The Army's Use of Modeling and Simulation Moving into a New Phase in Partnership with NASA
Article by: Major Pat Delaney  (delanpj@hqda.army.mil) The U.S. Army has for a number of years now been actively involved in embedding the use of modeling and simulation (M&S) into every aspect of what it does. Besides the classical uses in areas such as training and operational analysis, the Army has embraced the concepts of simulation based acquisition (which it refers to as SMART -- Simulation and Modeling for Acquisition, Requirements and Training). Simulation based acquisition (SBA), the more common term within the Department of Defense tends to concentrate on the use of M&S as a cost/schedule/risk reducing tool for the development of new military systems such as ships and planes. Because of this focus many people tend to think of SBA as being limited to the material acquisition community. The Army breaks its M&S activities up across all its activities into three categories: Research, Development and Acquisition (RDA…the classic focus area of SBA); Advanced Concepts and Requirements (ACR….the people that struggle with if the Army should buy/modify a piece of equipment) and Training, Exercise and Military Operations (TEMO….training and exercise are as you would expect, military operations includes activities such as doctrine development, an area tightly coupled with training). The Army is realizing that SBA must combine the activities of all three domains has thus renamed SBA to SMART. As part of the Army's efforts to instill M&S as a fundamental way it does business, it holds an annual SMART conference that is designed to keep everyone abreast of progress being made. Last years conference was held in Los Angeles, California from January 26-28, 2000, was sponsored by the Secretary of the Army and was attended my many of the Army's senior leadership as a show of support for this initiative. Results of the conference plus more information about SMART can be found at www.amso.army.mil. The SMART initiative is the Army's cornerstone effort to promote the robust use of modeling and simulation technologies as an integral part of the Army modernization process. In building on the successes of previous initiatives and beginning an outreach to other government agencies that can assist the Army's SMART initiatives, as well as benefit from the Army's successes, the 2001 SMART conference will be a partnership between the Army and the National Aviation and Space Administration (NASA). Next year's SMART conference will be held at the Orlando Hyatt Regency from April 16<sup>th</sup> to April 19<sup>th</sup> 2001. Planning for the 2001 Conference is just beginning but with the inclusion of NASA and with expanding interest being shown by the commercial sector it is beginning to look like quite an example of how M&S is beginning to reshape the way the military does business. Stay tune to the website for more details of the 2001 SMART conference on the Army Model and Simulation homepage (http://www.amso.army.mil/special/smart/), as they become available.
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