Intellectual spring cleaning: it’s time for a military “Do Not Read” list; and some sources that should be on that list

Military reading lists, intended to promote professional reading and in turn enhance education and develop critical thinking skills and sound judgement, recommend key texts to military personnel. This is a noble intent but the lists themselves, while generally good, are not flawless. Critiques of military reading lists often focus on what sources they are missing. This article offers its own critique but from a different perspective. It does so by analysing why some sources, which have become outdated, are based on faulty or incomplete research, have been thoroughly disproven, or some combination of the above, nevertheless linger on military reading lists. It then offers a short list of such sources, which it recommends be either removed from existing reading lists or accompanied by other sources that place the original source in appropriate historical context. Where applicable, it also recommends alternative sources that provide insights into the same subject matter. In so doing, this article is intended generate debate and to assist militaries to achieve a better balance between evaluation, induction and retention of valid knowledge on one hand, and rejection of outdated or flawed knowledge on the other.     

Investment in production resource flexibility: An empirical investigation of methods for planning under uncertainty

We examine several methods for evaluating resource acquisition decisions under uncertainty. Traditional methods may underestimate equipment benefit when part of this benefit comes from decision flexibility. We develop a new, practical method for resource planning under uncertainty, and show that this approach is more accurate than several commonly used methods. We successfully applied our approach to an investment problem faced by a major firm in the aviation information industry. Our recommendations were accepted and resulted in estimated annual savings in excess of $1 million (US). © 2003 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Naval Research Logistics, 2003     

Analysis of artillery shoot‐and‐scoot tactics

Firing multiple artillery rounds from the same location has two main benefits: a high rate of fire at the enemy and improved accuracy as the shooter's aim adjusts to previous rounds. However, firing repeatedly from the same location carries significant risk that the enemy will detect the artillery's location. Therefore, the shooter may periodically move locations to avoid counter‐battery fire. This maneuver is known as the shoot‐and‐scoot tactic. This article analyzes the shoot‐and‐scoot tactic for a time‐critical mission using Markov models. We compute optimal move policies and develop heuristics for more complex and realistic settings. Spending a reasonable amount of time firing multiple shots from the same location is often preferable to moving immediately after firing an initial salvo. Moving frequently reduces risk to the artillery, but also limits the artillery's ability to inflict damage on the enemy.     

Waiting times for M/G/1 queues with service-time or delay-dependent server vacations

This article shows how to determine the stationary distribution of the virtual wait in M/G/1 queues with either one-at-a-time or exhaustive server vacations, depending on either service times or accrued workload. For the first type of dependence, each vacation time is a function of the immediately preceding service time or of whether the server finds the system empty after returning from vacation. In this way, it is possible to model situations such as long service times followed by short vacations, and vice versa. For the second type of dependence, the vacation time assigned to an arrival to follow its service is a function of the level of virtual wait reached. By this device, we can model situations in which vacations may be shortened whenever virtual delays have gotten excessive. The method of analysis employs level-crossing theory, and examples are given for various cases of service and vacation-time distributions. A closing discussion relates the new model class to standard M/G/1 queues where the service time is a sum of variables having complex dependencies. © 1992 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Local search techniques for the generalized resource constrained project scheduling problem

In this article we address the problem of scheduling a single project network with both precedence and resource constraints through the use of a local search technique. We choose a solution definition which guarantees precedence feasibility, allowing the procedure to focus on overcoming resource infeasibility. We use the 110-problem data set of Patterson to test our procedure. Our results indicate a significant improvement over the best heuristic results reported to date for these problems (Bell and Han [1]). Two major advantages of the local search algorithm are its ability to handle arbitrary objective functions and constraints and its effectiveness over a wide range of problem sizes. We present a problem example with an objective function and resource constraints which include nonlinear and non-continuous components, which are easily considered by the procedure. The results of our algorithm are significantly better than random solutions to the problem. © 1993 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Application of the GLM technique to a production planning problem

Generalized Lagrange Multipliers (GLM) are used to develop an algorithm for a type of multiproduct single period production planning problem which involves discontinuities of the fixed charge variety. Several properties of the GLM technique are developed for this class of problems and from these properties an algorithm is obtained. The problem of resolving the gaps which are exposed by the GLM procedure is considered, and an example involving a quadratic cost function is explored in detail.     

A mixed optimization technique for the generalized machine replacement problem

A mixed optimization technique for optimal machine replacement is presented which allows much more flexibility than previous models. Optimal purchase, maintenance and sale of a given machine between any two given points in time is treated as a subproblem, which one may choose to solve via control theory, dynamic programming, or practical engineering considerations. (A control theory formulation is used in the paper as an illustration.) These subproblem solutions are then incorporated into a Wagner-Whitin formulation for solution of the full problem. The technique is particularly useful for problems with such asymmetries as an existing initial machine or uneven technological change. A simple numerical example is solved in the Appendix.     

Stochastic control of queueing systems

Suppose that the state of a queueing system is described by a Markov process { Y_t, t ≥ 0}, and the profit from operating it up to a time t is given by the function f(Y_t). We operate the system up to a time T, where the random variable T is a stopping time for the process Yt. Optimal stochastic control is achieved by choosing the stopping time T that maximizes Ef(Y_T) over a given class of stopping times. In this paper a theory of stochastic control is developed for a single server queue with Poisson arrivals and general service times.     

An iterative procedure for nondiscounted discrete-time markov decisions

This paper considers the problem of computing, by iterative methods, optimal policies for Markov decision processes. The policies computed are optimal for all sufficiently small interest rates.     

Steady state waiting time in a multicenter job shop

This paper analyzes the waiting-time distribution of a specific job as it moves through a job-shop with multiple centers and exponential service times. The movement of the job through the shop is governed by a Markovian transition matrix and ends with the job's exit from the shop.