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Theses and Dissertations

2001

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Institution
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Iasc: A Structure To Achieve A Unified Global Accounting System, Mike Waite May 2001

Iasc: A Structure To Achieve A Unified Global Accounting System, Mike Waite

Theses and Dissertations

The aim of this paper is to analyze the International Accounting Standards Committee (IASC) and the structure it has in place to develop a unified global accounting system. A unified global system implies a single accounting system that is implemented around the world creating readily comparable and accurate accounting information for the global community. The extent to which a single system is all encompassing is an important factor in this analysis because the levels of support for various international accounting systems are likely to vary according to the level of harmonization sought. For example, a proposal to require a certain …

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Integer Approximation Of Real Valued Preference Curves, Richard M. Antoine May 2001

Integer Approximation Of Real Valued Preference Curves, Richard M. Antoine

Theses and Dissertations

A primary challenge of the AFIT Mission Resource Value Assessment Tool is to approximate a given preference curve with integer valued mission ready resources. This thesis evaluated four candidate methods of accomplishing this approximation. The thesis evaluated the implementation of the integer estimation approximation from a purely mathematical perspective. The models were measured against six quality and error measurement standards: convergence on an endpoint, convergence on any interior integer points, characterization of the overall error between the sequence of integer coordinates and the real valued linear function and characterization of the error in each individual dimension of the problem space. …

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Identification Of Preferred Operational Plan Force Mixes Using A Multiobjective Methodology To Optimize Resource Suitability And Lift Cost, David J. Wakefield Jr. Mar 2001

Identification Of Preferred Operational Plan Force Mixes Using A Multiobjective Methodology To Optimize Resource Suitability And Lift Cost, David J. Wakefield Jr.

Theses and Dissertations

AFIT research in support of the Advanced Logistics Project is directed at developing a Mission-Resource Value Assessment Tool for rationally assigning relative value to resources and identifying alternative force mixes to logistics and operational planners. Research of factors that affect force mix composition has been strictly limited to how the operating environment of USAF combat aircraft influences their performance in specified aerospace missions. In contrast, this research makes use of an aircraft's designed suitability to perform specified aerospace missions in order to examine the tradeoff between mission suitability and the amount of lift needed to deploy and operate the asset. …

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Jp-8+100lt: A Low Cost Replacement Of Jpts As The Primary Fuel For The U-2 Aircraft, Christian G. Simms Mar 2001

Jp-8+100lt: A Low Cost Replacement Of Jpts As The Primary Fuel For The U-2 Aircraft, Christian G. Simms

Theses and Dissertations

The Air Force currently spends approximately $ 10 million dollars annually on fuel support for the U-2 aircraft. The U-2 has used a jet fuel known as JPTS since the aircraft's development in the 1950's. JPTS is a specialty fuel used only by the U-2 and is produced by two oil refineries in the United States. As such, it has limited worldwide availability and costs over three times the per-gallon price of the Air Force's primary jet fuel, JP-8. Recent research performed at the Air Force Research Laboratory Propulsion Directorate suggests that additives could be added to JP-8, which would …

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Analysis Of The Effect Of Centralizing Management Of Mobility Readiness Spares Package Assets, Ian R. Hester Mar 2001

Analysis Of The Effect Of Centralizing Management Of Mobility Readiness Spares Package Assets, Ian R. Hester

Theses and Dissertations

Air Force supply doctrine requires the management of large numbers of spare parts in Mobility Readiness Spares Packages (MRSPs). The MRSPs are designed to support deployed aircraft for the first 30 days of a conflict, and can be quite large. When units from several bases deploy to the same operating location, they each bring their full MRSP. This results in a large logistics footprint that may be reduced by taking a system-level approach. This thesis examined the impact of centralized MRSP management on kit size and cost. The Aircraft Sustainability Model (ASM) computer program was used to evaluate MRSPs for …

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Pitfalls Of The A-76 Process, Justin W. Lavadour Mar 2001

Pitfalls Of The A-76 Process, Justin W. Lavadour

Theses and Dissertations

The DoD and the Air Force have turned to outsourcing support functions as a way to reduce both costs and the number of soldiers required to provide Support for combat forces. The process used to determine whether it is economically feasible to outsource a function is called A-76, after the circular that describes the process. Outsourcing, like any other tool, must be used in the right way, in the correct environment if the desired goal to be reached. To understand what these goals are, it is necessary to examine past case studies where outsourcing has worked, to determine why outsourcing …

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Logistics Transformation: Centralizing Air Force Logistics Information Command And Control, Darrell O. Burghard Mar 2001

Logistics Transformation: Centralizing Air Force Logistics Information Command And Control, Darrell O. Burghard

