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Air Force Institute of Technology

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Articles 541 - 570 of 1238

Full-Text Articles in Operations Research, Systems Engineering and Industrial Engineering

Combat Identification Of Synthetic Aperture Radar Images Using Contextual Features And Bayesian Belief Networks, John X. Situ Mar 2012

Combat Identification Of Synthetic Aperture Radar Images Using Contextual Features And Bayesian Belief Networks, John X. Situ

Theses and Dissertations

Given the nearly infinite combination of modifications and configurations for weapon systems, no two targets are ever exactly the same. Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) imagery and associated High Range Resolution (HRR) profiles of the same target will have different signatures when viewed from different angles. To overcome this challenge, data from a wide range of aspect and depression angles must be used to train pattern recognition algorithms. Alternatively, features invariant to aspect and depression angle must be found. This research uses simple segmentation algorithms and multivariate analysis methods to extract contextual features from SAR imagery. These features used in conjunction …

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Leading Indicator Analysis For High Speed Sled Test Programs, Laurie C. Knorr Mar 2012

Leading Indicator Analysis For High Speed Sled Test Programs, Laurie C. Knorr

Theses and Dissertations

Leading Indicators (LI) were introduced to the Systems Engineering (SE) community in 2005. These measures are used to evaluate the effectiveness of how a specific work activity is applied on a project in a manner that provides information about impacts that are likely to affect the system performance. The LIs are designed to give a project manager/systems engineer insight into where their development project is heading and a chance to implement corrective actions early. This research strives to apply LIs to the testing community, specifically high speed sled testing, to improve the testing process and, in turn, improve the quality …

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Streamlining The Change-Over Protocol For The Rpa Mission Intelligence Coordinator By Way Of Situation Awareness Oriented Design And Discrete Event Simulation, John P. Machuca Mar 2012

Streamlining The Change-Over Protocol For The Rpa Mission Intelligence Coordinator By Way Of Situation Awareness Oriented Design And Discrete Event Simulation, John P. Machuca

Theses and Dissertations

Incredible loiter times coupled with the ability to make extremely detailed collections at significant stand-off distances with a relatively expendable platform has made demand for, and diversity of, Remotely Piloted Aircraft (RPA) operations grow at voracious rates. Conversely, financial resources are becoming increasingly constrained. As such, innovators are looking to maximize the effectiveness of existing personnel and assets by considering concepts such as simultaneous Multiple Aircraft Control (MAC) by a single aircrew. Research has identified procedural inefficiencies in current operations as well as substantial impediments to MAC implementation, including dynamic task saturation and communication challenges. An identified inefficiency afflicting both …

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Analysis Of The Impact Of Data Normalization On Cyber Event Correlation Query Performance, Smile T. Ludovice Mar 2012

Analysis Of The Impact Of Data Normalization On Cyber Event Correlation Query Performance, Smile T. Ludovice

Theses and Dissertations

A critical capability required in the operation of cyberspace is the ability to maintain situational awareness of the status of the infrastructure elements that constitute cyberspace. Event logs from cyber devices can yield significant information, and when properly utilized they can provide timely situational awareness about the state of the cyber infrastructure. In addition, proper Information Assurance requires the validation and verification of the integrity of results generated by a commercial log analysis tool. Event log analysis can be performed using relational databases. To enhance database query performance, previous literatures affirm denormalization of databases. Yet database normalization can also increase …

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Time-Valued-Technology: A Light-Emitting Diode Case Study For Determining Replacement Strategy For High Technology Infrastructure Items, Kevin S. Ochs Mar 2012

Time-Valued-Technology: A Light-Emitting Diode Case Study For Determining Replacement Strategy For High Technology Infrastructure Items, Kevin S. Ochs

Theses and Dissertations

Infrastructure projects have typically involved long-term investments in relatively mature technologies characterized by stable performance and cost. However, with the ever-increasing rate of technological innovation, an increasing number of potential infrastructure investments involve a decision to replace a traditional technology with a rapidly evolving technology. In such circumstances, it is possible to reap significant performance or cost advantages through near-term replacement. However, this rapid adoption strategy has the potential to incur an opportunity cost due to increased performance or cost advantages the technology would provide if replacement was delayed. This research develops a cost analysis method, referred to as time-valued-technology, …

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Discrete Event Simulation Of Distributed Team Communication Architecture, Travis J. Pond Mar 2012

Discrete Event Simulation Of Distributed Team Communication Architecture, Travis J. Pond

