CWTR Practitioner: Name the Maneuver, Grade the Evidence
One operation. Four vendor names. Fix the vocabulary first.
Intrusion analysts cite a technique identifier, and a colleague on another continent knows the meaning at once. Influence analysts still describe one Russian clone-site operation as Doppelganger, RRN, Ruza Flood and Storm-1099. Leadership reads four briefs and funds four responses to one campaign.
CW-CWTR-301 trains you to work inside the Cognitive Warfare Tradecraft Reference (CWTR) v1.0. Every maneuver gets one name, one permanent identifier and one stated test, backed by graded evidence and mapped to DISARM.
Enrollment is limited to the United States, NATO and EU member states, and Western-friendly nations. An organizational email validates each seat.
- 62maneuvers
- 9families
- 107techniques
- 253graded exemplars
- 321DISARM crosswalk rows
Four names for one operation. Then one identifier.
Below, every CWTR maneuver drifts as an unnamed signal, and four vendor labels for one Russian operation drift with them. Press Name the feed. The labels collapse into CW-M0002, and all 62 maneuvers settle into their nine families. Tap a point to read its entry. Tap a family to light it.
Source: CWTR v1.0 Tier 1 Analyst Edition, Part One, the maneuver layer. Identifiers and names as published October 5, 2026.
Defenders of the information space never shared a vocabulary.
Network defense settled its naming fight years ago. A technique identifier travels from a SOC in Ohio to a CERT in Vilnius and means the same thing at each end. Influence work never got there. Each vendor, platform and government names the operation it sees, and one campaign becomes four.
The Cognitive Warfare Tradecraft Reference fixes the names. Version 1.0 gives every maneuver an entry with a stated test, graded exemplars from public primary sources, a falsifier and a DISARM 1.6.1 crosswalk. A change to an entry happens only through the quarterly Cognitive Warfare Tradecraft Report.
Generative AI shortened the build time for every family in the catalog. Synthetic-Persona Operation (CW-M0017), Synthetic-Media Fabrication (CW-M0024) and Bot-Network Amplification (CW-M0012) carry their own entries and tests. The course trains you to tag the AI-built version with the same identifier as the hand-built one. The maneuver sets the defense, not the tool behind it.
Nine outcomes. A lab or the capstone tests each one.
Cite by identifier
Cite any influence pattern by CWTR identifier, name and version, and reconcile vendor aliases to one entry.
Defend the boundary
Place an observed operation in the right family and maneuver, and defend the call in writing.
Grade on two axes
Grade each exemplar on source reliability and information credibility without averaging, and report the T, D, F tri-score.
Write the falsifier
Name the observation that breaks an entry or an attribution if it turns up.
Keep claims apart
Keep adversary claims out of every sentence that carries verified fact.
Map to DISARM
Build DISARM 1.6.1 crosswalk rows with a fit grade, and log a gap rather than invent an identifier.
Run the watch
Run a one-week watch and write a weekly graded brief in the Cognitive Warfare Monitor format.
Draft an entry
Draft a full fifteen-field entry that meets the two-case publish rule.
Grade the source. Grade the claim. Keep the letters apart.
Every exemplar in the Reference carries two grades under STANAG 2511: how far you trust the source, and how well the information holds up. Pick a cell. Then try A5 and E1.
The course grades on the expanded Admiralty grid of the ASA Evidence Standard: thirty factors in nine clusters behind the classic A to F and 1 to 6 anchor, with the T, D, F tri-score beside them.
Eight sections. Twenty-four lessons.
Each lesson carries a narrated video, a worksheet and a knowledge check. Six labs run on public primary sources: indictments, sanctions designations, government advisories and platform takedown reports.
01Name the maneuver
The vocabulary gapAnatomy of the ReferenceReading a full entry02Grade the evidence
Grades on every exemplarClaims apart, bands fixedThe falsifier03Shaping the story
Narrative engineeringAmplification and reachPersona and front operations04Forging and steering
Forgery and fabricationReflexive control and decision shapingSeam exploitation05Coupling, preparing, silencing
Cyber-cognitive couplingTerrain preparationSuppression and denial06Map to DISARM
Reading DISARM 1.6.1Building a crosswalk rowSpeaking to partners07Run the watch
From post to maneuver identifierActor instantiationThe weekly graded brief08Counter and commit
Paired countermeasuresChange control and the quarterly reportCapstone briefing
The Reference in your hands from day one.