Theses and Dissertations

Current Air Force logistics information systems do not provide Air Force leaders and single managers a real-time sole-source logistics information system able to assess current capabilities and identify potential future problem items prior to becoming systemic problem parts. Centralizing information may provide improved command and control and support of the warfighter by reducing the time it takes to track down and identify information. Using a Value Focused Thinking approach, this thesis explored how the Air Force can improve the accessibility of Air Force logistics information. This study began at the behest of the AFMC LG/CD in an effort to determine …

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Organizational Design Of Most Efficient Organization Air Force Civil Engineer Operations Flights, Jeffrey A. Payne Mar 2001

Organizational Design Of Most Efficient Organization Air Force Civil Engineer Operations Flights, Jeffrey A. Payne

Theses and Dissertations

This research explored how two MEO Operations Flights were structured and what type of operations management practices they were utilizing. The research involved performing site visits at the 17th Civil Engineer Squadron at Goodfellow AFB, and the 14th Civil Engineer Squadron at Columbus AFB. Data was collected through the use of the case study methodology in the form of interviews and organizational records. Data was organized to describe the two MEO's structures and management practices as well as compare the organizations to the Objective Operations Flight, the traditional Air Force Operations Flight. The data showed that both MEO's have taken …

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Relating Initial Budget To Program Growth With Rayleigh And Weibull Models, Eric J. Unger Mar 2001

Relating Initial Budget To Program Growth With Rayleigh And Weibull Models, Eric J. Unger

Theses and Dissertations

Previous research on completed defense R&D shows that contract expenditures can be fit well with a Rayleigh model. With fixed outlay rates, as prescribed by the OSD comptroller, the budget profile must have most of the funds in the early years to produce Rayleigh-distributed expenditures. R&D programs with more delayed funding profiles may also produce expenditures that a Rayleigh model fits through schedule slips and cost overruns. This research tests how well the initial funding profile produces Rayleigh-distributed expenditures that can be related to the program's final cost overrun and schedule slips. Based only on the initial budget profile, we …

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Analysis Of The Next Generation Small Loader (Ngsl) In Reducing The Mobility Footprint, Victor A. Anaya Mar 2001

Analysis Of The Next Generation Small Loader (Ngsl) In Reducing The Mobility Footprint, Victor A. Anaya

Theses and Dissertations

The impact the Next Generation Small Loader (NGSL) will have on reducing the mobility footprint has not been thoroughly explored. The global mobility system cannot function without adequate Materiel Handling Equipment (MHE). MHE of the future must be multi-purpose in design and should able to support multiple weapon systems. In addition, it will require less maintenance and be easier to deploy thus making air mobility operations more responsive to customer needs. Current MHE is old and labor intensive. The Air Mobility Command's (AMC's) small loaders, especially 25K loaders, are in very poor condition and are incapable of servicing KC-1Os and …

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The Distributer's Three-Dimensional Pallet-Packing Problem: A Human Intelligence-Based Heuristic Approach, Erhan Baltacioglu Mar 2001

The Distributer's Three-Dimensional Pallet-Packing Problem: A Human Intelligence-Based Heuristic Approach, Erhan Baltacioglu

Theses and Dissertations

The Distributor's Pallet Packing Problem is to load a set of distinct boxes with given dimensions on pallets or in containers to maximize volume utilization. This problem is still in its early stages of research, but there is a high level of interest in developing effective models to solve this NP-hard problem to reduce the time, energy and other resources spent in packing pallets. In its search to improve operations, the Air Force is also making an effort to solve this problem. Building an analytical model and developing a genetic algorithm approach have been tried, but the problem needs more …

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Factors Influencing The Air Force Cycle Ergometry Fitness Assessment, Heather M. Hunn Mar 2001

Factors Influencing The Air Force Cycle Ergometry Fitness Assessment, Heather M. Hunn

Theses and Dissertations

This research investigated the influence of exercise activities, situational factors, and personality on the Air Force submaximal cycle ergometry test (SCET). Data were collected via a questionnaire administered to 209 active duty students and faculty assigned to the Air Force Institute of Technology during their required annual SCET. Stepwise multiple regression and ANOVA were used to find the proportion of variance explained by the significant predictors of SCET results for various subsets of the sampled population. For the group as a whole, self-reported test anxiety explained 24% of the variance in SCET results, while reported aerobic caloric expenditure during exercise …

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The Effect Of Improving The Logistics Pipeline On Supply Support Of Aerospace Expeditionary Forces, Steven L. Martinez Mar 2001

The Effect Of Improving The Logistics Pipeline On Supply Support Of Aerospace Expeditionary Forces, Steven L. Martinez

