National Defense Publications
2009 Publications
Immersive Simulation of Complex Social Environments
By Paul Cummings and Arnold Leonard of ICF International and published in the proceedings for the Army Sciences Conference, December 2008. This paper describes the development of an immersive multi-agent training simulation system that applies culturally realistic and variable behavior modeling in complex and critical decision-oriented social scenarios patterned after actual critical incidents gathered from the field. The simulation employs an experiential model of cultural and cognitive behavior to drive the actions of agents (e.g., simulated members of the civilian population) that interact, producing variable group behavior.
2008 Publications
Evaluation of the VA Burial Benefits Program
Prepared by ICF International in August 2008, this report provides an objective third-party evaluation of the VA Burial Benefits Program to determine whether the program is achieving its expected outcomes (e.g., meeting the burial needs of veterans and their family members; maintaining national cemeteries as national shrines) and to identify the program’s impact on veterans and their families (e.g., providing veterans with adequate information on burial benefits; providing meaningful symbolic expressions of remembrance).
Implications of Cyber Security Standards for Electric Power Grid
ICF International examines the implications of the cyber security and critical infrastructure protection (CIP) standards set forth by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC). The Commission has implemented eight mandatory security standards that apply to all bulk power system users, owners, and operators. Developed by the North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC), these critical infrastructure protection standards attempt to protect the nation's electric power grid from cyber attacks.
2007 Publications
Lean Metrics: Red is Good, Green is Worthless
Published in the Logistics Officer Association's
Exceptional Release , Fall 2007, by Russell Rhea of ICF International. The article compares how a traditionally managed company uses metrics to manage its business to how a lean Toyota-management style company operates. The author proposes that a company or organization has much more to gain from a lean management style, where metrics against aggressive goals are often "red" to help focus company efforts to improve.
What We Know About Army Families: A 2007 Update
This report was prepared by ICF International in 2007 as an update to the original version published in 1993 and distills what we have discovered about Army families since then. The update presents scientifically accurate information culled from numerous journal articles, reports, and studies that examine various aspects of the Army and its families. This updated report has chapters on deployments, separations, and reunions; issues confronting Reserve Component (RC) Soldiers and families; well-being within Army families; children; informal and formal support for families; and a 21st-century model of Army family support.
2005 Publications
Contract Repair Asset Visibility—Around the Corner: The CRISP Pilot
Published in
The Air Force Journal of Logistics , April 2005, by Joe Mueller of ICF International, Christine Caroen of the Altarum Institute, William Clark and Robert Heckler of the U.S. Air Force Material Command (AFMC), Stuart Scott of Defense Automated Addressing Systems Center (DAASC), and Keith Tindal of Rockwell Collins. Contract Repair Information System Protocol (CRISP) was a pilot sponsored by the Defense Sustainment Consortium, which focused on applying extensible markup language (XML) to enable automatic real-time reporting of repair status between commercial repair contractors and the Air Force and evaluated its impact on the contract repair parts supply process. ICF International’s role was to act as the technical lead in the team effort to develop system requirements, design, development, and implementation. ICF International is assisting AFMC by converting all necessary logistic transactions into an XML standard approved by the U.S. Department of Defense in order to implement CRISP in the Air Force repairable reporting system.
2004 Publications
2003 Publications
Effect of Coast Guard Maritime Security Rules on EPA-Regulated Facilities
The U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) published final rules on October 22, 2003, to implement the security requirements of the Maritime Transportation Security Act of 2002 in regard to oil spill prevention and marine safety. The rules include provisions addressing Area Maritime Security (ports), vessels, and facilities. Some of these entities contain transportation-related and non-transportation-related components that are regulated by both the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the USCG, such as a marine transfer facility (under USCG jurisdiction) with aboveground storage tanks (under EPA jurisdiction). This white paper introduces approaches that EPA can take to continue coordination with USCG and to assist regulated facilities in complying with these new requirements.
2001 Publications
A New Approach to International Terrorism
Published in the
International Affairs Review , Summer/Autumn 2001, Vol. 10, No. 2, pp. 80-95 by Martin Kalis. The article discusses how a set of uniform terrorism standards could encourage nations to work cooperatively to develop an effective international counterterrorism strategy.
These articles represent a selection of our perspectives on National Defense.
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