Resume

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Bio

Mr. Matthew B. Caffrey, Jr., is the founder of the Connections interdisciplinary wargaming conferences, author of "On Wargaming", and the proprietor of Matt Caffrey LLC, a Wargame education and consulting enterprise.

Matt has taught wargaming for nearly 30 years. His venues have ranged from the US Pacific Air Forces to the German War College, with classes also presented at the Pentagon, HQ Air Force Material Command and HQ Air Force Research Laboratory, HQ Strategic Air Command, Air University and Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. His students have included members of the Office of the US Secretary of Defense, the US Joint Staff, each US Service and many international students.

While practicing and teaching defense wargaming Matt developed three major wargame concepts: 3rd Generation Wargaming, the Caffrey Triangle, and the Caffrey Pyramid. While a teacher and practitioner of strategy and operational planning he developed the concepts of Crony Bombing and the Innovation/Strategy/Caffrey Cycle. While a member of the Air University Red team he served on the Blue, Red, and White teams for Air Force, Navy, and Army Title 10 wargames.

Matt developed his expertise over nearly a half century of government service as an active-duty Air Force officer, a civil servant and an active Air Force Reservist. His reserve assignments included Chief of Wargame Strategy Development at the Air Staff’s Checkmate Division, Senior Reservist at Rome Research Site, as well as assignments at HQ Strategic Air Command (SAC) and Dyess AFB, TX. His Civil Service achievements included establishing the Air Force Research Laboratories Wargame Working Group and the Science and Technology Wargame, helping to establish HQ Air Force Material Command’s Wargaming Branch and establishing their Wargame Working Group, serving as the Professor of Wargaming and Campaign Planning at the Air Command and Staff College (where he created several war-games including the Joint Deployment/Employment Exercise and the Joint Resource Allocation Exercise), and Research Associate for Wargaming at the School of Advanced Airpower Studies where he introduced wargaming to the curriculum. His active duty service included assignments at Pope AFB, NC, Thule AB, Greenland, and Nellis AFB/Range, NV.

Current Position

June 2023 to Present: Proprietor Matt Caffrey LLC

• Consults with clients on identifying and implementing wargame activities to their needs.

• Educates and trains clients how to set up and run their own wargame capabilities.

• Mentors client leaders and staff to further develop their wargaming abilities.

• Provides live and online wargaming classes at beginner, intermediate and advanced levels and all wargame roles tailored to client needs.

• Researches and writes on a wide range of advanced Wargaming topics.

• Tracks down and makes available hard to find official wargaming reports from past wars.

Skills Summary

• Leader: Sets up, integrates and leads cross-disciplinary and international working groups addressing hard problems.

• Innovator: Creates and implements novel wargaming processes for solving hard problems.

• Wargamer: Designs, develops, and supports decision support and educational wargames.

• Educator: Develops and teaches wargaming courses to government and industry.

• Trainer and Mentor: Builds and trains teams and leaders to run wargames for government and industry.

• Author: "On Wargaming", Co-author "Gulf War Fact Book", several chapters, many articles.

• Public and Private Speaker: Speaks at conferences, in Board Rooms, to Committees and Leaders about how wargaming can help solve their problems.

• Service: Chairs and guides the annual Connections Wargaming Conference, writes articles, books and gives talks on how wargaming can be used to solve hard problems.

Selected Publications (click to view)

Education

1990 MA, History, Military, University of Alabama

1975 BS, Industrial Engineering, New Jersey Institute of Technology

Specialized Training

• Air War College, seminar, 2000

• Air Command and Staff College, resident, 1994 (Distinguished Graduate)

• Air Command and Staff College, correspondence, 1986

• Marine Command and General Staff College, correspondence, 1985

• Squadron Officers School, resident, 1981

• Academic Instructor School, Maxwell AFB, AL, 11-29 July 94, MEDC007

• Air Force Combat Engineering, classroom WPAFB OH 1982, field Eglin AFB, FL 1991

• Combined Air Warfare Course, Maxwell AFB, AL, Aug 1990

• Contingency Wartime Planning Course, Maxwell AFB, AL, Oct-Nov 1989

• Numerous short AFIT courses; Architectural Planning, Industrial Engineering Management, Advanced Science and Technology Project Management.

