What if instead of going on staff rides to historical battlefields we went on staff rides to future battlefields?

Throughout history, militaries have failed to envision the changing character of war. Organizational adaptations, (1/8)
@DivergentOption @jameskgreer77 @ArmyMadSci

shifts in tactics of warfare, the impacts of technology on its conduct, and major political upheavals routinely surprise political and military leaders alike.

So how is the military supposed to envision the future? When are time and resources allocated to this endeavor? (2/8)

Should organizations such as @ArmyFuturesGrp and @armyfutures command bear all responsibility, or can we inspire and train young leaders to think about future warfare early in their career? Can @TRADOC build futures exercises into PME? Let's get creative. (3/8)

I'm not sure what a futures staff ride would look like, but I think it should link a plausible future event, physical & digital terrain (also consider new domains), and systematic preliminary study. It should present leaders with decision points, stimulate thought, and (4/8)

require active engagement. Providing an overarching focus could be helpful e.g. how design can bring clarity to complex environments, or the MDO concept changes basing in the future, or how adversaries achieve surprise in their transition from competition to conflict, etc. (5/8)

However executed, it should stimulate creativity, future oriented thinking, and conclusions should be passed to the commands actively working these problems.

I know smart people are thinking about these things. Please share your thoughts and ideas. (6/8)

Also, for you history buffs that made it this far, I'm not calling for abandoning history, classical staff rides, or ignoring (most) historians. History MUST be studied to have contextual understanding as well as to learn from the past. E.g. studying the interwar period to (7/8)

understand how to prepare for the next war seems particularly salient currently. History also teaches leadership, tactics, and theory among other things.

Let me know if I'm crazy or if there is some value in developing this idea. (8/8)
@WarInstitute @War_Room_Eds @JimRainey10

Bonus: As yet another plausible dystopian future described in #BurnInBook by @peterwsinger (compromise of water treatment plant), maybe we could consider borrowing from some of his works and others in the genre to help spur creative thinking about plausible futures?