilemma.
Lt Robert
Harder provides feedback on a field analysis problem in Routing Unmanned
Aerial Vehicles with Reusable Software Components.
John
Di Genio discusses The Future Role
of Operations Research in Resource Management.
John
Lillard addresses the importance of
proper preparation in The Wargame and the Scenario.
LTC Willie
McFadden provides an update on MORS Professional Affairs in Veeps Peep.
PHALANX LEAD ARTICLE
THE LAST WORD
The Last Word
IO Workshop Postponed to April 2002
Dr Richard Deckro, AFIT, richard.deckro@afit.edu
The workshop, Operations Research Methods for
Information Operations: A Battlespace of the 21st Century, scheduled for
October 31 through November 1 at SAIC has been postponed. The meeting has been
rescheduled for April 9th through the 11th, 2002 at Booz, Allen, Hamilton in
McClean, Virginia. We regret having to make this decision and hope no one has
been too severely inconvenienced.
The IO Workshop committee met October 17th to
review the status of the meeting and its relation to world events. Based on the
discussions at that meeting, we decided to postpone our upcoming workshop. This
was a hard decision for everyone involved. The committee felt that although we
were ready for the meeting, the current situation in the world in general, and
IO in particular, was very fluid. While our colleagues at, near, or supporting
the "pointy end of the spear" made it clear that they would do their
best to support the meeting, it became very clear that we were putting an
unnecessary burden on them at a time when they need to focus elsewhere. In
addition, we would not be able to get the mix of people we had hoped for as
participants at this time. Finally, the nature, application, and use of IO is
currently at a turning point that could leave the results of a meeting held in
October outdated in the new year. While it is a first for MORS to postpone a
meeting, we believe we have made the right decision.
We are committed to having the meeting. This
is a postponement, not a cancellation. We intend to take some intermediate steps
to keep the momentum going and to provide support to those folks that were
looking to get some answers at the end of October. The MORS office will
continue to update the workshop page on their web (http://www.mors.org/meetings/io/or_methods_for_io.htm).
We are also going post the workshop read ahead lists and investigate some other
actions.
The format of the meeting will remain the
same. We believe the delay will allow us to bring more cutting edge material
and practice to the workshop. The goal is to increase the awareness of the
relationship between IO and OR and to enhance the integration of that
relationship. An overview of IO will be given the first day, stressing
similarities and differences in joint and service perspectives on IO. We will
then break out into working groups: MOEs/BDA for IO, Intel/Decision Support
Tools, Defending Information, Human Elements in IO, and Critical
Infrastructures to work these issues. Finally, the presenters and attendees
will develop a set of IO/OR "challenges". The group will rank the top
10 challenges, outlining the needs and requirements for each. Participants are
encouraged to bring their analysis challenge areas to the meeting.
We apologize for the delay, but look forward
to having an even better workshop in April. Hope to see you there!