• Several short Defense Acquisition University courses; Advanced Science and Technology Management, Integrated Product Team Management & Leadership, Fundamentals of System Planning, Research, Development & Engineering.

Past Experience

May 2005 to June 2023: Air Force Research Laboratory

• Led wargaming for a $4.4B, 5,400 person organization. Supported the standup of the Air Force Material Command Wargame Branch. Coordinator Air Force Material Command / Air Force Research Laboratory Wargaming Efforts.

• Led the development of the  Air Force Material Command concept development and down select process.

• Orchestrated the Air Force Research Laboratory's application of wargaming for decision support and education.

• Led the design, development, execution and reporting for multiple high level wargames for the Air Force Material Command / Air Force Research Laboratory, OSD, Chief of Staff Air Force -- many with Allied participation.

• Initiated the Air Force Material Command Wargame Branch professional development series. Developed the Air Force Material Command Wargame Course for DoD wide participation, and teaches the course.

• Chaired the annual Connection US Wargaming Conference (since 1993).

• Contributed to the NATO Working Group on Analytical Wargaming and other Wargaming related Working Groups.

July 1994 to May 2005: Air Command and Staff College (Professor of Wargaming and Campaign Planning)

• Acting Chairman and Deputy Chairman of the Modeling Simulation and Wargaming Department.

• Lectured on Revolutions in Military Affairs, Military Technical Revolutions, Wargaming and Crisis Action Planning, War Theory, Joint Campaign Planning, Joint Forces, Joint Air Operations, Air and Space Power, Air Campaign Planning, War Termination, Leadership and Command, and the Air and Space Exercise. Created, and lead instructor of, the modeling, simulation and wargaming research elective. Supported school wide use of the Capstone wargame and instructed individual seminars. Faculty advisor for numerous student research projects.

• Developed 3rd generation wargame concept, requirement document for wargame construction tool and 5-year campaign plan for the department.

2002 – May 2005: Air Force Research Laboratory, Information Directorate (Senior Reservist)

• Reserve advisor to director and mentor of assigned and attached reserves to an organization of 900 military and civilian government employees, 700 on-site contractors, and an annual budget of $400 million.

• Provided wargaming advocacy, advice and support to the Directorate which is responsible for developing information technologies for Aerospace Command and Control and its transition to air, space and ground systems for Global Awareness, Dynamic Planning & Execution, and Global Information Exchange.

• Planned, developed and executed the professional development curriculum for the Directorate’s military and civilian personnel.

1994-2002: HQ USAF/XOOC - CHECKMATE, Pentagon (Chief, Wargaming Strategy Development

• Individual Mobilization Augmentee for wargaming and base engineering.

• Developed 3rd Generation Wargame concept and briefed it to Air Staff, Joint and Allied organizations.

• Provided information from ACSC and commercial wargaming. Drafted XOO input to Air Force wargaming policy, Air Force doctrine, prepared and delivered related briefing and think papers.

1991 – 1994: School of Advanced Airpower Studies, Maxwell AFB, AL, (Research Associate/Instructor)

• Project officer for bed down of school in new location.

• Research assistance to faculty. Provided wargaming instruction, developed and executed wargames. Developed computer road map, computer support and classes in computer applications. Advisor for ACSC’s commercial wargaming research project.

• Created and Chaired the annual Connections US interdisciplinary wargaming and conflict simulation conference connecting academic and commercial wargamers with the DoD.

1975 - 1991: Prior Experience

1989-1991: Served on reserve man days supporting most AU schools as well as Air Force Historical Research Agency (AFHRA) and  Southeast Asia Review and Declassification Team (SEARDT)

1987-1995: Reserve assignments at  HQ SAC, Dyess AFB

1987-1989: Contractor at Air Force Wargaming Institute

1975-1987: Active duty base engineer at Pope AFB, Thule AB, and Nellis AFB

Professional Associations

• Founder and Chair of Connections US annual Wargaming Conference and Community

• Helped found Connections UK, Australia, Netherlands, Canada and Connections Online annual wargaming conferences

• Helped expand the Serious Games Conference France to the Serious Games Conference /Connections France

• Past member of Military Operations Research Society, Air Force Association & Society of Military Engineers