Military Operations Research Society

The Military Operations Research Society (MORS) is a society for professionals active within defense applications of operations research (OR) in the United States. Memberships include analysts, researchers, consultants and officers in the United States Department of Defense, organizations within the military of the United States, various think tanks, academic institutions and consultancy firms.

The Military Operations Research Society arranges symposia and courses, it also publishes books, a quarterly bulletin called Phalanx, and a peer reviewed journal called Military Operations Research. Participation in MORS activities generally requires a United States security clearance. MORS is headquartered in Alexandria, Virginia.

The MORS has served the Department of Defense analytic community for over forty years and now also includes other aspects of national security for the United States federal government. Under the sponsorship of the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps, Office of the Secretary of Defense, the Joint Staff and the Department of Homeland Security, the objective of MORS is to enhance the quality and effectiveness of operations research as applied to national security issues.

MORS vision is to "become the recognized leader in advancing the national security analytic community through the advancement and application of the interdisciplinary field of Operations Research to national security issues, being responsive to our constituents, enabling collaboration and development opportunities, and expanding our membership and disciplines, while maintaining our profession’s heritage."[1] This vision encompasses all aspects of national security including not only the military, but also Homeland Security and the other agencies of government – including the US and its allies.

Members of the Society include a cross section of the defense analysts, operators and managers from government, industry and academia. Their involvement fosters professional interchange within the military operations research community, the sharing of insights and information on challenging national security issues and specific support to decision makers in the many organizations and agencies that address national defense. MORS provides an array of meetings and publications. In particular, the Society provides a unique environment in which classified presentations and discussions can take place with joint service participation and peer criticism from the full range of students, theoreticians, practitioners and users of military analysis. Throughout its activities, the Society promotes professional methodology, individual excellence and ethical conduct.

History

Before and during World War II, OR was an area of military analysis, so original membership of the Operations Research Society of America (ORSA), founded in 1952, included many practitioners within military OR. Gradually, the scope of ORSA became wider, but still includes a Military Applications Society.

In August 1957, the first Military Operations Research Symposium ("MORS") was held in California under the sponsorship of the Office of Naval Research in Pasadena and initially were gatherings of the military OR community on the west coast of the United States.

In 1962 these symposia had become national and joint in focus. In April 1966, the Military Operations Research Society was incorporated in order to handle these symposia, and in 1989 MORS was adopted as the acronym of the society while the symposia were called MORSS.

The First Military Operations Research Symposium (MORS), sponsored by the Office of Naval Research (ONR) – Pasadena, was held at Corona Naval Ordnance Lab, Corona, California in August 1957. The subject was Air Defense; 83 scientists attended. This and subsequent early meetings were oriented to fulfill the needs of the Operations Research Community on the West Coast. Starting with the Eighth MORS the Symposia became nationally oriented, joint-service meetings. The first national Symposium was the Ninth MORS held at Fort Monroe, Virginia in April 1962. From the First through the 10th MORS there was no formal organization to stage the meetings. They were conducted by ONR – Pasadena with the help of a volunteer steering committee.

Beginning with the 11th MORS, ONR – Washington assumed their supervision and hired a contractor to perform the work in cooperation with a volunteer executive committee. This arrangement continued until April 1966 at which time the Military Operations Research Society was incorporated. In 1989, the symposia became the Military Operations Research Society Symposia (MORSS) and MORS became the acronym for the Society.

During its over forty years, MORS has expanded its services. In addition to conducting the classified Symposium, MORS holds several other special meetings and workshop annually. The Society also publishes abstracts, monographs, brochures, a quarterly bulletin – PHALANX and a refereed journal – Military Operations Research, for professional exchange and peer criticism among students, theoreticians, practitioners and users of military operations research.

Since its incorporation in 1966, MORS has been led by a Board of Directors. This consists of 28 voting members and two non-voting members – the Chief Executive Officer and the Immediate Past President. The Board is also led by an Executive Council consisting of The President, the President-Elect, the Immediate Past President, the Vice President for Financial Management, the Vice President for Societal Services, the Vice President for Member Services, the Secretary of the Society and the Chief Executive Officer.

