Simulating small unit military operations with agent-based models of complex adaptive systems

This tutorial introduces concepts for modeling small unit combat as complex adaptive systems (CAS). It begins with a “human-centric” view of the individual combatant and small unit operations,which incorporates the concept of the individual as an integrated weapon system, the Warrior System. It addresses representation of situation awareness/situation understanding (SA/SU), and “soft” factors - morale, leadership, training, nationality/ethnicity, through agent-based modeling (ABM). ABM supports exploration of SA/SU by allowing each agent an idiosyncratic, perception-based view of the environment, rather than the simulation “god's eye” view of ground truth. Using ABM further supports the view of small unit operations as CAS - dynamically interacting open systems, characterized by “emergence”, with non-linear and chaotic behaviors. A critical problem for Warrior Systems analysis is the lack of engineering models of complex integrated systems. ABM/CAS addresses this lack by “growing” or “evolving” engineering models of systems whose complexity resists traditional reductionist approaches.