Schriever Wargame 2010 - Air Force Space Command

informational, military, economic solutions, orchestrated across
the military and civilian government, and engaging international
partners and the private sector.
National security requirements and strategic influences for
US space and cyberspace operations are rapidly evolving. The
Schriever Wargame series has underscored the need to evolve
America’s corresponding operational approaches as well.
Several overarching themes have emerged from the SW 10
and the series as a whole.
• America’s capabilities to secure our national, economic,
and homeland security interests are inextricably dependent
on highly resilient space and cyberspace enterprises;
civilian and military leaders across the national security
enterprise must comprehend the resiliency required to ensure
that America maintains the needed levels of security
demanded by current and projected conditions.
• The implications of space and cyberspace on America’s
overall security environment are inadequately understood
across the full range of military and civilian leaders with
responsibilities dependent on these domains; accordingly
our national vulnerabilities are higher because of the lack
of sufficient information available to leaders to make well
informed routine and crisis management decisions.
• The implications of space and cyberspace to our potential
adversary’s security environments are also inadequately
understood by civilian and military leaders; accordingly
this impedes opportunities for America leaders to select
the best options for deterring a potential crisis and if necessary,
wining conflicts.
• Preserving space and cyberspace for peaceful purposes
and defending national interests requires clearly defined
and functioning integrated strategies, organizational structures,
and situational awareness/intelligence sharing capabilities
across the US government and with international
and selected private sector entities that do not exist today;
the absence of a fully developed, implemented, and regimented
approach increases the possibility of confusion,
ineffective response to a potential or actual crisis, and may
result in unnecessary escalation of a conflict.
The proliferation of non-US lead capabilities in both the space
and cyberspace domains is producing demonstrable global advances.
Simultaneously, these circumstances are creating new
operational imperatives for America’s civilian and military leaders
to enhance both their individual knowledge of and America’s
capabilities required to protect our national interests linked to
space and cyberspace. The Schriever Wargame series reflects
this modern national security challenge emanating from the increasing
intersect between the civilian and military functions of
government, public and private sector interaction, and with the
international community, in protecting America’s and increasingly,
global vital interests for security and stability in space and
cyberspace.
The Schriever Wargame series contributes to the US understanding
of the challenges to preserving America’s national security
in space and cyberspace. Concurrently it provides a practical
laboratory for pursuing alternative concepts for whole of
nation(s) comprehensive approach to addressing America’s current
and future national security contingencies, whether in space,
cyberspace, or elsewhere. Its conduct reflects the broad engagement
beyond the US government, especially our military that is
necessary to effectively understand, explore, and prepare contingencies—taking
into account the range of possible scenarios
and interdependencies arising from the space and cyber domains.
SW 10 is the first US military sponsored strategic wargame to
examine space and cyberspace concurrently.
The value from SW 10 cannot simply be measured in the conduct
of a wargame. Its ultimate benefit will be derived when
the steps taken to translate the lessons of the wargame into tangible
improvements to support current and future generations of
civilian and military leaders. Implementing a more robust capacity
to deal with future national security conflicts in the space
and cyberspace domains has the dual benefit of strengthening
our readiness in those domains while simultaneously allowing
us to improve our capabilities for more other traditional, albeit,
increasing complex land, sea, and air domains.
The lessons identified by the Schriever Wargame series are
not futuristic concepts. They are imperatives that confront of the
US and our allies today. SW 10 provided the tangible evidence
that we must give more attention to our national security capabilities,
including developing the understanding of civilian and
military leaders relating to space and cyberspace operations. The
potential risks from these domains to our national, economic,
and homeland security are significant. SW 10 and the series as
a whole have made a compelling case that immediately addressing
space and cyberspace related operational capabilities is a national
imperative. So too is our ability to prepare a broader array
of current and future generations of civilian and military leaders
to operate in a complex, fast paced, and increasingly ambiguous
21 st century national security environment, including space and
cyberspace. The potential consequences to America’s national
security and economic well being of failing to accomplish either,
could be grave.
Hon. George W. Foresman
(Virginia Military Institute) is
currently president of Highland
Risk and Crisis Solutions, Ltd.
Mr. Foresman also serves as a
senior advisor and facilitator for
the Schriever War-game. Previously,
Mr. Foresman was confirmed
by the US Senate in 2005
as America’s first under secretary
of preparedness at the US
Department of Homeland Security
and subsequently became
the first under secretary for national
protection and programs.
He vice-chaired the Congressionally
established Advisory Panel
to Assess Domestic Response
Capabilities for Terrorism Involving Weapons of Mass Destruction
(1998-2003) and served in Virginia state government for two decades,
including as a Cabinet official.
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