Thanks for the vote of ... confidence (?)
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Originally Posted by
selil
They don't need specific military officers. They need members from this group like marct and Tom Odom playing the Iraqi side of the equation. Non-linear, outside of the box thinking, that doesn't put some junior officer telling a BTN commander "you suck".
Well, it's nice to know that you think I think like an insurgent :D If I were going to play an insurgent, it would definitely have to be Hasan al-Sabah :rolleyes:
Quote:
Originally Posted by
slapout9
Gang leaders,drug dealers, organized crime leaders, captured insurgent leaders would be better, then it would not be a game so much as a simulation of what would really happen based on real world TTP's as opposed to just fault finding with the plan.
Slapout, you're right in saying hat these would be really good people to game this out. Maybe a sentence reduction for some of the ones already in custody? (Gotti in Iraq - the ante-penultimate Solution!).
On a more serious note, I actually think that it would be a good idea to include non-military people in the red teams. I'd say "make sure their's an Anthropologist on the teams", but I can only think of 4 Anthropologists who would a) go and b) not totally frak it up <sigh>.
Marc
Marc
Red Teams and institutionalizing the Advocatis Diaboli
Hi Rob,
Sorry about the short response yesterday.
I think that what we are looking at here is an attempt to institute what the Dominicans and other Orders used to call the Advocatus Diaboli (Devil's Advocate) role. In many of the Orders, the person fulfilling the role was granted a form of immunity for anything they said while in that role - similar to Canada's Auditor General.
At an institutional level, part of the problem lies in the intersection between those who are institutionally acceptable, usually measured by previous experience within the institution, and perceptual capability of thinking outside of the institution. Let me put it another way, a good, experienced SGT can spot holes in an LTs plans easily, but the way they would spot holes is based on their experience within the institution. This is a matter of an "expert" criticizing someone with less skills, and it's not what a Red Team or Devil's Advocate should be doing.
Historically, the Devil's Advocate role should be held by someone who knows some or most of the institutional experience base, but can shift to another experience base. This is why your suggestions for "buisness men that have experience in cut-throat economics, bring in a priest or two who might be familiar with papal maneuvering, a former congressman or lobbyist, a lawyer, a doctor, an insurance broker, a real estate agent, a detective, a convicted white collar type," makes a lot of sense, especially if they have served a term or been involved in an analogous institution.
But will this be enough? Honestly, I think that Red Teams are a part of a step towards a solution, but they don't go far enough. All a Red Team can do is explain "why" something didn't work and generate new options inside the institutional matrix. So, how to get beyond that?
Well, to start with, take an organizational matrix that is already familiar but not curently in use: let's say the old OSS :eek:. Seperate them out, institutionally, and use them as the institutional base for the Red Teams. Recruit people to work for them on a part-time, distributed basis as well as a full time basis. In addition to the type of people you've mentioned, I would add in hackers, cyberpunks, moderate Muslim clerics, magicians, Anthropologists, game designers, development specialists, systems analysts, web designers, etc.
Use the 'net to advantage. When I mentioned a "distributed basis" I was refering to the type of interactions that we have here. No one is getting paid for their time on this board, but there are a lot of good ideas generated. Can this be leveraged for a "new" institution? Probably.
Marc
Red Team - Blue Team - Green Team??
Originally posted by Merv Benson:
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It is fairly common in major litigation battles for large firms to get attorney's to play the devil's advocate role to probe for weakness and help prepare rebuttal arguments. It is almost always done in cases argued before the Supreme Court. It is very helpful in preparing for those contest.
From Marc:
Quote:
But will this be enough? Honestly, I think that Red Teams are a part of a step towards a solution, but they don't go far enough. All a Red Team can do is explain "why" something didn't work and generate new options inside the institutional matrix. So, how to get beyond that?
What if once the initial composition of the Red Team was decided -
something like -
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This will have to be a talented group - the observation about co-opting former actors would be a pretty good bench mark - but if that is not acheivable, it might still be better to go outside the military and retired contractor community. How about buisness men that have experience in cut-throat economics, bring in a priest or two who might be familiar with papal maneuvering, a former congressman or lobbyist, a lawyer, a doctor, an insurance broker, a real estate agent, a detective, a convicted white collar type, people who if placed in different conditions will adapt and not roll over- resourceful people who can make use of things provide them in the context of advancing their cause.
They then had a "Green Team" who helped advise the Blue on how to counter, mitigate, prevent. Since we are talking about Asymetric enemy actions and responses - it might be good to have Asymetric counters from people who are outside both the Blue and the Red. Blue and Red will both develop bias - it is a natural tendency to fall in love with aspects of your plan or the whole plan.
It may also be worth considering augmentation of the teams with Iraqis or as close as you can get. Many US professionals might need some "environmental stimulus" type of mood music to help them slip into the role. Even if this is only for a HQs inside the Green Zone - you still have to consider how big to make it if you want it to be responsive and agile - its a trade between having what you need and getting it in time to make a difference.