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Could a Secret Looking File Be a War Game?

Training scenarios can combine real units and systems with fictional attacks, casualties and intelligence reports that never occurred.

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Preview for Could a Secret Looking File Be a War Game?

On this page

  • How military scenarios and injects are constructed
  • Which real details are mixed with fictional events
  • How detached exercise records can mislead readers

Introduction

Military exercise files are designed to look and feel like records from genuine operations. That realism is deliberate. Armed forces train commanders and staff by placing them in believable crises that combine authentic military organisations, real equipment, existing geography and plausible intelligence with events that never actually happened. The resulting documents—operations orders, intelligence summaries, casualty reports, logistics updates and situation reports—can appear indistinguishable from records of an actual conflict when viewed outside their original training context.[U.S. Army]army.milU.S. ArmyTraining fact sheet: Training exercises | Article | The United States ArmyJuly 25, 2024…Published: July 25, 2024

Exercise Files illustration 1

This distinction matters when assessing claims linked to UFO-motivated hackers such as Gary McKinnon. Discovering an apparently dramatic military document on an official network does not automatically mean it records a real event. Defence organisations routinely create highly realistic fictional scenarios so personnel can practise decision-making under pressure. Detached from the exercise framework, those files can easily be mistaken for evidence of secret operations rather than training material.

Why military exercises deliberately resemble real operations

Modern military exercises aim to prepare personnel for the uncertainty of combat rather than simply test procedures. To achieve this, planners create operational environments that are convincing enough for participants to make decisions as though they were responding to genuine events.

Training scenarios therefore commonly include:

  • Real military units and headquarters.
  • Existing weapons systems and communications procedures.
  • Genuine command structures and reporting formats.
  • Realistic logistics, maintenance and medical planning.
  • Accurate maps, weather data and terrain information.
  • Time-sensitive intelligence and operational updates.

The fictional elements are layered onto this authentic framework. An enemy offensive, cyberattack, missile strike or intelligence breakthrough may be entirely invented even though every military organisation responding to it is real. This combination helps personnel practise planning and decision-making without requiring an actual conflict.[U.S. Army]army.milU.S. ArmyTraining fact sheet: Training exercises | Article | The United States ArmyJuly 25, 2024…Published: July 25, 2024

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How exercise scenarios and “injects” are constructed

Large military exercises rarely consist of one continuous fictional story. Instead, planners build a structured scenario supported by numerous “injects”—new pieces of information introduced during the exercise to force participants to react.

A typical exercise may generate documents such as:

  • Intelligence reports describing fictional enemy movements.
  • Damage assessments after simulated attacks.
  • Requests for reinforcement or medical evacuation.
  • Reports of infrastructure failures or cyber incidents.
  • Diplomatic messages and media reporting.
  • Casualty notifications and logistics shortages.

Many command-post exercises are driven by a Master Scenario Events List (MSEL), a carefully timed schedule that introduces these events in chronological order. Every inject is intended to create operational dilemmas requiring realistic military responses rather than simply testing whether participants know procedures.[U.S. Army]army.milU.S. ArmyTraining fact sheet: Training exercises | Article | The United States ArmyJuly 25, 2024…Published: July 25, 2024

Because each inject is distributed using authentic staff processes and official document formats, individual records can appear entirely genuine when separated from the wider exercise.

Exercise Files illustration 3

Which real details are mixed with fictional events

The realism of military training depends on blending authentic information with invented operational developments.

Common combinations include:

Real organisations, fictional missions. Existing brigades, squadrons or naval groups may participate under their genuine designations while responding to events that never occurred.

Real geography, simulated conflict. Exercises often use actual training areas or maps of real regions while imagining invasions, humanitarian crises or military escalations that are fictional.

Real equipment, fictional losses. Genuine aircraft, ships, vehicles and weapons systems may appear in documents reporting simulated damage or destruction.

Real command procedures, fictional intelligence. Staff officers practise analysing reports that resemble real intelligence products but describe imaginary enemy actions.

Real communications, fictional casualties. Medical evacuation requests and casualty reports are generated so commanders must prioritise resources under realistic pressure.

The result is documentation that accurately reflects how military headquarters communicate while recording events created solely for training purposes.[U.S. Army]army.milU.S. ArmyTraining fact sheet: Training exercises | Article | The United States ArmyJuly 25, 2024…Published: July 25, 2024

Exercise Files illustration 2

Why isolated exercise records can look like secret evidence

A single exercise document often lacks the surrounding context that identifies it as training.

