Corps Seniors Lead the Way in Wargaming Innovation at Virginia Tech
By Xander Epperson VT ’26 and Col. Jamie Cogbill, Deputy Director of the Rice Center for Leader Development
When the Corps Leadership and Military Science (CLMS) building was designed and ultimately opened in 2023, the commandant at the time, Maj. Gen. Randal Fullhart, included a facility that was purpose-designed for wargaming and crisis simulations. Currently referred to as the Integrated Security Education and Research Center (ISERC), the facility features configurable classroom spaces, state-of-the-art audiovisual technology, and an observation-and-control suite behind partially transparent glass for use by “white cells” for exercise control.
Later that year, two senior cadets were inspired by the new emphasis on wargaming. Spring 2024 Regimental Commander Cadet Will Sosnowski ’24 and Regimental S7 Cadet Anthony (Tony) Villante ’24 had participated in wargaming with Air Force ROTC and wanted to capitalize on this wargaming focus to initiate a wargame for the Corps’ senior class. Sosnowski wanted to ensure his fellow seniors, not just those in regimental leadership, had an opportunity to engage in higher-level decision-making.
“Our goal with the wargaming initiative was to provide senior cadets with more opportunities to think strategically while exposing them to global challenges they may face as officers and public servants,” said Sosnowski.
In pursuit of this goal, Sosnowski and Villante researched available wargaming options and came upon a program called WarPaths, created by Thomas Nagle, a retired U.S. Army strategist and armor officer. WarPaths provided a web-browser-based wargame platform that could be tailored to geopolitical conflicts such as a Taiwan Strait crisis scenario. Since it was still in development, Nagle offered his program for free if the Corps would provide feedback for a “beta test” of the capability. In March 2024, during Corps Lab, the senior class gathered in Haymarket Theater in the Squires Student Center and launched the first of six game turns for the Taiwan scenario. Each battalion had its own game with each company representing a different country within the scenario. While encountering some technical glitches, the first-ever Corps senior wargame was a success, allowing cadets to engage in experiential learning while role-playing a strategic crisis scenario relevant to future military or national-security-related careers.
The initial spark provided by Fullhart, Sosnowski, and Villante soon smoldered into a new student research project, starting in fall 2024. The project was proposed by the incoming Rice Center for Leader Development deputy director, Jamie Cogbill, and was funded through the Virginia Tech National Security Institute to develop a wargaming and crisis simulations capability for Virginia Tech. The Corps of Cadets was intended to be a principal beneficiary. The student research team, with Cogbill acting as faculty advisor, comprised five students, including Cadet Michael Mazikin ’26 and Xander Epperson, a student in the Pamplin College of Business. They began to investigate wargaming techniques across the U.S. government and in academia. The team traveled to the U.S. Army War College in December 2024, to see how senior Army leaders conducted wargaming. Then in spring 2025, the team encouraged the Corps senior class to once again host its wargame using the WarPaths platform. This time, the bulk of the wargame would be conducted in the CLMS building, with the ISERC as the hub, and the research team in an overwatch capacity. The 2025 senior wargame demonstrated the continued potential of wargaming on a large scale, benefiting participants with strategic decision-making experience, while simulating real-world global conflict scenarios. It also marked the program’s transition from an experimental trial to a core component of the Corps’ experiential learning approach, setting the foundation for continued growth.
The student research group continued to grow in capability as it transitioned into the 2025-2026 academic year, funded by a Hume Center Research Fellowship. Now seniors, Mazikin and Epperson continued their participation along with senior cadets Joseph Brown ’26 and Antonio Ko ’26, and four other civilian student researchers. By February 2026, the group established the Virginia Tech Wargaming and Crisis Simulations Lab with a website linked from the Virginia Tech National Security Institute homepage. The site lists all current wargaming and crisis simulation activities at Virginia Tech as well as similar programs at other universities. The lab and its website serve as a hub for all wargaming efforts at Virginia Tech and highlight Virginia Tech course offerings students can take to experience wargaming at the university.
Additionally, Cadet Ko’s participation helped link the student research group to the Air Force ROTC Strategic Wargaming and Resource Management Club (SWARM). This cadet-led initiative began as an informal effort but has evolved into a structured organization that designs and conducts independent wargames in conjunction with Air Force training, such as during their field training exercises. With growing participation and institutional support, SWARM has now expanded to become a broader Corps organization, inviting participation from all the ROTCs and the Citizen-Leader Track.
In early spring 2026, the student research team partnered with Regimental S7 Cadet Zander Perry ’26 and Nagle to bring back the Corps’ senior wargame using WarPaths. In the most recent iteration, companies approached the exercise with a high degree of professionalism, contributing to a disciplined and productive learning environment. “Working with the wargame team was an absolute pleasure. Their collaboration, inspiration, and passion made the process both effective and rewarding while strengthening senior cadets' ability to think critically and lead under pressure in ambiguous environments,” said Perry.
Nagle, the WarPaths founder, dedicated significant time to the program by delivering introductory training sessions to the student research team and white cells, as well as training videos and virtual instruction to the entire senior class at the outset of the exercise. This year, his platform integrated artificial intelligence into the simulation, which significantly improved scenario generation and white cell game management, making it more efficient and accessible for senior cadets balancing limited time outside of lab periods. Over the past three years, the platform has demonstrated steady improvement in performance and reliability, reinforcing its value as an experiential learning tool. The senior wargame provided cadets with a unique opportunity to practice strategic thinking and decision-making in a time-constrained, low-risk environment that encouraged learning through experimentation.
Taken together, these efforts, inspired and led by our Corps seniors, position the Virginia Tech Corps of Cadets at the forefront of advancing the future of wargaming at Virginia Tech. By integrating academic research, emerging technologies, and hands-on experiential learning, the Corps and student research team are not only enhancing cadet education but also contributing to the broader development of wargaming as a tool for experiential learning. As wargaming efforts at Virginia Tech continue to evolve, they will further strengthen the Corps’ ability to develop adaptive, forward-thinking leaders who are prepared to lead and trusted to serve in complex and dynamic operational environments.
Alexander Epperson is a recent graduate of the Pamplin College of Business, and he is a founding member of the wargaming and crisis simulations student research group and lab.
Retired U.S. Army Col. Jamie Cogbill serves as the deputy director of the Rice Center for Leader Development and has served as the faculty advisor for the wargaming student research group as part of his duties with the Corps and the Virginia Tech National Security Institute.