Better Decisions Through New Perspectives: Workshop on Decision Support Red Teaming

14 July 2026

The Center for Intelligence and Security Studies hosted a two day workshop on Decision Support Red Teaming at the Bundeswehr University Munich. The workshop was led by retired Colonel Steven Rotkoff, one of the founding members of the US Army Red Team Program.

The workshop focused on methods for critically examining assumptions, incorporating different perspectives, and making planning processes more robust. Through practical exercises, participants explored stakeholder mapping, scenario planning, premortem analysis, and various Liberating Structures. One of the workshop’s central principles was “Divergence before convergence”, which means deliberately broadening the understanding of a problem and considering it from different perspectives before narrowing down potential solutions. 

Retired Colonel Kevin Benson, who was involved in planning Operation Iraqi Freedom, contributed his experience on the importance of wargaming in military planning processes. Participants came from across the German security community, including several Bundeswehr organizations and the Federal Foreign Office.

The workshop not only provided practical insights into red teaming methods, but also created space for an exchange between different institutional and professional perspectives.

Picture: Julia Saborowski (UniBw M)