THE STATE OF THE ART AND THE STATE OF THE PRACTICE Effects of Alerts on Army Infantry Platoon Leader Decision Making and Performance Topics: C2 Experimentation, C2 Analysis, Cognitive Domain Issues

Future U.S infantry capabilities, coupled with network-centric warfare concepts, will enable advancements in information distribution and display, and will provide a combat advantage. However, the distribution of large amounts of information, especially to the visual channel may result in information bottlenecks and cognitive overload. Utilizing other human senses such as audition and touch to convey information may help Soldiers manage information, thereby enhancing their performance on the battlefield. In this paper, we describe two studies focused on identifying techniques that aid information management and enhance situational awareness and decision making for operators of future Army Combat systems, specifically, the platoon leader in the infantry command and control vehicle. The first study examined the effects of unimodal alerts on platoon leader decision making and performance. The second study used redundant alerts. This paper emphasizes the background of the research, experimental design, results, and future directions. 1.0 Backgroun