Wargaming
Series
Wargames are familiar to most, if not all, military forces around the world. Wargames can range from classroom exercises, to expansive undertakings that involve the deployment of force elements and major capabilities into a designated area. Underlying these activities is the connection between the use of gaming constructs to derive lessons and as a means for training and education. War(games) offer the military profession with an important avenue for training and educating its force in ways of thinking about problems of varying complexity, collaboration and coordination between disparate elements of the force and also with external agencies, and to test plans and capabilities against a designated adversary. These outcomes can also be achieved when considering ‘gaming’ more broadly, particularly through the abstraction and problem modelling that games offer.
The Australian Defence College is exploring the use of games as part of Professional Military Education. This series is intended to be a catalyst for further discussion about how the Australian Defence Force can deliberately incorporate games throughout all levels of joint professional military education. I thank all the contributors for their perspectives on this important discussion, and I encourage you to continue the conversation.
Send your ideas about how games can enhance the training and education of the ADF to the.forge@defence.gov.au.
M.B. Ryan
Major General
Commander, Australian Defence College