US national security classifications, roots, history. Why it's needed, recent spy cases, challenges from new tech. Balancing secrecy with transparency. Maj. Scott Macmann, USA/ret., NSDM Game staff.
Description:
Lecture examines US national security classifications, emphasizing the classification system's historical roots and evolution. Delves into motivations for secrecy, recent espionage cases, and addresses challenges posed by advancing technology. Reviews potential reforms balancing secrecy with governmental transparency in a democracy. Presented by Maj. Scott Macmann, USA/ret., on the National Security Decision Making Game staff.
Inter-war years, USN built 9 subs to test different designs against needs for a future cross-Pacific war. Experiment produced template for WW II Fleet Boat. Capt. Mark McDonagh, USN/ret., NSDM staff
Description:
World War I was over, the first war that saw significant submarine combat. World naviesÂ’ sub forces were outdated & inadequate, they sought to understand lessons of WW I & incorporate them, with their own strategic needs, into a next generation of sub designs. The US Navy built 9 operational subs of 5 different designs to test capabilities & limitations against their needs for a future conflict across the Pacific. V-1 through V-9 were not given individual names or class designations initially, had dissimilar sizes, ranges & endurances. These allowed the USN to hone in on a Fleet Boat design that served as the template for the hundreds of combat submarines that strangled the Japanese home islands in World War II. Lecture by Capt. Mark McDonagh, USN/ret., former submarine officer with 12 years' experience at the Naval War College, on the National Security Decision Making Game staff.
Our past & future. Individual, national, cultural & generational decisions affect civilization. Demographics, birth/death rates, immigration, what will result? Merle Robinson, NSDM Game staff.
Description:
Individual, national, cultural and generational decisions have changed the course of human civilization, sometimes in surprising and unanticipated ways, and will continue to have an impact on what the world will look like in the future. How will the demographic changes that interact with birth and death rates, immigration, etc. affect the course of history going forward? Come and join in an exploration of our past and our future. Presented by Merle Robinson, lead simulation designer and retired DoD analyst, on the National Security Decision Making Game staff.
Panel discusses what tech it takes to establish a colony. Then describes NSDM's new lunar colony player cell. Mark McDonagh & Scott Macmann on the National Security Decision Making Game staff.
Description:
Nations planning or contributing to lunar missions in the next few years include China, Russia, India, Japan, India, Singapore, Pakistan, Australia & Finland, culminating in a planned US/Canadian manned lunar orbit in 2025 & US manned landing in 2026. The first habitat module is to be landed in 2028. This will begin a permanent human presence that should expand into the next decade. Panel discusses what it takes to establish a moon colony, technologies used, what it would look like, existing plans. Goes on to discuss the game design for NSDM's new lunar colony player cell, what the modeled colonies are, what the competing national interests are, & how they will cooperate & where they might not. Presented by Mark McDonagh, Scott Macmann & Merle Robinson on the National Security Decision Making Game staff.
August '49, first Soviet nuclear test changed the Cold War. Western analysts thought it would not be for 4-5 years. Spies, design, impact. Capt. Mark McDonagh, USN/ret., physicist on NSDMG staff.
Description:
August 29, 1949, Soviet Union tests its first nuclear weapon at what would become a major test site in Kazakhstan. Similar to the US Fatman, it was a plutonium implosion weapon of about 22 kiloton yield. The test, which the Soviets called RDS-1, also Izdeliye 501 (Device 501) & First Lightning, was code named as Joe-1 (after Joseph Stalin) by the West. It surprised most analysts who thought the USSR would not be a nuclear power for 4-5 years. This changed the nature of the still-newborn Cold War. Lecture discusses stolen Manhattan Project data, detection of the test by US intel, Soviet design, Soviet follow-up & impact on developmental weapons programs by both sides & on the Cold War in general. Presented by Capt. Mark McDonagh, USN/ret., physicist & former nuclear submarine officer with 12 years' experience at the Naval War College, on the National Security Decision Making Game staff.
The National Security Decision Making Game staff reviews recent changes and things to watch next year, including hotspots: Israel, Russia, China, Europe, Iran, North Korea. What's CNN missing?
Description:
Overview, analysis and insights on current and near-future world affairs. This panel discussion and seminar, the signature event of the National Security Decision Making (NSDM) Game staff, explores current, and potential future, problem areas around the world with a focus on domestic/international areas they feel may not have gotten the attention from the media, and possibly even from Western national security agencies, that they warrant. Want to know what to expect in the next year? What might happen and what are its implications? What are drivers, what indicators to watch for, and how might events be affected by the U.S. and the West? What potential catastrophes is CNN missing?
Covering technologies available before the modern era, useful for historians & those interested in potential fantasy & steampunk devices. Merle Robinson, National Security Decision Making Game staff
Description:
Covering technologies available before the modern era. Intended to be useful for historians as well as those interested in potential fantasy & steampunk devices. Presented by Merle Robinson, lead simulation designer and retired DoD analyst, on the National Security Decision Making Game staff.
The Boston Tea Party led England to impose what American Colonists dubbed Intolerable Acts. Deterioration of relations through 1774 led to war in 1775. Jason Corner & Mark McDonagh, NSDMG staff.
Description:
The Coercive Acts, passed in London after the December 1773 Boston Tea Party to punish the unruly Bostonians, were quickly dubbed the Intolerable Acts by the American Colonists who felt that no English citizen should be forced to tolerate such treatment. What followed was a year of message and response which, with more reasonable people on both sides, might have reconciled the conflict. But instead the year 1774 marked a deterioration of relations into the decidedly irreconcilable zone. This resulted in revolution in 1775. Lecture discusses the sequence of events that transitioned the disagreement into full war, the personalities and their contributions both positive and negative, and the potential for a different outcome. Presented by Jason Corner, lead modeling designer, and Capt. Mark McDonagh, USN/ret., on the National Security Decision Making Game staff.
Current trends extrapolated to 2066, assessing impacts. Industry, military, medical tech, environment/climate, social changes. Merle Robinson, lead designer, National Security Decision Making Game.
Description:
An overview of today's trends, extrapolating into 2066 & assessing their impacts. Lecture covers industrial, military, medical & other technologies; climate and environmental issues such as pollution, temperatures & extinction events; likely upcoming social changes as we can see from here. Presented by Merle Robinson, lead simulation designer and retired DoD analyst, on the National Security Decision Making Game staff.
Lecture highlights military lessons learned from wars in the current era, how they show that the nature of war has evolved, & what this means going forward. Dr. Craig Greathouse, NSDM staff.
Description:
The nature of war is constant, but always evolving. 21st Century conflicts to date highlight the consistency & the evolution of war in the current era. Lecture examines military lessons that can be drawn, from the long wars of the US to the bloodshed of the Israeli/Hamas war. What have we learned & how might it change our thinking in terms of using force in the international system going forward? Topics: the impact of evolving technology on the battlefield, war as a technology incubator, logistics, training, defensive fortifications, artillery & strike capability improvements, war in the air, information on the battlefield, political will, and how the guys on the ground still matter. Presented by Dr. Craig Greathouse, Professor of Political Science specializing in the EU, International Relations Theory and Security and Defense Policy, of the National Security Decision Making Game staff.