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Women And Stability: A Topological View Of The Relationship Between Women And Armed Conflict In West Africa, Michaela A. Pendergrass Mar 2019

Women And Stability: A Topological View Of The Relationship Between Women And Armed Conflict In West Africa, Michaela A. Pendergrass

Theses and Dissertations

The relationship between women and stability, if any, is a topic of much debate and research. Several large and influential organizations have all researched women's effect on stability. Furthermore, several of these world organizations, the United Nations, in particular, have declared gender equality to be a driving force in promoting stability and conflict prevention. Due to the United States active involvement in conflict prevention in such regions as West Africa, research concerning the relationship between women and stability is of particular interest to the United States Africa Command. As such, this research applied Topological Data Analysis, combined with other machine …

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A Cost-Benefit Analysis Of Pilot Training Next, Talon M. Pope Mar 2019

A Cost-Benefit Analysis Of Pilot Training Next, Talon M. Pope

Theses and Dissertations

The United States Air Force (USAF) is currently facing a 2,400-pilot shortage in an increasingly constrained budgetary environment. Without pilots to engage the enemy, deliver weapons, and provide logistics support for operations, the USAF could lose the ability to fly, fight, and win global engagements and defend the homeland. This study focused on Undergraduate Pilot Training (UPT) as a means of producing the USAF’s pilots to offset the current shortage. Specifically, this study compared UPT to the recently initiated Pilot Training-Next (PTN) program through a cost-benefit analysis. Like any new technology integration, PTN’s virtual reality training will require further study …

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Lightning Prediction Using Recurrent Neural Networks, Dominick V. Speranza Mar 2019

Lightning Prediction Using Recurrent Neural Networks, Dominick V. Speranza

Theses and Dissertations

Cape Canaveral Air Force Station (CCAFS), Kennedy Space Center (KSC), and Patrick Air Force Base (PAFB) all reside in the thunderstorm capital of the United States. According to the Florida Climate Center, these installations experience more thunderstorms per year than any other place in the United States. It is the mission of the 45th Weather Squadron to provide timely and accurate warnings of weather conditions such as lightning that pose a risk to assets and personnel CCAFS, KSC and PAFB. To aid 45th Weather Squadron forecasters, a network of 30 Electric Field Mills (EFM) was installed in the area in …

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Examining The Express Supportability Module: Implementing An Autoregressive Distributed Lag Approach With Air Force Maintenance Data, Troy J. St Peter Mar 2019

Examining The Express Supportability Module: Implementing An Autoregressive Distributed Lag Approach With Air Force Maintenance Data, Troy J. St Peter

Theses and Dissertations

Launched in 1996, EXPRESS (Execution and Prioritization of Repairs Support System) is a program integral to the Air Force reparable supply chain. Daily, EXPRESS relies on a number of data sources and individual modules like the Supportability Module to determine which necessary repairs can and should be made. The Supportability Module examines the prioritized list of repairs and checks four constraints in order to decide whether each repair can be made given current resources. According to the logic of the module, a single constraint failure means that subsequent resource checks are not made before evaluating the next repair. Unfortunately, this …

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Simulating Maritime Chokepoint Disruption In The Global Food Supply, Ryan B. Walton Mar 2019

Simulating Maritime Chokepoint Disruption In The Global Food Supply, Ryan B. Walton

Theses and Dissertations

The three food crops of wheat, maize, and rice make up almost two-thirds of the world's dietary energy needs. Of these three, just six countries provide 70% of the global supply. Furthermore, soybeans account for three-quarters of global livestock feed, and only three countries provide 80% of the global supply. Considering over half of the world's exported supply of these four commodities are exported via maritime means, the free ow of marine traffic becomes paramount. Current models lack the ability to capture the inherent variance displayed in the maritime transport system, which can lead to inaccurate assumptions about how the …

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Using Simulation To Model Reserve Officer Training Corps Cadet Flow, Marydell V. Westman Mar 2019

Using Simulation To Model Reserve Officer Training Corps Cadet Flow, Marydell V. Westman

