Red Team Training (UFMCS)
Context: U.S. Army service (around 2010, during the Afghanistan period). Participated in Red Team training through the University of Foreign Military and Cultural Studies (UFMCS) under TRADOC (Training and Doctrine Command).
What Red Teaming Was
Red Team training involved learning to play the role of the adversary in wargaming and planning scenarios. The goal was to stress-test plans by thinking like the enemy and challenging assumptions before resources were committed.
The training emphasized several core techniques:
- Self-Awareness: Especially important in high-stakes environments. More self-aware individuals tend to communicate with greater authority.
- Applied Critical Thinking: Focus on bias aversion and avoiding groupthink.
- Perspective Modeling: Using frameworks like “Four Ways of Seeing” to reframe how different actors view a situation.
- Cultural Empathy: One of the most emphasized skills. The core idea is that there is no universal “normal.” You must accept another group’s thought patterns as they actually are, without filtering them through your own beliefs or ideals. Tools like PMESII-PT were used for this.
Personal Takeaways
The most surprising and valuable aspect was how much the training focused on cultural empathy and understanding why people behave the way they do, rather than just tactics or weapons.
The user noted:
“A lot of media talks about how the military tends to take scientific endeavors and make them into weapons. I would argue this is one of those cases where the opposite is true. I personally found my experience with Red teaming to be more about cultural empathy, and an acknowledgment that, sometimes, there are reasons for things. Many problems that we think of as an enemy can be solved through peaceful means, negotiations, etc.”
Another reflection:
“It’s strange how my time in the Army has taught me more about how to use good faith and nonviolent methods, rather than how to use actual weapons.”
The training was described as one of the most interesting and engaging experiences in the Army. It forced participants to break apart old methods of thinking, ideologies, and beliefs.
Broader Army Context
While the Red Team training was excellent, the overall Army experience during that period had significant cultural downsides. There was a pervasive misogyny and toxicity that made it difficult for some people to form genuine connections. The environment was compared to being randomly paired with strangers in an online game with no mute button — you were stuck with them.
TRADOC itself was praised as an “amazingly designed machine” — purposeful, efficient, and intentionally designed to push people out of their comfort zones.
Key Principle Extracted
Red Teaming is not primarily about aggression or conflict. At its best, it is a disciplined practice of cultural empathy + rigorous assumption challenging. The goal is to understand the operating system of the other side deeply enough to anticipate their moves and find non-violent or lower-cost solutions when possible.
The publicly available Red Team Handbook (UFMCS) remains one of the best resources on the topic.
Related Pages
Sources
- Original NX notes:
Capture/red_team.organdCapture/us_army.org - Personal experience during U.S. Army service (UFMCS Red Team training)