Complexity Theory and Network Centric Warfare.Complexity Theory and Network Centric Warfare, Information Age Transformation Series, by James Moffat James Moffat (born 1922 in Australia, died 1993 in England), was an author who wrote under several pen names. He produced many pulp novels for the United Kingdom publishing house New English Library during the 1970s. . Command and Control Research Program (http://www.dodccrp.org), Pentagon, Washington, DC 20301, 2003, 161 pages (softcover). Available free from http://www.dodccrp.org/files/Moffat_Complexity.pdf. Complexity Theory and Network Centric Warfare is a concise but technical text on the emerging study of complexity in warfare. No pun intended, but "complex" does indeed convey one's first impression of this offering from the Command and Control Research Program (CCRP CCRP College Curriculum Renewal Project CCRP Command and Control Research Program CCRP Common Controls Replacement Project CCRP Certified Clinical Research Professional CCRP Certified Canine Rehabilitation Practitioner CCRP C4ISR Cooperative Research Program ). Not light reading but rather strongly based on advanced calculus and physics, the book speaks to the engineering and scientific community concerned with command and control; however, the concepts apply to all military thinkers who have their eyes on the future of warfare. Ultimately, Complexity Theory serves as a superb reference of computer-modeling data and statistical proof, a catalogue of relevant equations, and, most importantly Adv. 1. most importantly - above and beyond all other consideration; "above all, you must be independent" above all, most especially , a repository of insight into human behavior in warfare. Author James Moffat, a highly regarded Senior Fellow of the Defence Science and Technology Laboratory (United Kingdom), has 20 years' experience as a scholar of applied mathematics and operational research. Dedicated to understanding the relationship between command and control and network-centric warfare, the CCRP includes human behavior in its scientific modeling of future warfare. Dr. Moffat's contribution continues his previous work on "captur[ing] the key effects of human decision-making" in relation to command, control, communications, computers, intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance An activity that synchronizes and integrates the planning and operation of sensors, assets, and processing, exploitation, and dissemination systems in direct support of current and future operations. This is an integrated intelligence and operations function. Also called ISR. (p. 161). He uses complexity theory liberally to define the interaction of complex systems and their environment. Herein, "complex systems" means modern armies (system) and warfare (environment). Dr. Moffat proposes a nonlinear approach to warfare--that is, events in battle happen simultaneously and chaotically--and tidily summarizes his intent by noting that "capturing the process of intelligent agents in conflict, set within a widely divergent set of possible futures, leads to a rich set of possible trajectories of system evolution for analysis to consider.... This is the domain of Complexity Theory" (p. 48). His approach is both intellectually stimulating and philosophically intriguing. Opening the text with an explanation of complexity theory by using the relatively common language of thermodynamics, Dr. Moffat presents an easily understood thesis: no system is closed but is acted upon by many external factors. He cleverly uses an ecosystem as a thorough example of his theory (p. 17). Internally, an ecosystem is codependent on its inhabitants to create and continue life. Externally, the ways that the ecosystem goes about creating and maintaining life are directly proportional to how the outside environment affects it. The rain forest maintains itself as an ecosystem, but its survival depends equally upon its reaction and adaptation to external pressures (i.e., changing weather patterns, human deforestation deforestation Process of clearing forests. Rates of deforestation are particularly high in the tropics, where the poor quality of the soil has led to the practice of routine clear-cutting to make new soil available for agricultural use. , etc.). After each mathematical statement, the author immediately cites a real-world example to model his mathematical imagery for the reader--a refreshing visualization device for individuals unable to grasp the math quickly. Therefore, the middle portion of Complexity Theory uses these various, naturally occurring examples (trees in a forest or cell biology) to relate similarities with human interaction in warfare. This allows the reader to form an abstract, multilevel understanding of how chaos becomes orderly. Although Dr. Moffat pursues an impressive range of discussion and topics throughout the book, it is not comprehensive. Nevertheless, it represents a major inroad in·road n. 1. A hostile invasion; a raid. 2. An advance, especially at another's expense; an encroachment. Often used in the plural: Foreign products have made inroads into the American economy. to this evolving methodology of warfare by stressing the nonlinearity of conflict, networking at every level, and the trend from chaos to order in relation to time as battlefield events progress. A diligent complement to the CCRP's growing canon of work, Complexity Theory offers readers, especially strategic thinkers, a glimpse into the future and an outstanding reference for mathematical models relating to complexity. Capt Raymond P. Akin, USAF Los Angeles AFB AFB abbr. acid-fast bacillus AFB Acid-fast bacillus, also 1. Aflatoxin B 2. Aorto-femoral bypass , California |
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