Theses and Dissertations

The Army Cadet Command oversees the Army Reserve Officer Training. It receives mission goals every year along with a budget. It is their responsibility to recruit enough cadets to fulfill mission goal and remain under budget, while ensuring the recruited cadets have the correct percentages of race, gender, and majors. This research provides a tool that can change the numbers and percentages of incoming cadets, what year of school they enter, as well as their gender, race, and STEM or non-STEM parameters, in order to explore the composition of graduated commissioned cadets. This study finds that changing the percentage of …

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Analysis Of Military Construction Cost Growth In Major Defense Acquisition Programs, Emily E. Angell Mar 2019

Analysis Of Military Construction Cost Growth In Major Defense Acquisition Programs, Emily E. Angell

Theses and Dissertations

This study is an exploratory analysis combining military construction (MILCON) data from the Selected Acquisition Reports (SAR) of Major Defense Acquisition Programs (MDAP) with the associated Automated Civil Engineer System project actual costs. The analysis uses both descriptive and inferential statistics to identify cost growth of MILCON at the programmatic level as well as to bridge the gap between SAR estimates and actual project costs within those program-level estimates. Overall, programs experience more negative growth (cost savings) in MILCON estimates on SARs, typically less than 0.2% of the total program cost implying minimal impact to program decisions. Estimates got more …

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An Analysis Of Profit Margin In Relation To The Better Buying Power Initiative, Jerry (Trey) L. Baker Iii Mar 2019

An Analysis Of Profit Margin In Relation To The Better Buying Power Initiative, Jerry (Trey) L. Baker Iii

Theses and Dissertations

Recent Better Buying Power (BBP) initiatives have sought to better contractually align contractor profit with performance. Profit should incentivize efficiency in cost and schedule and only be awarded when earned. The current research seeks evidence that BBP has been effective in improving performance. The first part of the research examines the trends of profit margin and cost growth both before and after the implementation of the first BBP initiative. BBP recommended the use of incentive type contracts over award fee contracts, where appropriate. This research found an increased use of incentive type contracts and a reduced use of award fee …

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Estimating Total Cost Of Ownership For United States Air Force Chiller Assets, William C. Berner Mar 2019

Estimating Total Cost Of Ownership For United States Air Force Chiller Assets, William C. Berner

Theses and Dissertations

In order to make the most cost-effective choice when purchasing high-value assets, organizations must be able to quantify and compare the costs associated with acquiring, maintaining and disposing the alternatives. Currently, the United States Air Force (USAF) Civil Engineer (CE) enterprise has no standardized model to accurately and efficiently predict the total cost of ownership (TCO) for the acquisition of new assets. As such, acquisition efforts throughout the enterprise are disjointed and performed without leveraging the considerable buying power wielded by an organization as large as the USAF. This research developed a TCO model using a standard, dollar-based approach that …

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An Analysis Of Estimate Variance In Program Office Estimates, Benjamin J. Bonenfant Mar 2019

An Analysis Of Estimate Variance In Program Office Estimates, Benjamin J. Bonenfant

Theses and Dissertations

Past research has shown that predicting the cost growth within DoD systems is an important topic. Total program cost growth and predictors of program cost growth have been studied. Kozlak (2017) studied cost growth at four major reviews: Critical Design Review, First Flight, Development Test and Evaluation End, and Initial Operating Capability. This research attempts to assess cost growth and cost variance at similar points in a program life cycle. In the past the majority of studies have been done identifying programs as either: Acquisition Category (ACAT) I and non-ACAT I programs, or Major Defense Acquisition Programs (MDAP) and non-MDAP …

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Investigating Schedule Length Of Space And Missile Systems Center Contracts, Loyd A. Bradley Jr. Mar 2019

Investigating Schedule Length Of Space And Missile Systems Center Contracts, Loyd A. Bradley Jr.

