Transcript Wargaming and Military Culture: Education and Cohesion

Wargaming and Military Culture:
Education and
Cohesion-Building
Eric M. Walters, MA MSSI
Professor of Land Warfare, Military History, and
Intelligence
American Military University
Agenda
• Some Definitions
• The Goals of Military Culture
• Symptoms of an Underdeveloped
Military Culture
• The Cultural Paradox
• Wargaming Parables
• Wargaming and Education
• Wargaming and Cohesion
• Future Wargame Requirements
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Definitions
Culture: …4.a) development,
improvement, or refinement of the
mind,…b) the result of this, refined
ways of thinking, talking,
acting,etc….6. The ideas, customs,
skills, arts, etc., of a given people in
a given period.
Webster’s New World Dictionary of the American
Language, Second College Edition, p. 345.
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Definitions
Education: 1. The process of training and
developing the knowledge, mind,
character, etc., especially by formal
schooling; teaching; training 2.
Knowledge, ability, etc., thus developed
3.a) formal schooling at an institution of
learning b) a stage of this 4. Systematic
study of the methods and theories of
teaching and learning.
Webster’s New World Dictionary of the American
Language, Second College Edition, p. 444.
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Definitions
Cohesion: 1. The act of condition of
cohering; tendency to stick together...
Cohere: 1.a) to stick together, as parts of a
mass…2. To be connected naturally or
logically, as by a common principle; be
consistent 3. To become or stay united
in action; be in accord.
Webster’s New World Dictionary of the American
Language, Second College Edition, p. 276.
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Definitions
Wargame: 1. Same as KRIEGSPIEL 2.
Practice maneuvers involving actual
troops and military equipment.
Kriegspiel: a game for teaching or
practicing military tactics by the use of
small figures representing troops, tanks,
etc., moved about on a large map or
representation of the terrain.
Webster’s New World Dictionary of the American
Language, Second College Edition, pp. 783 & 1601.
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The Goal of Military Culture
“The essential thing is action. Action has
three stages: the decision born of thought,
the order or preparation for execution, and
the execution itself. All three stages are
governed by will. The will is rooted in
character, and for the man of action,
character is of more critical importance
than intellect. Intellect without will is
worthless, will without intellect is
dangerous.”
Hans von Seeckt, Thoughts of a Soldier, p. 123
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Symptoms of an Underdeveloped
Culture--in Planning
“The clearest evidence of…deficiency is
too much communication--reams of
orders and directives which in the
planning stage are little more than
generalities and exhortations, and which
defer too much to the moment of
decision.”
CAPT Wayne P. Hughes, Jr., USN (Ret.) Fleet Tactics
and Coastal Combat, Second Edition, p. 31
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Symptoms of an Underdeveloped
Culture--in Execution
From “A Band of Brothers? Multi-Player Games”
“If you hold the chief command, among other things
you will learn that:
1) Your subordinates cannot read your handwriting.
2) Your subordinates cannot tell left from right.
3) Your subordinates cannot grasp the simplest
concepts of maneuver.
4) Threats of physical violence are often necessary
to secure compliance with your orders.”
S. Craig Taylor, “Fighting Sails,” The General
Magazine, Vol. 13, No. 2 (Jul-Aug 1976), p. 5.
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Symptoms of an Underdeveloped
Culture--in Execution
“If you hold a subordinate command, you will learn
that:
1) You cannot read the commander’s handwriting.
2) The commander keeps issuing orders to turn left
when the situation obviously calls for turning to
the right.
3) The commander must think you can read his mind
to even attempt such complex maneuvers.
4) The commander has a nasty temper.”
S. Craig Taylor, “Fighting Sails,” The General
Magazine, Vol. 13, No. 2 (Jul-Aug 1976), p. 5.
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The Cultural Paradox
“Draw any good naval leader…into a
conversation on his experience…and it
will quickly come out that the tactical
plan imposed by his seniors was to his
mind too rigid. He will tell you how he
maneuvered more cleverly and fired his
weapons more effectively
than…prescribed.”
CAPT Wayne P. Hughes, Jr., USN (Ret.) Fleet Tactics
and Coastal Combat, Second Edition, p. 31
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The Cultural Paradox
“In the next breath he will tell you how when
he was in command his units moved
together like clockwork. He will swear to
you that all his captains knew exactly what
each teammate would do as instinctively as
a basketball player knows from body
language which way his teammate will cut.
