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Members of Team Kirtland discuss their next move while playing Kingfish Agile Combat Employment (ACE) at Kirtland Air Force Base, New Mexico, June 12, 2023. The game’s title Kingfish derives its lineage from Vietnam where Tactical Airlift Control Elements would use the callsign Kingfish after successfully opening an airfield. (U.S. Air Force photo by Airman 1st Class Spencer Kanar.)

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Col. Jason Gale(right), 377th Air Base Wing individual mobility augmentee commander, learns about Kingfish Agile Combat Employment (ACE) from Capt. Melia Pulliam, Air Force Wargaming Institute wargaming director, at Kirtland Air Force Base, New Mexico, June 12, 2023. The game’s title Kingfish derives its lineage from Vietnam where Tactical Airlift Control Elements would use the callsign Kingfish after successfully opening an airfield. (U.S. Air Force photo by Airman 1st Class Spencer Kanar.)

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Col. Jason Vattioni,(left), 377th Air Base Wing commander, and Col. Jonathan Graham, 58th Special Operations Wing commander, and their staff learn about Kingfish Agile Combat Employment (ACE) from Master Sgt. Charles Kuykendall, 377th Force Support Squadron Airman Leadership School commandant at Kirtland Air Force Base, New Mexico, June 12, 2023. The game’s title Kingfish derives its lineage from Vietnam where Tactical Airlift Control Elements would use the callsign Kingfish after successfully opening an airfield. (U.S. Air Force photo by Airman 1st Class Spencer Kanar.)

Kingfish ACE: Strategy, Creativity and Air Power

Published June 22, 2023
By Airman 1st Class Spencer Kanar
377th Air Base Wing Public Affairs

KIRTLAND AIR FORCE BASE, N.M. --

Kingfish Agile Combat Employment (ACE) is a strategy game with a strong emphasis on creativity and player freedom. The game centers around a hypothetical scenario set in the Western Pacific where players are tasked with employing forces to generate air power while overcoming the game’s various challenges and obstacles.

“Kingfisher is an educational wargame to teach everybody in the Air Force about ACE concepts and the importance of being able to generate combat air power from austere locations,” said Capt. Melia Pulliam, Air Force Wargaming Institute wargaming director.

At the Air Force Wargaming Institute wargaming is used to develop insights or options for identified problems. The process of wargaming assists decision makers by generating data and ideas analysts can utilize in problem solving.

Members of Team Kirtland recently had the opportunity to learn and play the Kingfish ACE wargame.

“We’re trying to create a wargaming instructor team for Kirtland,” said Pulliam. “In the future those instructors will be able to take the game back to their units or agencies and be able to host their own games.”

King Fish ACE encourages players to explore creative solutions in the game that could be used in real life.

“Every game a team comes up with something new,” said Pulliam. “We’re so used to saying this is the solution to that, but this game gives you the freedom to come up with something different and put it to the test.”

When asked about the benefits of the game for Airmen, Master Sgt. Charles Kuykendall, 377 Force Support Squadron Airman Leadership School commandant spoke on how the game helps airmen bridge the gap from classroom to real world.

“We can bring in Airmen from a non planning or logistics background, allow them to think for themselves and problem solve, and they immediately gain a deeper appreciation and understanding of ACE as a concept and become more capable Airmen as a result.”

As Kingfish ACE continues to grow throughout the Air Force, Team Kirtland is proud to be a force of positive change for an ever evolving Air Force.

The game’s title Kingfish derives its lineage from Vietnam where Tactical Airlift Control Elements would use the callsign Kingfish after successfully opening an airfield.