Cultural Geography Model Validation

In the current warfighting environment, the military needs robust modeling and simulation (M&S) to support Irregular Warfare (IW) analysis across the range of tactical, operational, and strategic levels of warfare to help inform decisions concerning operations within the IW environment. In support of this need, the military requires a responsive family of Models, Methods, and Tools (MMT) able to credibly represent US and Coalition ground forces conducting operations in a Joint and Combined IW environment, from the tactical to strategic levels. As a first step in this direction, TRAC Monterey (TRAC‐MTRY) is developing a prototype capability that credibly represents ground forces conducting IW operations and focusing on the relevant relationships and interactions within the population. This paper describes work being performed on behalf of TRAC‐MTRY to develop a measurable, repeatable method for assessing, understanding, and describing the risk of using an M&S for analysis, to enhance the ability of decision makers to assess the risk in using an IW M&S, and add to the core body of knowledge in Validation Best Practices.