Joe Bela
JOINT BASE SAN ANTONIO-LACKLAND, Texas – The Air Force Installation and Mission Support Center is using a board game and data-driven outcomes to prepare installation and mission support Airmen to successfully conduct agile combat employment operations in contested environments.
Kingfish ACE, the Department of the Air Force table-top strategy game, is the centerpiece of learning for AFIMSC and fellow I&MS participants. The game simulates a conflict and gives Airmen insight into the significance of their I&MS roles in executing warfighting missions.
“It’s an invaluable Department of the Air Force training tool,” said John Brown, ACE analyst and acting chief of wargaming in the AFIMSC Wargaming and Campaign Planning Branch. “Scenarios duplicate the complexity of agile combat employment and encourage critical thinking of the Airmen who participate.”
Team participation and practical application in a simulated environment, rather than the study of doctrine, empowers participants and fosters the sharing of ideas, while the human element improves performance as people work together more effectively, he said.
Participants immerse themselves in the game with constant challenges that require quick decisions for employing forces and generating air power.
“What we do promotes an understanding of how Airmen will support ACE as they progress in their careers,” Brown said. “I&MS capabilities are foundational for generating and projecting combat air power in a contested environment. As force multipliers, they serve to ensure our deployments remain rapid, flexible and resilient.”
A two-time Kingfish ACE participant, Tech. Sgt. Daniela Wolff, Air Force Services Center training and development manager, found the experience to be beneficial in her development as an expeditionary Airman.
“I know my curriculum and my career field, but this is big Air Force,” she said. “I’m learning how we all work together to make the mission happen. My job is different, but now I see how everybody comes into play and what they bring to the fight. This is something I’m sharing with others at the center.”
Capt. Richard Young of the 36th Civil Engineer Squadron at Andersen AFB, Guam, said the experience expanded his knowledge of his combat role.
“We asked a lot of questions and made a lot of observations. I have a greater appreciation for how we can come together despite the complexity of agile combat employment,” Young said. “I now have a new perspective on how our different mission support functions integrate and effectively operate to keep us combat ready. I’m sharing what I’ve learned in my squadron.”
Kingfish ACE isn’t the only activity at the Wargaming and Campaign Planning Branch.
During the 2024 Long Duration Logistics Wargame at Joint Base Anacostia-Bolling, Washington, D.C., the Air Force Civil Engineer Center Geospatial Integration Office used infrastructure data to predict what facilities and buildings could be damaged or destroyed in attacks.
“Our geospatial team developed a method to represent dispersal of equipment and various resources at an installation,” Brown said. “Using coordinates for possible impact points of the weapons, they were able to determine what assets would be lost or damaged. Both were a first for the wargaming community and the geospatial team. We intend to expand this capability to more locations in future wargame capstone events.”
The wargaming team recently attended the Science and Technology Capstone in Bossier City, Louisiana, to determine the impact of five installation and mission support capability concepts.
“We examined their ability to influence installation resiliency and redundancy based on data that was produced during Global Engagement and Long Duration Logistics Wargame capstones,” Brown said.
The outcomes of collaborative I&MS gaming give analysts and concept owners valuable data in their planning to accurately assess potential outcomes of installation and mission support operations, said Col. Christopher Lacek, chief of the AFIMSC Strategy and Concept Development Division.
“Leveraging the collective expertise of the AFIMSC team and I&MS community demonstrates our commitment to push the boundaries of innovation to ensure the DAF remains at the forefront of technological advancements to prepare forces for the Great Power Competition,” he said.
Participants work through a war-gaming session during an Air Force Installation and Mission Support Center-hosted Kingfish ACE event earlier this fall. The AFIMSC Wargaming and Campaign Planning Branch team analyzes the data from these agile combat employment scenarios to improve readiness and I&MS warfighting capabilities. (U.S. Air Force photo by Armando Perez) 
Participants work through a scenario at the Kingfish ACE event, an Air Force Installation and Mission Support Center-hosted table-top gaming exercise earlier this fall. The experience gives participants insight about the important roles they play as a collective I&MS force during agile combat employment in contested environments. Team participation and practical application fosters critical thinking and empowers participants to propose solutions to improve readiness and I&MS warfighting capabilities. (U.S. Air Force photo by Armando Perez)