Slide Pack

Educational wargaming at
the Swedish Defence College
Johan Elg
PhD-Candidate at KCL
Johan Elg
2014-09-03
Educational wargaming
Swedish Defence College
(SDC)
Classroom warfighting
Johan Elg
2014-09-03
Classroom warfighting
• Focus on application/execution (decide, and then face
the consequences)
• Not an exercise due to level of abstraction: incomplete
staff, limited space (classrooms), seldom real-time etc.
• Adversarial, in different forms / adjudication
• Relatively free play, within limits of a scenario
• Not the same as COA-wargaming (part of planning
process: COPD/NATO)
Johan Elg
2014-09-03
BMB – Boardgame Mechanized
Battalion
Johan Elg
2014-09-03
SSM – Simple Surface warfare Model
Johan Elg
2014-09-03
MAO – Master of Air Operations
Johan Elg
2014-09-03
Classroom warfighting at SDC 2014
Professional demands/
Learning objectives
?
A week-long event (wargaming week)
TOAW
3
SW
MAO
MA
MAO
SW
SW
SSC (2-2,5 years)
LTCOL
Map
or CA
SSM
SC (1 year)
BMB
SSM
BA
VBS
2
SSM
Cadet training (3 years)
23
Johan Elg
2014-09-03
Board
(Map)
MAJ
CAX
Land Warfare Centre
2nd
LT
40
Officer’s age
Classroom warfighting: integrated in courses
Example (SSC Land 8): one week: seminars (4H), staff ride (16H),
planning (4H), a one-day (12H) wargame, reflections (2H)
Adversarial
• Two staffs with 3-4 subordinate commanders
Simplicity and reliability
• CA (for fog of war and 90 % of combat results)
• COTS: The Operational Art of War III (TOAW 3)
Experienced teachers/instructors
• Teacher-assistants for computers (1+1)
• 8 students, 8 external participants, 7 teachers
Johan Elg
2014-09-03
In addition to classroom warfighting
at SDC: other forms of wargaming
At lower levels (Officer cadets):
• Tactical exercise without troops (TEWT)
• Staff ride
• Applicatory case study
 Swedish planning method (PUT, play the plan)
At higher levels (SC-SSC):
• Staff ride
• Applicatory case study
 Swedish planning method (PUT, play the plan)
 NATO COPD (COA-wargaming)
• Command-post exercise (CPX)
• Combined Joint Staff Exercise (CJSE)
Johan Elg
2014-09-03
In addition to classroom warfighting
at SDC: other establishments
Army / Land Warfare Centre
Training
Education
To play the plan
Johan Elg
2014-09-03
So - what do we do when we are not
working?
Blue cell revising their force elements
at the FOI Computer wargaming club
Johan Elg
2014-09-03
Adjudication during a Blue vs Red brigade
battle at the SDC wargaming club