Naval Postgraduate School
51
51
Dec 24, 2021
12/21
Dec 24, 2021
by
Levesque, Christopher R.
texts
eye 51
favorite 0
comment 0
The threats facing America today are different from the threats on 9/11. The actions the United States took to defend against similar attacks were necessary; however, the increase in attacks by non-foreign terrorist organizations (FTOs) requires agencies to evolve. This thesis explores how the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) can be leveraged to enhance the intelligence capabilities of the U.S. government. This thesis begins by identifying the threats facing America in 2021. Through...
Topics: intelligence, homeland security, Department of Homeland Security, DHS, Transportation Security...
Naval Postgraduate School
4
4.0
Nov 27, 2021
11/21
Nov 27, 2021
by
Cruz, Luis A.; Hoopes, Angela L.; Pappa, Ryane M.; Shilt, Savanna L.; Wuornos, Samuel I.
texts
eye 4
favorite 1
comment 0
The modern battlefield is more complex than ever, and the technological advancement of weapons is accelerating. In order to win the next fight, faster response time to an adversary's actions is critical. Artificial intelligence (AI) has the potential to enable warfighters to outpace enemy decision cycles and reduce information overload, thus overcoming the \"fog of war.\" When developing combat systems, reliability could be the difference between life and death. Therefore, it is of...
Topics: artificial intelligence, AI, machine learning, safety risks, battle management aids, failure modes,...
Extant literature has addressed empirical insurgent networks inadequately, insufficiently accounting for insurgent warfare's unique characteristics. Specifically, existing structural studies of insurgencies—those seeking to understand emergent social system patterns—have failed to capture the overlapping nature of competing, information-sharing networks in such contexts. This study focuses on the ways by which insurgent and authority social networks co-evolve in insurgent warfare. It...
Topics: co-evolution, insurgency, counterinsurgency, social networks, complex adaptive systems,...
Naval Postgraduate School
7
7.0
Nov 27, 2021
11/21
Nov 27, 2021
by
de Andrade Martins, Madjer
texts
eye 7
favorite 0
comment 0
The employment of unmanned aerial vehicles is currently a fact in modern warfare. The benefit of using drones as a swarm, working together to accomplish a task, will help save lives; however, the communication among drones within a swarm is a challenge with the available technology due mainly to the power requirements to operate in a small device. Inspired by the massive machine-type communication 5th generation mobile networks, this work offers a novel method of identification and ranging for...
Topics: 5th generation mobile networks, swarm drones, swarming drones, drones, drones swarm, UAV, unmanned...
Yemen's most recent civil war began in 2015 and has affected nearly every person in the country. In addition to war and violence, Yemen has historically experienced a wide array of environmental insecurities, including water scarcity, famine, and migration precipitated by these factors. This thesis examines how environmental insecurities have affected the ongoing civil war and whether they have been used as a tool in the war. Also, this thesis asks whether these issues existed before the war or...
Topics: Yemen, civil war, environmental insecurity, water scarcity, famine, migration
This thesis demonstrates an application of machine learning for enabling automated decision support to warfighters operating laser weapon systems in complex tactical situations. The thesis used the NPS Modeling Virtual Environments and Simulation (MOVES) Institute's Swarm Commander modeling and simulation software environment to develop simulated datasets of wargaming scenarios involving a shipboard laser weapon system defending against drone swarm threats. The simulated datasets were used to...
Topics: laser weapon system, machine learning, unmanned aerial vehicles, unmanned aircraft systems,...
The development and adoption of 5G technology is rapidly progressing worldwide, and users of this technology are expected to increase to three billion by 2026. Third generation Partnership Project (3GPP) has designed the specifications of this new network infrastructure with security in mind; however, ongoing research continues to verify and scrutinize the system to help keep the data traveling this network safe. This thesis evaluates the feasibility and performance of three different attacks...
Topics: 5G, anonymity, error correction coding, low-density parity-check, LDPC, physical downlink control...
The Department of Defense's (DOD) Cyber Red Teams are often a group of ethical hackers and offensive-trained security professionals who must continuously stay ahead of cybercriminals' known tactics, techniques, and procedures. The Cyber Red Team certification and accreditation life cycle requires ongoing funding and time, while the United States' near-peer state actors and non-state actors are continuously trying to breach its cybersecurity defenses. The information technology infrastructure...
Topics: DOD cyber red teams, red team in a box, RTIB, Cyber Automated Red Team Tool, CARTT, user interface,...
United States Marine Corps expeditionary units require last-mile resupply of essential items while maintaining a small operational footprint. The use of automated unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) allows for units to be resupplied upon request, while keeping a low footprint in the operational area. Jatho in 2020 described an optimization model that prescribes optimal UAV routes and flight trajectories while accounting for wind conditions and known obstacles between requested resupply units....
Topics: optimal routing, UAV, UAV routing, energy efficiency, logistics
A recent safety culture workshop revealed that despite having an appropriate number of qualifications and multiple maintenance meetings throughout a given day, Marine Light Attack Helicopter Squadrons (HMLAs) are still suffering from the problem of inefficient communication. When I was the quality assurance officer (QAO) at HMLA-267, I saw firsthand how inefficient communication between and within multiple shops led to multiple \"down\" aircraft and an inability to execute all flights...
Topics: maintenance, HMLA, aviation, communication, model, modeling
In 2017, after three years of investment, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) restarted an IT acquisition project focused on the U.S. Coast Guard's (USCG) and Transportation Security Administration's financial system. Such projects bear inherent risks in terms of their size and interoperability and affect a wide range of agencies' operational missions. This thesis conducts a comparative analysis of the DHS's financial system failure and examines whether this project failure shares...
Topics: financial management system, acquisition, business process and project management
America has faced a racial reckoning as tensions have boiled over between law enforcement and communities of color. The killings of Philando Castile, George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and countless others have led to extensive protests. As the lead agency for investigating federal civil rights and color-of-law violations, the FBI has often been called upon to investigate police actions in these deadly encounters. However, many have questioned the bureau's ability to be impartial, due to the...
