Sigma I-67 and II-67 war games
The Sigma I-67 and II-67 War Games were two of a series of classified high level war games played in the Pentagon during the 1960s to strategize the conduct of the burgeoning Vietnam War. The games were designed to replicate then-current conditions in Indochina, with an aim toward predicting future foreign affairs events. They were staffed with high-ranking officials standing in to represent both domestic and foreign characters; stand-ins were chosen for their expertise concerning those they were called upon to represent. The games were supervised by a Control appointed to oversee both sides. The opposing Blue and Red Teams customary in war games were designated the friendly and enemy forces as was usual; however, several smaller teams were sometimes subsumed under Red and Blue Teams. Over the course of the games, the Red Team at times contained the Yellow Team for the People's Republic of China, the Brown Team for the Democratic Republic of Vietnam, the Black Team for the Viet Cong, and Green for the USSR. Preparation for these simulations was quite extensive. A game staff of as many as 45 people researched and developed the scenarios. The actual play of the war game involved 30 to 35 participants. There are four or five simulations per year, solicited secretively from the State Department, the Central Intelligence Agency, and major military commands. The Sigma I-67 and Sigma II-67 war games were played concurrently; with two simulations playing two teams simultaneously, there were over 100 participants. Background Both the Sigma I-67 and Sigma II-67 Top Secret politico-military war games were staged concurrently between 27 November and 7 December 1967. The simulations were played between 0900 and 1800 hours in Pentagon chambers provided by the Joint War Games Agency of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. The Sigma games' focus was on settling the Vietnam War rather than winning it. Despite this change of focus, there was ample experience with these simulations, given the precedent set by prior Sigma games dating back to 1962. Both Sigma I-67 and Sigma II-67 were assigned a Control. Either game had both a Blue and a Red Team. The Blue Team in either game represented the United States, although a pair of its players were designated as the Government of Vietnam (GVN). Either Red Team played as the North Vietnamese communists in their respective games; they also each had a two-man detachment appointed as the South Vietnamese communists. Control's functions included playing other nations and global organizations. Control also served as the link between the opposing sides via messaging. Agencies and participants The White House: Maxwell Taylor, three supporting players The Secretary of Defense: Assistant Secretary of Defense for International Security AffairsPaul Warnke, Phil G. Goulding, ten others State Department players: Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs Philip C. Habib, 13 other players The Joint Chiefs of Staff: General Earle Wheeler, General William E. DePuy, 14 military officers, one civilian player The Central Intelligence Agency: Eight players The Defense Intelligence Agency: