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TINCOPS Functional Architecture

The result of mission planning is a strategy for accomplishing the intended objectives that reflects decisions on the best methods and course of actions to follow.  The mission planning process is knowledge intensive and involves a number of factors that must be considered including uncertainties in the intelligence collected, enemy response, changes in logistics needs or routes, etc. In addition, once the mission is active, changes in the battlespace can occur rapidly and commanders must receive accurate and current combat situational information in order to craft the most effective response and change to the original strategy.

The complexity of mission planning makes experience and expertise particularly sought after attributes--attributes that currently are limited to the experienced commanders who make the crucial strategy decisions. To provide a robust decision support system for creating thorough and flexible combat mission plans, KBSI developed the innovative Toolkit for Intelligent Combat Planning and Simulation (TINCOPS). TINCOPS is a knowledge-based computer-aid that manages and deploys knowledge for the U.S. military's complex combat decision support applications and for analyzing and evaluating logistics plans.

At the foundation of TINCOPS is a structured and comprehensive knowledge management methodology for capturing, managing, and deploying, to military decision support applications, knowledge collected from distributed, multi-disciplinary sources including military and geospatial experts. The TINCOPS intelligent Decision Support System (DSS) dynamically presents this knowledge and, in combination with a conventional GIS-based system, allows users to make mission plans with a large body of data and information.

The toolkit's knowledge-based approach also guarantees that planning knowledge is stored and accessible for later planning scenarios, significantly improving future combat training and planning.

Principal benefits include:

	A robust knowledge elicitation capability that facilitates cost-effective and large-scale acquisition, preservation, and application of military and geospatial knowledge from military and geography experts,
	Significant agility, time, and cost improvements in future combat systems through the application of knowledge based planning, simulation, and training technology,
	Intelligent support for mission planning to augment human cognition, and
	Enhanced strategic and tactical military effectiveness and decision support through robust analysis aids.

Not only will TINCOPS aid in immediate planning activities, but the knowledge-based approach will also guarantee that planning knowledge is stored and accessible for later planning scenarios, significantly improving future combat training and planning. This approach will help military planners manage, apply, and, importantly, develop planning and training activities that make use of an ever growing body of knowledge.