Topics: FBI, diversity, gender, racial bias
This thesis examines trends in Israel's energy security policies in response to its discovery of large offshore natural gas resources in 2009–2010. It evaluates Israel's use of energy diplomacy, selection of energy suppliers, and prioritization of energy infrastructure projects, and the potential impacts of greater energy abundance on these strategies. By comparing Israel's energy policies before and after 2013, the thesis finds that energy abundance led Israel to employ a more protectionist...
Topics: Israel, energy, natural gas
Interference on the Global Positioning System (GPS) infrastructure poses a threat to the nation's security and economy as systems become more dependent on the technology. The pervasiveness of GPS interference methods such as jamming and spoofing present multiple opportunities for adversaries to infiltrate and inject false data on systems as diverse as military, banking, shipping, ecommerce, transportation and other critical economic sectors. The study of GPS spoofing detection methods requires...
Topics: GPS, machine learning, data analytics, artificial intelligence, assured PNT
The purpose of this research is to determine if the Pacific Fleet private shipyard depot-level maintenance pilot program created financial flexibility by using Other Procurement Navy funds instead of Operation and Maintenance Navy funds. A questionnaire was sent to the Navy's Office of Budget and Pacific Fleet's comptroller and maintenance teams to understand what changes occurred and how they adapted to the changes. This thesis identified the positive and negative effects of the pilot and...
Topics: pilot program, operations, maintenance, PACFLT, comptroller, procurement, Congress, transfer,...
Practitioners and academics have discussed emergency management's status as a profession for decades. This thesis analyzes the degree of professionalization of emergency management in Maine and provides recommendations to improve it. Review of state legislation and key documents, coupled with interviews of emergency management leaders, contributed to an assessment of professionalization in Maine. Public-sector emergency managers completed a survey developed using Richard Hall's attitudinal...
Topics: emergency management, Maine, professionalization, profession
The United States has more than 17,000 police agencies across the nation with more than 800,000 men and women serving in these agencies, according to the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund. These officers provide for the safety and security of the residents within their geographic areas of employment. While law enforcement's shooting of civilians is on the whole a rarity, the United States averages about 1,000 people killed annually by police departments across the country, based...
Topics: police reform, police, police shootings, shootings, law enforcement, NYPD
This thesis will be qualitative in nature, utilizing published literature, scholarly writings, congressional testimonies, academic journals, previous theses, and public records. The literature review will take a look at relevant works in providing an understanding of selected themes from Marine Corps Doctrinal Publication 7, Learning (MCDP-7) on \"why\" learning is critically important to the profession of arms, and to address certain methods for \"how\" the Marine Corps can...
Topics: learning, organizational learning, organizational culture, psychological safety, systems thinking,...
This thesis presents a Model-Based Systems Engineering (MBSE) methodology for the development of a Unmanned Aircraft System (UAS) Digital Twin (DT) with the ability to demonstrate route selection capability with a Mission Engineering (ME) focus. It reviews the concept of ME and integrates it with an MBSE framework for the development of the DT. The methodology is demonstrated through a case study where the UAS is deployed for a Last Mile Delivery (LMD) mission and a route optimization module...
Topics: mission engineering, digital twin, systems engineering
This thesis aims to reduce the safety risks for warfighters in an area of operations where unexploded ordnance (UXO) may be present, and lessen the number of training opportunities due to malfunctioning munitions in a controlled environment. The thesis leverages the advancement in unmanned technologies and artificial intelligence (AI) development to complete dull, dirty, and dangerous tasks more effectively. Specifically, the thesis attempts to improve a trained AI detector's performance using...
Topics: small unmanned aerial system, UXO detection, deep learning, neural network, target classification,...
The United States invests significant time and resources in conducting drug interdiction operations in the Western Hemisphere. However, the primary strategic focus for the United States is great power competition (GPC) with Russia and China. GPC objectives are accomplished by maintaining or expanding influence, which can be achieved by becoming another nation's partner of choice. Partnership requires understanding the priorities of other nations so that mutually beneficial policy can be...
Topics: great power competition, Latin America, Navy, drug interdiction
The study was requested by the Marine Corps Aviation community with a focus on risk mitigation strategies for aviators transitioning from day to night flights. Avoiding the use of stimulants and sedatives to aid in fatigue mitigation, the study instead used a four-hour period of continuous bright light exposure to shift the circadian rhythm. The main goals of this study were to determine if the light intervention protocol successfully shifted the circadian rhythm of our participants, how large...
Topics: circadian entrainment, Naval aviation, dim light melatonin onset, DLMO, circadian rhythm,...
Naval Postgraduate School
3
3.0
Nov 27, 2021
11/21
Nov 27, 2021
by
Bucks, Marc B.; Williams, Daphne
texts
eye 3
favorite 1
comment 0
Maintaining a competitive advantage in conflict requires a Marine Corps that can rapidly develop and field technologies to the operational forces. In the 2019 \"Commandant's Planning Guidance,\" the Commandant of the Marine Corps emphasized the need to enhance our capabilities in artificial intelligence, sensor-based data collection, and data-enabled decision-making. Vital to this effort is the Risk Management Framework (RMF), the mandated process by which we assess and mitigate...
Topics: RMF, Risk Management Framework, risk management, assessment and authorization, security, ATO
Every year, the SEAL Officer Community Management (OCM) receives approximately 300 applications from candidates who want to attend Basic Underwater Demolition/SEAL (BUD/S) training to become Navy SEAL Officers. The applications include multiple data elements such as university attendance, grade point average (GPA) and physical fitness test scores. From this data, the SEAL OCM selects approximately 80% of the candidates to participate in SEAL Officer Assessment and Selection (SOAS). At SOAS, the...
Topics: NSW, BUD/S, selection, recruiting, officers, SEAL, training, OCM, grade point average, GPA, Naval...
Saudi Arabia and Israel have never had formal diplomatic relations. The Arab-Israeli issue of Palestinian self-determination, above all else, has kept these two Middle East states apart and at times in adversarial tension. However, the 21st century has witnessed thawing relations between Saudi Arabia and Israel, despite the continued unpopularity of Israel within Saudi society. Scholars have largely isolated one or two of the primary drivers that promote or inhibit Saudi's desire to cooperate...
Topics: Saudi Arabia, Israel, normalization, cooperation, diplomacy, negotiation, Iran, hegemony, Arab,...
