A linguistic basis for multi-agency coordination

In order to create the desired effects in a complex endeavor concerning a coalition of nations, as well as other agencies, there should be common understanding and a common intent. The creation and communication of this intent is a critical factor in the success of the endeavor, but often is overlooked. In this paper, we describe a language that expresses this common intent developed from a foundation of Command and Control (C2) business logic and generalized for Multi-Agency operations. Such a general language is not as brittle as the common message formats and data models that are currently the focus of interoperability. The abstraction of a language provides the flexibility for sharing intent and relating it to actions and reports, even if varying technology bases are brought by the organizations involved. The language described - the Multi-Agency Operations Language (MAOL) - is composed of three types of grammars covering: 1) Intent; 2) Actions; and 3) Reports. MAOL is designed for automated processing (to support a wide range of functionality including advanced decision support tools). Because the mix of services will not necessarily be known prior to an operation, it is even more important to have a foundation of a well-structured syntax and semantics with clear operational roles defined.