Theses and Dissertations

Acquisition reform has long been the goal of the Department of Defense to save, recover and redistribute funds in an efficient manner. The Space and Missile Systems Center Program Management and Integration Directorate (SMC/PI) and Acquisitions Center of Excellence (ACE) have shared the same effort and have made strides to better their acquisition processes. Many different angles have been examined to try to discover cost and schedule growth however, little research has been done to find the drivers of schedule length. This research is aimed at finding contributing factors to the length of schedule of the pre-acquisition process. By using …

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A Life Cycle Analysis Of Dod Expeditionary Waste Management Practices Using Simapro, David J. Chester Mar 2019

A Life Cycle Analysis Of Dod Expeditionary Waste Management Practices Using Simapro, David J. Chester

Theses and Dissertations

The United States (US) Department of Defense (DoD) is investigating improved municipal solid waste (MSW) management techniques. Current techniques tax already limited land and energy resources at contingency bases and impart additional logistical support requirements and personnel commitments. Seeking a solution to this growing problem, the DoD is investigating waste-to-energy (WTE) systems to reduce the volume of hazardous and non-hazardous solid wastes while generating low emissions. The current barriers to the acquisition and utilization of viable WTE technologies are the high capital and operating and maintenance (O&M) costs. Using the Life-Cycle Analysis (LCA) software SimaPro, the human health, environmental quality, …

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Quantifying Resiliency Risk Metrics Through Facility Dispersion, Branden D. Delong Mar 2019

Quantifying Resiliency Risk Metrics Through Facility Dispersion, Branden D. Delong

Theses and Dissertations

During the last century, airbases were attacked at least 26 times in an effort to destroy the enemy at its base. Attacks on military airbases impose prohibitive losses to critical infrastructure, which in turn impacts the maintenance of air power projection. The primary enemy threat facing critical infrastructure today is the use of ballistic and land-attack cruise missiles to disrupt an airbase’s ability to launch and recover aircraft. Over the last decade, ballistic and cruise missile technology has grown to allow the world’s most powerful countries to achieve a nascent threat to forward operating bases used in theater security campaigns …

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Virus Adsorption To Colloids In Water: Interactions Between Bacteriophage Ms2, Kaolinite, And Fiberglass, Ashlee N. Ellis Mar 2019

Virus Adsorption To Colloids In Water: Interactions Between Bacteriophage Ms2, Kaolinite, And Fiberglass, Ashlee N. Ellis

Theses and Dissertations

Virus adsorption to colloidal particles is an important issue in the water quality community, and it is a particularly important issue for conventional wastewater treatment plants that accept biohazardous waste. Colloids impact the transport of viruses in engineered treatment systems, and they also provide protection against oxidants and other destructive mechanisms. This study evaluated the adsorption of bacteriophage MS2 to colloidal suspensions of kaolinite (KAO) and fiberglass (FG). A series of laboratory batch tests were carried out over a range of experimental conditions to determine kinetic rate constants and characterize bond strength, and computational experiments were done to assess both …

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Verification Of Autonomous Systems: Developmental Test And Evaluation Of An Autonomous Uas Swarming Algorithm Combining Simulation, Formulation And Live Flight, Corey A. Combs Mar 2019

Verification Of Autonomous Systems: Developmental Test And Evaluation Of An Autonomous Uas Swarming Algorithm Combining Simulation, Formulation And Live Flight, Corey A. Combs

Theses and Dissertations

This research was driven by the increase of autonomous systems in the current millennium and the challenging nature of testing and evaluating their performance. A review of the current literature revealed proposed methods for verifying autonomous systems, but few implementations. It exposed several gaps in the current verification and validation methods and suggested goals for filling them. Through the use of modeling, software in the loop (SITL), and flight test, this research verified an autonomous swarming algorithm for unmanned aerial systems (UAS) and validated an exemplar of a testing framework. Thirteen sets of three-vehicle swarm data produced over two days …

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Comparing Estimated To Actual Development Budgets For Air Force Space Programs, Christopher J. Elworth Mar 2019

Comparing Estimated To Actual Development Budgets For Air Force Space Programs, Christopher J. Elworth

