Simulating Civil Security Activities in Stability Operations
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Authors
Aros, Susan
McDonald, Mary
Subjects
Advisors
Date of Issue
2023
Date
Publisher
I/ITSEC
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Abstract
Civil security activities are an essential aspect of stability operations that address threats and reduce violence to establish a safe environment in which civilians can freely move about and carry out normal activities. When addressing threats to civil security, a military force must balance the use of nonlethal and lethal force in a way that best meets mission objectives. However, civilians may respond in unexpected ways to varying uses of force, making this balance difficult to achieve. Researchers at the Naval Postgraduate School’s Center for Modeling Human Behavior have developed the agent-based simulation Workbench for Refining Rules of Engagement against Crowd Hostiles (WRENCH) to address this challenge. This simulation models a security force carrying out civil security activities, addressing any emerging threats via the use of both nonlethal and lethal weapons. WRENCH also models realistic complexities of civilian individuals and groups that drive both crowd behaviors and responses to the use of force. In the simulation, the user can specify many characteristics of the security force, including the set of available weapons and tactical rules of engagement to govern weapons use. Many aspects of the civilian population can also be specified by the user. In this paper, we first provide a brief overview of WRENCH’s design and capabilities in the context of securing an urban area and compound and describe key output metrics of interest. We then discuss an experiment that explores the effects of different weapon types under different sample rules of engagement across several different civilian population scenarios. Finally, we present insights from both the analysis of experiment results and the challenges associated with model design and validation efforts.
Type
Conference Paper
Description
2023 Interservice/Industry Training, Simulation, and Education Conference (I/ITSEC)
The article of record as published may be found at https://www.xcdsystem.com/iitsec/proceedings/index.cfm?Year=2023&AbID=121473&CID=1001#View
The article of record as published may be found at https://www.xcdsystem.com/iitsec/proceedings/index.cfm?Year=2023&AbID=121473&CID=1001#View
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Sponsors
Joint Intermediate Force Capabilities Office
Naval Research Program
Naval Research Program
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Format
12 p.
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Copyright is reserved by the copyright owner.