A Wargame Method for Assessing Risk and Resilience of Military Command-and-Control Organizations

Many recent wargames conducted by the joint community have examined alternative organizational structures for operational-level command and control (C2) in a scenario. However, wargames typically role-play and exercise the roles, responsibilities, and authorities of a prescribed C2 organizational structure in the scenario rather than compare and contrast alternative structures in a rigorous manner. This report provides a "how-to" guide for conducting a C2 risk and resilience (C2R2) tabletop exercise (TTX). The C2R2 TTX is a wargaming method that RAND researchers developed and can be used to compare and contrast alternative organizational structures for operational-level C2 in terms of associated risks to operational outcomes and the organizational structures' resilience to those risks. The method is an adaptation of the assumption-based planning methodology developed for the U.S. Army in the 1990s but conducted in a TTX format and using a retrospective futurology approach to elicit consensus from subject-matter experts. The steps involve preparing the materials, conducting a preparation session, evaluating risk and resilience metrics in a one- or two-day event involving 12 to 24 participants, and summarizing the results. This could be suitable for a multiday workshop conducted in parallel with and as part of a larger wargaming effort.