John Schmitt

John F. Schmitt is a former Marine Corps infantry officer.  In 1989 he authored Warfighting, the keystone doctrinal manual that introduced the Marine Corps’ new operational doctrine of maneuver warfare and became a manifesto for the institutional reforms of the 1990s.  Warfighting has since been translated into several foreign languages and republished as a management guide for business leaders.  He subsequently authored several other high-level Marine Corps doctrinal manuals, including Campaigning, Expeditionary Operations, Planning, and Command and Control.  He invented and popularized tactical decision games (TDGs), which have become a staple of Marine Corps training and education and have been exported into other domains.  In 1994, he authored Mastering Tactics:  A Tactical Decision Game Workbook.  He has authored numerous future operating concepts for the Department of Defense.  In 1999, he and Gary Klein developed the Recognitional Planning Model (RPM), a staff planning methodology based on Klein’s RPD model.  He was an independent consultant in military affairs for over 25 years before joining ShadowBox.  He resides in Auburn, Alabama, with his wife Laura, and two dogs.  His hobbies include cycling, coaching soccer, reading, and arguing with Gary.