Theses and Dissertations

One of the biggest considerations for an Aerospace Expeditionary Force (AEF), in terms of cost and airlift requirement, is the use of aircraft spares kits to support combat operations. To date, these kits are built on the assumption that there would be no resupply for the first 30 days of a contingency. However, with more efficient transportation and information resources available today, it seems logical that resupply would occur much more quickly. If so, the Air Force should be able to trim its wartime stocks of aircraft spares. This thesis investigated the effect of improving the logistics pipeline on the …

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Analysis Of Factors Influencing Tolerance Of Fraternization, George J. Matusak Iii Mar 2001

Analysis Of Factors Influencing Tolerance Of Fraternization, George J. Matusak Iii

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis explores several factors that might explain discrepancies in the tolerance level of fraternization among company grade officers within the Air Force. Factors that may influence implementation may include the nature of the relationship (platonic or sexual), the sex of the participants (same or different gender or gender of the senior person), whether the incident occurred between people in the same chain of command, and whether the survey respondent was ever stationed at a remote location. This research used a survey sent out to a population of company grade officers and comprising of scenarios that varied the combination of …

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An Analysis Of The Interaction Between The J3 And J4 War Planning Staffs During The Phases Of Crisis Action Planning, Michael J. Colvard Mar 2001

An Analysis Of The Interaction Between The J3 And J4 War Planning Staffs During The Phases Of Crisis Action Planning, Michael J. Colvard

Theses and Dissertations

A principal operational concept of Joint Vision 2020 is that of Focused Logistics, which promotes a merger of information and logistics technologies. The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency's Advanced Logistics Project (ALP) supports this concept of Focused Logistics and seeks to leverage information technologies to obtain control over the logistics pipeline. The current campaign planning process is limited by the information made available to the decision-makers. In order for ALP to assist the decision-maker in selecting a single optimal deployment plan, the founding assumptions of alternatives considered must be valid. Logistical issues are major constraints in the war planning process. …

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Analysis And Evaluation Of The Macroscopic Organizational Structure Of Red Horse, Lance D. Clark Mar 2001

Analysis And Evaluation Of The Macroscopic Organizational Structure Of Red Horse, Lance D. Clark

Theses and Dissertations

The primary contingency engineering capability within the United States Air Force is provided by Rapid Engineer Deployable, Heavy Operations Readiness Squadron, Engineer (RED HORSE). This thesis examines the macroscopic organizational structure of RED HORSE; that is, the manner in which RED HORSE resources (personnel and equipment) are organized collectively, above the unit (squadron or flight) level. It builds on the findings of the Air Combat Command - sponsored RED HORSE 2010 Strategic Study, and focuses on issues of geographic location and chain of command above the unit level, as the study found these two topics were found to be vital …

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United States Air Force Graduate Degrees From 1990 To 2000: A Comparison, Jonathan G. Downing Mar 2001

United States Air Force Graduate Degrees From 1990 To 2000: A Comparison, Jonathan G. Downing

Theses and Dissertations

Throughout its history, the United States Air Force has been concerned with technical graduate education. In 1947, the Ridenour Report stated the importance and need of Air Force officers with technical graduate degrees. This emphasis has served the Air Force well, but there is concern among senior Air Force leaders that there has been an erosion of these technical skills and graduate education. This research will examine the issues surrounding technical graduate education in the Air Force and will address the possible loss of such technical education. The results of this research provide specific statistical data and analysis on the …

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An Investigation Of The Contracting Officer Career Pyramid, William B. Elyea Mar 2001

An Investigation Of The Contracting Officer Career Pyramid, William B. Elyea

Theses and Dissertations

Air Force contracting officers rely on published guidance to assist in establishing their career objectives. This thesis uses empirical data to evaluate the published Air Force career guidance. The data set is comprised of complete duty histories from all active duty colonels, colonel selects, and general officers in the contracting career field. The guidance implies a career path to an exceptional career but provides no empirical validation. This thesis follows a rigorous procedure to objectively evaluate the Air Force guidance. The guidance is translated into 18 research questions based on its main tenets. Each duty occurrence is categorized by type …

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A Cost Comparison Between Modes In The Shipment Of Mission Capable Parts Within The Continental United States, Jason L. Masciulli Mar 2001

A Cost Comparison Between Modes In The Shipment Of Mission Capable Parts Within The Continental United States, Jason L. Masciulli

