Text Classification Methodologies Applied to Micro-Text in Military Chat

We propose methods to classify lines of military chat, or posts, which contain items of interest. We evaluated several current text categorization and feature selection methodologies on chat posts. Our chat posts are examples of 'micro-text', or text that is generally very short in length, semi-structured, and characterized by unstructured or informal grammar and language. Although this study focused specifically on tactical updates via chat, we believe the findings are applicable to content of a similar linguistic structure. Completion of this milestone is a significant first step in allowing for more complex categorization and information extraction.