Combat stories: creating a web-based geospatial interface to record combat stories for validation and other research purposes
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Authors
Mellon, Christopher J.
Subjects
narratives
storytelling
story maps
geospatial information system
combat stories
validation
storytelling
story maps
geospatial information system
combat stories
validation
Advisors
Jaye, Michael J.
Date of Issue
2015-06
Date
Jun-15
Publisher
Monterey, California: Naval Postgraduate School
Language
Abstract
This capstone project created a proof-of-concept, web-based geospatial interface to record first-person written combat narratives from U.S. military service members in a story map format. The application compares the service members’ geographic-referenced combat stories, called story maps, against the historical record with the intent to validate potentially beneficial aspects derived from service member storytelling. If the stories produce results that are consistent or comparable to other historical records, then one consequence might be that soldier and Marine narratives may constitute an under-explored reservoir of knowledge, observations, and data. The application accomplishes the project’s original three goals: recording multiple narratives; turning the multiple narratives into a comprehensive map; and allowing an analyst to compare and contrast the narratives with historical documentation. The second battle of Fallujah in 2004 is this report’s case study for testing the application. Using constructed stories from artificial authors, the application’s narratives produced equivalent graphic illustrations as compared to the historical maps from the battle of Fallujah. The geographic accuracy of the graphic illustrations, on a par with the historical maps, validated the concept of obtaining service members’ combat stories.
Type
Thesis
Description
Series/Report No
Defense Analysis (DA) Capstone Projects
Department
Defense Analysis (DA)
Organization
Identifiers
NPS Report Number
Sponsors
Funder
Format
Citation
Distribution Statement
Approved for public release; distribution is unlimited.
Rights
This publication is a work of the U.S. Government as defined in Title 17, United States Code, Section 101. Copyright protection is not available for this work in the United States.