Theses and Dissertations

A numerous amount of Mission Capable Parts (MICAPs) are shipped throughout the world by the Air Force. These parts are required in order to meet mission requirements. MICAPs are often shipped via an express, small parcel air carrier, like Federal Express (FedEx). However, there is a lower cost alternative: Less-Than-Truckload express carriers. In using actual Air Force MICAP shipping data, an 11 percent savings was shown if the lowest cost carrier, either FedEx or Roadway Express, an LTL express carrier, was used in shipping these MICAPs. Also, in using simulated shipping data, over 50 percent of all types of shipments, …

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Forecasting Readiness: Using Regression To Predict The Mission Capability Of Air Force F-16 Fighter Aircraft, Steven A. Oliver Mar 2001

Forecasting Readiness: Using Regression To Predict The Mission Capability Of Air Force F-16 Fighter Aircraft, Steven A. Oliver

Theses and Dissertations

According to many, the readiness of America's forces deteriorated in the 1990s. In the Air Force, the combat readiness of its fighter aircraft has declined. One of its indicators of combat readiness, the mission capable rate, is used to identify the percentage of aircraft unable to perform their missions. From FY94-FY98, the aggregate total not mission capable rate for maintenance steadily increased from 14% to 18.2% while total not mission capable rate for supply increased from 5.5% to 17.5% between FY86 and FY00. The USAF uses the funding/Availability Multi-Method Allocator for Spares model to forecast these rates for its aircraft. …

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Revising R & D Program Budgets When Considering Funding Curtailment With A Weibull Model, Paul H. Porter Mar 2001

Revising R & D Program Budgets When Considering Funding Curtailment With A Weibull Model, Paul H. Porter

Theses and Dissertations

This research develops an analytical technique to estimate the impact of funding curtailment on an R&D program. The method quickly produces a revised budget by year for an on-going R&D program when funding in one year is reduced. We assume program requirements remain unchanged. The program duration may be unchanged or "stretched" to a later completion date. We use the Rayleigh and Weibull functions to model expenditure profiles, which forms basis of the analytical approach. Our proposed methodology accounts for budget outlay rates and inflation. We validate the proposed analytical technique using historical cost data from several programs.

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Knowledge Management In The Cost Analysis Knowledge Domain: Generating, Organizing, And Developing Knowledge For Crosschecking Cost Estimates, Ryan J. Rueve Mar 2001

Knowledge Management In The Cost Analysis Knowledge Domain: Generating, Organizing, And Developing Knowledge For Crosschecking Cost Estimates, Ryan J. Rueve

Theses and Dissertations

Two problems the Aeronautical Systems Center's Acquisition Cost Division (ASC/FMC) is encountering with its Life Cycle Cost/Lean Process Initiative (LCC/LPI) efforts are (Marshall and Seibel. 2000): (1) a high proportion of inexperienced to experienced cost analysts which makes access to valuable expertise limited, and (2) knowledge loss due to turnover of experienced cost analysts. To address these problems, this thesis presents a four-step tailored methodology to identity tasks or processes important to the functioning of an organization, capture knowledge from experts pertaining to those tasks (generate content), convert that knowledge into a flowchart (organize content), and have experts critique the …

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Capturing The Policy That Air Force Raters Use When Writing Performance Appraisals On Junior Officers, Owen D. Stephens Mar 2001

Capturing The Policy That Air Force Raters Use When Writing Performance Appraisals On Junior Officers, Owen D. Stephens

Theses and Dissertations

This study examined the relationship between four dimensions of performance leadership, task performance, interpersonal facilitation, and job dedication and overall performance by junior officers in the Air Force. It was hypothesized that the four dimensions would have different relative importance to overall performance, ratee gender would have no effect on rating policy, and raters with greater experience would show greater rating consistency. Finally, it was hypothesized that the Conscientiousness factor of the International Personality Inventory Protocol and Positive and Negative Affectivity may be correlated with the relative importance of the four dimensions of performance and a rater leniency measure and …

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A Method For Fms Countries To Maximize Clssa Service Levels While Minimizing Costs Through Optimal Requisitioning Patterns, Robert A. Wasik Mar 2001

A Method For Fms Countries To Maximize Clssa Service Levels While Minimizing Costs Through Optimal Requisitioning Patterns, Robert A. Wasik

Theses and Dissertations

The Cooperative Logistics Supply Support Arrangement (CLSSA) is a program designed to provide follow-on supply support for weapon systems procured by foreign military sales (FMS) countries from the United States. CLSSA calculates a Stock Level Quantity (SLQ) for each item based on demand history, item lead-time, and requisitioning patterns. Item SLQs affects program cost and service levels to FMS customers; a high SLQ level improves service levels, but also creates higher costs. The author created a model to replicate the CLSSA formulation used to calculate SLQs, using different Combinations of demand levels and item lead-times to determine the impact that …

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Dollarizing Qualitative Discriminators Used In Best Value Source Selections, Jason R. Borchers Mar 2001

Dollarizing Qualitative Discriminators Used In Best Value Source Selections, Jason R. Borchers

Theses and Dissertations

With the decreasing budget that gets allocated to the Department of Defense each year, the government needs to be able to acquire more with less. This has a direct impact on how source selections are conducted. This research proposes a method using four different levels of cost that will provide the government with the best overall value in the conduction of source selections. This differs from previous source selections, because source selection teams, in general, only considered proposal price in their evaluation.

