Exercise Internal Look Internal Look is a major planning wargame exercise of US Central Command . Up to 1990 often held annually , it is now biennial . From 1983 to 1990 , it was often focused on a rapid deployment of U . S . forces to the Zagros Mountains in Iran , where they would have attempted to stop an expected Soviet invasion by the Soviet Southern Strategic Direction . The Southern Strategic Direction , headquartered in Baku , would have consisted of the Transcaucasus Military District , North Caucasus Military District , Turkestan Military District and follow - on forces . 1990s . It proved to be prophetic during July 1990 , just prior to the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait by Saddam ' s army . As noted above , US Central Command ' s wartime mission as envisaged during cold war days was to stop the Soviets from seizing the precious Iranian oil fields . When Gen H Norman Schwarzkopf took over the reins of Central Command he decided to review this mission . In his perceived opinion the threat was no longer from the Soviet Armed Forces , but from Saddam ' s Iraqi Army . Accordingly he tasked his operational staff to play up a fresh scenario wherein Iraq would attack Saudi Arabia . The exercise was conducted with the setting up of a mock headquarters at Hurlburt Field , and Duke Field , Florida sponsored by the Joint Warfare Center ( JWC ) computer wargaming simulation agency . The scenario envisioned a force of 300 , 000 soldiers , 3 , 200 tanks and 640 combat planes being amassed in south Iraq prior to attacking the Arabian peninsula . Central Command ' s operational role required them to prevent seizure of Saudi oil fields , shipping ports and refineries . The lessons learned during this war game proved invaluable for the Coalition forces during their initial buildup for Desert Shield especially with regards to the logistic management of the forces . Many planners would just turn around and say " hey we just did this on Internal Look , right " . General Schwarzkopf ' s astute foresight and in - depth understanding of the Arab politics coupled with a desire to have Central Command ready for any contingency scenario was the cornerstone of the success that was to follow in the days of Desert Storm . Globalsecurity . org later reported that Internal Look 96 commenced March 20 , 1996 , at Camp Blanding , an Army National Guard facility near the town of Starke in northeast Florida . It was CENTCOM ' s largest domestic training exercise . The eight - day exercise involved approximately 4 , 000 active duty and reserve soldiers , sailors , airmen , Marines , and civilians from the Department of Defense and other supporting agencies . Previously last held in 1990 , Internal Look was scheduled at the time to become a biennial event . However , Internal Look 98 was cancelled due to ' real - world events ' ( probably the chain of events that led to Operation Desert Fox ) . From 7 – 17 November 2000 , CENTCOM executed Internal Look 01 , by establishing a Contingency Forward Headquarters and simulating the execution of one of the principal plans . The exercise trialled a number of military messaging systems for SIPRNET and NIPRNET . 2000s . Internal Look ' 03 , actually held in late 2002 , enabled General Tommy Franks and his staff to practice what became Operation Iraqi Freedom . 2010s . In 2012 , Internal Look was used to simulate the consequences of an Israeli strike on Iranian nuclear facilities , finding that this would lead to a regional conflict into which American forces could be dragged , and sustain substantial losses . The New York Times said Internal Look " forecast [ ed ] that the strike would lead to a wider regional war , which could draw in the United States and leave hundreds of Americans dead , according to American officials . " The exercise " played out a narrative in which the United States found it was pulled into the conflict after Iranian missiles struck a Navy warship in the Persian Gulf , killing about 200 Americans , according to officials with knowledge of the exercise . The United States then retaliated by carrying out its own strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities . The initial Israeli attack was assessed to have set back the Iranian nuclear program by roughly a year , and the subsequent American strikes did not slow the Iranian nuclear program by more than an additional two years . However , other Pentagon planners have said that America ’ s arsenal of long - range bombers , refueling aircraft and precision missiles could do far more damage to the Iranian nuclear program — if President Obama were to decide on a full - scale retaliation . " ( New York Times )