Kaleidoscope Innovation’s Post

I recently had the privilege of meeting ADM Koehler, Commander Pacific Fleet, and RADM Carrullo, OPNAV N7, to discuss wargaming capability at the Naval Postgraduate School (NPS) and the strategic investment strategy for the US Navy's Education Enterprise. Our conversation focused on the continuum of learning that wargaming offers to our Fleet and its leaders. We also addressed innovative modernization efforts led by NPS in cooperation with partners in academia, industry, and research centers across the Department of Defense. Our team is focused on enhancing analysis within wargames, achieved by leveraging existing and emerging technologies in AI/ML, and modeling & simulation. This strategic approach aims to empower senior leaders with timely and informed decision-making advantages applicable in all phases of operational planning. #Wargaming #Innovation #LeadershipDevelopment

🇺🇸 The most patriotic week of the year is here! 🔥 Since 1890, the Army-Navy Game has been more than just football. It’s a tradition, a rivalry, and a celebration of service. America’s Game holds a special place in our hearts, bringing together a rich history of camaraderie and competition. From the ball run and prisoner exchanges (Mids and Cadets returning home for the game) to the spirited Army-Navy shenanigans (if you know, you know), the week is packed with unforgettable traditions. But one of my absolute favorites? Spirit spots. For those unfamiliar, spirit spots are a hallmark of service academy culture: short, often comedic videos designed to rally support and boost morale. I had the honor of creating over 25 of them while serving on active duty as a Midshipman and later as a Civil Engineer Corps officer. When I transitioned off of active duty three years ago, I thought my spirit spot days were behind me. I was wrong. Thanks to the incredible support from Academy Insider, Navy fans, and the larger Navy community, we were able to do something unprecedented: create a high-production-value, fan-funded spirit spot for Navy fans, by Navy fans. After two amazing days of filming aboard the USS Midway, we launched #BIGDECKS just two weeks ago! With a combined 160,000 views (and counting), we’re showing the world - and Army - what Navy fans are all about. For those less familiar with Naval lingo, #BIGDECKS isn’t just a cheeky double entendre; it’s a term used to describe the Navy’s largest and most iconic vessels - like aircraft carriers and amphibious ships. These are the “big decks” that dominate the seas. So, as we gear up for this Saturday’s Army-Navy Game, let’s rally together. If you haven’t seen #BIGDECKS yet, now’s the time: watch it, share it, and spread the word! Let’s unite the Navy fanbase and keep the momentum sailing strong. To celebrate this week, FREE SHIPPING + 15% off with code BEATARMY on all BIG DECKS merch! 🎬 BIG DECKS - https://lnkd.in/gy2JXezU 🔗 BIG DECKS Merch (use code BEATARMY for 15% off + FREE SHIPPING) - https://lnkd.in/gMKTuHXX What is your favorite Army-Navy week tradition? Let’s have an incredible Army-Navy week. From (some of) the crew who helped bring #BIGDECKS to life - #GoNavy #BeatArmy

Came across this story about #velocity - In the early 1900s, before the #FirstWorldWar, the British wanted to rebuild their navy. And like a good old imperialistic power, they came up with an enormous #Battleship type called “#Dreadnought”. True to its name, it had an “All Big Guns” design with 12-9-inch guns rather than standard 6-8-inch ones and for Armer, it had a whopping 11-inch thick steel around the waterline. Even with all that tonnage, it had an insane top speed of 21 knots speed so it was not exactly slouching behind the pack. Now all this magnificence was not exactly cheap, even for the #BritishEmpire. When the Admiralty analyzed the sheer cost of the material required, they realized that just by getting rid of the armor, they could build 3 Dreadnoughts instead of one. As a bonus, reducing weight made the #Dreadnought the #fastest #navalvessel on the planet. British Naval Command chose speed and numbers over tonnage. I believe that it was someone called Admiral Bartley that said “Speed will be their Armor”. And the strategy was that in the actual heat of battle, speed and maneuverability are more important than the rest. And it's the same for modern Businesses. How fast you can make decisions and act on them is more important than anything else. And the only way you could achieve this is by empowering your business with the latest tech that Artificial Intelligence has to offer. Do you agree? #qsens #quantumfouranalytics #artificialintelligence #warehousingsolutions #supplychaininnovation #warehouseautomation #datadrivenwarehouse #erpsystem #inventorymanagement #videoanalytics #supplychainmanagement #warehousemanagement #qsenserp #computervision #innovation Quantum Four Analytics - Artificial Intelligence Lab QSENS

This is Space Force Junior ROTC Celebrating July 4th Through the Founding Fathers #2 This Fourth of July weekend, the Space Force JROTC enterprise wants to celebrate the nation's holiday and "amplify the Guardian Spirit" through the words of the Founding Fathers. The mission of the #SFJROTC program is to "launch #Citizens of #Character with a #space-vision" into their communities. There is no theme more common in the writings and speeches of the visionaries that set the United States of America in motion, than that of a person's character. Benjamin Franklin wrote: "I grew convinced that truth, sincerity and integrity in dealings between man and man were of the utmost importance to the felicity of life; and I formed written resolutions, which still remain in my journal book, to practice them ever while I lived." The #CadetGuardians of the nation's only Title 10 U.S. Code-mandated youth space program proclaim in their "Cadet Guardian Commitment" that "I will place my Character above all." Their mentors in the nation's newest military service state that their first core value is "Character Above All."  Both teams use the "Guardian Spirit: U.S. Space Force Handbook 1-1" as their "journal." Happy Fourth of July! The units of the SFJROTC enterprise are located in high schools around the country. They are managed by Air Force Junior Reserve Officers' Training Corps (AFJROTC) with the support of United States Space Force, Space Training and Readiness Command, Space Delta 13, Detachment 2. #GuardianSpirit #integrity #CoreValues

