There is also an oral history of wargaming
being developed around us. Sometimes quotes from this discussion about
professional wargaming are worth repeating. These are my 3 favourite for the financial
year 2015/6
"If someone in the military dismissed a
wargame designed by a civilian with "only soldiers could create real
wargames" ... There is no known correlation between being good at one's
job and being good at analyzing it." Stephen Downes Martin, Fellow of the Naval
War College
“Only soldiers can create them games that
reinforce their prejudices and demonstrate their brilliance to themselves, if
not to the enemy. The guys with that attitude don't want to know what's true,
only to confirm what they believe to be true.” Peter Perla Author of Peter Perla’s Art of Wargaming.
“I have been to hell ... and it's full of
bureaucrats masquerading as wargamers.” Stephen Downes Martin, Fellow of the
Naval War College.
Do you have any classic wargaming quotes?
P.S. This is not a classic quote, and it is probably tacky to quote oneself (although Oscar Wilde was proud of doing so). But in a document I wrote as part of a proposal where I work to move into the 21st Century, I said, "We are still conducting wargames the way they were done by von Moltke the Elder."
ReplyDeleteExcellent quote, I like it!
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