CWTR Offensive Practitioner: Emulate the Adversary, Plan the Operation
Defense that never studied the attack stays one step behind it.
You chain CWTR maneuvers the way an Adversary Index actor chains them, run the chain against your own organization in a consented exercise, and plan an authorized information operation against an adversary target. Effect gets measured. The stop condition gets written before launch.
Seats open after vetting. Enrollment is limited to the United States, NATO and EU member states, and Western-friendly nations. Treadstone 71 refunds any purchase that fails vetting.
- Synthetic terrain onlyNorthgate Power, a fictional European grid operator, and Ostland, a fictional adversary state. No live platform, real account or real person.
- Authority on page oneLegal basis, approving authority, legal review and ethics review open every plan.
- Prohibited set, by nameDomestic audiences, civilian populations, elections and protected groups stay out of every lab and capstone.
The operation ends on paper before it starts.
Lesson 10.3 in one run. Sign the authority block and lock the registration. Pick how the Ostland operation ends. Launch, then watch the registered stopping rule fire, the stop chain run and the closing record go to an independent auditor.
- 1TriggerA registered condition fires, or anyone in the chain raises a stop flag.
- 2StopThe named Stop Authority halts activity at once. No committee vote.
- 3ReportApproving Authority and Legal Review notified in writing.
- 4ReviewLegal and ethics review. No quiet restart.
- Signed page-one authority block
- Escrowed ASA-MOE registration
- Timestamped activity log
- Stop record: every stop raised or fired
- Termination record
- Effect statement with design grade
- Lessons learned, each with a named owner
Ostland and every figure above are synthetic, taken from the Lab 8 case in Lesson 10.3. Effect rules follow the ASA Measurement of Effect Protocol 1.0, draft for comment. See ASA Measurement of Effect.
Turn the Reference around.
CW-CWTR-301 teaches you to name and grade what an adversary does. CW-CWTR-302 teaches you to run the same maneuvers as an emulation, under written rules of engagement, so a defending team learns the pattern before a real adversary uses it on them.
The course runs on the Cognitive Warfare Tradecraft Reference (CWTR) v1.0, Pillar 3 of the T71 Standard. Every plan opens with its legal basis, approving authority and ethics review. Every effect claim carries a pre-registered baseline, a comparison group and a Kent band.
All 62 maneuvers ship as course models in a nine-lesson library by family. Each model carries a narrated video, two current cases, an AI-layer section with a worked prompt, and five exercises. The fifth is an emulation inject on the synthetic terrain, with a note for the blue cell.
Four outcomes.
Chain the maneuvers
Build an adversary emulation plan that chains CWTR maneuvers for one Adversary Index actor against a stated defender objective.
Score the blue team
Run a cognitive red-team exercise under written rules of engagement and score defenders by maneuver identifier, time to detection and response.
Write the annex
Write an information-operations plan annex with legal basis, target audience analysis, maneuver selection, measures of effect and termination criteria.
Forecast the answer
Predict the adversary's counter-move from its CWTR record and state blowback and attribution risk on a Kent band.
Two sections, two labs, one capstone.
Each lesson carries a narrated video, a worksheet on the same synthetic terrain as the labs, and a knowledge check.
09Emulate the adversary
Emulation plans from the ReferenceRunning the cognitive red-team exerciseScoring the blue team10Plan the operation
Authority, law and reviewTarget audience analysis and maneuver selectionEffect, termination and blowbackLABTwo labs
Red-cell exercise design, Northgate PowerOperation plan annex, OstlandLIBManeuver library
62 maneuver models62 narrated videosNine family lessons, F01 to F09CAPCapstone
Exercise packagePlan annexTen-minute briefing to the approving authority
Seven errors fail the capstone outright.
A prohibited target means a domestic audience, an election, a protected group, a civilian population, or a real person or platform.
A red-cell package and a plan annex on new synthetic terrain, briefed to a white cell. Part of the course at no extra fee. CCWTA holders who pass earn the Offensive Endorsement and up to 6 of the 31 CPE.
- No authority block, or a prohibited target
- Source reliability and information credibility averaged into one score
- An invented CWTR or DISARM identifier
- An adversary claim and a verified fact in one sentence
- No observable falsifier on your own plan
- No stop condition written before launch
- Nationality, ethnicity, language or opinion used as an indicator
Seats open after review.
302 trains offensive tradecraft for authorized teams. Every seat passes the same gate.
- Organizational email, employer and role confirmed
- Signed use attestation
- An organization stands behind every request; no seat for an individual alone
- Prerequisites complete: CW-CWTR-301 and Narrative Defense Under Brandolini's Law
- Purchase refunded in full if vetting fails
Models, templates and terrain.
Maneuver library
Course-licensed CWTR entries read for operator pattern and defender response, each with the Reference's exemplar grades and DISARM crosswalk.