MORS also makes unclassified documents and information available. The Military Operations Research Society is a professional Society incorporated under the laws of Virginia. The Society does not make or advocate official policy nor does it attempt to influence the formulation of policy. Matters discussed or statements made in the course of MORS symposia or printed in its publications represent the opinions of the authors and not of the Society.

Military Operations Research Society Symposium

MORSS YEAR LOCATION Attendance
1 1957 NOL Corona 83
2 1958 Stanford Research Institute 94
3 1958 RAND 105
4 1959 NPS 119
5 1960 NEL San Diego 124
6 1960 NRDL San Francisco 154
7 1961 Boeing Seattle 160
8 1961 PMR Point Mugu 248
9 1962 Fort Monroe 171
10 1962 SDC Santa Monica 248
11 1963 USNA 347
12 1963 USAFA 309
13 1964 ICAF 411
14 1964 USNAB Coronado 413
15 1965 AFSC Norfolk 424
16 1965 Sand Point NAS 471
17 1966 NPS-II 588
18 1966 Fort Bragg 441
19 1967 Fort Bliss 554
20 1967 National Bureau of Standards 518
21 1968 USAFA-II 553
22 1968 NPS-III 651
23 1969 USMA 587
24 1969 NTC San Diego 621
25 1970 USCGA 505
26 1970 NPS-IV 513
27 1971 Air University 362
28 1971 Fort Lee 520
29 1972 USAFA-III 614
30 1972 Fort Lee-II 482
31 1973 USNA-II 792
32 1973 NPS-V 783
33 1974 USMA-II 613
34 1974 Fort Eustis 601
35 1975 USNA-III 627
36 1975 FBI Academy 605
37 1976 Fort Bliss-II 543
38 1976 Fort Eustis-II 584
39 1977 USNA-IV 883
40 1977 NPS-VI 714
41 1978 NDU 811
42 1978 USNWC 623
43 1979 USMA-III 735
44 1979 Vandenberg AFB 642
45 1980 USNA-V 803
46 1980 USNWC-II 588
47 1981 NDU-II 876
48 1981 NPS-VII 762
49 1982 Kirtland AFB 644
50 1983 USNA-VI 890
51 1983 AFIT 710
52 1984 USACGSC 836
53 1985 USAFA-III 839
54 1986 NDU-III 909
55 1987 Air University-II 549
56 1988 NPS-VIII 783
57 1989 USACGSC-II 918
58 1990 USNA-VII 943
59 1991 USMA-IV 826
60 1992 NPS-IX 943
61 1993 AFIT-II 835
62 1994 USAFA-IV 952
63 1995 USNA-VIII 1127
64 1996 USACGSC-III 920
65 1997 MCCDC, MCB Quantico 1103
66 1998 NPS-X 1067
67 1999 USMA-V 960
68 2000 USAFA-V 1053
69 2001 USNA-IX 1174
70 2002 USACGSC-IV 862
71 2003 MCCDC-II 1117
72 2004 NPS-XI 1103
73 2005 USMA-VI 907
74 2006 USAFA-VI 979
75 2007 USNA-X 1044
76 2008 USCGA-II 934
77 2009 USACGSC-V 957
78 2010 MCCDC-III 1201
79 2011 NPS-XII 1071
80 2012 USAFA-VII 1029
81 2013 Alexandria, VA 410 (300 in person 110 virtual)
82 2014 Alexandria, VA 661
83 2015 Alexandria, VA 830
84 2016 Quantico, VA 824
85 2017 United States Military Academy 784
86 2018 The Naval Postgraduate School 923
87 2019 United States Air Force Academy
88 2020 United States Coast Guard Academy

See also

References

  1. ^ "The MORS Five Year Plan" (PDF). MORS. February 2009. Archived from the original (PDF) on June 13, 2010. Retrieved September 21, 2009.