Trockenübungen

Trockenübungen, literally “dry exercises” in German, are training drills conducted without live ammunition, hazardous materials, or other real-world elements. They aim to rehearse procedures, decision-making, and team coordination in a controlled, low-risk environment. The term is used across military, police, aviation, firefighting, emergency medical services, industry safety, and performing arts to describe rehearsals that do not involve full-scale, real conditions.

In military and law enforcement, Trockenübungen test standard operating procedures, command and control, radio discipline, and logistics before live-fire drills or missions. In aviation, crews may perform cockpit procedures and checklists in simulators or classroom settings. In emergency services and industry, dry runs help validate safety protocols, evacuation plans, incident response, and maintenance procedures. In theatre and film, they are used to test blocking, cues, and timing. The concept is also applied in software development and project management as a non-live rehearsal of deployment or data-matching steps.

Practices often include scripted scenarios, defined goals, role assignments, and communications checks. Formats range from tabletop exercises, which are discussion-based, to practical dry runs conducted in controlled environments. After-action reviews are standard to capture lessons learned and plan improvements.

Advantages of Trockenübungen include reduced risk, lower cost, minimized equipment wear, and higher repeatability. Their main limitation is limited realism; without live conditions, some issues only emerge under stress, time pressure, or real-world dynamics. Therefore, dry runs are typically complemented by live drills to ensure comprehensive preparedness.