In August, the US Naval Postgraduate School (NPS), together with Hybrid CoE, conducted a wargaming course on hybrid threats in support of the Centre’s Participating States. This was the second time that such a course had been organized, with wargames created and conducted to train participants’ strategic thinking in the context of hybrid threat scenarios.
Representing six Participating States, NATO, various national ministries, think tanks and armed forces, thecourse brought together a unique group of students in Helsinki. Aimed at a diverse group of participants, thispractical and educational two-week workshop was designed to encourage a whole-of-society approach to cooperation in countering hybrid threats. In this iteration of the wargaming course, students tackled the challenge of building an exploratory wargame which considered the influence of various actors on European energy security.
The students went through the process of creating a wargame from start to finish, with the help of lectures, practical exercises and learning by doing. Through the creation of unique hybrid threat wargames, the courses not only increased awareness of hybrid threats but also overall understanding with regard to nations’ ability to respond to them.