This article introduces a new tool for gaming out military campaigns in cyberspace. Called the Persistent Engagement Wargame, this multi-sided game explores how different force designs and operational strategies interact with the kinds of missions and objectives that may be assigned to organizations such as U.S. Cyber Command (USCYBERCOM). Five iterations of the game were played at the U.S. Naval War College between 2023-2025. These games indicate that, over periods of sustained competition, sizable cyber forces are necessary, yet they can still fail if the nation’s operational approach is not properly aligned. Optimal results occur when a nation has sufficient capacity and a strategy that exploits gaps in its adversary’s defenses while simultaneously defending its own military networks and critical infrastructure. These games also revealed several important lessons about force design that can inform the current debates surrounding cyber force structure. Chief among these is the requirement for a greater number of “counter-cyber” forces within USCYBERCOM. Another major implication is the need for robust organizations to enable allied cooperation. Greater use of such wargames could help practitioners, planners, and policymakers understand and experiment with different effects of alternative futures for cyber forces.
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