Theses and Dissertations

As the United States Department of Defense continues to increase the number of Remotely Piloted Aircraft (RPA) operations overseas, improved Human Systems Integration becomes increasingly important. RPA systems rely heavily on distributed team communications determined by systems architecture. Two studies examine the effects of systems architecture on operator workload of US Air Force MQ-1/9 operators. The first study ascertains the effects of communication modality changes on mental workload using the Improved Research Integration Pro (IMPRINT) software tool to estimate pilot workload. Allocation of communication between modalities minimizes workload. The second study uses IMPRINT to model Mission Intelligence Controllers (MICs) and …

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An Enhanced Fuselage Ultrasound Inspection Approach For Ishm Purposes, Francisco Ospina Mar 2012

An Enhanced Fuselage Ultrasound Inspection Approach For Ishm Purposes, Francisco Ospina

Theses and Dissertations

This effort constitutes a systems engineering approach in which the materials science, ultrasound structural health monitoring, flight and maintenance operations, and relevant aeronautical policies and programs are involved to explore the evolution and characterization of structural cracks in aircraft fuselage structures in which the loads are varying. During flight, an aircraft fuselage skin and structure are subjected to varied cyclic loads, which can cause embedded cracks and other damage features to change their characteristics due to loading effects. The current research is based in the application of finite element modeling techniques using COMSOL and PZFLEX software to characterize the behavior …

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Implementing A Quantitative Analysis Design Tool For Future Generation Interfaces, Brandon M. Webster Mar 2012

Implementing A Quantitative Analysis Design Tool For Future Generation Interfaces, Brandon M. Webster

Theses and Dissertations

The implementation of Multi-Aircraft Control (MAC) for use with Remotely Piloted Aircraft (RPA) has resulted in the need of a platform to evaluate interface design. The Vigilant Spirit Control Station (VSCS), developed by the Air Force Research Laboratory, addresses this need by permitting the rapid prototyping of different interface concepts for future MAC-enabled systems. A human-computer interaction (HCI) Index, originally applied to multi-function displays was applied to the prototype Vigilant Spirit interface. A modified version of the HCI Index was successfully applied to perform a quantitative analysis of the baseline VSCS interface and two modified interface designs. The modified HCI …

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Using Vft As A Constraint For Goal Programming Models: A Case Study For Turkish Air Force Flying Hour Program, Ahmet Bengoz Mar 2012

Using Vft As A Constraint For Goal Programming Models: A Case Study For Turkish Air Force Flying Hour Program, Ahmet Bengoz

Theses and Dissertations

In its 60-year history, there have been many published documents in the literature about goal programming (GP), but contributions to the literature are still needed. This research intends to add to the literature on goal-programming models by discussing one of the key assumptions of GP regarding linearity, and by discussing some of the issues regarding incommensurability (difference in data types) and weighting. GP requires an interaction between the decision maker (DM) and the analyst to ensure that the model reflects the DM's preferences. However, it may be difficult for them to interact if the mathematical model is very large and …

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The Effectiveness Of Using Diversity For Selecting Multiple Classifier Systems, Harris K. Butler Mar 2012

The Effectiveness Of Using Diversity For Selecting Multiple Classifier Systems, Harris K. Butler

Theses and Dissertations

A wealth of approaches exists to perform classification of items of interest. The goal of fusion techniques is to exploit complementary approaches and merge the information provided by these methods to provide a solution superior than any single method. Associated with choosing a fusion algorithm is the choice of algorithm or algorithms that will be fused. This decision is most often referred to as ensemble selection. Historically classifier ensemble accuracy has been used to accomplish this task. More recently research has focused on creating and evaluating diversity metrics to more effectively select ensemble members. This research focuses on the use …

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A Decision Analysis Perspective On Multiple Response Robust Optimization, Jonathan S. Findley Mar 2012

A Decision Analysis Perspective On Multiple Response Robust Optimization, Jonathan S. Findley

Theses and Dissertations

Decisions in which multiple objectives must be optimized simultaneously occur frequently in government, military, and industrial settings. One method a decision maker may use to assist in such decisions is the application of a desirability function. An informed specification of the desirability function's parameters is essential to accurately describe the decision maker's value trade-offs and risk preference. This thesis uses utility transversality to analyze the implicit trade-off and risk attitude assumptions attendant to the desirability function. The desirability function does not explicitly account for response variability. A robust solution takes not only the expected response into account, but also its …

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A Prototype Overview For Allocating Usaid Foreign Aid, Deane E. Cover Mar 2012

A Prototype Overview For Allocating Usaid Foreign Aid, Deane E. Cover

Theses and Dissertations

The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) is the federal government agency primarily responsible for administering civilian foreign aid. In fiscal year 2011, USAID spent approximately $15 billion in an effort to assist countries recovering from disaster, trying to escape poverty, and engaging in democratic reforms. Using Value-Focused Thinking, regression, and optimization techniques, this thesis utilizes overarching USAID objectives and underlying policy to develop a prototype overview model that is used to provide insight to a Decision Maker regarding how changes in funding allocation can lead to improved impact.

