I want to share an exercise from 2002 that has a lot to do with the current war, but also shows how astute commanders didn’t get the recognition they deserved.

Today, Iran doesn’t operate long or medium-range radars; it keeps almost all its equipment hidden inside mountains, including its planes, while deploying missiles, drones, and a asymmetric naval force.

This is a war the U.S. doesn’t know how to fight. Let me tell you a story, follow along:

The Millennium Challenge 2002 (MC02) took place from July 24 to August 15, 2002, under the U.S. Joint Forces Command. Planned over two full years, it simulated a hypothetical 2007 scenario where the U.S. invaded a Middle Eastern country, clearly inspired by Iran or Iraq.

The scale was massive: it cost $250 million and involved 13,500 personnel across 17 simulation sites and nine live locations. At the time, it was the largest and most expensive exercise in American history, designed to test the ‘network-centric’ warfare doctrine, featuring high-tech electronic surveillance and integrated command.

Then came the twist: the opposing force, the ‘Red Team’ representing a simulated Iran, was led by retired Marine Corps Lieutenant General Paul K. Van Riper, a three-star general known for his unconventional tactics and for being ‘devious’ – shrewd and unpredictable. He was chosen specifically for that reason: to provide a realistic challenge.

Van Riper did not disappoint. To bypass advanced U.S. electronic surveillance, he used ‘old-school’ asymmetric methods: motorcycle messengers for communication and World War II-style light signals, completely avoiding radars and digital systems.

This neutralized the American command and control system, which relied heavily on cutting-edge technology.

After receiving an ultimatum from the ‘Blue Team’ (the simulated U.S.) demanding surrender within 24 hours, Van Riper didn’t wait: he launched a devastating preemptive strike. In just 5 to 10 minutes, he used a massive salvo of cruise missiles combined with a fleet of small boats, including suicide attacks.

The result? The Red Team sank 16 Blue Team ships: one aircraft carrier, ten cruisers, and five amphibious ships.

In the real world, this would have equated to over 20,000 American military deaths, a total shock that paralyzed the exercise on the spot.

But here is the part where you’ll understand the mistakes the U.S. is making today in fighting an asymmetric war with Iran: the exercise was abruptly halted, the sunken ships were ‘refloated’ as if nothing had happened, and the simulation was restarted with rigged rules.

The Blue Team was given every advantage, and the Red Team was forced to follow a pre-written script with no freedom.

Van Riper was forbidden from using his clever tactics: he was ordered to turn on anti-aircraft radars just so they could be destroyed, told not to shoot at 82nd Airborne aircraft or CV-22s, and even forced to reveal his unit positions. It was essentially a staged script to guarantee an American ‘victory.’ Outraged, the general resigned in protest, calling the whole thing ‘propaganda’ and ‘scripted.'”

Van Riper would be an ideal advisor for the situation in Hormuz, a situation for which I don’t see even the slightest military solution.