Terms, defined.
Doctrinal references point back to the Army source material.
- FM 6-0, Ch 9 · MDMP Step 4
COA Analysis
Course of Action Analysis is the 4th step of the Military Decision-Making Process (MDMP). The staff wargames each friendly COA against the most likely and most dangerous enemy COAs, using Action–Reaction–Counteraction cycles to visualize how the operation would actually unfold. Outputs include refined COAs, decision points, branches and sequels, and a synchronization matrix.
- FM 6-0, Ch 9
Action
The Action is the friendly force's move in a wargame turn — a maneuver, a fire, an inject, or a decision point the staff initiates. Every Action is expected to draw an enemy Reaction, which the staff then meets with a Counteraction.
- FM 6-0, Ch 9
Reaction
The Reaction is how the enemy responds to a friendly Action. In a doctrinal wargame the staff's Reaction cell (or OPFOR) plays the enemy; warfighter.io fills that role with an AI adversary engine that generates the enemy Reaction across all five MDO domains.
- FM 6-0, Ch 9
Counteraction
The Counteraction closes the wargame turn: after the enemy Reacts, the friendly staff decides what to do about it. In warfighter.io every Trainee decision logged against an inject is a Counteraction, time-stamped and graded against the approved Commander's Intent.
- FM 6-0, Ch 9 · Wargaming Techniques
Belt
The Belt technique divides the area of operations into belts (usually corresponding to phases or terrain features) that run across the width of the friendly sector, then wargames each belt in sequence from LD to objective. It gives the most comprehensive analysis when time permits and the operation is phased.
- FM 6-0, Ch 9 · Wargaming Techniques
Box
The Box technique focuses detailed wargaming on a specific critical area — an objective, a breach, an LZ, a river crossing site — treating everything outside the box as shaping. Use it when time is short or a single area drives the whole plan.
- FM 6-0, Ch 9 · Wargaming Techniques
Avenue in Depth
The Avenue in Depth technique wargames one avenue of approach at a time, from the line of departure to the objective, before moving to the next avenue. It's the right pick when the enemy is likely to defend along discrete avenues and the friendly scheme of maneuver depends on the outcome of each one.
- FM 6-0, Ch 9 · Wargaming Techniques
Key Event
The Key Event technique wargames only the events the commander judges decisive — an obstacle breach, a passage of lines, an assault on the objective — and treats the rest as connective tissue. Fastest technique; used when time is tight or the plan hinges on a small number of events.
- FM 6-0, Ch 9 · ADP 6-0
Commander's Intent
Commander's Intent is a clear, concise expression of the operation's Purpose, the Key Tasks the force must accomplish, and the desired End State. It gives subordinates the freedom to act on initiative when the plan no longer fits the situation. In warfighter.io the Operator drafts it, the Commander approves it, and every Trainee decision is graded against it.
- FM 6-0, Ch 9
MDMP
The Military Decision-Making Process is the Army's seven-step iterative planning process: (1) Receipt of Mission, (2) Mission Analysis, (3) COA Development, (4) COA Analysis (Wargame), (5) COA Comparison, (6) COA Approval, and (7) Orders Production. Warfighter.io focuses on Step 4 and its downstream products.
- TC 25-20 · CALL Handbook
AAR
The After-Action Review is the Army's structured post-event discussion: what was supposed to happen, what actually happened, what went well, what didn't, and what to do next time. In warfighter.io the AAR is auto-generated within minutes of ENDEX and follows the CALL handbook framing.