Enhancing Education at the �Air Command & Staff College

Matt Caffrey

ACSC/DEWM

SOF

“Learning by virtual warfare”

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A world-class team

educating

midcareer officers

to lead in developing, advancing, and applying

aerospace power

across the spectrum of service, joint, and

combined military operations

ACSC’s MISSION

Implementing ACSC’s Mission �

Semester I: International

Security and Military Studies

Semester II: The Profession of Arms

Leadership and Communications Studies Phase 2

5 sem hours

DEC

Electives and Research

3 sem hours

DEC

DEC

DEI

DEI

DEI

DEW

DEW

DEC

1.5 sem

hours

3 sem

hours

3 sem

hours

3 sem

hours

3 sem

hours

2.5 sem

hours

4 sem hours

1 sem

hour

1.5 sem

hours

GOE

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Aero-�space Exercise

L & C

Phase

3

Aero-

space

Ops

Joint

Forces

Airpower

Studies

Nature

Of

War

National

& Inter-

national

Security

Studies

L & C

Phase

1

DEW

DEW

Joint

Camp

Plng

DEW

1.5 sem

hours

Nat’l

Plng

Sys

ACSC/DEWM’s Mission

Identify, Secure or Design, & Deliver Exercises that Support & Apply the ACSC Curriculum

On Wargaming

“It is not a game…it is training for war!”

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General Muffling, 1821

Chief of Prussian General Staff

Implementing DEWM’s Mission

• Curriculum Capstone

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• Course Capstone

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• Lesson Enhancement

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Maximum Duration �by Type of Application

• Curriculum Capstone (Weeks)

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• Course Capstone (Days)

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• Lesson Enhancement (Hours)

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Options for application Exercises

• Two sided, adjudicated, exercises (a.k.a. Wargames)
• Non-adjudicated exercises

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Relative +/- of Wargames

• +
• Highest Level of Learning
• Engaging
• Competitive
• Memorable
• Fun
• -
• Wrong Lessons Possible�(‘negative learning’ if game is not done well)
• High Cost (time more precious then money)
• Difficult to create/limited selection

Relative +/- of Non-adjudicated Exercises

• -
• Not as High a Level of Learning
• Not as Engaging
• Not Competitive
• Not as Memorable
• Little if any Fun
• Wrong Lessons Possible (‘negative learning’ if done poorly or poor plans not identified)
• +
• Cost Unusually Lower (in time and money)
• Relatively easier to create

What Does a Good War Game Look Like?

• Effective - teaches the right lessons accurately
• Efficient - a competitive amount of learning accomplished for the time and resources required

What Does a Good War Game Look Like?

Effective

• Accurately depicts the aspect of the curriculum being taught
• For the command level depicted, students:
• Possess appropriate information
• Must make appropriate decisions
• The decisions produce reasonable consequences

What Does a Good War Game Look Like?

Efficient

• Easy and fast to learn
• Easy and fast to input �(scenario should be hard, NOT interface)
• Educationally rich�(high decision making/low drudge work)
• Hardware friendly�(runs well in our notebooks* & LAN)�* Worst case 800x600 res, 200 MHz

Specific Wargame Needs

• Instruments of Power
• National Objectives
• Force Development
• Information Warfare
• Aerospace Packaging
• Cascading Effects
• Intelligence Gathering
• Space (theater impacts & scarcity)

• Lift (strategic & theater, deployment & sustainment)
• Force Protection & Base Operations
• Deliberate Planning
• Aerospace Operations
• all aerospace power functions
• Ground Operations
• Naval Operations

• Airpower employment capstone … and more

Sources of Wargames

• CADRE/AFWI (ACES)
• Joint & Service PME (Decisive Action)
• Commercial Off-the-Shelf (InfoChess)
• ACSC Faculty Designed & Developed
• ACSC Student Designed & Developed
• JMEANS (Visualization & Reference)
• AFRL (3rd Gen WG, modes to COTS)

ACSC Designed & Developed

Faculty

• Instruments of Power Exercise
• Logistics/Deployment Exercise
• Intelligence Allocation Exercise
• Cascading Effects Exercise

Student

• Aerospace Employment Exercise
• National Objectives Exercise
• NEOSim Exercise

Instruments of Power Exercise

• Highlights:
• Software-assisted group role playing
• Discussion centered
• Scenario: Iran hostage crisis of 1979-80
• Student Goal: Stability of the Gulf Region
• School Goal: Understand the complex inter-relationships between Instruments Of Power

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Logistics/Deployment Exercise

• Highlights:
• Software-assisted group role playing
• Discussion centered
• Student Goal: Deploy selected units into theater to meet CINC timelines
• School Goal: Understand logistical issues and limitations for time-critical deployments

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Intelligence Allocation Exercise

• Highlights:
• Software-assisted group role playing
• Discussion centered
• Student Goal: Allocate intelligence resources to collect data on units of interest
• School Goal: Understand limits of intelligence resources and criticality of planning

Cascading Effects

• Highlights:
• Software-assisted individual exercise
• Discussion centered follow-up session
• Student Goal: Shut down enemy Integrated Air Defense System and command structure
• School Goal: Understand concept of cascading effects and effects-based targeting

Airpower Employment

• Highlights:
• Won best student project of AY 00
• Software-assisted individual exercise
• Discussion centered follow-up session
• Student Goal: Properly employ airpower assets to meet CINC objectives
• School Goal: Apply tenets of airpower

National Objectives Exercise

• Highlights:
• Software-assisted group role playing
• Discussion centered
• Student Goal: Meet national objectives while preventing any other state from becoming too powerful
• School Goal: Illustrate the fundamental truth of coalition building: sovereign states do what you want not because you want them to, but because you convince them it is in their best interest.

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The Origins of WWII

Program written by:

Major Alan Barys

&

Major Scott Maser

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Original game by James Dunnigan

NEOSim Exercise

• Highlights:
• Won best student project of AY 01
• Software-assisted group role playing
• Discussion centered
• Student Goal: Evacuate non combatants with minimum losses to all sides.
• School Goal: Apply crisis action planning procedures. Conceive, assess and implement a strategy.

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Current Gaming Challenges

• Applying airpower at the operational level of war
• Depicting Effects Based Operations:
• Indirect physical effects
• Human impacts (abilities & decisions)
• Sufficient length of time
• Employing the AEF concept
• Developing Joint/Combined decision making

Value of Wargaming

Wargames that Depict the Full Contribution of Space and Air Power -

Our graduates, through their actions :

• Win wars:
• Faster
• With fewer casualties - on all sides
• With less destruction - on all sides
• Hence promote a “better state of peace”