Theses and Dissertations

The accuracy of budget estimates is vital in ensuring cost efficiency and decreasing the possibility of budget and schedule growth. The goal of this study was to determine when budget estimates increase and what may cause those increases. Percent schedule and linear interpolation was used to analyze the budget changes. Space program budget growth does not increase at a constant rate between Milestone B (MS B) and Initial Operational Capability (IOC). When an exponential curve was fit to the deviations in budget growth, the mean and median R2 for the programs in this study were .83 and .91, respectively. Many …

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A Case Study Of Epa Clauses As They Apply To Fixed Price Contracts, Trevor A. Enos Mar 2019

A Case Study Of Epa Clauses As They Apply To Fixed Price Contracts, Trevor A. Enos

Theses and Dissertations

Adjusting fixed price contract prices over long periods of performance is vital to protect both the government and contractor from market price fluctuations. This is accomplished via an Economic Price Adjustment (EPA) clause which currently utilize forecasts of producer price indexes (PPI) as a baseline. There is currently a lack of research on if the use of these forecasts as a baseline for calculating EPAs is the best alternative. This research involves determining the validity of using Global Insight (GI) forecasts for the purpose of calculating EPAs in fixed price contracts. Two EPA clauses are examined as a case study …

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Evaluation Of Guar Gum As A Novel Adsorbent, Philicia Geiser Mar 2019

Evaluation Of Guar Gum As A Novel Adsorbent, Philicia Geiser

Theses and Dissertations

Guar gum (GG) is a promising product increasingly used in a variety of industries. It is nontoxic, inexpensive, and biodegradable. This research evaluated novel approaches using GG as an adsorbent for aromatic organic water contaminants. The application of GG demonstrated some effectiveness against all contaminants tested. Two brands of GG were tested using 5 different GG treatment strategies. Various experiments demonstrated nearly complete removal of Allura Red dye, Brilliant Blue dye, Erythrosine B dye, Methylene Blue dye, Tartrazine dye, and 2,4-dinitrotoluene; additionally, 78% adsorption was observed for Fast Green dye. GG typically removed less than 10% of toluene, which rapidly …

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Toxicological Life Cycle Impact Analysis Of Short And Long Chain Perfluorinated Compounds Compared To Impacts Of Treatment Techniques, Joshua R. Glass Mar 2019

Toxicological Life Cycle Impact Analysis Of Short And Long Chain Perfluorinated Compounds Compared To Impacts Of Treatment Techniques, Joshua R. Glass

Theses and Dissertations

Polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are man-made substances that are used as surfactants in industrial processes and commercial products most notably for the Air Force in aqueous film-forming foam. These compounds were introduced in the 1950s and have since become pervasive throughout industrial and consumer products such as carpet, leather, and paper as well as textiles that repel water, grease, and oils. As the presence of PFAS continues to grow, so do concerns for the toxicological impacts of exposure to these chemicals. Although there is much research into the toxicological impacts of PFAS, there are no regulatory treatment levels within the United …

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The Evaluation Of High Molecular Weight Methacrylate As A Treatment Option For Shrinkage Cracks In Airfield Pavement, Austin R. Hayes Mar 2019

The Evaluation Of High Molecular Weight Methacrylate As A Treatment Option For Shrinkage Cracks In Airfield Pavement, Austin R. Hayes

Theses and Dissertations

Air Force policy dictates that only epoxy can be used as a treatment option for shrinkage cracks in concrete airfield pavement. However, since epoxy is not ideal for shrinkage cracks, this research focuses on the evaluation of high molecular weight methacrylate (HMWM) as a treatment option. Laboratory experiments were performed on four sealants to determine whether they could penetrate a crack 24 inches deep, bond to the concrete, and resist water intrusion. Three HMWMs (TK-2415, Kwik Bond KBP 103, and Castek Transpo T-70) and one epoxy (TK-2110) were assessed. The four sealers were applied to 32 concrete specimens with crack …

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Search-Based Vs. Task-Based Space Surveillance For Ground-Based Telescopes, Fred D. Hertwig Mar 2019

