Rodger T Culkin

Post-cold War Wargaming and the American Military Leadership Challenge Rodger T Culkin

Publisher Marketing: During the first decade of the post-Cold War era, the United States military engaged a surprisingly unfamiliar and unstable international community on a variety of fronts. In light of these engagements, the Department of Defense (DOD) enacted several initiatives to overcome a perceived shortfall in crisis action leadership. As one means of enhancing leadership readiness for the next century, the DOD is emphasizing the conduct of wargames at every level of officer professional development. Historically, wargaming is an effective tool for educating political and military leaders in the operational art. While recent developments in computer models and simulations offer unprecedented possibilities for further enhancing the value of wargaming, the current body of DOD wargames reflects Cold War era thinking with regard to threat environments, force structures, and force employment. An examination of current wargaming literature and exercises reveals DOD wargaming scenarios, and related findings, that are a step behind the near-term threats to U. S. national security. Failing to fully address the challenges posed by smaller-scale contingencies (SSC) and other emerging threats, as outlined in the U. S. National Security and Military Strategies and Joint Vision 2010, DOD wargames do not adequately prepare American military leaders for the challenges before them. To rectify this shortcoming, SSC wargames should be developed and executed throughout the Joint Professional Military Education community in conjunction with ongoing major theater warfare (MTW) wargaming programs.