by Adam Elkus on June 17, 2011
Red teaming, by its very nature, can be antagonistic to policy. The purpose of a red team is to challenge official TTPs, plans, and estimates. So it is no surprise that a red team report by Jeremy Bordin on the growing distrust between Afghan soldiers and NATO is causing such a stirrup.
The killings of American soldiers by Afghan troops are turning into a “rapidly growing systemic threat” that could undermine the entire war effort, according to a classified military study.The study by Jeffrey Bordin, a political and behavioral scientist working for the U.S. Army in Afghanistan, warns that the magnitude of the killings “may be unprecedented between ‘allies’ in modern history.” Based on interviews with some 600 Afghan troops, the report concludes that there is a dangerous “crisis of trust” between Afghan forces and American soldiers that is being ignored by top commanders. …Mr. Bordin and other similar researchers, part of a so-called Red Team within the military, are tasked with finding weaknesses and shortcomings that the enemy may exploit.
Red teaming is not a search for a worst-case scenario, but rather a look at the role of assumptions. Some assumptions can prove to be valid if accurately defended. Others are not.
One red team study I’d like to see on Afghanistan would be on the feasibility of the emerging “Biden-plus” consensus. While the flaws of the current policy have been detailed, I have yet to see a substantial look at the assumptions of the lighter footprint model.
by Editor on September 26, 2010
In the second Red Team Journal occasional paper, “Red Team Reign,” GEN Carter Ham, COL (Ret.) Greg Fontenot, LTC David Pendall, and Mr. Larry Closter advocate the use of red teaming in support of joint task force decision processes. The authors provide first-hand insight into how the practice of red teaming has evolved in recent years and offer a variety of useful observations, insights, and recommendations.
by Mark Mateski on May 7, 2010
Good strategy is elusive. Some people can read The Art of War every day and never generate a single good strategy, while others can outthink Sun Tzu without ever opening a book. Reading can help, and so can training, but the effect is limited when an exploitable mindset prevails. Americans, for example, tend to emphasize technology and forget that every gadget comes with at least one new liability, usually several. [click to continue ...]
by Editor on April 27, 2010
Regular RTJ readers will remember the article by Michael Skroch from last December titled “Modeling and Simulation of Red Teaming, Part 1.” For those who are interested in this topic, it’s worth visiting the updated Umbra site. The site offers information on the Umbra simulation engine as well as Dante, Operations Viewshed, and other related tools. As the site notes, “Umbra and derivative applications are generally export controlled, and are available for U.S. government use. Umbra may be available for universities and industries through various licensing arrangement[s].”
by Mark Mateski on March 4, 2010
Red teaming remains stuck in the Wild West phase of its maturity. One of the main culprits is the lack of shared terms—a lack that makes it difficult for red teamers to compare methods, communicate insights, and, ultimately, build a consistent and structured discipline. IEEE 1471 can help. [click to continue ...]
by Mark Mateski on January 14, 2010
Awareness that traditional methods of assessing the risk of adversary attack are inadequate seems to be growing. One example is this SRA press release from last month referring to Parnell, Smith, and Moxley’s work. Another example is this DHS announcement. [click to continue ...]
by Editor on December 8, 2009
We are pleased to post the first in a series of articles by Michael J. Skroch of Sandia Labs on the modeling and simulation of red teaming. Michael is a founding member of the red teaming community and is well known within the community as a proponent of better red teaming methods and practices. He has written this article specifically for Red Team Journal and its readers. We believe the article is likely to become a standard reference in the field. You may download it as a PDF here.
by Mark Mateski on November 5, 2009
In the past few months, I’ve posted a couple of items here about a new red teaming approach I’ve developed called “reciprocal net assessment” (RNA). This new RNA presentation stops short of describing the method in detail, but it does describe the need for the approach and a bit about the concepts behind it.
by Mark Mateski on July 15, 2009
In the past few months, I have built and refined an approach to analysis I have dubbed reciprocal net assessment (RNA). It is based on principles inherent in hypergame analysis and is designed to encourage analysts and decision makers to avoid decision breakdowns and create and exploit decision opportunities. Although I am still refining the approach, I now believe it is ready for testing. I am currently offering pro bono analysis of two cases: one military- or security-related and the other business-related. If you might be interested in submitting a case for consideration, read on. [click to continue ...]
by Mark Mateski on May 12, 2009
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.
