Comparison of a Distributed Operations force to a traditional force in urban combat

• Main Author: Babilot, Michael J.
• Other Authors: Lucas, Thomas
• Format: Others
• Published: Monterey, California. Naval Postgraduate School 2012
• Subjects: Operations research; Urban warfare
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/10945/2017

uction efforts. This thesis explores whether a DO is suitable for urban combat operations by analyzing the results of simulations created in Map Aware Non-uniform Automata (MANA). The employment of a DO is compared to employment of a traditional Marine infantry platoon in an urban combat scenario based upon data obtained from Operation al-Fajr, conducted in Fallujah, Iraq, in November 2004. The study also examines the effects caused by varying the terrain to that of Range 200, constructed at the Marine Air Ground Training Command, Twentynine Palms, California. Modeling insights, obtained by surveying Marines with urban combat experience in Iraq, tie into the research effort. This research indicates that the DO is marginally more effective than a Traditional Platoon in urban combat. DO also shows a greater sensitivity to combat outcomes due to urban density, and produced significantly better results in terrain with a lesser density of urban structures.