Free Edition
All 62 maneuver names and definitions, the full method and the complete CW-M0002 entry.
Nine full entries
One fifteen-field entry per family from the Tier 1 Analyst Edition. Course-licensed.
Cards and templates
Field Card, ASA Grading Card, Kent Band Card, entry and technique templates, falsifier log, weekly brief template.
Plain Excel, no macros
Indicator ranking matrix, DISARM crosswalk workbook and countermeasure board.
Tradecraft Report summary
Worked cases on Russia, Iran and North Korea, and the deliberate blank for China.
The author answers
Questions go to the author of the Reference, not a help desk.
Draft an entry fit for the Reference.
The capstone asks for a full fifteen-field entry with two graded exemplars from public primary sources, a one-week watch brief tagged by maneuver identifier, and a recorded ten-minute briefing for a security leader who reads no DISARM.
Tag, grade, map and counter one public campaign. An instructor grades the work. The practical is part of the course at no extra fee and earns up to 8 of the 50 CPE.
Five errors fail a capstone outright
- One blended grade for source and content
- An adversary claim and a verified fact in one sentence
- An invented DISARM identifier
- No falsifier
- Any plan or inject aimed at a domestic audience, an election, a protected group, or a real person or platform
From 301 to the CCWTA.
CW-CWTR-301 with its practical and Narrative Defense Under Brandolini's Law earn the Certified Cognitive Warfare Tradecraft Analyst. CNIA holders and Brandolini alumni reach the CCWTA with 301 alone.
CW-CWTR-301
24 lessons, six labs, capstone and the 72-hour practical. Up to 50 CPE.
CCWTA
Up to 62 CPE across the track. CW-CWTR-302 adds the Offensive Endorsement, with up to 31 further CPE.
| Track | Includes | Price |
|---|---|---|
| CCWTA Track | CW-CWTR-301 and Narrative Defense Under Brandolini's Law. The practical is part of 301. | $5,399 |
| 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.
Built for analysts who defend the information space.
Counter-FIMI and narrative analysts
Teams that report to EU and NATO partners in DISARM.
Counterintelligence analysts
Insider-threat and front-organization work that needs graded evidence.
Trust-and-safety investigators
Platform teams tracking coordinated inauthentic behavior.
Critical-infrastructure security staff
Operators targeted by hack-and-leak, fabricated-breach claims and fraudulent workers.
No clearance and no required prerequisite. Enrollment is limited to the United States, NATO and EU member states, and Western-friendly nations, with an organizational email for validation.
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.
Team seats, private cohorts or the full catalog for your organization: contact Treadstone 71 or see Subscription Training Services.
The standard, the evidence rules and the next course.
More: all Treadstone 71 training · Narrative Defense on the Training Center · Training Center catalog · cognitive warfare services · cognitive warfare briefs · the six pillars of the T71 Standard
Questions answered.
Is there a written exam?
No. A short knowledge check follows each lesson. The assessment is a practical: a 72-hour instructor-graded exercise that asks you to tag, grade, map and counter one public campaign. The practical is part of the course. No separate exam fee.
How many CPE does the course award?
Up to 50: about 8 for video, 3.5 for knowledge checks and the final exam, 13 for worksheets, 11 for labs, 6 for the capstone and 8 for the practical.
Do I need a clearance or a prerequisite?
No clearance. No required prerequisite. People and Narrative Intelligence (PEOPINT / NARINT) helps.
Who is eligible to enroll?
Enrollment is limited to the United States, NATO and EU member states, and Western-friendly nations, with an organizational email for validation.
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.
Does the course change the Reference?
No. The course teaches from the Reference and never edits it. Entries change only through the quarterly Cognitive Warfare Tradecraft Report, and the course errata page lists each change.
What is the CCWTA?
The Certified Cognitive Warfare Tradecraft Analyst. CW-CWTR-301 with its 72-hour practical and Narrative Defense Under Brandolini's Law earn it, for up to 62 CPE across the track. CNIA holders and Brandolini alumni reach the CCWTA with 301 alone.
What comes after 301?
CW-CWTR-302, the offensive practitioner course, for vetted red teams and authorized planners. CCWTA holders who complete it and its 48-hour practical earn the Offensive Endorsement.
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.
Fix the vocabulary first.
$4,999 · up to 50 CPE · self-paced · installments at checkout
Treadstone 71, LLC · Half Moon Bay, California · Page last updated November 8, 2026