The process of creating an intelligence status report requires a continuous collection of intelligence from various sources of varying inaccuracies and reliability. Consequently, managing many intelligence sources is not only a costly operation to establish but also to maintain continuously. Our objective is to use the Multi-armed Bandit (MAB) framework to model intelligence collection. The proposed framework generalizes the classical MAB model by accounting for censoring in sampled...
Topics: online learning, Multi-armed Bandit, MAB, intelligence collection, censoring
Computer networks are often the target of cyber attacks carried out by malevolent agents, to either disable critical system operations or to surreptitiously gain access to sensitive data. The asymmetric and covert nature of cyber attacks has led to their increased prevalence, where high-impact attacks on critical infrastructure can be launched with minimal resources. We consider the setup of a network switch and its connected nodes, and use multi-armed bandit models as a framework to formulate...
Topics: multi-armed bandit models, exploitation, cyber networks
Naval Postgraduate School
9
9.0
Nov 27, 2021
11/21
Nov 27, 2021
by
Chavez, Christopher T.; Mitchelmore, Matthew K.; Rothermel, Blake A.
texts
eye 9
favorite 0
comment 0
As the Surface Navy continues to advance, Surface Warfare Officers must understand organizational behavior and improve culture onboard ships to better develop teams and avoid mishaps. By examining and understanding organizational behavior, businesses have adapted their strategies to better their employees' performance. Using Nadler and Tushman's Congruence Model, this qualitative case study examines the USS Fitzgerald and USS John S. McCain 2017 ship collisions to answer the question: What...
Topics: Surface Warfare Officer, congruence model, collision, organizational behavior, United States Navy,...
Cold spray is a developing additive-manufacturing technology well suited as a preventive and corrective measure for metallic materials. The key challenge lies in formulating the optimal multifaceted spray parameters to achieve a functional coating on a substrate. Copper-nickel (Cu-Ni) alloy is particularly suited for study, due to its feasibility as both coating and repair material to be deposited onto a substrate through cold spray technology and its well-established characteristics for...
Topics: copper-nickel, Cu-Ni, cold spray, tensile, adhesion, nanoindentation, heat treatment, Young's...
Naval Postgraduate School
2
2.0
Nov 27, 2021
11/21
Nov 27, 2021
by
Osborne, Noel C., Sr.; Sanders, Derek C.; Troyanoski, Michael
texts
eye 2
favorite 0
comment 0
This thesis surveyed the capabilities, similarities, and differences regarding the Army's Military Occupational Specialty (MOS) 17C Cyber Operations and the associated difference and similarities between the career paths in the private sector. The question that guided the research was \"What are the recruitment, retention, and sustainment issues the U.S. Army is experiencing within the 17C MOS?\" Methodology included a comparative analysis of the learning objectives required by the...
Topics: cybersecurity, Cyber Operations, career paths, Military Occupational Specialty, MOS, 17C
This thesis explores how decision makers could use the Monterey Phoenix (MP) behavior modeling tool developed at the Naval Postgraduate School to assess, visualize, and prioritize cyber risk in a supply chain. Assessing supply chain risk is a complex problem because of the inter-relationships among various parts of the system and between the system and its environment. This thesis applies and extends a reusable methodology to analyze risk in MP, developed by Navy LCDR Richard Moebius in 2018,...
Topics: risk, risk assessment, risk management, system, system of systems, complex system, Monterey...
This thesis examines how Iran attempts to challenge the United States in the maritime domain. Iranian strategic thinking is discussed to better understand their views on self-reliance and national defense. The thesis then defines asymmetric naval warfare and how the strategy aims to counter perceived threats. Historical background is provided to understand how Iran's naval force developed. The shift in Iran's approach to the maritime domain, from conventional sea power to asymmetric naval...
Topics: Iran, maritime domain, IRGCN, IRIN, Persian Gulf, Strait of Hormuz, gray zone conflict,...
The research builds on successful nudge campaigns in the United States and the United Kingdom, including positive results in both the public and private sectors. Traditional crime prevention messaging approaches may have limited success. They typically reach individuals and communities who have already been exposed to straightforward public safety or crime prevention information messages from law enforcement. Based on the results of the Denver Police Department's nudge campaign—the process,...
Topics: Public Safety Nudge Campaign, crime reduction through marketing, crime prevention
Machine-to-machine teaming is the trend of future warfare aiming at maximizing effectiveness of heterogeneous assets while performing a specific task or mission. Currently, modern militaries employ autonomous systems such as unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) and unmanned ground systems (UGS) independently with separate missions. This study explores the possibility of utilizing an autonomous swarm composed of UAS and UGS working in tandem in the improvised explosive device (IED) clearance mission...
Topics: UAS, UGS, machine-machine teaming, IED clearance, Cameo, Simulink, systems engineering, unmanned...
The purpose of this research is to conduct an individual competency assessment of the Army National Guard's contract management knowledge and evaluate the individual competencies of the Army National Guard's contract officers and contract specialists (1102s). This research evaluates individual competencies throughout all phases of the contract life cycle. In addition to the assessment of individual competencies, this research will also evaluate the individual competencies of the buyer...
Topics: Army National Guard, National Guard Bureau, NGB, Contract Management Body of Knowledge, CMBOK,...
Currently, U.S. Navy shipboard communications have a great disadvantage: the data rates of satellite links are limited, typically below 4 Mbps for each link. Improving efficient utilization of these links while out to sea is paramount to maintaining our military advantage. Also, any improvement must be transparent to end user functionality. This thesis first explored implementing a free version of a commercial-off-the-shelf wide area network (WAN) optimizer, Artica, on a simulated shipboard...
Topics: network, networking, compression, efficiency, satellites, SATCOM, protocol compression
Naval Postgraduate School
14
14
Nov 27, 2021
11/21
Nov 27, 2021
by
Quintero Vera, Eduardo E.
texts
eye 14
favorite 0
comment 0
Challenges exist in determining out how to effectively integrate legacy analysis tools with Model-Based Systems Engineering (MBSE) tools to accomplish a digital transformation. In this study, we analyze the legacy Program of Ship Salvage Engineering (POSSE), an analysis-based tool that helps salvage engineers determine how critical a damaged ship situation is. Salvage engineers utilize POSSE to provide real-time assessments of complex salvage situations and to communicate with other commercial...
