Constructible Assessment for Situation Awareness in a Distributed C2 Environment

摘要

A method for assessing situation awareness (SA) in field command and control exercises is described in this paper. This method is an adaptation of the Situation Awareness Global Assessment Technique (SAGAT) by M. R. Endsley (1995) that takes into account specific constraints for use in a field exercise, such as minimizing the level of intrusiveness. Endsley's model of SA separates SA into three levels: Level 1, perception of elements in the environment within a volume of time and space; Level 2, the comprehension of their meaning and integration of multiple pieces of information; and Level 3, the projection of the elements' future status and ability to forecast future situation dynamics. This constructible assessment for SA (CASA) requires that military subject matter experts observe exercise events, construct specific and relevant questions to probe the situational knowledge of the exercise participants, and decide upon the suitable timings for administration of these questions. CASA was tested in a division-level army C2 exercise. An objective of the exercise was to investigate issues related to distributed command teams using situation awareness as one of the measures. Having applied CASA in this exercise, the strengths and limitations of CASA were identified. To analyze the findings, several methods of computing situation awareness of teams were utilized. It was found that CASA yielded results consistent with expectations stemming from exercise roles and events. Further validation and refinement of CASA would improve its utility and efficacy as a tool to measure objective SA in a field exercise. Twenty-three briefing charts summarize the presentation.