The Congressman Owen Pickett Wargaming Center, located in Okinawa Hall on the Norfolk Campus of the National Defense University, provides a dedicated space for immersive joint education. Dedicated in 1999 and named in honor of Congressman Owen Pickett at the Joint Forces Staff College's 60th anniversary in 2006, the Center reflects his strong support for military education and the role of wargaming in preparing leaders for complex challenges. Congressman Pickett represented Virginia’s 2nd Congressional District from 1987 to 2001. He died on October 27, 2010.
Wargaming has been part of the Joint Forces Staff College curriculum since its founding in 1946. The Center builds on that tradition by offering purpose-built facilities designed for scenario-based learning. These include flexible gaming suites, control rooms for faculty, and technology that supports collaboration across services, agencies, and international partners.
Each year, the Center supports approximately 60 wargames and exercises for students at the Joint Forces Staff College’s Joint Professional Military Education programs, including the Joint Advanced Warfighting School (JAWS), Joint and Combined Warfighting School (JCWS), and the Joint Information School (JIS). Scenarios range from homeland defense and humanitarian assistance, strategic deterrence and peer competition, up to large-scale combat operations across geographic regions, including the Indo-Pacific, Europe, the Arctic, the Middle East, and the Western Hemisphere.
The Pickett Center also serves as a platform for collaboration and engagement. It regularly hosts senior defense leaders, congressional delegations, interagency officials, and international partners. An internship program brings students from regional universities to contribute to scenario development and research while gaining insight into the national security community.
As part of the National Defense Wargaming Center, the Pickett Wargaming Center continues to evolve, integrating new approaches such as tabletop and matrix games, geospatial applications, and AI-assisted scenario design. This blend of tradition and innovation ensures graduates are better prepared to think critically, plan jointly, and operate effectively in a dynamic global environment.