Opportunities for Inquiry and Dialogue - Tactical Decision Games

 

Tactical Decision Games are role-playing small group exercises designed to place individuals in some sort of decision space. TDGs are valuable because pattern recognition skills, decision-making skills, and communications skills, can all be practiced, refined, and improved.

TDGs are a simple, adaptable, and effective method of repeatedly challenging a firefighter with tactical situations that include limitations of time and information. By requiring a decision regarding the situation and the ability to communicate it in the form of clear instructions, the firefighter will gain precious experience and skill in actual tactical decision-making.

There is no substitute for experience of the real thing, but that can be hard to come by and tragically unforgiving.

Because TDGs build experience in decision-making and communication, it is important to employ this process frequently at the crew or module level. Require people to actually make the communications as they would “for real”. DO NOT accept: “I would tell them to…” Require participants to actually make the communications through role playing.

In addition to developing individual decision-making skills, this practice will also allow crewmembers to learn about themselves, each other, and gain an understanding of how each crewmember thinks. Each game played, like every fire experienced, adds to collective experience.

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