Crew training and the reliability of a battalion fire support system

Abstract

A method for incorporating crew training level into an analysis of the system reliability of a field artillery battalion fire support system is developed. The crew of an equipment can be regarded as a component acting in series with the equipment, which itself has a hardware reliability. By using a transformation of the training level, as measured by a score on a qualification test, into a crew component reliability, overall fire support system reliability can be computed, and the effect of training predicted. The decision maker (commander) can use the result as a reference in evaluating unit combat ability and in managing unit training and equipment maintenance.