The US Army’s Training Doctrine Command (TRADOC) has developed a deck of playing cards featuring 54 NATO weapon systems, the NATO website noted on 23 November 2023.
The main purpose of the ‘NATO Proliferation Playing Cards’ is to help troops on the ground become familiar with NATO equipment that has been adopted for use in non-NATO countries, allowing them to distinguish this equipment from that of the enemy and prevent friendly fire incidents.
While the card deck went into production before Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, the NATO website stated that it “will be particularly useful to Ukrainian forces, who are currently fighting to free their territory from Russia’s illegal occupation”.
With the NATO allies having sent billions of euros worth of military equipment to Ukraine to help Kyiv fight the Russian invasion, the playing cards will help Ukrainian troops identify some of the main equipment types while also providing them with additional information, including the names of the systems, their main weapon, their country of manufacture and other user countries.
As with a standard deck of cards, the NATO pack contains 52 cards and two jokers; for apparently no particular reason the jokers depict the FIM-92 Stinger manportable air defence system and the LAV III 8×8 armoured personnel carrier.
However, those more familiar with the equipment depicted will notice that the NATO Proliferation Playing Cards could have done with a proof read prior to publication, as they contain a number of designation and other errors. For example, erroneous hyphens have been introduced into the designations of US ground systems such as the M270 Multiple Launch Rocket System and M142 High Mobility Artillery Rocket System, the name of the UH-60 helicopter is given as ‘Blackhawk’ instead of Black Hawk, and the US M1A1/A2 main battle tank is called the ‘Abram’ instead of Abrams. The lists of users of the equipment depicted on each card are also far from comprehensive.
That said, an equipment recognition aid that can also be used to play cards is most likely to be more frequently looked at than otherwise.
The TRADOC deck is not the only informative set of playing cards in Ukraine, however. UK-based explosive ordnance disposal specialist Fenix Insight has self-funded the production of tens of thousands of playing card packs depicting the unexploded ordnance threats that can be encountered in Ukraine.
As noted by the company on its Just Giving page, “The cards that have already been funded and printed have already made it to the front lines of Ukraine, going on to help aid workers, civilians, de-mining teams and even children who have been using them as training aids in schools.”
The company notes that “Risk awareness is simply the most cost-effective solution to saving lives and limbs.”
The NATO Proliferation Playing Cards are available at the following URL:
