Future joint leaders wrestle with fictional world in crisis

Published April 8, 2016
By Air Force Wargaming Institute

MAXWELL AIR FORCE BASE, Ala. -- Students from war colleges across the country and every service are coming together here at Maxwell AFB to practice responding to any worst-case scenario possible.

Participants will meet Sunday for a five-day culmination of the exercise that already been carried out across the country for several weeks.

"Imagine a worst-case scenario for the world a decade from now," said Reginald Harper, with the Curtis E. LeMay Center here. "What if the U.S. and our allies simultaneously face multiple situations that could rapidly escalate into chaos? What if terrorist attacks once again rattle North American cities while emerging powers threaten the flow of goods and commerce through primary shipping lanes across the globe as waves of refugees cross borders to escape pandemic diseases and the US military faces simmering conflict involving kinetic, cyber, and space attacks - all in the same day. A quick look at any news outlet will confirm, none of these events are individually beyond the realm of possibility," Harper said.

One hundred and forty-eight students from six senior-level military colleges pit their newfound knowledge and perspective against these types of situations.

The 33rd annual Joint Land, Air and Sea Strategic Special Program, or JLASS-SP, wargame runs through April 15at the Air Force Wargaming Institute (AFWI), a part of Air University. The event is designed to provide future leaders an opportunity to confront such serious issues before becoming decision-makers who have to deal with them in reality.,

JLASS-SP is the only major educational wargame that integrates strategic decision-making, politico-military theory, and international participation across the military's senior-level colleges, according to Air Force Wargaming Director Colonel Tony Meeks.

Steve Crawford, an AFWI senior wargame specialist, explained that JLASS-SP occurs in two phases: a distributed phase conducted at each SDE school and a combined execution phase here at Maxwell AFB. During the distributed phase, students use cyberspace tools, telephones and video teleconferencing to develop theater strategies, select courses of action, and request initial force laydowns. Conversely, the 5-day execution phase enables face-to-face student interactions, albeit in a time-compressed environment.

Students and faculty from the Air War College, Army War College, Marine Corps War College, Naval War College, The Eisenhower School for National Security and Resource Strategy, the National War College and the Information Resources Management College critically analyze key issues affecting the strategic and operational levels of war. Students from the service-specific colleges generally act as geographic combatant commanders and staffs, while National Defense University students role-play national level policy-makers. In addition to the students, over 80 faculty members, subject matter experts, and technical and support staff keep the game focused and on-track.

Exercise Director Colonel J. Dave Price emphasized not all the simulated problems can be solved by a U.S.-only military solution.

"Students will use all elements of national power to execute national and theater-level strategies, which also helps each school meet their desired learning objectives," he said.

According to Price, the in-depth fictional scenarios are designed to challenge the select group of future senior leaders on an international stage. While addressing multiple and simultaneous global contingencies, this year's students will make their decisions on civil support, foreign humanitarian assistance, homeland security, CBRNE consequence management, and stability operations.

Meeks noted the exercise environment isn't limited to adaptive mission planning processes. Students also face simulations of real-world challenges, such as media and public pressures. To set the stage each day, students view a "special report" by the fictional Global News Network (GNN), providing realism as the wargame progresses. Students are also given a situation briefing and a daily press summary that stresses their ability to employ instruments of national power and a whole of government approach to deal with the crises at hand.

"To prevail in today's war with extremists as well as to successfully engage with our joint, interagency, and multinational partners we must understand, master, and strategically ramp up two powerful and too frequently neglected weapons: words and images," said Dr. Frank Kalupa, director of U.S. Air Force Center for Strategic Leadership Communication. "This is especially imperative on social media platforms used so effectively by terrorists."

The 42nd Air Base Wing Video Productions Office and public affairs volunteers from individual Reserve and National Guard units from across the U.S. also support the annual wargame, developing realistic news broadcasts that reflect student responses and shape the scenario for the next game day.

No sooner than the students return to their respective schools, the multi-service JLASS-SP Steering Group immediately begins to plan next year's exercise. "The steering group is instrumental in synchronizing all the moving parts leading to a successful wargame," said Meeks. "The group meets quarterly to identify, discuss, and adapt processes and details to make the wargame even better next time and beyond. Our enemies never stop evolving, so neither can we."

First held in 1983, JLASS-SP has graduated nearly 3,000 senior leaders, including the former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Martin Dempsey, current USCYBERCOM Commander and NSA Director, ADM Michael Rogers, current AU/Vice Commandant and LeMay Center Commander Major General Timothy Leahy, and at least 30 other general officers still on active duty in each of the service branches.