Naval Postgraduate School
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AVIATION SECURITY: OPTIMIZING HUMAN PERFORMANCE AT U.S. AIRPORTS
Get PDFThis thesis analyzes why Transportation Security Administration (TSA)—despite its remarkable success in its safety functions and human–technology interface—disregards best practices in curbing human error related to cognitive workload, fatigue, and motivation and trust, for which the organization has collected data since 2002. TSA has yet to record a serious human error incident to catalyze organizational change, but poor worker performance, as demonstrated in covert test results, confirms that minimizing human error in all facets of the complex system is crucial for sustaining TSA’s future. Using the constant comparative method, this thesis explores literature on human factors (HF) and human error and analyzes the work environments of employees in the aviation security, aviation safety, and medical fields. Recognizing this gap between technological and procedural advancement and TSA’s deficiencies in identifying the sources of human error, this thesis offers the following practical recommendations to facilitate a culture that reduces human error: initiate a pilot study, implement minor changes to the overall organizational culture within the screening environment, devise comprehensive HF policies and practices, and review existing data sets to reduce human error.Distribution Statement A. Approved for public release: Distribution is unlimited.Civilian, Pacific Northwest National Laborator
INDONESIAN NATIONAL ARMED FORCES EFFECTIVENESS IN THE HUMANITARIAN ASSISTANCE/DISASTER RELIEF ROLES
No full textThis thesis attempts to analyze the evolving role and effectiveness of Tentara Nasional Indonesia (TNI, Indonesia National Armed Forces) in humanitarian aid and disaster relief (HA/DR), focusing on comparative case studies of the 2004 Aceh Earthquake and the COVID-19 pandemic response. Applying Matei and Halladay’s military effectiveness framework—which emphasizes strategic planning, organizational structure, and resource availability—this study evaluates the extent to which coordination between civilian authorities and the TNI has impacted disaster management outcomes in Indonesia. Analysis reveals significant improvements in TNI’s capabilities in performing HA/DR between the two case studies. Enhanced civil-military coordination mechanisms established post-2004 facilitated more timely and efficient response efforts during the COVID-19 crisis, resulting in increased overall national disaster readiness. This thesis argues that increased collaboration and clearer division of roles between TNI and civilian disaster response institutions contribute to not only immediate relief efforts but also broader national security strategies aimed at mitigating the impact of non-traditional security threats. The study recommends instituting sustained institutional reforms to strengthen TNI’s HA/DR capacity, emphasizing continuous improvement in civil-military interoperability and strategic resource allocation.Distribution Statement A. Approved for public release: Distribution is unlimited.Letnan Dua, Indonesian Air Forc
Faces of NPS: Lt. Cmdr. Corey Rollins, USN
Get PDFFaces of NPS features interviews spotlighting the students, faculty, staff and alumni of our Nation's premier defense education and research institution
SIMULATION ANALYSIS OF U.S. ARMY RESERVE RANGE QUALIFICATIONS FOR LARGE SCALE MOBILIZATION OPERATIONS
Get PDFDuring large scale mobilization operations (LSMO), the Army Reserve and National Guard units experience delays in weapons training at Mobilization Force Generation Installations (MFGIs) due to limited range capacity. The Army currently uses tools like Microsoft Excel to estimate range capacities and select appropriate MGFIs for training and mobilization. These tools fall short in addressing the operational complexities of range management, such as specific weapon-system requirements, convoy movements, unexpected range closures, and overlapping unit training schedules. Excel-based tools also lack the ability to model queueing behavior and stochastic variability, which are essential to representing the dynamic nature of real-world range operations. This research addresses these limitations by developing a discrete-event simulation in the Army Vantage environment, grounded in real-world data from the Range Facility Management Support System (RFMSS). Using SimPy, the simulation models unit progression through range operations, incorporates random service times and resource constraints, enables planners to assess baseline performance and identify bottlenecks, and provides a tool for future planners to optimize range scheduling. Success was measured by the model’s ability to conduct simulations that reflect real-world scenarios and demonstrate how units can effectively cycle through the available ranges without delays or capacity issues.Distribution Statement A. Approved for public release: Distribution is unlimited.Captain, United States ArmyFirst Army, Rock Island Arsenal, Illinois 6129
A STUDY OF OCEAN SURFACE ROUGHNESS USING FIELD OBSERVATIONS
