Warrior Preparation Center

The Warrior Preparation Center ("WPC") was founded in 1982 by Colonel "Moody" Suter and is located in Einsiedlerhof, Germany (near Ramstein Air Base). Through its computer simulation and state-of-the-art software programs, the Warrior Preparation Center, enables commanders to effectively simulate the conduct of air, land and sea campaigns at anytime, day or night, and never spill a drop of blood.

The United States Air Forces in Europe (USAFE) organized the Warrior Preparation Center in 1983 as a concept and computer simulation center focusing initially on air defense and electronic warfare. The first commander, Colonel Moody Suter, was a visionary who also developed the Air Force’s Red Flag exercises. Given their shared concerns on air defense and other joint issues, the U.S. Army joined the simulation effort in 1984, with the Navy following in 1996.

The WPC, as it is commonly referred to, is now a joint USAREUR and USAFE training facility for senior level battle commanders and their staffs. Its mission is to provide them with the opportunity to train for joint and combined prosecution of war using interactive computer simulation, which as closely as possible replicates NATO’s real world environment. Through a robust and sophisticated communications network, the WPC carries the fight to US and NATO battle commander’s wartime headquarters, thus making it possible to conduct realistic training virtually anywhere in the world. It also allows commanders the luxury of being able to get inside the enemy’s head, even before they know who the enemy is.

The Distributed Wargaming System concept was conceived and pioneered at the Center for use in the first ever NATO-wide simulation exercise Allied Command Europe (ACE 89). This effort grew until Global Distributed Wargaming became a reality. In 1992, the WPC began to assist the Korea Battle Simulation Center with the conduct of the annual exercise Ulchi Focus Lens. More recently, the WPC has set up and hosted numerous exercises with worldwide focus. In May 1999, Operation Shining Hope kicked off with the WPC providing administrative and logistical support. President Clinton visited the WPC to observe the exercise in progress. In January 2000, the WPC hosted EC00, a USCINCEUR-directed, USAREUR-led Joint Task Force training exercise consisting of over 600 participants with training goals of rehearsing and refining operations, as well as activating and deploying a Joint Task Force. In November 2000, Constant Harmony 00, a distributed NATO Joint Warfighter exercise was conducted at the WPC for the Regional Headquarters Allied Forces North Europe and its staff. The USAFE sponsored exercise Union Flash 01 was conducted at the WPC and Ramstein Air Base in April 2001, training the Joint Force Air Component Commander, The Joint Air Operations Center and the USAREUR Battlefield Coordination Element.