Wargaming for Improved Acquisition: A Bottom-Up Framework (warontherocks.com)

• Lack of public-private planning for industrial mobilization identified as a key gap.
• Author proposes three types of wargames: force sustainment, system sustainment, and supply chain analysis.
• Governance should be led by Undersecretaries of Defense for Acquisition and Sustainment and Research and Engineering.
• Bottom-up service games can uncover critical insights missed by top-level joint games, e.g., war reserve materiel misalignment.
• AI and modeling tools can help quantify acquisition requirements, as demonstrated in prototype wargames for the Marine Corps.

"The article argues that the US Department of Defense needs a structured, annual wargaming program to improve acquisition and industrial mobilization. Service-level wargames should feed into joint games under standardized methodology, led by acquisition and sustainment leadership. The author cites experience from Marine Corps wargames and AI-enabled modeling to highlight the need for bottom-up data to inform strategic decisions."