Planning templates
Emulation plan, rules of engagement and inject sheet, blue scorecard, authority block, effect and termination plan.
Northgate and Ostland
Scenario packets, each with a plain Excel workbook. No macros.
One per lesson
Built on the same synthetic terrain as the labs.
Worked prompts
Every model shows how generative tools change the maneuver, and what the blue cell watches for.
The author answers
Questions go to the author of the Reference.
Built for authorized red teams and planners.
Information-operations and PSYOP staff
Military and government planners with legal authority to run operations.
Cognitive red teams
Teams that stress-test leadership decisions under narrative attack.
Corporate red teams
Exercises against your own organization, with sponsor consent.
Red Teaming clients
Clients of Cognitive Warfare Red Teaming training their own red cell.
The Offensive Endorsement builds on the CCWTA.
CCWTA
CW-CWTR-301 with its 72-hour practical, plus Narrative Defense Under Brandolini's Law. Up to 62 CPE.
CW-CWTR-302
Six lessons, two labs, the library and its 62 videos, the capstone and the 48-hour practical. Up to 31 CPE.
CCWTA Offensive Endorsement
Issued after a passed practical, with vetting current.
| Path | Includes | Price |
|---|---|---|
| CW-CWTR-302 alone | For CCWTA holders. The 48-hour practical is part of the course. | $3,099 |
| CCWTA Offensive Track | CW-CWTR-301, CW-CWTR-302 and Brandolini. Each practical is part of its course. 302 seats open after vetting. | $7,999 |
Track bundles open on the Training Center once 301 and 302 launch. To hold a track seat now, contact Treadstone 71.
Jeff Bardin
FOUNDER AND CHIEF INTELLIGENCE OFFICER, TREADSTONE 71Fourteen years of US military service across the Air Force and Army, enlisted and officer: cryptologic linguist, then armored scout platoon leader. Builder of the cyber intelligence, cyber counterintelligence and cybercrime programs at Utica University. Author of the Cognitive Warfare Tradecraft Reference, Pillar 3 of the T71 Standard, and of The Mind Domain and Tradecraft at Machine Speed.
Woman-owned, veteran-led cyber and strategic intelligence training and consulting since 2002, listed in the CISA NICCS training catalog. Clients include critical infrastructure operators across the United States, Europe, Australia, Singapore and the Middle East.
Private cohorts for a red cell or planning staff: contact Treadstone 71.
From the course to the exercise.
More: Narrative Threat Emulation 1-Day Sprint · cognitive warfare services · all Treadstone 71 training · Narrative Defense on the Training Center · Training Center catalog · CWTR Free Edition (PDF)
Questions answered.
Is there a written exam?
No. A short knowledge check follows each lesson. The assessment is the 48-hour practical on synthetic terrain, part of the course. No separate exam fee.
How many CPE does 302 award?
Up to 31: 25 for the lessons, the 62 maneuver videos, worksheets, labs and capstone, and 6 for the 48-hour practical toward the Offensive Endorsement.
Does 302 touch live platforms?
No. Every lab runs on synthetic terrain: Northgate Power, a fictional European grid operator, and Ostland, a fictional adversary state. No lab touches a live platform, a real account or a real person.
What fails the capstone outright?
Any one of seven: no authority block or a prohibited target; source reliability and information credibility averaged; an invented CWTR or DISARM identifier; an adversary claim and a verified fact in one sentence; no observable falsifier on your own plan; no stop condition written before launch; nationality, ethnicity, language or opinion used as an indicator. A prohibited target is a domestic audience, an election, a protected group, a civilian population, or a real person or platform.
What do I need before 302?
CW-CWTR-301 and Narrative Defense Under Brandolini's Law. Together with the 301 practical they earn the CCWTA, which the Offensive Endorsement builds on.
Who is eligible to enroll?
Enrollment is limited to the United States, NATO and EU member states, and Western-friendly nations. Each seat needs an organizational email, a confirmed employer and role, and a signed use attestation.
What is the Cognitive Warfare Tradecraft Reference?
The CWTR is the Treadstone 71 catalog of cognitive-warfare maneuvers: 62 maneuvers in nine families and 107 techniques, backed by 253 graded exemplars and a 321-row DISARM crosswalk. Version 1.0 was released October 5, 2026. 302 turns it around for authorized emulation and planning.
Do discount codes apply?
Individual-course codes apply to the course on its own. Bundle and track prices are final.
What is the refund policy?
Full refund within 5 days of purchase, minus the cost of any books, when you have not progressed beyond the first lesson. Treadstone 71 also refunds any purchase that fails vetting.
Write the stop before the start.
$3,099 · up to 31 CPE · self-paced · seats open after vetting
Treadstone 71, LLC · Half Moon Bay, California · Page last updated November 8, 2026
