Planning the allocation of medical resources within a military theater of operations: training and simulation using a rule based controller

This report develops a system definition of a software oriented strategy for training staff officers of the U.S. Army Medical and Medical Service Corps. The main objective is training in planning for the allocation of medical resources within an area or theater of operations. An overview of salient aspects of the U.S. Army medical functions and resources are developed, the allocation process is reviewed, training objectives are determined, and the proposed system components as well as possible implementation problems are discussed. A unique aspect of the system is the use of a rule based controller. Rules are entered into the controller by the trainee in response to a problem description. Trainee performance is evaluated in terms of the effectiveness of these rules in achieving the desired output from a simulated combat scenario. Justification of this approach for training is based on studies of the effectiveness of trainee-generated rules in training for supervisory tasks