Wargaming

The week before the U.S. and Mexican men's soccer teams clashed in the final of a regional tournament in Pasadena, CA, officials from the Naval War College held a wargaming workshop in Mexico City. According to a college statement:

The U.S. Naval War College's (NWC) War Gaming Department presented a three-day professional development workshop at the Centro de Estudios Superiores Navales (CESNAV) in Mexico City, to share war gaming techniques and expertise. Attendees at the 21-23 June workshop included Mexico Navy, Army, and Air Force officers. The 30 conference attendees watched presentations from NWC War Gaming Department faculty on game uses, design considerations, and post-game analysis.

NWC war gamers Cmdr. Walter Topp, Cmdr. Dustin Martin, and Professor Shawn Burns used a blend of lectures, experiential, and team game development activities. Workshop attendees considered, discussed, and briefed team deliberation results in a plenary forum. Participants were guided through development of two war games to facilitate the experiential learning portion of the workshop. Fictional game scenarios included a Gulf of Mexico oil spill within Mexican territorial waters, and a game focused on an interagency and multinational response to illicit trafficking in the Gulf of Mexico.