More than 45 representatives from 23 U.S. Navy and U.S. Marine Corps commands took part in a U.S. Naval War College war game last week focused on Marine Corps fire power.
Naval Services Game 2019, from June 24 to 28, set out to determine operational and force structure implications for the use of long-range precision missiles by Marine Corps commanders.
“In the end, we wanted to glean insights into the strengths and limitations of the command-and-control structures employed in the game, and the types of capabilities required to effectively execute expeditionary advanced base operations," said War Gaming Department associate professor Jeffrey Landsman, who served as game director.
This game directly informs the Naval Board, which is made up of eight Navy and Marine Corps general or flag officers, Landsman said.
Players were divided into five working groups. They looked at aspects of information sharing, communication, logistics, and command and control.
“The Naval Services Game demonstrates the transparency of the Navy and Marine Corps team to improve integration and lethality of the naval force," said Rear Adm. John Meier, commander of the Naval Warfare Development Command and Navy lead for the game’s “Blue Cell.”
The game is the seventh in a series in coordination with the Marine Corps Warfighting Laboratory.
“NSG-19 represented a tremendous opportunity to advance the concept of expeditionary advanced base operations, which will provide a new level of lethality to the naval services," said Col. Tye Wallace, director of operations and training at Expeditionary Warfare Training Group, Pacific, and Marine Corps lead for “Blue Cell.”
The results will be analyzed over the next of couple months and included in the forthcoming game report.
“One of the most valuable and often misunderstood aspects of war-gaming is the professional development of warfighters and the learning environment it creates,” said Capt. David Sauve, director of the Naval Warfare Group at OPNAV N5i6 at the Pentagon.
“When a war game is deliberately crafted to impact knowledge to the players, the service is better served. NSG 19 did that,” said Sauve, who was representing the game sponsor.
War-gaming is a time-honored tradition at U.S. Naval War College, going back to the institution’s roots in the late 1880s. The college’s war-gaming work is credited with shaping the naval strategy that led the United States to victory in the Pacific during World War II. Today’s games incorporate modern warfare elements such as cyber strategy and the use of unmanned vehicles.