A Data-Centric Approach to Increasing Crew Lethality: Proposing ‘Moneyball for Gunnery’
By Lt. Col. Jonathan D. Bate, 1st Lt. Ethan Barangan, 1st Lt. Nicholas Calhoon, and Staff Sgt. Jacob Seitz
The Ivy Raider Brigade applied a data analytics approach inspired by Billy Beane's "Moneyball" strategy to improve mounted machine gun (MMG) lethality in Stryker gunnery, focusing on identifying predictive factors of crew performance. Their analysis found that scores from Table III, a range using blank-fire iterations, were correlated with a higher probability of first-time qualification on Table VI, the qualifying table. This approach suggests that data analytics can complement leader experience to enhance military training efficiency and effectiveness, with the potential to set performance thresholds and use machine learning for better predictions.
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