Topics: Model-Based Systems Engineering, MBSE, digital engineering, Program of Ship Salvage Engineering,...
U.S. Navy helicopters emerged as an innovative concept during World War II and have been a major component of naval aviation for over 70 years. Despite consistent support and a surge of resources at the turn of the 21st century, new concepts—such as the \"Carrier Air Wing of the Future,\" which reduces the helicopter footprint within the carrier air wing by over 30 percent—appear to signal that the Navy is moving on from helicopters. What explains the U.S. Navy's apparent...
Topics: military innovation studies, military history, aviation history, helicopter, helicopters, rotary...
Naval Postgraduate School
5
5.0
Nov 27, 2021
11/21
Nov 27, 2021
by
Ramos, Javier; Tejada, Eddie
texts
eye 5
favorite 0
comment 0
The natural process of ripening for fresh fruits and vegetables (FF&V) releases ethylene gas and as the concentration of ethylene increases in an enclosed environment, the ripening and spoilage process accelerates. Annually, the deterioration of produce arriving to our different Main Operating Bases (MOB) increases the burden on waste, cost, and logistics to the Army's budget. This study focuses on the viability of integrating ethylene control devices (ECD) in the Multi-Temperature...
Topics: ethylene control device, ECD, Multi-Temperature Refrigerated Container System, MTRCS, Product...
Mass migrations at the southwest border are nothing new, but surges in unaccompanied minors and family units crossing the border in short periods are increasingly overwhelming the U.S. government's capacity to respond, resulting in humanitarian, legal, and financial consequences. Due to the complex motivations for migrating, U.S. immigration authorities currently lack the ability to anticipate mass-migration events, making it difficult to prepare for them. This thesis poses the question of how...
Topics: immigration, mass migration, foresight, future planning, strategic foresight, migration, southwest...
As technology advances and nature becomes more unpredictable, hospitals need to focus on their response to specific threats and their capacity to handle them efficiently. Many studies have shown that due to underfunding, hospitals lack the basic size required to properly service populations. The purpose of this thesis is to build and analyze a model of a local hospital's emergency room operations under typical and surge conditions in terms of resource demand and utilization. The model will...
Topics: hospital, surge, threat, population, age demographics
Acoustic remote sensing of the ocean traditionally relies on controlled sound sources and active sonars. Alternatively, the seabed and the water column can be characterized acoustically in a surreptitious and environmentally friendly way using noise interferometry. Noise interferometry exploits ambient sound as a signal to probe the environment. Empirical acoustic Green's functions are retrieved from cross-correlations of diffuse noise that is measured concurrently by spatially separated...
Topics: noise interferometry, geoacoustic inversion, ambient sound
This dissertation explores knowledge friction. The concept knowledge flow is defined by many researchers as the transfer of actionable information between individuals, groups and organizations. Knowledge Flow Theory (KFT) frames and offers tools for conceptualizing, analyzing, visualizing, and measuring knowledge flows. Recently, Nissen conceptualized explicitness-based resistance to knowledge transfer; he referred to it as knowledge friction. This study addresses additional factors that...
Topics: Knowledge Flow Theory, knowledge friction, knowledge transfer, clarity, relevance, explicit...
Coactive Design is a process that addresses the increasingly complex roles that humans and robots play in modern digitalized systems. It analyzes the interdependencies between members in human-robot teamwork and optimizes interactive collaboration to support the team's overall capabilities. The process endeavors to provide designers and industry players with the necessary analysis tools and techniques to move the industry away from robot-centric automation in which the traditional goal has been...
Topics: Coactive Design, systems engineering, search and rescue, unmanned, human-machine teaming, HMT,...
The proliferation of unmanned aerial system (UAS) capabilities in the commercial sector is posing potentially significant threats to the traditional perimeter defense of civilian and military facilities. In particular, commercial-off-the-shelf UASs, which are small, cheap, and come with many functions, have sparked growing interest among hobbyists and raised risks to facilities. Consequently, facility commanders now need a methodology to conduct quick evaluation and analysis of immediate...
Topics: counter unmanned aerial system, system analysis, risk analysis, airport security, base security,...
After a substantial investment in simulated decision-making technologies in the form of the Tactical Decision Kit (TDK), the Marine Corps is struggling to capitalize on that investment in a fleet setting as well as a schoolhouse setting. The system neither entices leaders to train their Marines nor does it allow trainers to utilize the full potential of an interactive synthetic environment (ISE), especially in a way that trains Marines by challenging them to perform tasks that are expected of...
Topics: interactive synthetic environment, tactical decision kit, Virtual Battlespace, VBS, decision...
This thesis investigates the efficacy of U.S. security cooperation for advancing peace and stability in the Persian Gulf. It asks why the ongoing regional instability is disproportionate to the United States' investment. The thesis examines the U.S. relationships with Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates in the post-9/11 environment through two case studies and posits that dysfunctional partnerships have prevented the United States from achieving its foreign policy goals. The case studies...
Topics: Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Persian Gulf, security cooperation, military assistance,...
The Indianapolis Fire Department (IFD) and Indianapolis Public Schools (IPS) created the Arsenal Technical High School (ATHS) Fire Rescue Program (FRP) for juniors and seniors in the heart of Indianapolis. The program's goals are multidimensional—community outreach, a pathway to a high school diploma, and a recruitment tool. For 10 years, however, the IFD has hired not a single program graduate. This research examines the IFD's history of recruitment, government-issued consent decree, and...
Topics: diversity, fire service, recruitment, high school, early recruitment, teenagers, consent decree,...
The novel coronavirus (COVID-19) revealed weaknesses in supply chains of companies that produce personal protective equipment (PPE), resulting in nationwide shortages. A government-industry collaborative platform between the National Institute for Standards and Technology (NIST) and Helpful Engineering is under development to act as an exchange for material and equipment at each level of the supply chain. The intent of this is to create an online agile production platform (APP) for PPE. There...
Topics: Monterey Phoenix, emergent behavior, agile production platform, APP, personal protective equipment,...