No full textAccurate environmental prediction is critical to establishing the U.S. Navy’s superiority in the surface and subsurface marine battlespace. A key physical driver of the atmosphere-ocean coupled system is the wind stress on the ocean surface. Through a nonlinear feedback process, the force of the wind on the ocean surface generates waves, which in turn modulates the properties of the interface and enhances the surface wind stress. The physics of this frictional interaction is encapsulated by the ocean surface roughness parameter. Operational atmosphere-ocean coupled numerical prediction hinges on the spatial and temporal variability of ocean surface roughness. Using a high quality marine atmospheric boundary layer data set collected from a unique ocean platform, an in-depth analysis of directly measured ocean surface roughness and wind stress was conducted and compared to state-of-the-art parametric models, with an emphasis on how these formulations perform in varying and complex sea states. To support future investigation, a direct numerical simulation domain was set-up using a high-resolution computational fluid dynamics platform to simulate boundary layer interactions with a wavy surface. Several experiments were run in the domain to demonstrate its capabilities, and this will facilitate further work aimed at improving our understanding of these complex flows.Distribution Statement A. Approved for public release: Distribution is unlimited.Outstanding ThesisLieutenant, United States Nav
UTILIZING A FACTION DISPOSITION PARTICLE FILTER (FDPF) FOR TRACKING OPPOSING FORCES (OPFOR) ENTITY POSITIONS IN LAND-BASED MILITARY SIMULATIONS WITH PARTIAL OBSERVABILITY
No full textThis thesis investigates how a Faction Disposition Particle Filter can be effectively designed to estimate the positions of opposing force (OPFOR) entities under conditions of fog of war on land-based military simulations with partial observability. Inspired by military planning procedures, the proposed method models entire faction-level enemy courses of action (COAs) as individual particles. Unlike conventional approaches that estimate unit positions independently, each particle represents the coordinated behavior of all OPFOR units, capturing their collective intent and operational coherence. This enables the decision-making AI to reason over complete enemy dispositions rather than fragmented unit data. The implemented prototype consists of three core components: a set of Particle AIs encoding plausible OPFOR COAs, a Likelihood Estimator assessing their consistency with current observations, and a decision-making AI that selects actions based on the weighted particle states. Evaluated across a range of scenarios, the approach demonstrated improved estimation and adaptive planning under uncertainty. The modular design, observed limitations, and identified trade-offs offer a foundation for future enhancements, including dynamic particle management, improved likelihood modeling, and predictive planning.Distribution Statement A. Approved for public release: Distribution is unlimited.Major, German Arm
T-Channel Microfluidic Devices and 3d Printing Methods for Producing T-Channel Microfluidic Devices
No full textThis disclosure, and the exemplary embodiments provided herein, include microfluidic devices and methods of producing microfluidic devices including 3D-printable structures which are scalable, robust, parallel, fast, and efficient for generating vast networks of electrodes in-situ. For example, benthic microbacterial fuel cells including networks of electrodes to harvest electrons ejected from bacteria positioned in a complex multilevel structure containing those bacteria suspended in aqueous solution or feeding medium. In addition to biofuel cells, the use of 3D-printed T channels as disclosed extends to other applications where similar networks of conducting channels can be rapidly and efficiently generated in existing structures
ADVANCED MATERIALS PROCESSING FOR DENSIFICATION AND PERMEABILITY OPTIMIZATION AT ELEVATED TEMPERATURES
No full textThis study investigates the fabrication of silicon nitride (Si₃N₄) ceramics using molten salt synthesis (MSS) as a lower-temperature alternative to conventional sintering methods. Silicon nitride is typically processed at high temperatures exceeding 1600°C; this work explores sintering between 900°C and 1100°C using sodium chloride (NaCl) as the molten medium and urea as the nitrogen source. Green bodies were prepared from commercial Si₃N₄ powder, compacted, and partially encapsulated before sintering in an air-filled furnace. Densification was assessed using Archimedes measurements, and microstructural evolution was characterized through SEM, EDS, and XRD. The results showed that a maximum of 87.96% theoretical density was achieved at 1000°C after 24 hours. SEM, EDS and XRD confirmed increasing grain coalescence and progressive NaCl infiltration across all sintering conditions. At 1100°C, extended sintering led to severe morphological changes, attributed to uncontained salt intrusion and possible reactions with decomposition byproducts. The study highlighted two key areas for further improvement: improved green body compaction, and evaluation of alternative nitrogen precursors. These findings demonstrated the potential and limitations of MSS for Si₃N₄ processing under moderate thermal conditions.Distribution Statement A. Approved for public release: Distribution is unlimited.Military Expert 5, Republic of Singapore Nav
Faces of NPS: Matthew Carlyle, PhD
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