Overview of Wargaming

Mark Herman, a co-author of Wargaming for Leaders, provides an overview of what wargaming is, explains why wargames are better than computers for solving multifaceted challenges, and shares fascinating examples from the dozens of games featured in the book.

Herman tells of a wargame conducted during the Cold War that foreshadowed the fall of the Berlin Wall. He also discusses the now-declassified Desert Crossing wargame that was designed and staged in 1999 to examine what might happen in Iraq if Saddam Hussein’s regime collapsed either internally or from military action by the US and its allies. This game revealed some of the dangers that later would bedevil the US in the real world during the occupation phase of Operation Iraqi Freedom—namely a resurgent Iran.

Herman answers these questions:

• Wargaming 101: What goes in to preparing a wargame?
  
• Why did you write Wargaming for Leaders?
  
• Why are wargames so effective?
  
• What is one of your favorite wargame stories?
  
• What findings regarding the Iraq war resulted from the Desert Crossing wargame?
  
• How do you measure the success of a wargame?
  

Mark Herman is a vice president of Booz Allen Hamilton, specializing in the research, design, and staging of wargames for the government and private sector. A buff of ancient military history, he is the author and developer of almost fifty commercial wargames and mapped out his first wargame on the Battle of Balaclava at the age of 12.