Search-Based Vs. Task-Based Space Surveillance For Ground-Based Telescopes, Fred D. Hertwig

Theses and Dissertations

Persistent Space Situational Awareness (SSA) is one of the top priorities of the DoD. Currently the Space Surveillance Network (SSN) operates using only a task-based method. The goal of this thesis was to compare the current task-based space surveillance performance to a search-based method of space surveillance in the GEO belt region. The performance of a ground telescope network, similar to the Ground-Based Electro-Optical Deep Space Surveillance (GEODSS) network, was modeled and simulated using AGI’s Systems Tool Kit (STK) and Python. The model compared search-based and task-based space surveillance methods by simulating 813 Resident Space Objects (RSOs) on the summer …

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Analyzing The Efficiency Of Horizontal Photovoltaic Cells At Air Force Installations In Various Climate Regions, Parker A. Hines Mar 2019

Analyzing The Efficiency Of Horizontal Photovoltaic Cells At Air Force Installations In Various Climate Regions, Parker A. Hines

Theses and Dissertations

The U.S. Air Force relies heavily on electrically powered facilities to ensure mission-critical capabilities can be carried out. Without a resilient electrical system in place, the U.S. Air Force could be without power for extended periods, resulting in severe implications. Installing a photovoltaic array on an installation is one strategy to improve energy resiliency. The amount of power a photovoltaic array can produce is reliant on its geographical location, position and weather characteristics. This research presents the development of novel linear regression models based upon 14 case studies from global Department of Defense (DoD) installations to predict horizontal photovoltaic power …

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Examining The Critical Success Factors Of Rapid Acquisition: A Human Capital Perspective, Christine J. Jestice Mar 2019

Examining The Critical Success Factors Of Rapid Acquisition: A Human Capital Perspective, Christine J. Jestice

Theses and Dissertations

Department of Defense (DoD) acquisition programs continue to encounter schedule delays and cost overruns despite past reforms. Global threat uncertainties and high-velocity technological advances are also prevailing. Given the current rate at which program offices are fielding weapon systems, the United States (US) may be fighting with obsolete weapons and technology. Gaining superiority demands a new approach – to expedite the rate of capability delivery through rapid acquisition programs who have demonstrated success in delivering capabilities with speed. This research examines whether the attributes in the people dimension of an expedited framework contribute to success of rapid defense acquisition programs. …

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Methodology For Including Base Infrastructure In Conceptual System Analysis, Patrick J. Kelly Iv Mar 2019

Methodology For Including Base Infrastructure In Conceptual System Analysis, Patrick J. Kelly Iv

Theses and Dissertations

The 2018 National Defense Strategy defines a transition to agile basing, where the logistics footprint of new conceptual systems can be distributed across a set of airfields, instead of one main operating base. Currently, there is no capability to assess early concepts using airfield data. This research develops a methodology and a tool that assesses system concepts using world-wide civil and military airfield infrastructure, such as runway parameters, parking, munitions, fuel and warehouse storage, and distance to areas of interest. Specifically, the focus of the thesis is on concepts for the Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance (ISR) Strike mission. Four concepts …

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Text Analysis Of Air Force References In Twitter, Seth A. Kline Mar 2019

Text Analysis Of Air Force References In Twitter, Seth A. Kline

Theses and Dissertations

Social media has grown to become a rich source for opinions, authored by individuals who volunteer them, unedited and in real-time. Armed with this information, an organization like the Air Force can understand the perceptions of consumers and learn to better serve the American taxpayer. To accomplish this goal, this research takes a qualitative approach, utilizing social media analytics in combination with various Text Mining methodologies (word frequency, word relationships, sentiment analysis, topic modeling) to provide insight on Air Force related content shared on Twitter. To provide a well-rounded analysis of the overall perception of the Air Force enterprise, the …

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A Mixed Integer Programming Framework For The Fuel Optimal Guidance Of Complex Spacecraft Rendezvous And Proximity Operation Missions, Andrew S. Levalley Mar 2019

