ProDev - Course of Action Analysis & Wargaming

Описание: The Joint Readiness Training Center is pleased to present a professional development seminar airing under ‘The Crucible - The JRTC Experience.’ Facilitated by the Task Force Senior for the BDE Command & Control (BC2) (BCT HQ), LTC Timothy Price on behalf of the Commander of Ops Group (COG). The host for this professional development seminar is the senior CBRNE OCT for BC2, MAJ Charles “Dave” Johansen.

Course of Action (COA) analysis and wargaming are essential components of the military decision-making process (MDMP), serving as the critical step that allows commanders and staffs to visualize the execution of a plan under realistic combat conditions. During LSCO, where the scale, tempo, and lethality of operations stress both decision-making and execution, wargaming becomes the proving ground for a COA’s feasibility, suitability, and acceptability. It allows leaders to identify key decisions, synchronization requirements, risk areas, and necessary shaping actions before contact. More than a planning step, COA analysis is a leadership function—providing a forum where staffs anticipate friction, challenge assumptions, and think through second- and third-order effects. A well-run wargame ensures that commanders don’t just understand the “what,” but are mentally prepared for the “when” and “why” of decisive moments.

In practice, successful units consistently apply key best practices to make wargaming a rigorous and productive process:
• Use trained facilitators to guide the wargame, ensuring adherence to doctrinal structure while maintaining tempo.
• Synchronize warfighting functions using doctrinal tools like synchronization matrices and decision support templates.
• Incorporate both red cell and white cell elements, ensuring realistic enemy actions and scenario progression.
• Tie the wargame to the operations process, updating running estimates, refining the decision support matrix (DSM), and informing the Combined Arms Rehearsal (CAR).
• Ensure commander involvement, especially to articulate commander’s critical information requirements (CCIR) and shaping operations.
• Leverage terrain models or digital tools to visualize movement, engagement areas, and timing.
• Use the results to refine the COA, not just validate or “check the box.” Treat it as a decision-making event, not a staff-only drill.

Part of “Professional Development Seminar” series.

If you want more information on best practices and other tips & tricks of wargaming, please checkout episode 86 of ‘The Crucible – The JRTC Experience’ podcast. Hosted by the Task Force Senior for the BDE Command & Control (BCT HQ), LTC Timothy Price on behalf of the Commander of Ops Group (COG). Today’s guest is the Deputy Commander of Operations Group (DCOG), LTC Ian Ginty. In that episode, we delve deeply into the often-overlooked yet critical role of wargaming within the military decision-making process (MDMP), emphasizing its importance as a tool to synchronize plans and anticipate operational challenges. Wargaming is not merely a procedural step but a vital exercise in critical thinking, requiring robust staff participation and commander leadership.

You can find the episode at the following locations:
· YouTube:
   • 086 S01 Ep 29 - Relearning the Lost Art of...  

· Spotify
https://open.spotify.com/episode/4zlc...

· Podbean Podcast (Web Browser)
https://www.podbean.com/ew/pb-73yve-1...



Be sure to also checkout the Center for Army Lessons Learned, CALL Publication 20-06, “How to Master Wargaming” for a detailed, easy to use handbook at: https://rdl.train.army.mil/catalog-ws...

For additional information and insights from this episode, please check-out our Instagram page @the_jrtc_crucible_podcast

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“The Crucible – The JRTC Experience” is a product of the Joint Readiness Training Center.