Several factors contribute to misunderstanding:

  • Classification markings may resemble those used during real operations.
  • Official templates, distribution lists and military terminology are identical to operational paperwork.
  • Individual pages may omit obvious references to the wider exercise.
  • Copies circulated by email or extracted from archives can lose accompanying explanatory documents.
  • Later readers may never see exercise instructions, planning orders or scenario guides that establish the fictional setting.

For example, a situation report describing a missile attack or an intelligence assessment may appear extraordinary when viewed alone. Within the exercise, however, it functions as a training stimulus intended to test command decisions rather than document historical events.[govinfo.gov]govinfo.govGOVPUB C13 efb130e6417c7f68335cf106d292ea94Guide to test, training, and exercise programs for IT plans and capabilities…

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NATO and US approaches to realistic training

Major military organisations openly describe their use of sophisticated fictional operational environments.

NATO’s Joint Warfare Centre develops comprehensive synthetic scenarios that are explicitly described as fictitious while remaining highly realistic. These scenarios support collective defence, crisis response, cyber operations, hybrid warfare and multi-domain exercises across land, sea, air, space and cyberspace. Their purpose is to immerse headquarters in believable operational conditions rather than recreate specific historical conflicts.[NATO Joint Warfare Centre]jwc.nato.intJoint Warfare Centre Scenario Development: 360-Degree Multi-Domain SettingNATO Joint Warfare CentreScenario Development: 360-Degree Multi-Domain Setting - NATO's JWC…

Similarly, the US Army’s training doctrine explains that command-post exercises frequently use tactical scenarios supported by Master Scenario Events Lists. Modern training also employs the Decisive Action Training Environment (DATE), which incorporates current intelligence about real-world military capabilities while placing participants in fictional operational situations designed for training rather than prediction.[U.S. Army]army.milU.S. ArmyTraining fact sheet: Training exercises | Article | The United States ArmyJuly 25, 2024…Published: July 25, 2024

These published descriptions demonstrate that realistic fictional documentation is an expected and institutionalised feature of military training.

What this means when evaluating unusual government files

Within discussions surrounding Gary McKinnon and similar cases, it is important to distinguish between a document’s authenticity and the authenticity of the events it describes.

An exercise file may genuinely originate from a military network while documenting:

  • A simulated invasion.
  • Fictional intelligence sources.
  • Imaginary casualties.
  • Notional enemy forces.[cpest3.army.mil]cpest3.army.milmil Opposing Forces (OPFORmil Opposing Forces (OPFOR
  • Invented diplomatic crises.
  • Hypothetical equipment losses.

Its presence on an official system therefore establishes where the file was stored, not whether the operational events described ever occurred.

Understanding how military exercises deliberately imitate real operations helps explain why isolated government documents can appear sensational when removed from their original context. Before treating any apparent operational record as evidence of a real event, investigators must determine whether it formed part of an exercise scenario, identify the broader training framework and establish whether the reported incidents were intended as simulation rather than history.[army.mil]army.milU.S. ArmyTraining fact sheet: Training exercises | Article | The United States ArmyJuly 25, 2024…Published: July 25, 2024

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Endnotes

1. Source: army.mil
Link:https://www.army.mil/article/278363/training_fact_sheet_training_exercises

Source snippet

U.S. ArmyTraining fact sheet: Training exercises | Article | The United States ArmyJuly 25, 2024...

Published: July 25, 2024

2. Source: jwc.nato.int
Title: Joint Warfare Centre Scenario Development: 360-Degree Multi-Domain Setting
Link:https://www.jwc.nato.int/our-work/scenario-development/

Source snippet

NATO Joint Warfare CentreScenario Development: 360-Degree Multi-Domain Setting - NATO's JWC...

3. Source: army.mil
Link:https://www.army.mil/article/91690/decisive_action_training_environment_future_training_grounded_in_todays_intelligence

4. Source: govinfo.gov
Title: GOVPUB C13 efb130e6417c7f68335cf106d292ea94
Link:https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GOVPUB-C13-efb130e6417c7f68335cf106d292ea94/pdf/GOVPUB-C13-efb130e6417c7f68335cf106d292ea94.pdf

Source snippet

Guide to test, training, and exercise programs for IT plans and capabilities...