A Mixed Integer Programming Framework For The Fuel Optimal Guidance Of Complex Spacecraft Rendezvous And Proximity Operation Missions, Andrew S. Levalley

Theses and Dissertations

Space is a contested, congested, and competitive environment where space situational awareness (SSA) is a key factor in the long term sustainability of space as a national interest. Space-based SSA conducted by inspector satellites is critical to the detecting, tracking, and attribution of actions in space. Thus, space-based fuel-optimal maneuvers are essential to increasing mission life and improving the capability of inspector satellites working to characterize resident space objects (RSOs) in geosynchronous orbit (GEO). Additionally, on-orbit inspection missions can be characterized by multiple waypoint visits where an inspector is accomplishing a set of proximity operation mission objectives through the visit …

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Quantifying Permafrost Extent, Condition, And Degradation At Eielson Air Force Base, Theodore J. Labedz Mar 2019

Quantifying Permafrost Extent, Condition, And Degradation At Eielson Air Force Base, Theodore J. Labedz

Theses and Dissertations

The DoD is executing over $500M in military construction on Eielson Air Force Base (AFB) within the next three years. This construction program will expand the footprint of facilities and change parts of the storm water management scheme, which may have second order effects on the underlying permafrost layers. These changes in permafrost will drive engineering decision, and help shape the overall strategy for military readiness in the Arctic. Little site-specific knowledge exists on the human caused effects to permafrost at this location. In 2016, the permafrost degradation rates at Eielson AFB were modeled using the Geophysical Institute Permafrost Laboratory …

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Operations Research Methods For Multi-Domain Campaign Phase Planning, John A. Schlicht Mar 2019

Operations Research Methods For Multi-Domain Campaign Phase Planning, John A. Schlicht

Theses and Dissertations

In "Antiaccess Warfare as Strategy," Tangredi posits the question and need to consider multiple domains and governmental and warfighting functions in various phases of campaign execution. Multi-domain integration within and across various phases of the joint campaign presents a host of non-linear factors that are compounded and amplified by uncertainties. Colonel Blotto is a simple game that is suited to compare traditional force-on-force military engagements where mass wins the day, but have had limited application to more complex military planning. This thesis explores the formulation schema, data-driven parameters, methods of calculation, and scenarios applicable to a generalized Colonel Blotto (General …

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Analysis Of Cross-Cultural Training Efforts, Competencies And Implications, And How Cross-Cultural Competency Affects The Success Of Construction Projects On Air Force Installations Overseas, Katie L. Macgregor Mar 2019

Analysis Of Cross-Cultural Training Efforts, Competencies And Implications, And How Cross-Cultural Competency Affects The Success Of Construction Projects On Air Force Installations Overseas, Katie L. Macgregor

Theses and Dissertations

US Air Force (AF) Civil Engineer (CE) Officers stationed at overseas bases lead and manage construction and engineering efforts for projects totaling billions of dollars annually. Budget overruns in the Department of Defense (DoD) and specifically the AF, have been under stringent investigation by government officials in recent years. 92% of CE Officers overseas work with local nationals (LN) and the host nation weekly or daily, but most receive less than 2 hours of formal cross-cultural training prior to arrival overseas. Host nation partners include foreign military, local contractors, LN workforce and local government agencies. Based on a previous Delphi …

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Developing Standard Emd Cost Factors For Major Defense Acquisition Program (Mdap) Platforms, Matthew R. Markman Mar 2019

Developing Standard Emd Cost Factors For Major Defense Acquisition Program (Mdap) Platforms, Matthew R. Markman

Theses and Dissertations

This research involves the creation of standard factors that more accurately reflect observed outcomes in the development stages of major programs. Traditionally, estimation techniques such as analogy, parametric, engineering build-up, and factors are utilized to develop budgets and serve as the baseline for measuring project progress. This effort accomplishes the development and creation of 443 new standard cost factors that are delineated by five categories: commodity type, contract type, contractor type, development type, and service. The factors are developed for those elements that are "common" in a wide array of projects such as program management, systems engineering, data, training or …

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