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Surveillance Versus Reconnaissance: An Entropy Based Model, Tamilyn S. Dismukes Mar 2012

Surveillance Versus Reconnaissance: An Entropy Based Model, Tamilyn S. Dismukes

Theses and Dissertations

With the advancing capabilities of Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance (ISR) assets and sensors, effective utilization of these resources continues to pose a challenge to military decision makers. The methodology developed explores allocation of ISR assets while balancing detection of new targets versus surveillance of already detected targets using entropy as a Measure of Effectiveness (MOE). Scenarios with an unknown number of static and moving targets in a bounded geographical region are considered. A baseline model was built to examine four different search algorithms: random, raster, greedy, and a rollout algorithm based on dynamic programming. A space-filling Nearly Orthogonal Latin Hypercube …

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Automatic Target Recognition For Hyperspectral Imagery, Kelly D. Friesen Mar 2012

Automatic Target Recognition For Hyperspectral Imagery, Kelly D. Friesen

Theses and Dissertations

Automatic target detection and recognition in hyperspectral imagery offer passive means to detect and identify anomalies based on their material composition. In many combat identification approaches through pattern recognition, a minimum level of confidence is expected with costs associated with labeling anomalies as targets, non-targets or out-of-library. This research approaches the problem by developing a baseline, autonomous four step automatic target recognition (ATR) process: 1) anomaly detection, 2) spectral matching, 3) out-of-library decision, and 4) non-declaration decision. Atmospheric compensation techniques are employed in the initial steps to compare truth library signatures and sensor processed signatures. ATR performance is assessed and …

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Using Hybrid Simulation/Analytical Queueing Networks To Capacitate Usaf Air Mobility Command Passenger Terminals, Meredithe A. Jessup Ii Mar 2012

Using Hybrid Simulation/Analytical Queueing Networks To Capacitate Usaf Air Mobility Command Passenger Terminals, Meredithe A. Jessup Ii

Theses and Dissertations

The objective of this study is to model operations at an airport passenger terminal to determine the optimal service capacities at each station given estimated passenger flow patterns and service rates. The central formulation is an open Jackson queueing network that can be applied to any USAF Air Mobility Command (AMC) terminal regardless of passenger type mix and flow data. A complete methodology for analyzing passenger flows and queue performance of a single flight is produced and then embedded in a framework to analyze the same for multiple departing flights. Queueing network analysis (QNA) is used because no special software …

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A Simulation To Evaluate Joint Military Logistics In A Humanitarian Assistance Environment, Ryan S. Fisher Mar 2012

A Simulation To Evaluate Joint Military Logistics In A Humanitarian Assistance Environment, Ryan S. Fisher

Theses and Dissertations

Currently, no capability exists to cost-effectively simulate and measure a Joint Task Force-Port Opening (JTF-PO) operation to predict cargo throughput based on the availability of resources. The purpose of this research is to create a decision model using Arena® simulation software to provide United States Transportation Command (USTRANSCOM) decision makers the ability to predict cargo throughput in a Humanitarian Assistance/Disaster Response (HA/DR) scenario. The data used in this simulation were taken from the JTF-PO involvement in Operation UNIFIED RESPONSE, Port-au-Prince, Haiti 2010. The research uses a design of experiments approach to statistically plan and measure the throughput of cargo based …

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Rapid Prototype Development Of A Remotely-Piloted Aircraft Powered By A Hybrid-Electric Propulsion System, Michael P. Molesworth, Jacob K. English Mar 2012

Rapid Prototype Development Of A Remotely-Piloted Aircraft Powered By A Hybrid-Electric Propulsion System, Michael P. Molesworth, Jacob K. English

Theses and Dissertations

Remotely-Piloted Aircraft (RPA) provide users with unique mission capabilities, particularly on-demand overhead surveillance. However, a capability gap has been identified between the range and endurance of RPAs powered by internal combustion engines (ICE) and the reduced acoustic signature and smaller logistical footprint associated with electric-powered RPAs. This research, sponsored by the Office of the Secretary of Defense, aims at advancing systems engineering education by evaluating the utility of a tailored systems engineering approach. The tailored systems engineering approach used herein focuses on conducting a concept evaluation study on the rapid prototype development of a parallel hybrid-electric RPA (HE-RPA) and its …