This thesis aimed to analyze Sino-LAC space cooperation to answer the following questions: what are the motivations behind Sino-LAC space cooperation, and what do the parties stand to gain? How is Sino-LAC space cooperation structured, and is China promoting long-term technological dependencies? What challenges does this pose to U.S. space security, and is U.S. space policy effectively responding to regional Chinese proliferation within the space domain? Ultimately, LAC countries seek Chinese...
Topics: Latin America, China, Argentina, Brazil, Bolivia, Peru, Venezuela, space cooperation, space policy,...
Naval Postgraduate School
2
2.0
Nov 27, 2021
11/21
Nov 27, 2021
by
Bennett, Michael A.; Delaney, Thomas B., III; Kalousdian, Justin A.; Shoultz, Michcell L.; Stiller, Priya; Szwarc, Kyle A.
texts
eye 2
favorite 0
comment 0
Methods of communication have increased greatly over the past 25 years. Faster, more targeted communication enables organizations to influence their audience with greater precision and achieve their effect with greater impact on those receiving the message. Communication has moved from the days of broadcasting (equivalent to the basic \"dumb bomb\") to targeted messaging aimed at specific groups or even individuals (equivalent to today's precision-guided munitions [PGM]). Targeted...
Topics: recruit, recruiting, recruitment, recruiting efforts, communication network, social media, media...
While historical ties between the Persian Gulf and Southeast Asia date back centuries, interaction between these regions in the twentieth century has traditionally been limited to religiopolitical engagements such as the hajj, or the movement of labor and remittances. In the last decade, the strategic value of Southeast Asia has risen dramatically for a number of reasons, including the growth of the region's economies as well as the rise of India, China, and other great powers. Emerging...
Topics: Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Indonesia, competition, cooperation, Southeast Asia, international relations,...
Substance abuse remains a significant problem among Sailors within the U.S. Excessive use of alcohol and drugs can be detrimental to a Sailor's health, safety, and naval service. The U.S. Navy recognizes that substance abuse is preventable and treatable and aims to eliminate these destructive behaviors through continuous training, intervention, and treatment. However, the need to address alcohol and drug abuse using an alternative approach arises as Sailors continue to exhibit these destructive...
Topics: substance abuse, alcohol abuse, drug abuse, machine learning, supervised learning, predictive...
Network anomaly detection must be automated to meet requirements for real-time, accurate monitoring in the face of exponentially growing traffic volumes; however, this accuracy is often reduced when Gaussian methods are applied to non-Gaussian network traffic. To improve detection accuracy at requisite low false-alarm rates, we propose modeling network traffic and detecting anomalies using an entirely non-Gaussian methodology based on the α-stable distribution and appropriately-derived stable...
Topics: alpha stable distribution, statistical network anomaly detection, non-parametric anomaly detection,...
Naval Postgraduate School
38
38
Nov 19, 2021
11/21
Nov 19, 2021
by
Smith, Cullin R.; Docherty, Sean F.
texts
eye 38
favorite 0
comment 0
The effectiveness of a defense enterprise network can be directly related to that network’s consistent availability and resiliency against incidents resulting in the degradation of systems and services. The 2012 Department of Defense’s (DOD) Information Enterprise Architecture version 2.0 reinforced this concept by identifying that enterprise-wide access to network services and network optimization were two of the most vital aspects of an effective enterprise network. Additionally, the 2017...
Topics: incident handling, incident management, adverse event, outage, network vulnerability, monitoring...
Naval Postgraduate School
28
28
Nov 19, 2021
11/21
Nov 19, 2021
by
Smith, Aaron K.; Grogan, Shawn M.; Harpel, Aaron J.
texts
eye 28
favorite 0
comment 0
The Naval Supply Systems (NAVSUP) Command 810 program provides an opportunity for approximately eight Navy Supply Corps officers to attend a top-30 U.S. business school every year. Upon graduation, these officers obtain a 1301 subspecialty code and are expected to serve in leadership assignments where their educational experience is needed to influence strategy, innovation, and significant Department of Defense business decisions. Our research has identified a twofold problem facing what is...
Topics: Navy, Supply Corps, 810 program, master's in business administration, MBA, top 30 business school,...
Legacy Navy communication systems are used for command and control in underwater fighting environments. Adversaries will seek to deny these communication mediums. Additionally, the use of these communication systems may reveal the tactical location of blue forces, creating an inherent need for innovative methods of communication. Using sonar systems in the underwater channel between vessels to transmit a desired signal disguised as ambient ocean noises or biologics is a possible way to...
Topics: steganography, acoustic, Passerieux, underwater
Silicon (Si) and gallium arsenide (GaAs) solar cells have shown success in back-contact designs. However, solar cells with back contacts have not been implemented on copper indium gallium diselenide (CIGS). To show the advantages of using this type of solar cell on unmanned aircraft, data from the Puma 3 AE was used. Our objective was to model 144 staggered back contact (SBC) CIGS cells onto a Puma and prove that it would extend the flight time, all at a minimal cost to the U.S. military. There...
Topics: solar cell, CIGS, thin film, SILVACO, UAS, UAV
Military family housing programs are in crisis, the product of a policy-strategy mismatch resulting from competing interests among the United States Congress, Department of Defense, private real-estate developers, and the military members and families who rely on military housing. Through a policy-centered literature review, survey instrument, and analysis, this thesis investigates the mismatch and its impacts on military member and family health and readiness. Responses to this study’s...
Topics: military family housing, affordable, quality, safe, health, healthy, habitable, uninhabitable,...
This thesis studies the correlation between annual military accessions and local disease burden using county-level data from 2016 to 2019. One of the biggest challenges the military faces today is maintaining a healthy, professional, and strong military appropriately equipped—mentally, physically, and emotionally—to complete assigned missions and tasks. The worsening prevalence of obesity and other underlying diseases in the civilian population significantly affects the total number of...
Topics: accession, Air Force, Army, BMI, diabetes, disqualifying conditions, heart disease, Marine Corps,...
