JCATS software

[Deleted]

I've learned a little bit about it from an online PDF (HISTORICAL ANALYSIS OF THE BATTLE OF LITTLE
BIGHORN UTILIZING THE JOINT CONFLICT AND
TACTICAL SIMULATION (JCATS)
by
Michael A. Charlebois
and
Keith E. Pecha), but it was lean on how the software works. Anyone know more about it?

LBM

[montrose]

I attended the Naval Postgraduate School, where this thesis was written. I know Pecha, we were fellow SF officers. I have known Gordon McCormick since 1983. I have been part of JCAT training numerous times.

So what do you want to know?

JCATS is used to train battalion and above staffs. It lets staffs learn their jobs with electrons, without having to put troops in the field. A win win. The main focus is on staff decisions, not realistic combat simulation.

JCATS uses rough terrain summaries, which means you can frequently shoot at targets you can't see and move through impassible terrain. (In one exercise they let a tank brigade cross the mountains in Panama with a 20% movement penalty; this is like doing a long jump over the Grand Canyon). JCATS also is very, very, very focused on weapon max capabilities, since it is created and funded by weapon makers.

So let me give you a specific example from the thesis. An early table shows that a weapon at LBH has a 20% probability of a hit at 1500 meters, which is about a mile. The only thing an 1876 weapon can hit at 1500 meters is planet earth.

A rifle of this era has a max effective range of 300 meters. You want to get more range, you need optics, you need quality control on rifle barrels, you need quality control on ammunition. And you need individual training, which JCATS ignores. The longer the range of a rifle, the more training the shooter must have. Trajectories matter. Poorly trained soldiers are better off with weapons designed for shorter ranges, since the shooter has to make less adjustments to point of aim due to range. There is a reason the Sten gun was mass produced for insurgents in WW2.

JCATS has its uses, as long as you know its strength and limitations. With respect to LBH, I am not so sure.

I have been a second reader on some 40 theses, this one is decent.

Respectfully,

William

[Deleted]

Hi William,

Thank you for the reply. I'm interested in applying spatial statistics (analysis) to some cartridge case elemental data I've measured and analyzing the resulting spatial distributions with more sophisticated analytical tools. I'm just starting to learn about this. So I was wondering if JCATS was based upon an available software package such as ArcGIS, or if they wrote their own routines from scratch.

Cheers,
Pete

[montrose]

I recommend you talk to them. Contact data in the thesis. They will be happy to find a new way to use there software, with the intent to sell it to military in new ways. Your approach may make them money, so I think they will help.

[Deleted]

Thanks, appreciate it