William Kuebler, Steven Lohr and James Sterrett
Why does the US military use wargames?
As Sanu Kainikara notes, “war games designed for generic training are extremely useful in promoting a deeper understanding of the profession of arms and the art of warfare within the officer cadre.” And arguably, wargames are even more relevant given the current global strategic landscape and US military priorities: incorporating them as part of combat leader training is an invaluable tool for accomplishing the secretary of defense’s goal of improving “lethality, readiness, and warfighting” in the Department of Defense.
European militaries have used wargaming for over two hundred years to train personnel in decision-making and to test plans. However, they have a unique utility when used to prepare junior leaders, as a tool for training military personnel in tactics and operational art, as former Marine Corps Commandant General David H. Berger has noted.
Wargaming can provide inexperienced personnel with a potentially lifesaving understanding of doctrine and both friendly and enemy tactics, techniques and procedures. A DARPA study found that inexperienced troops suffered forty percent of combat losses in their first three months of a deployment. Two factors cited by the study for the increased casualty rates were lack of familiarity with the enemy tactics and general lack of experience. These factors can be mitigated through wargaming.
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