Goal Programming Tanker Beddown Decision

<p>With the reduction of forward basing of U.S. military forces the increase in global operations and a move toward expeditionary forces the United States Air Force's tanker fleet is increasingly crucial to the success of all military services. Past reductions of the Air Force's tanker fleet and an ever increasing age of the tanker fleet makes fast efficient and effective planning a must. A critical aspect of tanker planning that affects all other aspects of tanker operations is the beddown decision. Beddown decisions directly affect the amount of fuel that can be offloaded to receivers and the number of tanker sorties that can be flown in support of operations. Given the importance of tanker aircraft to mission success planners still lack rough cut planning tools that can assist in the early planning stages of tanker employment. By combining research conducted by Major Mark Macdonald and Captain Michael Sere a rough cut goal program can be developed that will assist tanker planners in making beddown decision. This tool can provide planners with the data required to make beddown decision based off potential capabilities and possible capability trade-offs. While this tool is not suitable to plan or conduct operations with it will allow planners to quickly calculate potential capabilities and assist in the planning process.</p><p>This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it. This work was reproduced from the original artifact and remains as true to the original work as possible. Therefore you will see the original copyright references library stamps (as most of these works have been housed in our most important libraries around the world) and other notations in the work.</p><p>This work is in the public domain in the United States of America and possibly other nations. Within the United States you may freely copy and distribute this work as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work.</p><p>As a reproduction of a historical artifact this work may contain missing or blurred pages poor pictures errant marks etc. Scholars believe and we concur that this work is important enough to be preserved reproduced and made generally available to the public. We appreciate your support of the preservation process and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.</p>