This summer, the U.S. Air Force launched the Department-Level Exercise series, a first-of-its-kind effort to evaluate the total force’s ability to respond to armed conflict. 

  Spanning seven integrated exercises across a million square miles, Airmen are testing nearly every capability—logistics, air combat, cyber, mobility, space, medical, communications, and more. 

  Before the first F-35 Lighting IIs, C-17 Globemaster IIIs and B-2 Spirts took off, Airmen and Guardians across the force spent months planning, training and wargaming to ensure they were ready for this large-scale, joint undertaking. The goal: operate as one force rather than as separate commands or units. 

  The LeMay Center’s Air Force Wargaming Institute (AFWI) supports this objective by teaching wargaming to students at the Air War College, Officer Training School and Warrant Officer Training School at Maxwell AFB. AFWI also designs scenario-specific wargames and tabletop exercises in support of major command and Headquarters Air Force training objectives. 

 

Wargames help service members learn how to make decisions in crisis situations and prepare for large-scale exercises and real-world operations. (U.S. Air Force photo by Damien Thomas)

Lisle Babcock, Air Force Wargaming Institute director. AFWI hosts wargaming and tabletop exercises to prepare Airmen and Guardians for large-scale exercises and real-world scenarios. (U.S. Air Force photo by Tyler Prince)

  “The first thing I want people to understand is that it’s not a game,” said Lisle Babcock, AFWI director and a 26-year Air Force veteran with a background flying RC-135 Rivet Joints and leading wargaming efforts. “Yes, we use game mechanics and boards to think out how an adversary might act in a given set of situations, but it’s really preparation for war.” 

  AFWI operates one of the most extensive sensitive compartmented information facilities in the Air Force, allowing leaders to discuss information at any classification level. This ensures that tactics developed during wargaming are as relevant and applicable as possible and gives participants the opportunity for face-to-face collaboration they may not otherwise have. 

 

Ronnie Betts, Air Force Wargaming Institute wargaming specialist. Betts focuses on logistics and sustainment, ensuring participants in wargames consider resource management, troop movements and supply requirements. (U.S. Air Force photo by Tyler Prince).

  “When we bring everybody together, they have the freedom to discuss their capabilities in a secure environment, which would be difficult—or at the very least, less efficient—virtually,” said Ronnie Betts, an AFWI wargaming specialist. “Getting direct and immediate feedback and meeting the people you’ll be working with in the real exercise, has a lot of benefits.” 

  AFWI played an integral role in planning for this summer’s DLE. For a fraction of the cost of launching aircraft, AFWI brought together planners, assessors, and participants from across the DLE series to work through potential challenges, establish communication pipelines, and collaborate on strategy. 
  

  These in-person, low-risk environments allows participants to to refine communication and operational concepts before execution. 

  “Teaching decision-makers how to make decisions in a zero-G environment gives them an opportunity to learn from both good and bad choices,” Babcock said. “We bring in experts from the whole of government—the Department of Defense, State Department and others—to provide the most accurate representation of how our government, our allies and our adversaries might act in a given situation.” 
 

  Sometimes, events overtake the scenario. In February 2022, Babcock’s team was conducting a wargame for the Chief of Staff of the Air Force focused on potential Russian aggression against a NATO ally. “Five days later, Putin invaded Ukraine,” Babcock said. 

  By creating realistic, relevant wargames and tabletop exercises, AFWI saves resources, prevents costly mistakes and helps Airmen and Guardians prepare for the next training phase: executing large-scale exercises demonstrating their ability to defend the nation as one force.