This research examines whether distributing energy storage systems (ESS) improves microgrid resilience. A resilience definition appropriate for a military context substantiates the selection of three resilience measures for quantifying the change in resilience between a single ESS baseline microgrid architecture, and double and quintuple ESS architectures. Mission impact (MI) from Peterson (2019), islanding time from Van Broekhoven et al. (2014), and average θ glideslope, θg, adapted from...
Topics: energy storage, microgrid, resilience, distributed energy storage, resilience simulation,...
This paper investigated one possible solution for procuring propellent needed for future space exploration missions. This study examined the feasibility of using an electromagnetic launcher (EML) to transport raw materials used in propellent production from the lunar south pole to NASA’s Lunar Gateway. This proposed space station, located in a lunar near-rectilinear halo orbit (NRHO), is a critical part of NASA’s Artemis program. Cheaply and efficiently sourcing lunar hydrogen from surface...
Topics: NASA, Artemis, Lunar Electromagnetic Launcher, lunar gateway, near-Rectilinear Halo Orbit Lunar...
Naval Postgraduate School
12
12
May 30, 2021
05/21
May 30, 2021
by
Bethancourt, Daniel; Hatch, Thomas H.; Nibert, Shawn M.; Wirth, Daniel J.
texts
eye 12
favorite 0
comment 0
This project develops a tool to better understand the impact of resource allocation on fleet readiness for the future guided-missile frigate, FFG(X). This project assesses the FFG(X) in terms of the PESTONI pillars (Personnel, Equipment, Supply, Training, Ordnance, Network, and Infrastructure). To use the PESTONI framework as a way to increase FFG(X) readiness, both a qualitative and a quantitative solution were developed. The qualitative solution is a series of failure propagation chain...
Topics: future guided-missile frigate, FFG(X), PESTONI pillars
Naval Postgraduate School
1
1.0
May 30, 2021
05/21
May 30, 2021
by
Birkenfeld, Martin L., Jr.
texts
eye 1
favorite 0
comment 0
Every law enforcement agency uses records management systems (RMS) that contain a wealth of information essential for investigations or intelligence. This information includes crime reports, arrest reports, name records, and property records. The ability to share this information between law enforcement agencies, especially those with bordering jurisdictions, would appear beneficial to the homeland security enterprise; however, this thesis reveals that sharing RMS data is not occurring as often...
Topics: police records management, RMS, records management systems, law enforcement records management...
Naval Postgraduate School
4
4.0
May 30, 2021
05/21
May 30, 2021
by
Bolen, Curtis D.; Chu, Victoria; Dang, Andy Q.; Kim, Paul T.; Proctor, Christian; Shideler, Bridget R.
texts
eye 4
favorite 0
comment 0
Existing military microgrid analysis tools lack an integrated system analysis process to fully assess energy resilience and microgrid cost. This capstone describes the development of a common streamlined tool and methodology to improve the ability to assess energy resilience for military microgrids using event scenarios including deliberate attacks and natural disasters. The resilience metric used in this report, defined as the expected lifecycle mission impact (ELMI), quantifies microgrid...
Topics: microgrid, resilience, system engineering, naval installation, trade-off analysis, cost, expected...
This thesis is a single-case study of Puerto Rico’s experience with Hurricane Maria and its catastrophic impacts. As the nation faces more complex and frequent catastrophic disasters, practitioners must consider how to build resilience in a meaningful way by beginning with the community. America’s approach to disaster preparedness and response outlined in the National Preparedness Goal (NPG) and the National Response Framework (NRF) has respectively produced “whole community” concepts...
Topics: National Preparedness Goal, NPG, National Response Framework, NRF, disaster resilience, community...
Globally, only 23 countries recognize women as indispensable support in combat positions. American and Norwegian women are effectively utilized in Female Engagement Teams, and Israeli women are known to enhance combat effectiveness in infantry units. Nevertheless, gender gaps in equality still remain, particularly in Latin American militaries. In this thesis, Norway, Israel, and the United States illustrate the differing approaches and successes of female integration into combat positions. It...
Topics: Latin American region, women in combat, gender mainstreaming, gender equality, critical mass...
The Defense Language Institute (DLI) trains most of the cryptologic language analysts (CLA) that perform translation and analysis of data to support the United States military and intelligence communities. Students take the Defense Language Proficiency Test (DLPT) when graduating, passing if they achieve a score of L2/R2 (2 on the Listening portion, 2 on the Reading). DLI has been ordered to improve its students’ scores upon graduation. It seeks an improved model to screen applicants for the...
Topics: DLI, Defense Language Institute, Defense Language Proficiency Test, DLPT, language, success,...
The CIA's initial regime change operations between 1953 to 1961 were marred by intelligence leaks and lacked critical mission assessments. In addition, perceptions held by top-level decision makers were so distorted that unsupported claims of communist infiltration were made in order to support the decision to proceed with an operation. Three operations were conducted in the span of eight years with nearly indistinguishable similarity, and the third operation resulted in failure. It was only...
Topics: CIA, organizational learning, regime change, international affairs
This thesis evaluates the recent improvement of Russia's submarine program in light of the overall modernization of Russia's undersea capabilities. It is based on a combination of qualitative assessments from unclassified official publications from Russian maritime defense institutions, historical articles on Soviet submarine development, along with their use during the Soviet era, and contemporary studies of Russian submarines. It concludes that the Russian Navy is well on its way to replacing...
Topics: Russia, Russian, nuclear, diesel, SSBN, SSN, hybrid, warfare, deterrence, submarines, Cold War,...
The purpose of this research was to determine the significance of Marine Corps officer accession sources in relation to achieving career-level promotion benchmarks. The study first determined what characteristics the Marine Corps values in selecting officers for promotion to major and lieutenant colonel. Then, the study compared the focus variables of accession source to determine if any specific program is more likely to produce career-level officers. Logit multivariate analysis models were...
Topics: accession source, commissioning source, retention, promotion, major, lieutenant colonel
The Ship Integration Program Office (PMW760) is interested in the prospect of having a unified, cohesive communications protocol that can be used by all unmanned systems under their purview. The Data Distribution Service (DDS) is a prime candidate for such cohesive communications using point-to-point links. The objective of this thesis is to assess the performance of DDS in a network architecture that fits the naval use case criteria. We propose a network architecture that incorporates...
