"Red Teaming" - Summary

The story of "red teams" begins with the ashes of Israel's intelligence failures during the 1973 Yom Kippur War. To avoid repeating the same mistakes, Israel established a devil's advocate team, known as "Ipcha Mistabra", to challenge existing assumptions and strategies.

Similarly, the US had to face its own shortcomings in the wake of the 9/11 attacks. This led to the creation of new "red teams", such as the CIA's "Red Cell", which were tasked with providing alternative analysis and perspectives. The Army also started to explore red teaming after it became clear that the decision-making process regarding the Iraq invasion was flawed.

Steve Rotkoff, who had firsthand experience with the flawed planning process played a crucial role in preventing the destruction of Iraq's oil fields and initiated "Sunday Prayer Sessions" to encourage critical thinking. Despite these efforts, a warning from a colleague about the potential emergence of insurgents after the fall of Saddam was ignored. This experience led Rotkoff to propose a formal review process for Army plans that would challenge existing assumptions. General Peter Schoomaker, seeing the value in this approach, approved the idea and established a training program at Fort Leavenworth's "Red Team University" in 2004.

The value of red teaming was soon demonstrated through early successes, such as Geneneral Petraeus' 2007 Iraq "surge". This led to other military branches and allies, like Britain, adopting the same approach. Red teaming also found its way into federal agencies, where it was used for counterterrorism and security planning. The corporate world also showed interest, leading the Army to train individuals to share the potential of red teaming more widely.

The painful lessons of 9/11 and the Iraq War led to a transformation in the military, with a new emphasis on constructive skepticism. Red teaming has now become an established doctrine that helps the Army adapt to the challenges of the 21st century.