The Center for Applied Strategic Learning (CASL) at the National Defense University (NDU) designs national security exercises, simulations, and wargames in support of the university’s core academic mission. CASL’s mission is to enhance the strategic decision making and critical thinking capabilities of military and civilian leaders from the United States and other countries through strategic-level exercises that represent the complexity of the security environment. CASL exercises challenge participants to address complex problems at a strategic level in a “not for attribution” academic setting. Previous exercises have focused on pressing national security issues such as deterrence, failed states, nuclear proliferation, energy security, counterterrorism, stabilization and reconstruction, national resource strategy, homeland defense, pandemic disease, and regional security challenges.
