ABSTRACT

The global security environment is changing at a fast pace creating new challenges for military operations research (OR) analysts. The US military has new missions in environments that did not exist before this century. Our world is full of diverse and integrated systems, organizations, governments, and networks with varied behaviors that produce complex situations. These are the data-rich environments of the OR analyst. OR analysts, at all levels, are increasingly less able to rely on specific, detailed, algorithmic processes or techniques. Analysts need to think critically, perform interdisciplinary modeling, collect and analyze data, and solve multi-faceted problems. OR analysts play important roles in both current operations and future planning --- such as the mission of the US Army’s newly formed Futures Command. This command will need OR analysts to develop concepts, model new force structure, and integrate new technology. In the coming years, OR-educated scholar-warriors will analyze global situations and complex events that necessitate military operations. This chapter presents the elements of a military OR-education system at the United States Military Academy that develops analysts who gain insights into the behavior of complex phenomena to provide a solid foundation and to fulfill the OR needs of the military’s modernization enterprise.