Chapter 1 — Foundational Concepts

Defines red teaming, the four core principles, and how techniques are organized in RedTeam.

Concepts & tools in this chapter

Red Teaming — A structured cognitive approach that challenges plans and decisions to surface hidden risks, unseen options, and flawed assumptions before commitment.
UFMCS & Handbook v9 (historical) — University of Foreign Military and Cultural Studies — the defunct U.S. Army program that published The Red Team Handbook v9.0, the predecessor to Handbook v10.
Four Core Principles — ACT, cultural empathy, GTM, and self-awareness — the organizing frame for all commands.
Applied Critical Thinking (ACT) — Deliberately analyze how we perceive, interpret, and reason — make implicit assumptions explicit and test them.
Cultural Empathy — Understand how cultural frames shape what others see, value, and fear — across nations, organizations, teams, and disciplines. Practice empathetic cross-cultural communication; counter ethnocentrism and projection.
Groupthink Mitigation (GTM) — Design facilitation so dissent is safe, alternatives are generated, and decisions are stress-tested before approval.
Self-Awareness — Know your own biases, temperament, and communication patterns before challenging others.

UFMCS v9 history lives in docs/SOURCE.md. The RedTeam skill implements Handbook v10. ACT and GTM remain useful technique labels.