Service 

The Wargaming Division plays a vital role in shaping Marine Corps decision-making by contributing to the broader body of evidence required to inform strategy, concept development, and Force Design. At the core of this effort is Expeditionary Warrior (EW), the Marine Corps’ Title 10 wargame series, which is conducted annually by the Wargaming Division within the Marine Corps Warfighting Laboratory. This high-level wargame brings together representatives from every branch of the U.S. Armed Forces, combatant commands, and international partners to examine critical issues concerning the future of the force. 

To remain effective in an increasingly complex and technologically advanced security environment, the Marine Corps recognizes the imperative for a transformative approach to wargaming. This next-generation approach must integrate cutting-edge modeling and simulation (M&S) capabilities with emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI), enabling a more realistic, scalable, and predictive wargaming capability. 

To address this challenge, the Marine Corps has initiated the development of the General Robert B. Neller Center for Wargaming and Analysis. This state-of-the-art facility merges computational and cognitive capabilities by fully integrating AI and advanced M&S. The Neller Center is designed to enable more frequent, cost-effective, and comprehensive wargaming exercises, facilitating the exploration of strategic, operational, and tactical scenarios that are otherwise too expensive, risky, or logistically prohibitive to replicate through live-force experimentation. 

By leveraging the Neller Center, the Marine Corps will be able to rigorously test force development pathways and better inform programming and resourcing decisions. The Center represents more than just a facility, it is a commitment to innovation, strategic foresight, and operational excellence. Through the Neller Center, the Marine Corps is not simply responding to the future of warfare; it is actively shaping it. 

Past  

Historically, Marine Corps wargaming has been largely qualitative, relying on analog methods such as traditional tabletop exercises and manual adjudication. These legacy approaches included both physical board-based games and early digital representations, which mimicked traditional formats. Move execution and outcome recording were often conducted manually, limiting the scale, speed, and fidelity of insights that could be derived. 

Since 2019, however, the Wargaming Division has executed or supported 31 wargames specifically aligned with Force Design efforts. These efforts marked an important transition point from legacy practices toward more dynamic and data-informed methodologies. 

Interim 

In the current phase of capability evolution, the Wargaming Division continues to support Joint Force and interagency wargames, ensuring that Marine Corps concepts, capabilities, and future force structure considerations are accurately represented in the broader defense community. 

Future: The Neller Center and the Next Generation of Wargaming 

Looking ahead, the Marine Corps envisions a revolutionary leap in wargaming through the full operationalization of the Next Generation Wargaming Concept at the Neller Center. This future-state capability will be characterized by a fully integrated wargaming and analytics environment encompassing all domains, land, air, maritime, subsurface, space, and cyber. 

The system will be cloud-based, modular, and exportable, capable of operating across all classification levels. Real-time adjudication mechanisms will allow for dynamic and responsive scenario adjustments, enhancing both fidelity and relevance. Moreover, outcomes will be underpinned by robust, quantitative analysis that ensures defensibility and confidence in decision support. 

In sum, the Neller Center embodies a future in which the Marine Corps leads the transformation of military wargaming, delivering superior analytic rigor, strategic agility, and decision dominance in an era of accelerating change.