The combat simulation of Desert Storm with applications for contingency operations

Operation Desert Storm shattered the myth that the next war U.S. forces would fight would be a European battle between NATO and the Warsaw Pact. The senior leadership of the Army, in conjunction with the National Command Authority, demanded insights from combat simulations to assist in war-planning and war-fighting efforts for Operation Desert Storm. This article describes how an existing theater-level simulation, the Concepts Evaluation Model, was used by analysts at the U.S. Army Concepts Analysis Agency to simulate Desert Storm in support of those efforts, and details specific innovations that may have applications for future contingency operations.