On a whiteboard at Denison Barracks, home to the British Army’s 77th Brigade, is a phrase “If everybody is thinking alike then somebody isn’t thinking”. Wargaming has, and always will be about exploring new ideas and seeing if they have merit. History is littered throughout with tales of civilians finding themselves in situations of command, rising to the occasion.
Democracy was founded on the ideals that freedom of thought should be encouraged, that exploring new ideas together is productive. In March 2020 Fight Club UK was founded “to use COTS computer games to provide its members with an opportunity to hone their skills in a dynamic and adversarial environment. Military professionals must be conditioned to outthink, out maneuver and adapt faster” and it seeks to “fill what is arguably the greatest deficiency in the training and education of leaders: repeated practice in decision making against a thinking enemy.” (Elliott 2020)
Fight Club aims to bring civilian and military professionals together in an adversarial environment utilizing COTS digital wargames to maintain Tactical & Strategic Fitness. Their motto “Think, Fight, Learn, Repeat” embodies the message that Iron sharpens Iron. It creates an environment where rank, creed, religion, race, gender does not matter. The goal is not to win every fight, but to make sure that even in defeat members are learning something of value.
Since March 2020, Fight Club has now gone international with chapters in over eight countries, including the United States headed by Army Strategist Colonel Arnel P. David. The United States Armed Forces can benefit from the Civilian talent pool that the British MoD has by incorporating and standardizing a Fight Club Model within its institutions. Allowing civilians to volunteer and engage with military professionals in the digital wargaming space at the UNCLASSIFIED level increases the opportunities our leaders have to fight thinking adversaries and explore ideas against those opponents.
There is much to be gained by cultivating an environment where an infantry officer plays wargames against a former Air Force officer. Civilian Logisticians fighting an AtomEngine scenario against a RED Logisticians. Transfer of knowledge and cross-training would occur organically, arming our leaders with information about adversary capabilities in an engaging way. Almost everything in the world is done through digital applications these days. Books, Newspapers, Magazines are slowly being replaced by E-Books and the Internet. The new generation of talent learns through Google and YouTube, as the saying goes “Adapt and Overcome”.
Incorporating a similar Fight Club model to the British MoD for the US Department of Defense is essential to maintain the technical and adaptive edge over our adversaries. An article from the Modern War Institute at West Point states a “Royal Marine major played Combat Mission to explore with greater fidelity what the potential reconnaissance fight in the wargame’s scenario would look like. In doing so, the officer illuminated a corps reconnaissance mismatch, which led to necessary changes to the corps plan. The study of war through experiential learning vis-à-vis games is enabling warfighters to become more adaptive.” (Moran and David 2022)

Failing to integrate civilians with their knowledge of COTS wargames to enable officers like the one above will prevent learning and adaptation of our understanding warfare. It goes on to say “Changing how we fight is as (if not more) important than buying new things to fight with. Games in the US Marine Corps found asymmetric advantages to offset the need for more heavy and expensive tanks. The US Air Force leverages a commercial game, Command: Professional Edition, to stress test concepts and inform procurement purchases. The United States Intelligence Advanced Research Projects Activity has researched how gaming can mitigate cognitive biases that affect decision-making and intelligence analysis. Studies show that games-based learning increases a gamer’s capacity for sensemaking. Clearly, leveraging gamers and introducing more gaming can improve strategic performance in defense and government”. (Moran and David 2022)
Fight Club’s initiative to interface Civilian-Military communities is the future of PME Wargaming. OSINT has shown that civilian communities and their hobby skillsets could be utilized for gains on the battlefield. Fight Club is driving the idea that the same can be done in the realm of Tactical & Strategic fitness by providing a learning environment for thinking opponents to explore ideas in a battlefield simulation. There are only four rules; Think, Fight, Learn, Repeat.
Sources
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Elliott, Oli. 2020. UK Fight Club: Iron Sharpens Iron. August 27. Accessed February 26, 2023. https://www.ukfightclub.co.uk/post/uk-fight-club-wavell-room-article.
Ford, Dr. Matthew. 2022. The Smartphone as Weapon Part 2: The Targeting Cycle in Ukraine. April 10. Accessed February 26, 2023. https://www.academia.edu/76011845/The_Smartphone_as_Weapon_part_2_the_targeting_cycle_in_Ukraine.
Military Connection Quotes. 1941. George S. Patton Quotes. Accessed February 26, 2023. https://militaryconnection.com/military-quotes/george-patton/.
Moran, Nick, and Arnel P. David. 2022. Why Gamers Will Win The Next War. June 30. Accessed February 26, 2023. https://mwi.usma.edu/why-gamers-will-win-the-next-war/.
O'Rourke, Brian. 2022. Wargaming at MCU. November. Accessed February 26, 2023. https://www.usni.org/magazines/proceedings/2022/november/wargaming-mcu.
Powers, Captain Edwin. 2019. Call to Action: Ender's Game. June 10. Accessed February 26, 2023. https://mca-marines.org/blog/2019/06/10/call-to-action-enders-game/#:~:text=Since%20the%20creation%20of%20the,the%20principles%20of%20Maneuver%20Warfare.
—. 2019. Ender's Game: The Real Education Was The Game. June 28. Accessed February 26, 2023. https://mca-marines.org/blog/2019/06/28/enders-game-the-real-education-was-the-game/.
Walters, Colonel Eric M. 2021. Wargaming in Professional Military Education. Fall. Accessed February 26, 2023. https://www.usmcu.edu/Portals/218/3_JAMS_12_2_Walters.pdf. _