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Chairman's Journal

RESEARCH & GAMING > War Gaming

Combined Force Maritime Component Commander Course – Naples, Italy

Last month in Naples Italy, in concert with the Center of Operational and Strategic Leadership, I had the opportunity to participate in the 14^th Combined/Joint Forces Maritime Component Command (C/JFMCC) Flag level course. Sponsored by Commander, Navy Forces Europe and Commander, Sixth Fleet, this course brought 13 participating nations along with representatives from each Service of the United States Armed Forces together to develop and deepen regional maritime partnerships through the practical study of regional challenges confronting the maritime operational commander.

Since first introduced in August 2005, I have had the privilege to support each course by designing and teaching the practical exercises. While the course is extremely valuable on several levels, I would like to address the utility of the practical exercise in providing the participants an opportunity to examine and discuss the many issues that a maritime commander may encounter.

Specifically, the practical exercise executed this year was a realistic scenario, tailored to the European and African regions and the respective participants attending the course. This scenario was developed with fictional geography and overlaid on the African continent, allowing the participants to tackle a complex problem. The fictional geography enabled them to focus on the concepts and issues without getting overly distracted with real world concerns that could be superfluous to the discussion. The practical exercise was presented in a three-session format, focusing the participants on key parts of a crisis. Most importantly, the objective of the practical exercise was to show how the maritime component commander could influence and lead the operation in those key parts.

The first session dealt with the initiation of the crisis. The setting for this session occurred just after the crisis happened and the participants took on the role of having just been assigned as the maritime component commander. Using information from the scenario, they worked through formulating how they would deal with this crisis, who they needed to initially coordinate with, and what type of guidance they would need to give to their staff to start mission analysis. The second session was set at the point where the commander received the mission analysis briefing, and addressed how he could influence the operational planning process. In this session, the participants had to grapple with the importance of the wording of the mission statement, how to write the initial commander’s intent, and what they should provide to their staff as Course Of Action Planning Guidance. In the third session, we fast forwarded to the execution phase to discuss how the commander leads his forces and staff. Several of the important points in this session included how the commander could ensure the staff continued to manage planning during the execution phase, how to assess the ongoing mission and remain at the operational level, and how to use the Commander’s Critical Information Requirements.

The practical exercises have evolved and matured over these 14 courses. While it has provided valuable insights to the participants directly, it has also served as the laboratory to discuss many of the ideas that are now contained in the Naval War College’s Maritime Component Commander’s Guide Book that was published this February. So, in closing, the practical exercise has served as an essential element of the CFMCC Flag Officer Course, from both an educational and a doctrinal perspective.

Posted: 7/1/2010 8:57:02 AM by Professor Dave DellaVolpe | with 0 comments

Cartagena, Colombia Regional Symposium

Recently, I had the opportunity to travel along with various members of the Naval War College faculty and staff to Cartagena, Colombia, for the NWC Sixth Regional Symposium, co-hosted by the Colombian Navy. This event was held at the Colombian Naval Academy, with the theme of the symposium focusing on “Framework for Maritime Security: A Preview of the 2010 Global Partnership Game." One of the highlights of the events started with the keynote address given by Adm. Guillermo Barrera of the Columbian Navy (NWC Naval Command College, 1993). During his address, he eloquently discussed the distinct role war gaming plays in examining and evaluating the countless challenges to Maritime Security in the International and Regional Environments.

It was extremely impressive to observe an International Flag Officer elaborate on the value war gaming has particularly in an international context. Shortly thereafter, the President of the Naval War College, Rear Adm. Wisecup explained the role of the War Gaming Department in designing the 2010 Global Partnership Game. This presentation transitioned into two scenario-based table top exercises hosted by various members of the War Gaming faculty to include Professor Warren Wiggins, CDR Dave Ward and CDR Chris Gray.

War Gaming is an excellent tool for building strategic partnerships and a mechanism used to examine the full range of international maritime activities. The gaming process itself should be viewed as a feedback loop, with an open exchange of professional views, clustering exercises, plenary out-briefs, and post-event analysis all serving as vital and dynamic aspects in studying operational planning methods and fostering international collaboration, information sharing and cultural awareness.

Interacting with our international partners in events such as this, not only enabled the War Gaming Department to gather valuable data in preparing for the upcoming Global Maritime Partnership Game, but it also helped us engage with key partners as we continue to build that trust and confidence that is so important to make these same partnerships succeed.

Posted: 4/30/2010 2:18:05 PM by Professor Dave DellaVolpe | with 0 comments

Welcome

Welcome to the War Gaming Department’s newly redesigned web page. Knowing that you depend on our research and insight to develop new, innovative ideas and strengthen policy and practice, we’ve rebuilt our site to make it much easier to find and share resources.

As this year marks the 125th anniversary of the Naval War College, War Gaming continues to be inspired by the passion and dedication that is embodied in our students, staff and faculty, as well as operators, researchers, and policymakers, all working on behalf of educating the next generation of leaders and defining the future Navy.

As part of our commitment to keeping our work easily accessible, we have created a more navigable website with additional resources, collaboration tools, and a new visual design to support your work. Whether you’re conducting research in support of your studies, interested in incorporating gaming into your profession, or want to collaborate and exchange ideas, there is something for everyone.

I encourage you to glance though our rich history and distinguished faculty profiles, as well as become actively engaged in our online discussion forum. Read through our mission and principles to see if War Gaming is the right fit for you. We currently are searching for Navy Officers between the ranks of O-4 and O-5 to fill War Gaming faculty billets. If interested, please visit our opportunities page. If you would like to stay current on games and events occurring in our gaming facilities on campus or abroad, be sure to check out the News & Events.

In order to help senior Navy leadership anticipate new and emerging threats, war gaming examines and evaluates war fighting concepts, doctrine and tactics through rigorous research, gaming, and analysis. Since its introduction into the curriculum over a century ago, war gaming has shaped numerous tactics and strategies during war time and through the interwar years. The spirit of LT William McCarty Little is alive and well today, as our faculty continues to tackle many of the complex problems the Navy faces. As these issues arise, future blog postings will soon follow.

Reflecting our historical commitment to learning and continuous improvement, we welcome your feedback as we continue to improve this site.

Sincerely,

Dave Della Volpe

Posted: 3/12/2010 4:33:21 PM by Carla McCarthy | with 0 comments

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