From 1–5 May 2023, the Near East South Asia (NESA) Center for Strategic Studies held a professional military education program in Washington, D.C., on the “Fundamentals of Wargaming” with five faculty members from the Saudi Command and Staff College of Saudi Arabia National Defense University.

Fundamentals of Wargaming Program participants and course instructors at National Defense University in Washington, D.C.

The course introduced the students to the wargaming theory by reviewing the purpose and types of wargaming, analyzing the principles of wargaming, and reviewing the components of a wargame. At the end of the course, the students put their knowledge into practice, conducting a commercial wargame, under the tutelage of the U.S. Army War College Department of Strategic Wargaming (DSW) faculty.

Students applying wargaming lessons learned.

Students were paired with a NESA faculty member to serve as a mentor and support the student’s learning. Professor Justin Boston led the course with academic support from Professor Richard Wiersema, Andrea Brewington, and Mark Bibbey.

The views presented in this article are those of the speaker or author and do not necessarily represent the views of DoD or its components.