US Army Boosts Irregular Warfare Readiness Through Enhanced Wargaming
The United States Army is facing challenges in preparing for irregular warfare, a type of conflict that has been prevalent since 1945 and shows no signs of abating in the twenty-first century. The US Army's preference for high-intensity combat and reliance on cutting-edge technology has led to a lack of preparation for irregular warfare, which requires a different conceptual and structural basis and adequate education.
To address these challenges, military analysts and experts within the US Army Training and Doctrine Command (TRADOC) and associated defense think tanks have recommended increasing distributed, scalable, and easily manipulated irregular warfare news. These games can help develop better models to understand issues, opportunities, and constraints in irregular warfare, and can also unlock new concepts and shift perceptions of IW.
Four keys to better wargames for irregular warfare include focusing on narratives to explore complex situations, having plentiful parties and overlapping objectives to mimic real-world scenarios, incorporating a whole-of-government approach to reflect the multi-faceted nature of irregular warfare, and seeking a position of continuing advantage to reflect the dynamic and unpredictable nature of these conflicts. New wargaming tools offer promise in achieving these goals.
Wargaming alone will not deliver solutions, but it can play a crucial role in better preparing the US Army for irregular warfare. By exploring irregular warfare systems and increasing receptivity to new ideas, wargaming can help address the challenges posed by this prevalent form of conflict. As Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld famously stated, 'You go to war with the army you have, not the army you might want or wish to have at a later time.' Therefore, it is essential for the US Army to invest in and improve its irregular warfare capabilities through wargaming and other means.
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