Dynamic Analysis of Combat Vehicle Accidents

To the chagrin of well intentioned Army leaders, dozens of soldiers are killed each year as a result of combat vehicle accidents. The objective of this study is to look beyond the events and symptoms of accidents which normally indicate human error, and instead study the upper-level organizational processes and problems that constitute the actual root causes of accidents. After a short review of the literature we report on our development of a System Dynamics model. We then discuss the results of several simulations; which suggest that high-level decisions that balance mission rate and operations tempo with troop availability, careful management of the work-rest cycle for deployed troops, and improvement of the processes for evaluating the lessons learned from accidents, would lead to a reduction in Army combat vehicle accidents.