Topics: DDS, Mininet, SATCOM, WiFi, throughput, latency, unmanned systems
Unexploded ordnance (UXO) poses a threat to soldiers operating in mission areas, but current UXO detection systems do not provide the required safety and efficiency to protect soldiers from this hazard. Recent technological advancements in artificial intelligence (AI) and small unmanned aerial systems (sUAS) present an opportunity to explore a novel concept for a UXO detection system. The system proposed in this study integrates a sUAS with an onboard single- or multiple-spectrum (MS)...
Topics: unexploded ordnance, UXO, artificial intelligence, AI, small unmanned aerial systems, sUAS, object...
All across the country, officials and planners of the first-responder community plan for events of various types, yet their plans do not adequately account for crowd behavior when the event is interrupted by an act of violence that turns into a mass-casualty incident, or a “focus event.” This research contests early crowd psychology studies and presents the contemporary social identity theory, elaborated social identity model, and emergence model as better lenses for crowd behavior in...
Topics: crowds, crowd behavior, focus event, Boston Marathon bombing, Las Vegas shooting, CAS, complex...
As aviation continues to be the fastest and most efficient form of global transportation, airports across the country continue to see exponential growth in size and population. This expansion means airports will remain a high-value target to crime and terrorism. The need to protect the airport environment against these threats is essential. The responsibility of policing the nation’s major airports is unique and full of challenges. Airport police must balance the requirements of providing...
Topics: airport, aerotropolis, aviation, police, policing, law enforcement, security, critical...
To maintain its maritime advantage, the Navy must select and develop effective leaders. Organizations widely use information on personality traits of employees to help identify and develop leaders. In this thesis, I investigate whether extroverts are more likely to become leaders, and whether extroverts make better leaders. I use data on U.S. Naval Academy midshipmen who complete the Myer Briggs Test Indicator (MBTI) for personality type awareness. In their senior year, midshipmen have...
Topics: performance, leadership, extroversion
This thesis conducted a systematic literature review to synthesize and analyze current research on cybersecurity investment risk that may inform the Marine Corps’ future cybersecurity investment decisions. Using both public and private sector research on cybersecurity investment risk allowed for a broad look at academic studies that approached similar issues. This thesis makes recommendations on framework and two models that may be adopted by the Marine Corps as effective decision-making...
Topics: cybersecurity investment, risk, discretionary spending, non-discretionary spending, military buying...
Developing democracies, especially in countries such as Sierra Leone, that have experienced military interventions in politics, face challenges in establishing civilian control over their armed forces. Until the UK-led post-war defense reform of 2002, Sierra Leone’s military was politicized and had a history of intervening in politics following the country’s independence in 1961. While the government is still consolidating post-reform gains, attendant problems of civilian control are...
Topics: civilian control, military prerogatives, ministry of defense, civilian supremacy, civil-military...
This research examines the Coast Guard’s maritime security relationship with the Cuban Border Guard—before, during, and after normalization—through a qualitative case study comparison of five distinct mission areas: drug interdiction, migrant interdiction, search and rescue, marine environmental protection, and port security. By reviewing the aftereffects of the Trump administration’s rollback of U.S.-Cuba policy, specifically the impact on the Coast Guard-Cuban Border Guard security...
Topics: counterdrug, counternarcotics, drug interdiction, illegal migration, human smuggling, migrant...
Each year the Marine Corps recruits more than 30,000 enlistees. In an effort to obtain high-quality enlistees, over 40 percent of enlistees ship to bootcamp during the June, July, August, and September trimester. In this thesis, I analyze the Marine Corps’ accession plan and the relationship between a Marine's accession trimester and time awaiting training, as well as their likelihood to re-enlist after their first term and the probability of attrition prior to completing their first term....
Topics: attrition, bootcamp, accession, performance, retention, recruiting, time awaiting training, Marines...
Police-related civilian deaths, caused by direct force or occurring during custody, pose one of the central challenges to police legitimacy. This thesis studied five police departments that experienced such a crisis of legitimacy, as evidenced by either deadly retaliatory violence against police or substantial civil unrest in response. Specifically, this thesis examined how each agency implemented expert-recommended legitimacy-developing policies before and in response to the challenge of these...
Topics: police, New York, Eric Garner, Daniel Pantaleo, Ferguson, Michael Brown, Darren Wilson, Baltimore,...
This capstone explores the applicability of the Systems-Theoretic Accident Model and Processes (STAMP) framework and the System-Theoretic Process Analysis (STPA) methodology to guide consideration of system safety concerns posed by future variants of Sea Hunter. The author analyzed the Sea Hunter’s navigational mission behaviors from a high-level perspective of a functional hierarchy, discussing the specific steps of how basic STAMP/STPA can be used to identify safety hazards and safety...
Topics: safety, autonomous weapon systems, STAMP, STPA
In recruiting, the phrase “you recruit who you are” describes a presumed relationship—recruiters attract and enlist individuals who are similar to themselves or within their in-group. This research evaluates the correlation of high-quality recruiters on high-quality enlistees. For the 264,681 recruiter-enlistee pairs from 2011 to 2019, quality is defined and determined for both recruiters and enlistees with five metrics using DOD enlistment standards and Marine Corps promotion and...
Topics: recruiting, Marine Corps, enlistee, recruiter, recruiting assignment, special duty assignment, SDA,...
Research has shown that machine learning holds promise as a technique to improve the identification and classification of signals of interest. This study proposes the use of machine learning, specifically generative adversarial networks, to classify received signals based on their down-converted, but not demodulated, in-phase and quadrature signals and evaluate their probability of being of interest. The approach used a generative adversarial network to train a classifier convolutional neural...
Topics: generative adversarial network, neural network, deep learning
Under President Trump, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) rolled out the controversial parent-child separation policy, also known as zero tolerance, and the Migrant Protection Protocols (MPP) program in 2018–19. How DHS conducts strategic communications about such controversial policies is directly related to public and stakeholder perception of these policies. A newly developed stakeholder-centric measurement and evaluation model used to evaluate these two policy case studies...
Topics: strategic communications, immigration enforcement, immigration policy, measurement and evaluation...
