A
Visualization of
Army
National Guard Unit Mobilizations Since 9/11
Steve Delahunty
sdelahun@fas.harvard.edu
Contents
(section titles below link to areas of this web page)
This is my graduate final project for the
Since 9/11 the United States Army
National Guard (ARNG) has seen a dramatic mobilization of units in support of
Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF), Operation Enduring
Freedom (OEF) Afghanistan/elsewhere, and other
missions such as peacekeeping in Bosnia/Kosovo, various hurricanes for domestic
service, US Border Patrol mission, and other missions such as the recent
Presidential election. Approximately
250,000 soldiers have mobilized from the ARNG for OIF
and OEF operations alone. This visualization shows
the total cumulative soldiers mobilized depicting each unit mobilized using
their state/territory location of origin, size of unit in bubble format, and
color coding based on mission destination of mobilization. The visualization shows the total cumulative
numbers of soldiers mobilized for each major mobilization destination category
(
Below is the list of my motivating questions and why I choose them. The motivating questions served to drive the purpose
and outcome of the visualization.
Timeline of Mobilizations. What mobilizations
have occurred for the ARNG since 9/11?
Reason for this question: The main visualization here is a
timeline over which mobilizations have occurred, showing these as they occur
over the timeline. This virtualization
would depict total cumulative soldiers mobilized as compared to other graphics
that typically depict mobilized numbers at just one point, seeing that
depiction shows a more broad picture of the impact of
the mobilizations.
Pace of Mobilizations. Has the momentum of
mobilizations over time increased or decreased?
Has the pace of mobilizations increased or decreased taking into account
total soldiers for each mobilization?
Reason for this question: The answer to this question would show
if the operations tempo has gone up overall or down overall over time, or are
other patterns clear.
Types of Mobilizations. What is the
comparison between mobilization destinations (types) including
Reason for this question:
This will show a break-out between
Timing of Mobilizations. Is there a
relationship between mobilizations and other major events?
Reason for this question: This will show if there were increased
mobilizations around events such as the troop surge, US elections, calendar
year ends, etc. The timeline will show
these events as they occur and the viewer can review if mobilizations have
increased/spiked around these events.
Similar outcomes could related to decreased
mobilizations.
Mobilization Destinations. Is there any
relationship between types of mobilizations, size of each?
Reason for this question: This will show if there is some typical
size mobilization in the ARNG, typical unit size, or does this vary. This will also show if there is relationship
between the numbers of soldiers mobilized at any time and certain events.
Total ARNG Force Size. How does the numbers
of soldiers mobilized from the ARNG over time compare to the total current
force size of the ARNG?
Reason for this question: It will be interesting to see if the
numbers of soldiers mobilized over time is greater than the current entire size
of the ARNG force. This wont mean that
everyone in the ARNG has been mobilized, some soldiers have been mobilized two
to three times and there have been soldiers coming into the ARNG and leaving
the ARNG, but this would be an interesting review just in general.
Geography Trend. Have there been
geographic trends or concentrations for unit mobilizations? For instance from various
particular States/Territories.
Reason for this question: This visualization could show if certain
areas of the
Here are screenshots of the visualization.
1. Screen
Capture of the Overall Program
2. The Timeline (top of the visualization)
ุ
Timeline 9/11 and forward to present
ุ
Significant Events pop onto timeline
ุ
Bar Chart sum of soldiers mobilized for each month during the
timeline
3. Destination
Stacked Bar Charts (left
side of the visualization)
ุ
Stacked Bar Chart each solid portion is count by month of
mobilizations
ุ
Axis vertical access numbers align with mobilization counts
ุ
Timeline chart grows in sync and movement with top timeline
ุ
Destinations mobilization type keyed to legend colors
4. State &
Territory Matrix (right
side of the visualization)
ุ Matrix all states and territories
ุ Data units mobilized appear
as bubbles by size / color code by destination
ุ Mouse can see unit size and month
5. Other
Numerical Data & Stop/Start
ุ
Pause/Play icons allow user to stop/start program
ุ
Current Month appears in box as more granular link to timeline
ุ
Legend color codes for each destination type, also state matrix
description box with details
ุ
Totals running count building along timeline of mobilizations
and sum of soldiers mobilized, boxes for destination and all combined
ุ
City List running list along timeline, just for visual
6. Mouse Over Feature Project Info & Legend Info
Mouse
over this area of the screen to produce the below window.
7. Mouse Over Feature Combined Sums/Counts
Mouse
over this area of the screen to produce the below window.
8. Mouse Over Feature Soldier Mobilization Trend Line for
Mouse
over this area of the screen to produce the below window.
9. Mouse Over Feature Soldier Mobilization Trend Line for
Mouse
over this area of the screen to produce the below window.
10. Mouse
Over Feature Detail of Other Destination Missions
Mouse
over this area of the screen to produce the below window.
