The Role of Operations Research/Systems Analysis in Defence Policy and Programming Decisions

The very fact that so many of us are here to participate in this conference on Operations Research is an indicator of the importance we attach to this relatively new and still expanding field. All of us recognize that Operations Research techniques are especially useful tools in problem solving in business, Government and the military. A discussion of the role of Operations Research and the related field of Systems Analysis in national defense policy and programming decision processes seems especially appropriate at the opening session of this conference, As you know, Operations Research as an organized form of research first found application in the review of individual military weapons systems and their effectiveness just over forty years ago. From that relatively narrow beginning has evolved a discipline whose future exploitation and utility you will explore over the next several days. I plan to review very briefly the historical development of Operations Research and Systems Analysis as tools in the defense decision-making process. Then, I will give you an overview of their application to today's military and defense problem solving by discussing the use of these techniques at the headquarters level by the United States Navy, Obviously, in such a brief period, I cannot cover all applications, specific techniques, or all of the groups involved in such a complex process. A review of the historical development of Operations Research/Systems Analysts reveals that the use of the basic concepts of Operations Research is not new; it originated with the first attempts to use the scientific approach to solve problems. We are still seeking, through modern analysis, to answer the three questions posed by John Dewey in his examination of the problem solving process in 1910.'1 - What is the problem? - What are the alternatives? - Which alternative is best? As I noted earlier, Operations Research, as an organized form of research, began in Great Britain in the late 1930s with the review of individual weapons systems.