It will never occur to the speaker that there
is the slightest inconsistency in his
account.”
CAPT Wayne P. Hughes, Jr., USN (Ret.) Fleet Tactics
and Coastal Combat, Second Edition, p. 31
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Coping with the Paradox
• Education: Learning about “the
game” (i.e., War)
• Cohesion: Learning about “the
team” (i.e., the unit)
What does wargaming/kriegspiel offer?
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What wargaming offers:
• Individual experience: Education
– The “environment”
– The “opposition”
– What works, what does not work (?)
– Self-confidence
• Collective experience: Cohesion
– Collective knowledge & wisdom
resulting from individual education
– Trust in each other
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A Wargaming Parable Available
in Military Literature
Daniel P. Bolger’s: The Battle For
Hunger Hill: The 1st Battalion, 327th
Infantry Regiment at the Joint
Readiness Training Center (1997)
– “Laser tag” team competitions used to
train all hands
– Two JRTC “rotations” demonstrate
improvements in individual education
and collective cohesion
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A Wargaming Parable
Available in Science Fiction
Orson Scott Card’s Nebula and Hugo
Award Winner: Ender’s Game (1977)
– Computer wargames and 3-D zero-G
“laser tag” team competitions used to
train future commanders
– Used for individual education and
building collective cohesion
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Wargaming and Education
“Nine-tenths of tactics are certain, and taught
in books: but the irrational tenth is like the
kingfisher flashing across the pool....It can only
be ensured by instinct, sharpened by thought
practicing the stroke so often that at the crisis
it is as natural as a reflex.”
Colonel T. E. Lawrence, “The Science of Guerrilla
Warfare,” 1926.
Wargaming and Education:
One Problem To Be Solved
“I have often seen how pathetic those general staff
officers are who draw their advice from their own
observed data, how indecisive and timid they are
to accomplish anything that…the circumstances
demand. Such people do not know the risks
which must be taken in war…They probably
never risk a bold idea, since no similar situation
crowned with success in the past give them the
necessary self-confidence.”
General Gerhard Scharnhorst, quoted in Rudolf
Stadelman, Scharnhorst: Schicksal und geistige Welt,
ein Fragment, pp. 155-156
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Wargaming and Education:
And Another….
“…art can be developed, but like hitting a curve ball, it takes
a bit of innate talent, too. One day, if you have it, you look
at a situation and you get the picture. Some folks, even
very senior officers, never get it. These men, often very
bright, insist upon learning all the proper buzz words, and
chant them repeatedly, as if saying them enough would
somehow impart understanding. Despite Benning,
Leavenworth, and all the books, such people never quite
bridge the gap between theory and practice. They look, but
do not see.”
Daniel P. Bolger, The Battle For Hunger
Hill, p. 88.
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Historical Antecedents:
Wargaming and Education
• Ancient Games: Chess and Go
• The Prussian Army game: Reisswitz’s
kriegspiel
– “It’s not a game at all--it’s training for war!”
Army Chief of Staff, Gen. Von Muffling
– Lots of rules and tables
• Verdy du Vernois’s Simplified War Game
– Relied on umpire experience/judgment
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Historical Antecedents:
Wargaming and Education
• Commercial Games/Miniatures (H.G.
Wells, Fred Jane, Fletcher Pratt, Charles
Roberts, Jim Dunnigan, et. al.)
• Naval War College wargames
• WW II wargames
– German wargames
– Soviet wargames
– Japanese wargames
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Educational Wargaming
Today
• Commercial Gaming
– Paintball and Laser Tag
– Board wargames and miniatures
– Computer wargames
• Department of Defense Gaming
– Field “Laser Tag:” NTC, JRTC, and CTC (USA)
– “Red Flag” (USAF)/”Top Gun” (USN)/WTI FINEX
(USMC)
– Adapted commercial games
– Command Post Exercise (CPX) drivers
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Educational Wargaming Issues:
• Entertainment versus realism
– Commercial paintball, laser tag, and many
computer games suffer here
• Game design bias versus realism
– DoD games most prone
– Acquisition imperatives
• C4I system limitations
• Difficulties in translating experience
obtained from artificial environments to
real situations in the future
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Wargaming and Education:
Worst Case Outcome
• Attempts at “realism” can be a distraction for
contemporary situations:
– “It worked when we did it in [substitute exercise
name here], so it will work again.”
– “[Insert exercise name here] validated our
concepts….”