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Modeling Small Unmanned Aerial System Mishaps Using Logistics Regression And Artificial Neural Networks, Sean E. Wolf Feb 2012

Modeling Small Unmanned Aerial System Mishaps Using Logistics Regression And Artificial Neural Networks, Sean E. Wolf

Theses and Dissertations

A dataset of 854 small unmanned aerial system (SUAS) flight experiments from 2005-2009 is analyzed to determine significant factors that contribute to mishaps. The data from 29 airframes of different designs and technology readiness levels were aggregated. 20 measured parameters from each flight experiment are investigated, including wind speed, pilot experience, number of prior flights, pilot currency, etc. Outcomes of failures (loss of flight data) and damage (injury to airframe) are classified by logistic regression modeling and artificial neural network analysis. From the analysis, it can be concluded that SUAS damage is a random event that cannot be predicted with …

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Large Aircraft Infrared Countermeasures (Laircm) Systems Engineering Case Study, Air Force Center For Systems Engineering, William Albery Jan 2012

Large Aircraft Infrared Countermeasures (Laircm) Systems Engineering Case Study, Air Force Center For Systems Engineering, William Albery

AFIT Documents

No abstract provided.

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A Method For Measuring Programmatic Dependency And Interdependency Between Dod Acquisition Programs, Matthew B. Christensen Dec 2011

A Method For Measuring Programmatic Dependency And Interdependency Between Dod Acquisition Programs, Matthew B. Christensen

Theses and Dissertations

There is currently no accepted method for quantitative measurement of acquisition program interdependency. While some methods exist for measuring dependency or interdependency at the component or system level, these methods do not translate well to program interdependency measurement. The objective of this thesis is to provide a model for measuring acquisition program interdependency accurately and quantitatively. The model presented in this thesis uses four Interdependency Factors to identify dependency relationships between programs. Specific Interdependency Levels are then used to measure the strengths of those dependencies. The model also accounts for measurement of dependencies upon programs that are not directly connected, …

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Rapid Development: A Content Analysis Comparison Of Literature And Purposive Sampling Of Afrl Rapid Reaction Projects, Andrew R. Smith Dec 2011

Rapid Development: A Content Analysis Comparison Of Literature And Purposive Sampling Of Afrl Rapid Reaction Projects, Andrew R. Smith

Theses and Dissertations

In the current environment of military operations requesting faster delivery schedules to counter insurgent tactics, the engineering team often searches for how to quickly deliver the 80% solution, typically in 6-12 months. These are labeled rapid development projects. A content analysis of best practices in commercial product development literature, where time to market is often a driving factor, was accomplished showing varying emphasis of systems engineering technical and technical management processes. Technical Planning, Stakeholders Requirements Development, and Architecture Design were identified as important processes. This analysis confirms preconceived notions of plan upfront and early by emphasizing the SE processes of …

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Identification And Classification Of Player Types In Massive Multiplayer Online Games Using Avatar Behavior, Earl M. Bednar Sep 2011

Identification And Classification Of Player Types In Massive Multiplayer Online Games Using Avatar Behavior, Earl M. Bednar

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of our research is to develop an improved methodology for classifying players (identifying deviant players such as terrorists) through multivariate analysis of data from avatar characteristics and behaviors in massive multiplayer online games (MMOGs). To build our classification models, we developed three significant enhancements to the standard Generalized Regression Neural Networks (GRNN) modeling method. The first enhancement is a feature selection technique based on GRNNs, allowing us to tailor our feature set to be best modeled by GRNNs. The second enhancement is a hybrid GRNN which allows each feature to be modeled by a GRNN tailored to its …

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Modeling And Analysis Of High Energy Laser Weapon System Performance In Varying Atmospheric Conditions, Megan P. Melin Sep 2011

Modeling And Analysis Of High Energy Laser Weapon System Performance In Varying Atmospheric Conditions, Megan P. Melin

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis addresses two primary concerns relating to Directed Energy (DE) models and tests: need for more use of Design of Experiment (DOE) in structuring DE models and tests, and lack of modeling atmospheric variability in High Energy Laser (HEL) weapon system propagation models and tests. To address these concerns we use a DOE factorial design to capture main, interaction, and non-linear effects between modeled weapon design and environmental factors in a well defined simulated Air-to-Ground HEL engagement scenario. The scenario modeled considers a B1-B aircraft in the 2022 timeframe equipped with an HEL weapon, irradiating a ground target from …

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E-10a Mc2a Systems Engineering Case Study, Air Force Center For Systems Engineering, William Albery Jun 2011

E-10a Mc2a Systems Engineering Case Study, Air Force Center For Systems Engineering, William Albery

AFIT Documents

No abstract provided.

