The Vasa ship has fascinated people for centuries — and for different reasons. Since it was finally raised from the sea in 1961, millions have seen her up close. Scientists continue to uncover new information tied to the ship’s history. Now, for the second time, students participating in the NATO Lessons Learned Course at SWEDINT in Kungsängen have used the catastrophe — when the ship sank just 1,200 metres into its maiden voyage — as a case study.
“The way they integrated the Vasa case is phenomenal,” says Captain Christina LaPorte, one of the students on the course.
Christina oversees lessons learned within her unit at Travis Air Force Base in California.
“At first, the case study didn’t make sense. Then they started giving you different pieces of the puzzle — it was like a light went on: This makes sense now. And then, visiting the Vasa Museum, you weren’t just learning about the process — you were walking through the process yourself. I think that really helps it stick when you actually apply it,” she adds.
It’s All About Learning Analysis Techniques
Lieutenant Colonel Jason Thompson from the Joint Analysis and Lessons Learned Centre (JALLC) in Lisbon is the course director. He explains the rationale behind using this unusual case study, which is very different from traditional paper-based examples:
“It’s all about learning analysis techniques — getting down to the root cause of a problem and understanding how we can prevent it from happening again,” Jason explains.
“Ultimately, NATO is a learning organisation. We have to evolve, adapt, and stay current with the security challenges we face around the world. We always need to stay one step ahead of our adversaries.”
“We’ve used other scenarios before, like a climbing disaster on Mount Everest and Operation Eagle Claw — the U.S. hostage rescue attempt in Iran. This time, we took advantage of the Vasa Museum, which is only a few minutes from the SWEDINT facilities.”
From Wooden Ship to Cyber Attack
It may seem like a 400-year-old wooden ship has little to do with today’s cyber domain. But Karen Armstrong, Lessons Learned Manager at the Canadian Armed Forces Cyber Command, sees it differently:
“Lessons learned are lessons learned. It doesn’t matter whether it’s a cyberattack now or a ship that sank 400 years ago — it’s still a lesson. We’re not focused on specific topics; we’re focused on how to draw conclusions that drive the lessons learned. It’s a procedure. Everything we do is about saving time, saving money, and saving lives — making improvements,” says Karen.