By Ann Roosevelt
CARLISLE BARRACKS, Pa.–Specific recommendations on the forces and capabilities needed to promote persistent stability and build partnership capacity are the goal of the Unified Quest 2008 seminar wargame co-sponsored by the Army, U.S. Special Operations Command (SOCOM) and U.S. Joint Forces Command (JFCOM).
“We’re looking for actionable recommendations, actionable outcomes for the Chief of Staff,” said Lt. Gen. Michael Vane, deputy commanding general, Futures/director, Army Capabilities Integration Center, at Army Training and Doctrine Command.
Participants this week are exploring concepts and capabilities that enable joint operations concepts and the application of full spectrum operations toward persistent security in an era where persistent conflict is generally accepted to be the norm. It is also generally accepted that solutions to future problems require a whole-of-government approach.
Inside the secure facilities of the Center for Strategic Leadership in Collins Hall, U.S. Army War College, Carlisle Barracks, Pa., participants are organized into five panels, four regional operational panels and a global strategic panel.
Two regional panels focus on Africa Command (AFRICOM), which in the real world is being created now and expected to stand up Oct.1. One panel looks at a timeframe of 2013 or so. The second panel, AFRICOM (Future), examines the time period 2025 and beyond.
No representatives of the real-world AFRICOM are at the wargame, but they are in close communication throughout the process.
A third regional panel focuses on U.S. Southern Command; the fourth panel focuses on U.S. Pacific Command.
Wargame sponsors have drawn together 200 players and another 145 perform game support. Players comprise senior active and retired military, service and Coast Guard personnel and representatives from multi-national military partners such as France, Germany, the Netherlands, Italy and the United Kingdom. Also, representatives from the rest of government–intelligence and other agencies, and experts in areas such as economics, technology and governance, and embedded media are taking an active part.
“This is hard stuff, a lot of us have never done before,” one senior official said during a panel session May 4.
The wargame is the culmination of nearly a year of study on future warfare consisting of smaller seminar wargames, workshops and planning exercises and staff planning exercises.
The reports, issues and insights from the wargame will be briefed to senior leaders–such as the Army Chief of Staff–and will become part of how the services, SOCOM and JFCOM plan for the future.
Ultimately, Army investments in programs and capabilities will be affected, as will decisions on the size and mix of forces.
As the architect of the Army, TRADOC will incorporate what’s learned in the game into publications, and its areas of responsibility: training and educating soldiers, developing leaders, doctrine and developing the future Army.