This thesis is a comprehensive study of tactical voice communications traffic engineering. It proposes an outlined traffic engineering procedure to configure the field army common user voice network as efficiently as requirements and limited assets will allow. The requirements that might exist for common user service within a large landmass field army are discussed qualitatively. The communications capabilities of the field army and higher and lower echelons are explained as it is from these assets that the common user network is configured. Although discussion is centered on the field army, the basic procedure is adaptable to any command echelon. A change in tactical communications doctrine from grid switching to tandem switching prompted the recommendation of a topographic modeling technique which could be applied to predict variations in demand due to simple communications failures or massive battlefield destructions. An "l-3" network is fully developed using a pair of calling assumptions to illustrate the types of predictions that can be made using this modeling technique. Information on traffic engineering practices which could be adopted for use in the tactical environment has been compiled. Some existing techniques have been modified to make them more acceptable in the mobile and dispersed situation which will be the likely ease on the nuclear battlefield or when there is a potential nuclear threat. A new concept tor qualitative assessment of service effectiveness is introduced at some length. Short, non-repetitive traffic studies are recommended with the emphasis placed on proper interpretation of limited data. This technique is more adaptable to the changing tactical situation than the normal traffic study procedures which collect data over long periods of time and rely on repetitive studies to increase the probability that reconfiguration recommendations will accurately reflect the requirements. Finally, a proposed comprehensive traffic engineering procedure is outlined. This procedure would be most effective when applied to future automatic switched networks which have accompanying capabilities of automatic data collection, reduction, and interpretation, but provisions are included for non-automatic traffic studies. The usefulness of qualitative .assessments is stressed, and the adoption of modeling techniques to assist in network planning and reconfiguration is recommended. A visualization of the outlined procedure is appended to this abstract.

AD 0748442 Approved for public release; Distribution is unlimited. The opinions and conclusions expressed herein are those of the student-authors and do not necessarily represent the views of the U.S. Army Command and General Staff College or any other governmental agency. (References to these studies should include the foregoing statement.)