5. Source: act.nato.int
Link:https://www.act.nato.int/article/ai-in-audacious-training/

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in Audacious Training: Building a Shared Digital Workbench for NATO Exercises - NATO's ACTMay 14, 2026 — AI IN AUDACIOUS TRAINING: BUILDI...

Published: May 14, 2026

6. Source: act.nato.int
Title: int Audacious Training: Using Exercises to Drive Warfare Development
Link:https://www.act.nato.int/article/audacious-training-warfare-development/

Source snippet

Training: Using Exercises to Drive Warfare Development - NATO's ACTMarch 25, 2026 — AUDACIOUS TRAINING: USING EXERCISES TO DRIVE WARFARE...

Published: March 25, 2026

7. Source: act.nato.int
Title: The pace of geopolit
Link:https://www.act.nato.int/article/audacious-training/

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Training: Building NATO’s Ability to Learn and Adapt Faster - NATO's ACTFebruary 26, 2026 — AUDACIOUS TRAINING: BUILDING NATO’S ABILITY T...

Published: February 26, 2026

8. Source: usar.army.mil
Link:https://www.usar.army.mil/News/News-Display/Article/4279366/global-medic-25-02-testing-medical-readiness-for-large-scale-combat-operations/

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Army Reserve > News-DisplayAugust 19, 2025 — Image: Global Medic 25-02: Testing medical readiness for large-scale combat operations PHOTO...

Published: August 19, 2025

9. Source: innovation.army.mil
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10. Source: army.mil
Title: Training fact sheet: Battle tasks
Link:https://www.army.mil/article/283160/training_fact_sheet_battle_tasks_selecting_training_evaluating_and_assessing

11. Source: oe.t2com.army.mil
Link:https://oe.t2com.army.mil/2024/04/29/scenario-development-phase-2-design/

12. Source: army.mil
Link:https://www.army.mil/article/252642/rifle_focus_ii_a_sequel_to_nato_collective_defense_training

13. Source: usar.army.mil
Link:https://www.usar.army.mil/News/News-Display/Article/2580039/meet-the-ion-training-for-the-future-today/

14. Source: jwc.nato.int
Link:https://www.jwc.nato.int/article/behind-the-scenes-trident-jet/

15. Source: benning.army.mil
Title: mil U.S. Army | Infantry Magazine
Link:https://www.benning.army.mil/infantry/magazine/issues/2013/Jul-Sep/Lopez.html

16. Source: cpest3.army.mil
Title: mil Opposing Forces (OPFOR)
Link:https://www.cpest3.army.mil/Project-Offices/PM-SIM/PdM-FTS/OPFOR/

17. Source: armyupress.army.mil
Link:https://www.armyupress.army.mil/Journals/Military-Review/English-Edition-Archives/July-August-2025/Training-Environment-Indo-Pacific/

18. Source: oe.t2com.army.mil
Link:https://oe.t2com.army.mil/date-decisive-action-training-environment/

19. Source: oe.t2com.army.mil
Link:https://oe.t2com.army.mil/opfor-opposing-forces-program/training-support/

20. Source: coemed.org
Title: NATO MILMED COENATO UNCLASSIFIED
Link:https://www.coemed.org/files/Branches/DH/075-003_BI-SCD_Collective%20Training%20and%20Exercise_Exercise%20Process_01Sept2023.pdf

Additional References

21. Source: youtube.com
Title: Hacking for UFOs and fighting for his life. Who is Gary Mc Kinnon?
Link:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OImdnvQx7sQ

Source snippet

Ancient Aliens: Hacking NASA Secrets (Season 12, Episode 9)...

22. Source: scribd.com
Link:https://www.scribd.com/document/879271334/075-003-BI-SCD-Collective-Training-and-Exercise-Exercise-Process-01Sept2023

23. Source: youtube.com
Title: Ancient Aliens: Hacking NASA Secrets (Season 12, Episode 9)
Link:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=20rWFDfh68Y

Source snippet

UK hacker's extradition to US blocked...

24. Source: youtube.com
Title: UK hacker’s extradition to US blocked
Link:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v4Js8DF80HY

Source snippet

Gary McKinnon wins extradition battle...

25. Source: youtube.com
Title: Gary Mc Kinnon: No hacking charges in UK
Link:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xAhzZRa2aws

26. Source: archive.vn
Link:https://archive.vn/2025.12.29-163332/https%3A/www.nato.int/cps/en/natohq/topics_49285.htm