1948, a Year of Big Changes: 75th Anniversary, National Security Decision Making (NSDM) Panel
Summary:
Panel discusses year of "big deal" stuff that shapes us: Tojo et. Al. executed adds closure to WW2, but Cold War firming, Berlin, Koreas; Gandhi assassination/India; Israel formed, war. NSDM staff.
Description:
Stuff happens, especially in 1948. 75th Anniversary of a year of "big deal stuff, panel reviews key events that continue to shape the world today. Gandhi assassination, India breaking from UK, Tokyo war crimes trials & executions, Alger Hiss/Whitaker Chambers and communist hunting, Truman beat Dewey, Israeli Declaration of Independence, First Arab-Israeli War, Czechoslovakia goes communist, Marshall plan passed, Berlin blockade and airlift, Voice of America jammed, World Health Organization formed, Treaty of Brussels (precursor to NATO), Tito-Stalin split, Malayan Emergency, South and North Korea established, Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Panel discussion by the National Security Decision Making Game staff, featuring Merle Robinson, lead designer and retired DoD analyst, and Captain Mark McDonagh, USN/Ret. formerly at the Naval War College.
American Revolution, Land & Naval Strategy 1775-1783
Summary:
American Revolution, Land & Naval Strategy 1775-1783, Sinews of War#3. Examines land & naval strategies on five fronts: Europe, India, East Indies, West Indies, Americas. By Merle Robinson, NSDM staff
Description:
American Revolution, Land & Naval Strategy 1775-1783, Sinews of War#3. Capstone examination of the land and naval strategies of this "American" war including all five fronts of the conflict (Europe, India, East Indies, West Indies, & all of the Americas). Focus is on historical goals, overall capabilities, national factions & their perspectives. Explores the preconceptions/fallacies held by participants that impacted events, factual/counterfactual choices & challenges. Discusses the military campaigns in each theater, lightly delving into battlefield tactics & addresses the impact of sheer luck on the outcomes. Presented by Merle Robinson, retired DoD analyst on the National Security Decision Making Game (NSDMG) staff. NSDMG presentations have been enjoyed by more than 30K attendees since 1990, at GenCon, Origins, DragonCon & other gaming, government & educational venues.
American Revolution, Rebels & Redcoats 1774-1781, Sinews of War#1. Examines levers of power used by Colonials, England, Allies, mercenaries in 1st stage of conflict. Merle Robinson of the NSDM staff.
Description:
American Revolution, Rebels & Redcoats 1774-1781, Sinews of War#1. Examination of the critical levers of power used by Colonials, England, and their Allies and mercenaries through the first stage of the conflict in the colonies. Focus is on the diplomatic, intelligence, military & economics (DIME) of the conflict. Lecture covers how forces were financed, organized, trained, assembled, moved, supplied & commanded. This primarily addresses the land conflict in North America. Presented by Merle Robinson, retired DoD analyst on the National Security Decision Making Game (NSDMG) staff. NSDMG team presentations have been enjoyed by more than 30K attendees since 1990, at GenCon, Origins, DragonCon & other gaming, government & educational venues.
American Revolution, Worldwide War 1781-1783, Sinews of War#2. Examines levers of power used by France, Spain, Indigenous & International actors in 2nd stage of conflict. By Merle Robinson, NSDM staff
Description:
American Revolution, Worldwide War 1781-1783, Sinews of War#2. Examines the critical levers of power used all participants (e.g. France, Spain, Indigenous & International actors) through the 2nd stage of war in the colonies. This is when the colonial revolt became a World-Wide War. Discusses the stance & involvement of other world powers including Russia, Prussia, Austria, Netherlands & Ottomans. Focus is on the diplomatic, intelligence, military, & economics (DIME) of the conflict. Covers how forces were financed, organized, trained, assembled, moved, supplied & commanded. This primarily addresses land conflict in North America. By Merle Robinson, retired DoD analyst on the National Security Decision Making Game (NSDMG) staff. NSDMG presentations have been enjoyed by more than 30K attendees since 1990, at GenCon, Origins, DragonCon & other gaming, government & educational venues.
Boston Tea Party as a root of the Revolution. The basis for event. What were the causes, what happened that night, and what were the consequences. Capt. Mark McDonagh, USN/ret., on NSDM staff.