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Enterprise Requirements And Acquisition Model, David A. Leach, Chad T. Searle Jun 2011

Enterprise Requirements And Acquisition Model, David A. Leach, Chad T. Searle

Theses and Dissertations

In support of senior leadership emphasis on improving early systems engineering and analysis, the Enterprise Requirements and Acquisition Model (ERAM) is a quantitative discrete-event process simulation model that accounts for activities from the identification of a desired space capability early in the JCIDS process through Milestone C of the acquisition system resulting in a probabilistic schedule distribution for a given concept. This model of the DoD's space capability development process will provide valuable decision making information for Concept Characterization and Technical Descriptions referenced during Analysis of Alternatives. The research focused on identifying activities, assigning historical triangular distributions and probabilities at …

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Face Recognition Via Ensemble Sift Matching Of Uncorrelated Hyperspectral Bands And Spectral Pcts, Mohd Fairul Mohd-Zaid Jun 2011

Face Recognition Via Ensemble Sift Matching Of Uncorrelated Hyperspectral Bands And Spectral Pcts, Mohd Fairul Mohd-Zaid

Theses and Dissertations

Face recognition is not a new area of study, but facial recognition using through hyperspectral images is a somewhat new concept which is still in its infancy. Although the conventional method of face recognition using Red-Green-Blue (RGB) or grayscale images has been advanced over the last twenty years, these methods are still shown to have weak performance whenever there are variations or changes in lighting, pose, or temporal aspect of the subjects. A hyperspectral representation of an image captures more information that is available within a scene than a RGB image therefore it is beneficial to study the performance of …

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Wolf Ant, Gilbert L. Peterson, Christopher M. Mayer, Kevin Cousin Jun 2011

Wolf Ant, Gilbert L. Peterson, Christopher M. Mayer, Kevin Cousin

Faculty Publications

Ant colony optimization (ACO) algorithms can generate quality solutions to combinatorial optimization problems. However, like many stochastic algorithms, the quality of solutions worsen as problem sizes grow. In an effort to increase performance, we added the variable step size off-policy hill-climbing algorithm called PDWoLF (Policy Dynamics Win or Learn Fast) to several ant colony algorithms: Ant System, Ant Colony System, Elitist-Ant System, Rank-based Ant System, and Max-Min Ant System. Easily integrated into each ACO algorithm, the PDWoLF component maintains a set of policies separate from the ant colony's pheromone. Similar to pheromone but with different update rules, the PDWoLF policies …

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A-10 Thunderbolt Ii (Warthog) Systems Engineering Case Study, Air Force Center For Systems Engineering, David R. Jacques, Dennis D. Strouble May 2011

A-10 Thunderbolt Ii (Warthog) Systems Engineering Case Study, Air Force Center For Systems Engineering, David R. Jacques, Dennis D. Strouble

AFIT Documents

No abstract provided.

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Optimizing Ground Times For Amc Aircraft In Afghanistan, Eric W. Bucheit Jr. Mar 2011

Optimizing Ground Times For Amc Aircraft In Afghanistan, Eric W. Bucheit Jr.

Theses and Dissertations

This research provides insight into the cargo unloading and loading process and times at three airfields in Afghanistan. Using a linear regression model and its prediction capability, a more stabilized environment is produced. This uses the times from seven historical months of continuous operations in Afghanistan and uses this information for the prediction expressions. Using this model, no throughput is lowered and early and late times are lowered by an average of seven minutes per mission. Over the course of a month, this increases planning stability by 74.1 hours. This not only impacts the planning at the downrange location, but …

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Utilizing Social Network Analysis In Support Of Nation Building, Brandon J. Bernardoni Mar 2011

Utilizing Social Network Analysis In Support Of Nation Building, Brandon J. Bernardoni

Theses and Dissertations

Social network analysis is a powerful set of techniques used by social scientists to study the formal and informal interrelations in a community. Since 9/11 these techniques have been increasingly utilized by the defense and intelligence communities to analyze terrorist networks to aid in thwarting our foes. This study investigates the use of social networks and structural holes to facilitate nation building in failed and failing states. Investigation of the underlying social structure of a community, identifying st ructural holes and gaps within the government, Security Stabilization Transition and Reconstruction Operations (SSTRO) efforts can be focused to strengthen the host …

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