Millennium Challenge 2002

Millennium Challenge 2002 (MC02) was a major war game exercise conducted by the United States Armed Forces under JFCOM in mid-2002, running from 24 July to 15 August.

Following a devastating earthquake, Red experienced widespread instability, leading to the emergence of a renegade faction led by a military commander, known as CJTF-South.

This led to a direct military response from "Blue," whose primary objectives were to secure international shipping lanes, neutralize Red's weapons of mass effect (WME) capabilities, and restore sovereignty over the disputed islands, as mandated by a World Court ruling.

Each of these groups had different objectives, but common goals among them included resisting Blue’s presence and influence in the region, maintaining or restoring power in Red, and advancing their own political or economic agendas.

Conducting the war games during peacetime also meant that there were a large number of friendly/unaligned ships and aircraft in the zone, restricting the use of automated defense systems and more cautious Rules of Engagement.

Red, commanded by retired Marine Corps Lieutenant General Paul K. Van Riper, adopted an asymmetric strategy, in particular, simulating using old methods to evade Blue's sophisticated electronic surveillance network.

Van Riper simulated using motorcycle messengers to transmit orders to front-line troops and World-War-II-style light signals to launch airplanes without radio communications in the model.

"[10] The rule changes following the restart led to accusations that the war game had turned from an honest, open, free playtest of U.S. war-fighting capabilities into a rigidly controlled and scripted exercise intended to end in an overwhelming U.S. victory,[8] alleging that "$250 million was wasted".

[12] Van Riper later said that Vice Admiral Marty Mayer altered the exercise's purpose to reinforce existing doctrine and notions within the U.S. military rather than serving as a learning experience.

Van Riper also stated that the war game was rigged so that it appeared to validate the modern, joint-service war-fighting concepts it was supposed to be testing.