Cyber Wargaming Course – Inaugural Event at the NATO Modelling & Simulation COE
Rome – From 18 to 22 January 2021 the NATO Modelling & Simulation Centre of Excellence (NATO M&S COE) participated in the first edition of the Cyber Wargaming Course at “Adriano De Cicco” barracks – Rome – Cecchignola.
The purpose of this course is to deliver basic knowledge about the wargaming methods in the military context focusing on dynamics and techniques in order to support analysis, training and the decision making process.
The wargaming course was focused on a cyberspace defense scenario. Cyber defense is part of NATO’s core task of collective defense.
In July 2016, during the NATO Warsaw Summit, Allies recognized cyberspace as a domain of operations in which NATO must defend itself as effectively as it does in the other domains. In this context, The M&S COE fosters any initiative to improve preparation of forces to defend against the growing sophistication of cyber threats and potential cyber attacks.
Due to COVID-19 restrictions, the course was conducted both virtually and in person. The course was provided by the “Irrational number line games” company based in the United States.
The Cyber Wargaming Course was attended by 20 staff members from four NATO allied nations including military Officers, NCOs as well as civilian personnel.
The NATO Modelling and Simulation COE strongly believes that a more in-depth knowledge of wargaming methods, and their application for military purposes, will bring immediate and long term benefits to the Alliance as a whole. In this context, The NATO M&S COE is recently adapting its Peacetime Establishment structure to include a Wargaming Branch and continues to improve its education and training program.
Colonel Michele TURI, the NATO M&S COE Director, is prioritizing the wargaming effort within the Centre. Colonel Turi emphasized, “Wargaming can be leveraged at all levels of war from tactical, operational, and strategic and is a critical tool to understand. We continue to improve our wargaming expertise to provide every advantage to the NATO Alliance in the future. The NATO M&S COE aims to improve the quality of the decision making process, fostering a favorable environment for subject matter experts to provide the right information at the right place at the right time”.
Click on the following link to watch the video: click here
The Italian MOD press release: click here
Written by Lt.Col. Antimo Russo & Lt.Col. Cristoforo Russo
The NATO M&S COE is dedicated to the promotion of M&S in support of operational requirements, training and interoperability. The Centre acts as a catalyst for transformation through the involvement of NATO, governments, academia, industry, and operational and training entities, by improving the networking of NATO and nationally owned M&S systems, improving the cooperation between Nations and organizations through the sharing of M&S information and developments and by serving as an international source of expertise for transformation in the related domain.
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