Description:
Roots of revolution: on the 250th anniversary of the 1773 Boston Tea Party, part of a multi-year National Security Decision Making Game staff lecture series on key events in the American Revolutionary War. This examines the Boston Tea Party, in context of events affecting American & English discontent with affairs in the colonies, including the outcome & aftermath of the French & Indian War (the Seven Years War), English policy of restricting westward expansion, Stamp Act, Townshend Acts, Tea Act & other taxes. Lecture will go on to discuss the escalating violence in Boston in particular, the conditions that led to the Tea Party, the Tea Party itself, & the outcome in terms of the direction that Anglo-American affairs took. Presented by Capt. Mark McDonagh, USN/ret., with 12 years' experience at the Naval War College, on the National Security Decision Making Game staff.
The story is generally told to stress drama or harangue over reactors, loose with facts. This gives the physics & engineering. Capt. Mark McDonagh, physicist, retired nuclear sub officer, NSDM staff.
Description:
What really happened at Chernobyl? What we see in miniseries and documentaries largely steers clear of technical details, or worse, was written by someone overly fond of exploring the drama but clueless on the physics, nuclear engineering and radiological details. Then there are activists, often clueless as well, who exaggerate the description of the damage and the potential consequences to their own ends. This lecture attempts to separate the science, engineering and actual facts from the drama and activist demagoguery. It describes the Chernobyl reactor design, including its advantages and its vulnerabilities in light of other nuclear reactor mishaps. It goes on to describe what went wrong and why. Presented by Capt. Mark McDonagh, USN/ret., a former nuclear submarine officer and physicist with 12 years' experience at the Naval War College, now on the NSDMG staff.
Cuban Missile Crisis: tense, some of what we are taught is mythology. Discusses real, potential war triggers and what a war in 1962 would have looked like. Capt. Mark McDonagh, USN/ret., NSDM staff.
Description:
RThe Cuban Missile Crisis of 60 years ago has been recognized as the most tense period in the Cold War, perhaps in world history, as the two superpowers stared each other down for several days and nuclear war was potentially one unintended consequence or misinterpreted event away. Today it is heavily portrayed in popular culture, but often told to hype the drama. Discredited mythology often wins over credible historical accounting. What were the real risks, the mechanisms which might have triggered, perhaps literally, a nuclear war? What were the opposing forces, what would such a war have looked like, what would have been the outcome, and what would the fallout, perhaps literally, be today? Presented by Capt. Mark McDonagh, USN/ret., physicist and former nuclear submarine officer with 12 years' experience at the Naval War College, on the National Security Decision Making Game staff.
Recent drone use in Ukraine & elsewhere. Synergy of drones, robotics and AI. What drones can do, combat, surveillance, auxiliary missions, the way forward. By Merle Robinson, NSDM staff.
Description:
Lecture discusses recent history of drone use in Ukraine and other theaters. Describes synergy of drone use with advanced robotic and artificial intelligence. What drones can do under the right conditions. Drone units, drone carriers, drones for combat, drones as wingmen and combat support for piloted combat aircraft, for surveillance and for auxiliary duties. Where we go from here. Presented by Merle Robinson, lead simulation designer and retired DoD analyst, on the National Security Decision Making Game staff. NSDMG team presentations have been enjoyed by more than 30K attendees since 1990, at GenCon, Origins, DragonCon & other gaming, government & educational venues.
EMP history, mechanism, worst-case potential. Capt. Mark McDonagh, USN/ret., a physicist with 12 years' Naval War College experience and currently on NSDM staff, separates fact from science fiction.
Description:
Electromagnetic Pulse, or EMP, has become a favorite boogieman of authors and screenplay writers depicting apocalyptic scenarios. But what is the real history and what is the potential for EMP weapons, terrorism and attacks? What is the mechanism and what affects the damage done? Lecture attempts to separate the facts, engineering and science from the science fiction. Presented by Capt. Mark McDonagh, USN/ret., a physicist with 12 years' experience at the Naval War College, on the National Security Decision Making Game (NSDMG) staff. NSDMG team presentations have been enjoyed by more than 30K attendees since 1990, at GenCon, Origins, DragonCon & other gaming, government & educational venues.
Future of Ukraine & Eastern Europe. A discussion of current events & next five years in Eastern Europe from the Arctic to the Mediterranean. By Merle Robinson of the NSDM staff.
Description:
A discussion of the current events and expectations over the next five years in Eastern Europe from the Arctic to the Mediterranean. Covers lessons from the Russia-Ukraine war, consequences of the war, and the changing view of European security. Presented by Merle Robinson, lead simulation designer and retired DoD analyst, with Captain Mark McDonagh, USN/Ret. formerly at the Naval War College, both on the National Security Decision Making Game (NSDMG) staff. NSDMG presentations have been enjoyed by more than 30K attendees since 1990, at GenCon, Origins, DragonCon & other gaming, government & educational venues.