Photo By 1st Lt. Victoria Schaefer | 210809-N-AA999-002 KEYPORT, Wash. (Aug. 9, 2021) - NUWC Headquarters Assistant...... read more read more
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NUWC Division Keyport hosted a walkthrough development event Aug. 9-10, for a new wargame concept.
As part of the Wargaming Operational Logistics Forward in Peer Adversary Conflict, or WOLFPAC’s development, the event allowed personnel to refine its rules and capabilities.
Distinct from other wargames that focus on practicing maneuvers or combat operations, WOLFPAC concentrates on the impact of long-term sustainment and logistics, as well as the role of Distributed Maritime Operations, or DMO.
“This wargame is part of an effort to educate warfare centers on how the high-end fight works,” said NUWC Headquarters Assistant Undersea Warfare Area Director for Wargaming and Future Warfare Research Paul Vebber. “We leveraged other wargames being developed for this purpose (specifically the Marine Corps Warfighting Laboratory’s ‘Operational Wargame System’) and simplified and focused ours to specifically look at how to operate logistics and sustainment in hypothetical conflicts.”
WOLFPAC explores dynamics in the transition from peacetime operations through the road to war, and wartime operations.
According to Vebber, tensions may rise to war at any time during peacetime, so players aren’t certain when they’ll move to the road to war. They rely on decisions made during this phase and in wartime operations, which includes eight to 12 four-day turns, enough time for operational logistics effects to appear.
Vebber also said during wartime operations, players gain familiarity with opposing forces’ capabilities in general. An abstract representation of the Optimized Fleet Response Plan and Submarine Response Plan brings awareness of the cyclical nature of degraded Fleet readiness, reinforcing the impact and importance of planning for and managing options to improve ship capabilities by prioritizing scarce resources to improve readiness.
Vebber and NUWC Division Keyport Pacific Detachment logistician Ben Ellis developed WOLFPAC, which operates like a board game.
The design allows planners and users to globally position fuel and weapons resources and then develop the means to maintain said resources for the warfighter to use through the course of a conflict or campaign, Ellis said.
“Unlike previous wargames, this particular game looks at long-term operations over weeks and months to better prepare planners to think critically about sustainment operations,” he added.
NUWC Division Keyport chief logistician Michele Burk said the game also provides users a larger perspective.
“WOLFPAC is designed to help our workforce gain a better understanding of the pivot to a wartime environment and the impact and critical role of sustainment and logistics,” she said. “Through greater workforce understanding, we can improve and expand our thought processes related to what we, at the warfare center, can do to help the warfighter and “move the needle” during a conflict.
Another key factor in WOLFPAC’s development is that it’s available for all personnel to use as an educational tool. The Assistant Secretary of the Navy for Research, Development and Acquisition released Wartime Acquisition Response Plan Guidance in January 2021, and one of the strategic objectives was to train and exercise the workforce to pivot during wartime.
The game directly supports it by providing a means for the workforce to be given an introduction to warfighter requirements and the capacity necessary for wartime sustainment. Because it’s unclassified, personnel at all levels can learn from and use it to strengthen their understanding of how specific engineering and logistics fields relate to the wartime environment.
The first iteration of WOLFPAC focuses on ordnance and fuel. Future iterations may include battle damage assessment, repair and resupply, introducing new technologies, and possible integration and linking with other wargames.
Ideally, after this “beta testing”, WOLFPAC will be finalized and distributed among the warfare centers in 2022.
About Naval Undersea Warfare Center Division Keyport
NUWC Keyport provides technical leadership, engineering expertise, and unique facility complexes that serve to ensure sustainment of undersea warfare superiority for the United States. As one of two divisions of the Naval Undersea Warfare Center, Keyport’s mission is focused on developing and applying advanced technical capabilities to test, evaluate, field, and maintain undersea warfare systems and related defense assets. These advanced technical capabilities directly support the full spectrum of Navy undersea programs.
| Date Taken: | 08.12.2021 |
| Date Posted: | 08.12.2021 21:21 |
| Story ID: | 402984 |
| Location: | KEYPORT, WA, US |
| Hometown: | KEYPORT, WA, US |
| Hometown: | MILLINGTON, TN, US |
| Hometown: | NEWPORT, RI, US |
| Hometown: | WASHINGTON NAVY YARD, DC, US |
| Web Views: | 214 |
| Downloads: | 1 |
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