Knowledge and combat outcomes

Everyone agrees that information has a far-reaching effect on military operations, but few have tried to actually measure that effect. In this article, we suggest a way to do just this. New information-age analytic tools are needed such as: (1) an acceptable quantifiable measure of valuable information, and (2) measures of effectiveness (MOEs) that reflect the effects of knowledge on military outcomes. We suggest a probability model of knowledge using information entropy to measure the amount of uncertainty in the commander's current knowledge of the battlespace. The knowledge metric developed is also used to explain relative information superiority and a way of thinking quantitatively about information dominance. Finally, we illustrate the use of the metric with a new measure of non-linear dominant maneuver that incorporates knowledge and speed to assess the degree to which a friendly unit controls a battlespace.