EDUCATIONAL WARGAMING AT THE TACTICAL LEVEL AS A COMPONENT OF THE COMBAT CAPABILITY OF THE SECURITY AND DEFENSE FORCES OF UKRAINE

Abstract

In the context of large-scale armed aggression of the Russian Federation against Ukraine, the urgent task is to study effective methods of training military specialists as a component of increasing the combat capability of the security and defense forces of Ukraine in accordance with modern realities. The article is devoted to the analysis of ways to implement the use of the potential of war games (hereinafter referred to as wargaming) and prepare for the challenges of the future, so that the defense community can revive and expand educational wargaming at the tactical level. Wargaming should regain its historical position as an important educational tool for all types and branches of the military in increasing combat capability. But this article is not an argument in favor of any one war game or technology. On the contrary, we believe that for the success of joint educational wargaming, the Ministry of Defense should go the way of creating a special educational wargaming fund and promote the development of various wargaming models or platforms and introduce new technologies to use the latest approaches in enhancing the combat capability of units, creating conditions for intensive and high-quality training of military personnel at the tactical level. As a result, wargames can be one of the key elements of the educational process of military personnel training, but they cannot be the only element. At the same time, no form of wargame can satisfy all needs. Therefore, according to the authors: wargames with a high level of personnel involvement are needed to help decision-makers experience interaction with other units, as well as the emotional and psychological consequences of this interaction; tools are needed so that players can see (and even change) how elements of game models work to translate decisions into effects and events, to calibrate both these models and the understanding that players gain from them, as well as the game process itself; computer games are needed so that it is easy to record, replay, and reflect on experiences, which will help us develop «healthy» approaches to solving uncertain and complex situations. The above problems are unresolved, so they require a broader study of the features and prospects of educational wargaming at the tactical level.