Wargaming & the Military Decision Making Process w/ Mike Dunn

“You keep using that word. I do not think it means what you think it means.” -Inigo Montoya, The Princess Bride.

For most Army and Marine officers the terms wargame and wargaming refer specifically to a process used to analyze and refine operational plans. This talk covers that process, known as Course of Action (CoA) Analysis, which in turn will give insight into what a US Army and Marine Corps officer thinks of when the term wargame comes up. We will also discuss how this fits into the larger Military Decision Making Process (MDMP) and Marine Corps Planning Process (MCPP) that the Army and Marine Corps respectively use to develop unit operation orders (OPORDS) for execution. Having this understanding will help offset potential miscommunication when working with members of the Army and USMC.

Mr. Mike Dunn, currently a Department of the Army Civilian, works as a Battle Simulations Specialist with the Directorate of Simulation Education, Army University, Fort Leavenworth, KS. He has taught courses on simulations and games as well as exercise design at the Command & General Staff College since 2011. Commissioned in the US Army as an armor officer and later attaining the Simulation Officers Functional Area 57 designation, he had served for 25 years in the Army National Guard. He has served in Armor, Infantry, and Field Artillery units and as a staff officer at the Battalion, Brigade, and Division levels. Mr. Dunn holds a MBA in Information Systems from Fordham University and has worked for over a decade as an IT manager in the private sector before being called to active duty service post 9/11.