Over the past decade, Southeast Asian countries have struggled to devise effective responses to China’s efforts to assert its claims in the South China Sea. This thesis aims to explain why some of those responses have been more successful than others. Using five case studies from 2012–2020, this thesis examines how the following four factors account for the success or failure of Vietnamese and Malaysian responses: increased external balancing with the U.S., increased internal balancing,...
Topics: Southeast Asian responses, regional responses, South China Sea, Chinese coast guard, Chinese...
The Mission Dependency Index (MDI) is a metric used by all U.S. military services for guiding operations, management, and funding decisions for facilities at military installations. Despite its broad adoption, several studies on MDI suggest it may have flaws that limit its efficacy. We present the first rigorous technical analysis of MDI as to how its flaws impact decisions and determine ways to overcome them. We develop a formal mathematical definition of MDI based on multilayer networks that...
Topics: Mission Dependency Index, MDI, infrastructure, network, multilayer
Naval Postgraduate School
38
38
May 30, 2021
05/21
May 30, 2021
by
HersterDudley, Marcella R.
texts
eye 38
favorite 0
comment 0
In support of the National Defense Strategy, the Department of Defense (DoD) has recognized energy security as an essential part of its strategic intent. In keeping with the DoD's strategic goals, the Department of the Navy announced three pillars of success to meet those goals: Resilience, Reliability, and Efficiency. To best establish energy security for DoD installations, microgrids have been embedded into the energy systems as additional energy sources and controls that support mission...
Topics: resilience, recovery procedures, microgrid, energy, reliability
Meteorological remote sensing efforts have advanced operational decision making and scientific research over the last half-century by providing high-quality global observations of the land, atmosphere, and ocean. The continued development of convolutional neural networks (CNNs) and Bayesian neural networks shows potential for allowing some of these datasets to be synthetically produced where they cannot be directly observed. In this thesis, global precipitation measurement mission (GPM) data is...
Topics: artificial intelligence, remote sensing, tropical meteorology, convolutional neural networks, CNN,...
In 2018, the Colorado Department of Transportation was hit with a ransomware attack that resulted in the first-ever state emergency declaration for a cyber attack. Cyber attacks against the nation and its infrastructure are expected to increase, yet no extensive research exists on the United States' designated response framework for them. This thesis investigated the application of the Incident Command System (ICS) in significant cyber incidents and how the system may be improved for these...
Topics: Incident Command System, ICS, National Incident Management System, NIMS, cyber response,...
Proper talent management is essential to the longevity of the Marine Corps, and it is vital that policies exist to support and retain current personnel. Parenthood is a common experience among Marines, and Marine families continue to contribute to the Marine Corps’ overall mission accomplishment. The majority of research has evaluated how childbirth impacts traditional families, but little emphasis has been dedicated to Dual-military (Dual-mil) families. My research examines parenthood...
Topics: parenthood, retention, recruitment, Dual-military, parental leave policy, pregnancy
This thesis utilizes a soft power framework to examine U.S. public diplomacy (PD) efforts in Central America’s Northern Triangle—El Salvador, Honduras, and Guatemala—between 2009 and 2016. During this period, the region experienced seemingly similar security, development, and migration challenges that affected U.S. foreign policy objectives; however, what would explain any variation in U.S. PD approaches to persuade or attract the host nation’s public within these three countries? This...
Topics: public diplomacy, U.S. foreign policy, soft power, smart power, Central America, Northern Triangle,...
Naval Postgraduate School
3
3.0
May 30, 2021
05/21
May 30, 2021
by
Heyde, John J.; Mellendick, Kevan M.
texts
eye 3
favorite 0
comment 0
Minimal research to date has examined the impact of new parenthood on either military personnel or medical professionals. This thesis aims to identify the specific impacts of new parenthood on performance of military medical professionals, a group of highly skilled, in-demand, and costly-to-train servicemembers. Using quarterly data from 2013-2019 obtained from the Army Person Data Environment, we used individual fixed effects models to identify how new parenthood impacts physical performance...
Topics: parenthood, performance, military, medical, readiness
Although many alternatives to the standard model of policing have been proposed, none of them meaningfully engages with the massive social and technological changes that have occurred since the mid-20th century. This thesis asks if complexity theory can serve as a theoretical foundation for a new model of policing. Literature on complexity, complex adaptive systems, and network theory is examined and finds that observed behavior of street robberies in Washington, DC, can be understood as a...
Topics: complexity, complex adaptive system, network, netwar, policing, cynefin
In the past five years, the United States has seen a noticeable increase in racially, ethically motivated violent extremist (REMVE) activity. By examining the relevance of defining terrorism as international or domestic, this thesis identifies antiquated assumptions that have hindered the U.S. federal approach to investigating and prosecuting REMVE organizations. It also explores whether U.S. legal and judicial frameworks are adaptive enough to address emerging REMVE trends and how the homeland...
Topics: racially, ethnically motivated violent extremism, REMVE, domestic terrorism, designation
Naval Postgraduate School
1
1.0
May 30, 2021
05/21
May 30, 2021
by
Kelly, Shannon A.; Kilber, Megan E.
texts
eye 1
favorite 0
comment 0
The Marine Corps’ current manpower system focuses on producing quantity over quality and fails to encourage those it wants and needs to keep to increase the diversity and longevity of its officer corps. A renewed emphasis has been placed on understanding what factors may affect an officer’s decision to remain serving. Literature suggests that a mentoring relationship may have a positive effect on retention. In this study, we first explore the predictive power of socio-demographic variables...
Topics: retention, mentorship, NROTC, MOI
The U.S. electoral system and democracy are under continued attack by foreign adversaries and political extremists intent on manipulating U.S. elections. Election officials and homeland security stakeholders must search for alternative methods to help strengthen the resiliency of the system. The question then becomes: How can red teaming and systems thinking be applied to reinforce the integrity of the U.S. electoral system? The goal is to analyze the system in its entirety to ensure the system...
Topics: election integrity, election security, red teaming, systems thinking, U.S. Secret Service, DHS,...
Live Music Archive
Librivox Free Audio
Metropolitan Museum
Cleveland Museum of Art
Internet Arcade
Console Living Room
Books to Borrow
Open Library
TV News
Understanding 9/11
