A decision game is an exercise in which a teacher presents students with a scenario, asks them to take on the role of a character in that scenario, and then asks them to solve problems as if they were that character. If the scenario is based entirely upon a reliable historical narrative, a decision game is also a decision-forcing case . However, if any of the elements in the scenario are fictional, then the exercise is a fictional decision game. [1]
Until the late twentieth century, most decision games dealt with problems drawn from the realm of tactics. The exceptions to this general rule, moreover, were incidental rather than deliberate. That is, while authors of decision-forcing cases in such disciplines as business management and public policy would sometimes fictionalize their cases (thereby converting them into fictional decision games), these works were invariably (if erroneously) described as "case studies". Because of this, the history of the decision game was, until recently, very hard to distinguish from the history of the tactical decision game.
Since the 1990s, decision games dealing with matters other than military tactics have made their appearance. Some of these exercises deal with situations, such as those faced by police officers, fire fighters, and first responders, that have so much in common with tactical military problems that they are accurately described as "tactical decision games". In other instances, the problems are so different from those faced by military tacticians that the use of the term "tactical decision games" would be misleading.
A decision game has two indispensable elements:
In most instances, however, the instructor will add a third element, which is the presentation of a "wrap up" solution to the problem. If the decision game is fictional, this would be his own solution to the problem. If the decision game is a decision-forcing case, then the solution would be the decision made by the protagonist of the case, followed by the immediate results of that decision.
The taxonomy of decision games is based upon two attributes. The first of these, whether the game is historical (real) or fictional (imaginary), is a binary attribute. That is, a decision game can either be real or imaginary, but it cannot be both. The second attribute, which is the art to which the problem at the heart of the game belongs, is open ended. That is, there is no inherent limit to the number of arts for which decision games can be created. Moreover, a given decision game can deal with a problem that belongs to more than one art. Thus, for example, a decision game designed for police officers may deal with both ethics and tactics.
Common types of decision games include:
The FBI Academy is the Federal Bureau of Investigation's law enforcement training and research center near the town of Quantico in Prince William County, Virginia. Operated by the bureau's Training Division, it was first opened for use on May 7, 1972, on 385 acres (156 ha) of woodland, which is not available for public tours. The academy was opened for the purpose of training the new agents after FBI agents were granted the power to arrest, and to possess a firearm, in 1933. As the newly armed agents needed somewhere to train, the Marine Corps granted them access to their firing ranges in Quantico, Virginia. After outgrowing the Marine Corps firing ranges the FBI was granted permission to build their own firing range and classroom on the base. Over time they added new sections such as a whole new wing, kitchen, and basement. But with the rapid growth it still was not enough for their needs.
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A military exercise, training exercise, or war game is the employment of military resources in training for military operations. Military exercises are conducted to explore the effects of warfare or test tactics and strategies without actual combat. They also ensure the combat readiness of garrisoned or deployable forces prior to deployment from a home base.
Marine Doom is a 1996 modification of the first-person shooter Doom II for the United States Marine Corps, which was later made available for download to the public.
Hogan's Alley is a tactical training facility operated by the FBI Training Academy near Quantico, Virginia. Spread over more than 10 acres (4 ha), Hogan's Alley was opened in 1987 and was designed to provide a realistic urban setting for training agents of the FBI, DEA, and other local, state, federal and international law enforcement agents. It is also occasionally used as an urban combat training venue for lieutenants at the United States Marine Corps' The Basic School, which is located nearby. The term "Hogan's Alley" is also used generically to refer to any shooting range devoted to tactical training.
Mission-type tactics is a method of command and delegation where the military commander gives subordinate leaders a clearly-defined objective, high-level details such as a timeframe, and the forces needed to accomplish that objective. The subordinate leaders are given the planning initiative and freedom of execution: they decide on the methods to achieve the objective independently. This allows a high degree of flexibility at the operational and tactical levels of command, which allows for faster decision-making on the ground and frees the higher leadership from managing the tactical details to concentrate on the strategic picture. This may be contrasted with "Befehlstaktik" or command-type tactics.
The case method is a teaching approach that uses decision-forcing cases to put students in the role of people who were faced with difficult decisions at some point in the past. It developed during the course of the twentieth-century from its origins in the casebook method of teaching law pioneered by Harvard legal scholar Christopher C. Langdell. In sharp contrast to many other teaching methods, the case method requires that instructors refrain from providing their own opinions about the decisions in question. Rather, the chief task of instructors who use the case method is asking students to devise, describe, and defend solutions to the problems presented by each case.
The United States Marine Corps Officer Candidates School (OCS) is a training regiment designed to screen and evaluate potential Marine Corps Officers. Those who successfully complete the period of instruction are commissioned as Second Lieutenants in the United States Marines. Unlike the other United States military services, the majority of Marine Corps officers complete OCS to earn a commission; the exceptions are midshipmen from the United States Naval Academy, limited duty officers and warrant officers, and inter-service transfers. It is located at Marine Corps Base Quantico.
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Fleet Command, previously labelled as Jane's Fleet Command, is a real-time tactics naval warfare simulation computer game released in May 1999. It was developed by Sonalysts Inc. and published by Electronic Arts (EA). The game licensed parts of Jane's Information Group's military information database, which was used as an in-game "Jane's Library", reference material that the player could refer to while in-game. Jane's also licensed to EA the "Jane's" name and the "Jane's Combat Simulations" logo, and the game was marketed under the "Jane's" name, much like the previous "Jane's Fighters Anthology", also published by Electronic Arts.
Military simulations, also known informally as war games, are simulations in which theories of warfare can be tested and refined without the need for actual hostilities. Military simulations are seen as a useful way to develop tactical, strategical and doctrinal solutions, but critics argue that the conclusions drawn from such models are inherently flawed, due to the approximate nature of the models used. Many professional analysts object to the term wargames as this is generally taken to be referring to the civilian hobby, thus the preference for the term simulation.
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A tactical decision game is a decision game that puts students in the role of the commander of a tactical unit who is faced with a challenging problem. While most tactical decision games depict problems faced by the commanders of military units, a growing number deal with the situations of types dealt with by police and firefighting organizations.
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A wargame, generally, is a type of strategy game which realistically simulates warfare. A professional wargame, specifically, is a wargame that is used by military organizations to train officers in tactical and strategic decision-making, to test new tactics and strategies, or to predict trends in future conflicts. This is in contrast to recreational wargames, which are designed for fun and competition.
The School of Advanced Warfighting (SAW) in the United States Marine Corps is an Advanced Intermediate Level School (A-ILS) that produces officers qualified to fill high-impact service and joint planning billets. The curriculum features numerous case studies, multiple planning exercises, extensive staff rides, and a consideration of future war. Graduates earn the secondary Military Occupational Specialty (MOS) 0505 Marine Air Ground Task Force (MAGTF) planner and a Masters Degree in Operational Studies. SAW was designed to develop field grade officers for the Marine Corps most difficult operational and planning challenges.
The Bear Went Over the Mountain: Soviet Combat Tactics in Afghanistan is a 1996 non-fiction book translated and edited by American military scholar and author Lester W. Grau. The book is translated from a study initially published by the Frunze Military Academy in 1991 titled "Combat Actions of Soviet Forces in the Republic of Afghanistan" and subtitled "A Thematic Collection of Tactical Examples." Grau received the original Russian language text from the Department of the History of the Military Art at the Frunze academy. With their permission he translated, included commentary, and published his results as this book.
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