Red Team Journal » Events

The First (Canadian) Red Teaming University and Conference

Robert J. Bunker — Fri, 08 Apr 2011 17:14:32 +0000

The First Red Teaming University and Conference was held in Kingston, Canada, from 16 to 18 March 2011. It was presented by the Adversarial Intent Section, Defence Research and Development, Canada Toronto; Defence and Security Research Institute; Centre for Security, Armed Forces and Society; Queens Centre for International Relations; and the Royal Military College, Canada. Additional participating groups included University of Foreign Military and Cultural Studies, Fort Leavenworth, Kansas; Red Teaming representatives, United States Marine Corps; Joint Force Command, North Atlantic Treaty Organization; International Society of Military Sciences; Global Futures Forum; Vancouver Olympic Games Red Team (historical); and University of Greifswald, Germany.
      The conference was attended by approximately three dozen participants, predominantly from Canada, with delegates from the United States and some European countries also represented. Presenters included David Connell, DRDC; Col. Jeanne Arnold, UFMCS; Col. C.M. Benson, Ph.D., USA (Ret); Maj. Philip Cushman, USMC; Dr. David Last, RMC; Anthony Seaboyer, RMC; Dr. Genevieve Susemihl, University of Greifswald, Germany; Dr. J.D. Young, RMC; Maj-Gen. Ed Fitch, Canadian Forces (Ret); and Maj. Bruce Sand, Canadian Forces (Ret).
      University and Conference panels, workshops, and exercises took place on the Red Team Concept Explained, Alternative Methods (Intelligence, Military, and Law Enforcement), Creative Thinking, Specific Techniques, Canadian Experience & Experimentation, Red Teaming Exercise, the (Canadian) Red Team Project, National Perspectives on Red Teaming, Sudan: Exploring Alternative Analysis, ANSA: Exploring Alternative Perspectives, and Experimentation: New Tools for Red Teaming?
      Event lessons learned include:

The conference helped to teach key audiences about red teaming as it is currently practiced, report on research to support new forms of red teaming, and gauge interest in further development of red teaming in Canada.
Future red teaming activities may involve a major research project beginning in August, multinational collaboration through the Technology Cooperation Program (TTCP) with Australia, Britain, and the United States, and development of a new Canadian army capability.
Proceedings from the Conference and research papers funded under this initiative will be published by Defence Research and Development Canada after internal review.

These events were conducted in support of the facilitation of the creation of a Canadian approach to red teaming decision support and to provide leading-edge knowledge and tools to the Canadian security community. This initiative, the Red Teaming, Red Cells, and Decision Support Project, is a major program being implemented by the Canadian military forces in cooperation with other Canadian governmental agencies. For further information, contact Dr. David Last, Royal Military College, Canada at last-d at rmc dot ca.

Who Would You Play Today?

Mark Mateski — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 21:03:42 +0000

For those of you who follow RTJ, you’ve probably noticed that things have been a bit slow around here lately. They’ll pick up again soon. We have two very interesting papers pending, for example.
      While we’re preparing those, I’d like to raise a question.
      First some backstory … When Red Team Journal started in 1997, the world was very different. (At least most observers’ perceptions of the world were very different.) The United States was smitten with a bad case of overconfidence. The concept of a revolution in military affairs (RMA) held sway at the Pentagon, and, if you accepted the prevailing mindset, no one would emerge to challenge U.S. dominance for at least a decade, probably longer. If we were to simplify the world into a board game of global dominance, most players in 1997 would have preferred to “play” the United States.
      So, here’s my question: assuming the same board game of global dominance, who would you choose to play today?

Event: New Methods in Analytical Red Teaming

Mark Mateski — Tue, 12 May 2009 16:43:00 +0000

The one-day Alidade Institute seminar “New Methods in Analytical Red Teaming” is rescheduled for June 10 in Washington, DC. At the seminar, I will discuss specific ways of improving the process of red teaming using a simplified form of hypergame analysis. More information is available at the Alidade site. If you have questions regarding the seminar content, you can contact me directly at editor at redteamjournal dot com.