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Aim and Purpose

The aim and purpose of Connections UK is to help bring together two main audiences: People that have something to say about wargaming in order to help build / generate / broaden the community. People that want to use wargaming to help understanding in order to find out if it is appropriate for their needs. A mix of: military wargame users; military wargaming practitioners (designers and analysts); and academics. Beyond that we see selected invitees from industry and recreational wargaming. Example organisations that might be interested include: Dstl, DCDC, The Defence Academy (e.g. JSCSCS, RCDS), the Warfare Centres, various Universities, RAND, RUSI, CORDA, etc. We anticipate that, as wargame practitioners, everyone will have experiences and good practice to share; so we expect participation! We are working closely with our other professional wargaming partners all over the world (see the Links page). Please note - this is not "Officer Country" - we appreciate input on professional wargaming from all ranks and backgrounds. We aren't here to try to make money - Connections UK is a not-for-profit organisation intended to act as a service to the wargaming community. Charges will be as small as possible, sufficient to cover food, venue and whatever minimal administration is required. We aren't "anti-computer" as these are essential for our work, but the main aim is adversarial wargaming in order to generate insights, innovation and original thought.

Organising Committee

Phil Sabin is Professor of Strategic Studies in the Department of War Studies at King's College London. Graham Longley-Brown is a consultant with LBS Consultancy dedicated to successful professional wargames. Tom Mouat is a serving officer currently working at the Defence Academy of the UK where he is the DS for Simulation and Modelling. Colin Marston is a Principal Analyst at the Defence Science and Technology Laboratory.

Advisory Committee

Rex Brynen is Professor of Political Science at McGill University and nonresident Senior Fellow at the Atlantic Council. Jim Wallman is a professional game designer with Past Perspectives specialising in manual games. Matt Caffrey is a USAF reserve Colonel, and the guiding light behind the Connections Conference (USA). Stephen Downes-Martin is a Research Fellow at the US Naval War College.