Extensible Battle Management Language (XBML): A methodology for web enabling Command and Control for Network Centric Warfare

Command and Control (C2) communication in a network centric environment such as the Global Information Grid (GIG) is postulated to be data “rich”. However, our current situation is that the most critical C2 information, the commander’s intent, orders and directives, does not actually flow as data. It is often communicated as “free text”. While suitable for interpersonal communication, it is not able to support advanced automation or intelligent decision aids due to its inherent ambiguity. Battle Management Language (BML) was developed as a solution to this problem. BML is defined as the unambiguous language used to: 1) command and control forces and equipment conducting military operations and, 2) provide for situational awareness and a shared, common operational picture. It can be seen as a representation of a digitized commander’s intent to be used for real troops, for simulated troops, and for future robotic forces