CHINA PLA - EMBRACING WARGAMING - The PLA Navy’s Blue Team Center Games for War - Naval Command College “Blue Team” experts sometimes go so far as to wear OpFor uniforms during wargames. - The People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) has embraced wargaming with an almost religious zeal. PLAN leaders vigorously promote the use of wargaming methods throughout the service. They have studied wargaming’s many potential advantages, from helping the PLAN overcome its lack of recent combat experience to shedding light on how to employ its new weapons and platforms to maximum effect—and they want more.1 - Knowing the Enemy - (SUN TZU) - The precondition to playing Blue well is deep expertise in China’s potential adversaries, acquired through intensive research. Ultimately, center experts strive to “understand foreign militaries’ operational thinking, become familiar with their operational theories, and master the characteristics of their combat operations.” Specifically, they focus their studies on Blue’s “mode of thinking, behavior and habits, operational organization, tactics, equipment, and command processes.” They also examine Blue’s “strategic theories, operational thinking, organization and command, weapons and equipment, and force construction.”16  - Implications Like other modern navies, the PLAN is committed to taking maximum advantage of wargaming as a tool for education, training, and research, and it has relied heavily on the Naval Command College to do so. For the U.S. Navy, the story of the PLAN’s Blue Team Center offers two clear lessons. First, the center is a very influential organization that deserves far more attention than it currently receives. Studying it promises valuable insights into PLAN assumptions about U.S. capabilities and how China believes these capabilities would likely be employed in a future war. A number of important questions need answering. For example, not enough is known about the people of the Blue Team Center. Who are they? What are their backgrounds? What kinds of intelligence materials do they use to better understand Blue? What biases color their assessments, and how can the United States exaggerate—or minimize—those biases, as appropriate? How has the center adapted to the post-PLA reform organizational arrangements? Has its influence waxed or waned in the new era of “jointness”? - Second, the U.S. Navy should treat the Blue Team Center as a legitimate model for adversary simulation and consider which of its practices—if any—are worthy of emulation. For instance, does it make sense for the U.S. Naval War College to have its own Red Team Center? Or does another entity in the U.S. government already do this well enough and with sufficient capacity to adequately support U.S. Navy wargames? What steps should be taken to further professionalize the community of experts tasked with Red simulation?24 - https://lnkd.in/eF8mG-JX

A three part post as RANZCP Board candidate (I talk too much and LinkedIn limits too much 😂 ):- Structure, operation, fellowship The College came into being in 1946 and has grown and evolved in ways that reflect the passions and interests of groups of like-minded Fellows. Now, three quarters of a century later, it looks a little like an organisational patchwork quilt. Though not a Military person, its structure reminds me of the Army: a Central Command, with Field Commands, and a myriad of functional units, such as Signals, Intelligence, Transport, and so on, and operational units such as Armoured, Infantry, Special Services and others. As I understand it, from the outside at least, this appears a structure that reflects the nature of warfare, and the relationship to that role of each sub-unit of the whole. It is difficult, at times, to see a similar structure and relationship within College: there is Central Command, “College” itself, and Field Commands, the Branches, but thereafter the correspondence loosens and, acknowledging the passions and commitment of their authors, the Faculties, Sections and Networ.ks appeared to have “grown like Topsy”.

It is not Wednesday but we still have a wargame to showcase this week. “Of War and Men: WWII ” by Neverhavyn games is a World War II based, squad level card game that does not only focus on tactics and strategy but allows you to build your team based on individual strengths and weaknesses of the characters. As you navigate the terrain in each of the missions, you are not just sending a nameless soldier into battle, you are sending your men and women into battle. Each player can choose characters with unique abilities, complete with ranks, names, and characteristics that allow you to build your team based on the mission requirements. Unique game features like individual soldier strengths and weaknesses, weapon malfunctions, and covering fire systems contribute to the “Fog of War.” Formal Learning Centers can take advantage of the unique dynamics of this game to reinforce talent management and decision making at the tactical level. Written by: Jeremy Johnson #marines #marinecorps #USMC #wargames #wargame #war #training #education #learning #wargaming #military

The United States Marine Corps unveils cutting-edge Wargaming Center at Quantico! - The Marine Corps recently unveiled the new General Robert B. Neller Center for Wargaming and Analysis at Quantico, Virginia.  - The 100,000 sq. ft. center will allow Marines and joint forces to practice planning for war scenarios using advanced technology like AI and predictive analytics. - It comes as the Marine Corps undertakes a major reorganization called Force Design to make the service more agile and focused on a potential conflict with China. - The center offers a lower-cost, low-threat way for the military to prepare for an uncertain global security environment, according to officials. - Features include a "wargaming arena", a 350-person auditorium, and breakout rooms for strategic planning - all designed to help the military "set the analytic pace" against adversaries. #MarineCorps #Wargaming #MilitaryTechnology #Quantico #MilitaryPreparedness #MilitaryInnovation #ForceDevelopment #NationalSecurity

Fridays are a time for reflection. Consider the impact you’ve made this week and how you can continue growing, both personally and within DoD Civilian Careers. As we wrap up today, think about how you can be there for those around you, and look ahead to the opportunities next week brings. #FridayReflection #GrowthMindset #DoDForward United States Department of Defense

Good article by Ryan Martinson in the May 2024 issue of USNI PROCEEDINGS on the increasing importance the Chinese navy is placing on wargaming to prepare for war against US and allied nations. The article also indicates that the PLAN struggles with "mirror imaging" the PLA perspective, C2 and operational methods on the western alliance teams. How can the US and its allies avoid making our wargames engage in similar "mirror imaging", potentially resulting in erroneous results? (https://lnkd.in/ghepiwHd)