LES: An expert system for infantry load planning

Summary form only given. Load expert system (LES) formulates loads for individual infantry personnel at the squad level. The LES project was motivated by the historic soldier load problem an the Army's ongoing SIPE (soldier integrated protective ensemble) project. Currently running on PCs and the SIPE computer, LES can be used to plan soldier loads and provide instruction in principles governing load planning. Two versions of load expert system have been fielded: a standard desktop version and a soldier's computer version. Several enhancements are projected for LES. Preliminary results suggest LES is a viable solution to both the traditional soldier load problem and special cases, such as the SIPE configuration. Proven expert system technology has been applied to a non-trivial problem to yield a tool that can increase the probability of mission success by anticipating the soldier's ideal load for given METT-T (mission, enemy, terrain, troops, time) conditions.<
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