11. Mouse
Over Feature Mobilization Counts by State/Territory
Mouse
over this area of the screen to produce the below window.
Here are details on the visualization and interaction methods I
implemented. This is in priority order.
Graphic/States, the original intention was to use a map of the
Reason for feature chosen: This is needed as the core part of the visualization, units as they are mobilized will be drawn as
bubbles on the matrix in the appropriate State/Territory where they are based.
Implementation: This was implemented with the table
containing the needed data used to pop bubbles on the screen into the
appropriate state/territory box. A mouse
over of the bubble shows the number of soldiers mobilized and month
mobilized. The size of the bubble is
based on the unit size and color is the destination of the mobilization as
related to the key.
Time Progression, time will progress from 9/11/2001 to the present, will seek to
allow the user to stop the timeline or jump around.
Reason for feature chosen: There will be a timeline on the top of
the visualization that moves from left to right from 9/11 to present. Other major events will show up above the
timeline.
Implementation:
I was able to implement this as part of the process that draws the
stacked mobilization destination counts.
Also under the timeline there appears a bar chart of total soldiers
mobilized that month. I researched and
added major relevant events that could have impacts on unit mobilizations, for
analysis. The user is able to pause the timeline and start it again.
Unit Mobilizations & Size, as time progresses, units mobilized will appear in the
state/territory matrix as bubbles with a size equal to the number of soldiers
in the unit that were mobilized.
Reason for feature chosen: This is a core portion of the
visualization and shows mobilizations by location and also size.
Implementation:
This was really a portion of the first design feature depicted
above. The almost animated view of the
bubbles and sizes is useful for the viewer, for instance you see the surge of
mobilizations to
Unit Mission Color Coding, units mobilized for
Reason for feature chosen:
This will differentiate between the three groups of mobilization
destinations visually.
Implementation:
Color. I used the Color Brewer
site to select the mobilization destination colors and the color for the
combined data. I wanted to avoid pure
greens or blues or reds that might convey some form of status (good, poor,
etc). I opted for darker colors to be
more distinctive. This is used in all
parts of the visualization and even in the charts that come up for more detail
on each mission.
Mouse Over,
a mouse-over will be done for the bubbles to see exact unit and number of
soldiers mobilized.
Reason for feature chosen: The user can interact with the
visualization in this manner to see what actual unit is being depicted and the
number of soldiers from that unit mobilized.
Implementation:
This was implemented for the bubbles.
I also implemented a mouse over to bring up additional chart data for
the mission destination types. And the
user can view additional state/territory data when they mouse over the city
list. The mouse overs
(other than for the bubbles) pause the visualization
to allow the user to review the information.
Bar Chart,
across the left of the screen there will appear (and grow over the timeline) a
bar chart with colors for mobilizations, showing colored portions of the bar
for totals of soldiers mobilized from 9/11 to present in each destination
category.
Reason for feature chosen: This will be a running tally of count
of each type of mobilization mission destination by month,
color of the bar will link to the bubble colors and three mission destination
areas.
Implementation:
I was able to implement this where the gap between each month is shown
in white and the bars grow in sync with the timeline. The viewer can see how the
Pie Chart,
a switch view option of the bar chart will exist to bring up a pie chart.
Reason for feature chosen: This is just another view as compared
to the bar chart above. Will most likely
be another window.
Implementation:
I implemented this for the additional data view of the Other mission destination type since that was the one that
really required another view. This is
done via a mouse over of the Other mission destination
mobilization count and soldier sum tally boxes.
Data Table,
off to the side of the screen that will update to show units, multiple
deployments, totals by mission.
Reason for feature chosen:
This provides the raw data details over time, may need to be totals
versus individual unit data due to the data set size. I may need to do this as
another window.
Implementation:
I implemented this in the middle of the screen and I included a box that
shows the totals/counts across all mobilizations as well. I also put up a scrolling list of city locations,
units mobilized. That just serves to
also show the pace of the mobilizations.
Here is a link to a live version of the visualization:
http://www.delahunty.com/stuff/visual/
Here is a link to a short two-minute video demo with audio. (file size is 4mb but
will start to play before full download)
http://www.delahunty.com/stuff/visual/ArmyGuardMobilizationsVisualization.wmv
Here is a link to the application code files:
http://www.delahunty.com/stuff/visual/delahunty_final_sketch.pde
http://www.delahunty.com/stuff/visual/Table.pde
Here is a link to the Processing language website.
Processing is an open source programming language and environment
for people who want to program images, animation, and interactions. It is used
by students, artists, designers, researchers, and hobbyists for learning,
prototyping, and production. It is created to teach fundamentals of computer
programming within a visual context and to serve as a software sketchbook and
professional production tool. Processing is an alternative to proprietary software
tools in the same domain.