The U.S. Army Military Decision Making Process (MDMP), used for planning operations, is a deliberate, time
intensive, manual process. Critics state that MDMP Course of Action (COA) Analyses take too long to arrive at a
single plan. COA analysis and Running Estimate (real time comparison of a running operation against the plan)
require data to measure and compare combat actions. Many assert that the only viable way to automate and measure
proposed COAs is to use data produced by simulation. Historically, simulations have been difficult to setup,
require specially trained personnel and separate computing hardware to operate, making their application impractical
in a tactical environment.
To address these problems, we developed a concept prototype and architecture to make practical use of simulation to
support the MDMP. We believe that “fixing� the MDMP means increasing its speed through rapid automated
decision support. During development of the prototype, we explored the technical barriers and military planning
process updates that would help automate the MDMP with simulation support.
U.S. Army simulations require several major modifications to be practical in a Mission Command Information
System (MCIS) environment. First, technical support requirements must be eliminated. Second, an interface that
supports the input of plans and operations by Warfighting planners is needed. Third, Warfighters must be able to
specify measurement of COAs, plans, and operations. In addition, recognizing the human/machine boundaries in
the decision-making process, we must be mindful that simulation systems cannot present conclusions that can only
be fully developed by experienced warfighters. This paper shows how these things can be done and addresses
primary MDMP criticisms.