It was during the cold war, especially during Premier Khrushchev’s regime, that numerous war games were conducted by both Russia and East Germany as well as Joint – NATO forces.
War games were just that, games. It was usually played with a full contingent of forces in the air and on the ground. To monitor and determine how a particular game was being played and won or lost, three large areas were designated as the Red Army, Blue Army and the Observer/Umpires (Monitors).
This usually was setup and run from 3 large tent cities, one for each. Their proximity was merely a mild stroll between them, but the Observer/Umpire tent was always in the middle and any and all communications between the Red and Blue armies were conducted via the Monitors. Troops for the designated units wore arm band depicting which army group they were members of.