The concept of “Red Teaming” has made its way into Joint and Army Doctrine. Commander’s integration and understanding of Red Teaming is evident in the commitment of resources to support decision making. Red Teams are found in Combatant Commands’ Joint Intelligence Operations Centers, the Department of the Army and Navy Staff, and from Army Service Component Command to Brigade Combat Team in the US Army.
Although the Army pioneered the idea, it is no longer only an Army Concept. The US Navy, for example recently published a Maritime Commanders’ Red Team Handbook. Decision Support Red Teams have demonstrated value.
The purpose of this handbook is three fold:
1. It is a first step to develop doctrine for red teaming. There is no intent to enshrine the techniques that follow as doctrine but rather to retain them as tactics, techniques, and procedures.
2. The handbook is a guide and means of instruction for users and an aide memoire for graduates.
3. The Red Team Handbook provides a menu of red team tactics, techniques, and procedures.
Many ideas exist concerning Red Teaming. Views vary on how to conduct Red Teaming and what a Red Team should do. UFMCS defines Red Teaming as a function to avoid groupthink, mirror imaging, cultural missteps, and tunnel vision in plans and operations. Red Teams help staffs avoid making poor assumptions and account for the complexity inherent in the Operational Environment.