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Development Of A Decision Framework For Knowledge Management Projects, William D. Bower Mar 2001

Development Of A Decision Framework For Knowledge Management Projects, William D. Bower

Theses and Dissertations

Air Force resources are being committed to fund, implement, and support organizational knowledge management initiatives without any overarching Air Force Knowledge Vision or Knowledge Strategy to guide these efforts. The purpose of this research is to provide a framework model and framework implementation process that can be used to guide the identification, selection, and eventual implementation of Air Force knowledge management projects. An initial Literature Review was conducted and the findings were used to develop a framework model to guide the identification and selection of appropriate knowledge management initiatives that are consistent with organizational strategy and strategic objectives. Next, a …

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Effects Of Alternative Performance Criteria Upon Composition Of Air Transportable Spare Parts Kits, Murat V. Buyukacar Mar 2001

Effects Of Alternative Performance Criteria Upon Composition Of Air Transportable Spare Parts Kits, Murat V. Buyukacar

Theses and Dissertations

Airlift capacity is a definitive factor in the success of large-scale military operations. History proves that the demand for airlift soon exceeds its capacity during simultaneous deployment of forces. Therefore good solutions to the airlift capacity problem are important. This thesis contributes to the resolution of this problem by seeking ways to reduce readiness spare parts packages (RSPs) deployed for Air Force squadrons through addition of airlift criteria into the RSP selection process. We find that item cost, weight, and volume are three important criteria for RSP computations. We then offer a method for implementing these three criteria in the …

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Aircraft Maintenance Performance: The Effects Of The Functional Decentralization Of On-Equipment Maintenance, Mark A. Commenator Mar 2001

Aircraft Maintenance Performance: The Effects Of The Functional Decentralization Of On-Equipment Maintenance, Mark A. Commenator

Theses and Dissertations

The Air Force has implemented various aircraft maintenance organizational structures. The implementation of the Objective Wing in the early 1990s was the latest occurrence of reorganization. This research looks at the effect of the type of aircraft maintenance organizational structure on aircraft maintenance performance. The type of organizational structure was defined by the functional centralization of the on-equipment maintenance. Aircraft maintenance performance was measured using TNMCM rates, fix rates, repeat/recur rates, man-hours per flying hour, and scheduling effectiveness rates. Three F-15 wings and three F-16 wings were selected to compare the changes in aircraft maintenance performance and to determine if …

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A Quantitative Decision Support Model To Aid Selection Of Combat Aircraft Force Mixes For Contingency Deployment, Paul G. Filcek Mar 2001

A Quantitative Decision Support Model To Aid Selection Of Combat Aircraft Force Mixes For Contingency Deployment, Paul G. Filcek

Theses and Dissertations

Selection of combat aircraft during crisis action planning can be of critical importance. In determining the value of force mixes, it is proposed that one can evaluate extrinsic and intrinsic value separately. Intrinsic value is the designed capability of a weapons platform to accomplish a specified aerospace mission. Extrinsic value is the expected appropriateness of such platforms, given the environmental characteristics in which they must operate. This research develops a decision support tool for planners in determining the extrinsic value of force mixes, which then expedites the selection of best overall force mixes. The research included: content analysis of official …

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Estimating Deployed Airlift And Equipment Requirements For F-16 Aircraft In Support Of The Advanced Logistics Project, Matthew W. Goddard Mar 2001

Estimating Deployed Airlift And Equipment Requirements For F-16 Aircraft In Support Of The Advanced Logistics Project, Matthew W. Goddard

Theses and Dissertations

The Advanced Logistics Project (ALP) is a 5-year DARPA effort to investigate automated architectures to increase the efficiency of logistics support for deploying combat forces. The Mission-Resource Value Assessment Tool (M-R VAT) is a joint AFIT/AFRL adjunct processor to the ALP. The purpose of the M-R VAT is to select optimal force packages to meet the needs of theater commanders. This research supports the development of the M-R VAT's capability through the development of an airlift estimation function and validating equipment requirement rule-sets. This airlift estimation function will allow the M-R VAT optimization algorithms to constrain the selection of the …

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