• To mitigate this, include many variables on
conditions, weapons performance, unit
morale, and a host of other
imponderables…and play it more than once!
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Wargaming and Education:
Best Case Outcome
• Fighters gain self-confidence from
their successes and learn from their
failures/mistakes.
• Unintended bias is kept to a
minimum. Compare outcomes to
history/combat experience.
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Wargaming and Cohesion
“Four brave men who do not know each
other will not dare attack a lion. Four less
brave, but knowing each other well, sure
of their reliability and consequently of
their mutual will attack resolutely.”
Colonel Charles Ardant du Picq. Battle Studies, p. 110
Wargaming and Cohesion:
One Problem To Be Solved
“The men lacked true battle drills to act on contact.
Again, home station training, heavily laden with
live-fire exercises, exacerbated this tendency.
On the range one could merely leapfrog along,
with one group shooting while neighbors
alongside inched forward. The fixed targets
always obediently remained to the front. Real
enemies do not so oblige. A big bold flank cures
that.”
Daniel P. Bolger, The Battle For Hunger
Hill, p. 132.
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Wargaming and Cohesion:
And Another….
“Tiger and Griffin soldiers were reduced to
chanting catcalls, while their commanders
argued about whether to try to use their
overwhelming force to attack Dragon
Army….Momoe was all for attacking--’we
outnumber him two to one’--while Bee said, ‘sit
tight and we can’t lose, move out and he can
figure out a way to beat us.’”
Orson Scott Card, Ender’s Game, p. 152.
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Historical Antecedents:
Wargaming and Cohesion
• Admiral Horatio Nelson, his captains,
and his victories
– Tactical wargaming/seminars
• Prussian reformers and the victories
of 1813, 1815, 1866, and 1870
– Kriegspiel
– Staff rides
– Tactical Decision Games
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Contemporary Efforts:
Wargaming and Cohesion?
• National Training Center (NTC), Combat
Training Center (CTC), and Joint
Readiness Training Center (JRTC)?
• Top Gun (USN), Red Flag (USAF), and
Weapons Tactics Instructor Course
(USMC)?
• GAUNTLET training at Fort Knox: U.S.
Army Armor School?
• Computer-driven CPXs
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Wargaming & Cohesion Issues:
• “Training objectives” lead to
scripted/canned scenarios
– The group is not sufficiently stressed
• Opportunities to practice are limited
– Resource limitations (time, space, & tools)
• Simulation availability
• Training area/range availability
• The “tyranny of the unit training schedule”
• Keeping “the team” together
– Personnel system doesn’t encourage this
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Wargaming and Cohesion:
Worst Case Outcome
• The game is “rigged” for success each
time--the team is not seriously stressed.
• Small local teams can win at home, but it
doesn’t always mean they are ready to
win the championship in the “Big
Leagues.”
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Wargaming and Cohesion:
Best Case Outcome
• Individuals within the unit learn under
stress how each other think and
perform; they begin to trust all members
of the team IAW this understanding.
• Close personal bonding makes it harder
for individuals to “let down” their
teammates.
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Future Wargame Requirements:
• Strive towards realism (especially for historical
situations), but include entertainment where you
can
• Allow changes in performance parameters and
algorithms, especially in contemporary scenarios
• Include a wide variety of scenario/situation types
across all conflict spectrums and environments
– Land, Air, Sea…Strategic, Operational, Tactical
– Ancient through Near Future, even Sci-Fi
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Future Wargame Requirements:
• Ensure “free play” force-on-force
– Always maximize fog and friction;
rheostat/”toggle” down enemy strength and
capabilities to “work up” new units at first
• Maximize available resources
– Obtain commercial solutions; put them to work
– Integrate competitive team wargames & training
– Allow unstructured practice and play
• Stabilize the unit
– Identify the “playing season” and keep the team
together throughout
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Best References/Resources
• Rudolf M. Hofmann, General der Infanterie. German
Army War Games. Carlisle, PA: US Army War College,
1983.
• Peter P. Perla. The Art of Wargaming: A Guide for
Professionals and Hobbyists. Annapolis, MD: Naval
Institute Press, 1990.
• James F. Dunnigan, MILGAMES listserv:
http://members.aol.com/jfdunnigan/private/index.htm.
Also check out his Professional Wargamers Page at
URL: http://www.strategypage.com/prowg/default.asp
• Annual CONNECTIONS conferences, coordinated by
Matthew Caffrey: e-mail at
<[email protected]>
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QUESTIONS??