The Department of Defense is in the process of transforming the nation's
armed forces to meet the military challenges of the 21st century. Currently, the
opportunity exists to carry out experiments at individual and joint service levels to
facilitate this transformation. Experimentation, which involves a spectrum of activities
including analyses, war games, modeling and simulation, small focused experiments, and
large field events among other things, provides the means to enhance naval and joint
force development. To assist the Navy in this effort, the Chief of Naval Operations
(CNO) asked the National Research Council (NRC) to conduct a study to examine the
role of experimentation in building future naval forces to operate in the joint
environment. The NRC formed the Committee for the Role of Experimentation in
Building Future Naval Forces to perform the study.Table of Contents


Front Matter
Executive Summary
1 Introduction
2 Experimentation--What It Means
3 Experimentation--Past, Present, and Future
4 Emerging Roles in Experimentation--The Joint Connection
5 Effectiveness of Experimentation for Future Naval Capabilities
6 Recommendations for Improving the Overall Effectiveness of Naval Experimentation
Appendix A: Biographies of Committee Members and Staff
Appendix B: Agendas for Meetings of the Committee
Appendix C: Acronyms and Abbreviations
Appendix D: Definitions of Experimentation Terms Used in Report