ANALYTICAL INSIGHTS "The categories of warfare are blurring and no longer fit into neat, tidy boxes. One can expect to see more tools and tactics of destruction -- from the sophisticated to the simple -- being employed simultaneously in hybrid and more complex forms of warfare." Global conflicts today continue to perplex conventional solutions for mitigation and resolution. The Department of Defense (DoD) has undertaken measures to adapt to the current conflict environments with a focus towards building and improving irregular warfare capabilities and capacities by expanding Special Operations Forces, shifting conventional forces toward irregular warfare, and significantly developing an Irregular Warfare Roadmap. The DoD Irregular Warfare Execution Roadmap's strategy is based on improving and institutionalizing approaches, activities, and methodologies for conducting and countering many aspects of irregular warfare. As such, new innovations must come to the forefront through collaborative global and whole of nation efforts that leverage resources from all sectors, industries, academia, and even differing viewpoints, in efforts to unite towards common goals of communication, understanding, social equity and justice.
Excellence and Analytical Insights, was initially developed to support mass collaboration concepts of a "starfish" leaderless organization awareness assistance program in an attempt to educate individuals about the varying elements of irregular conflict in an attempt to foster an understanding of the complex layers involved in many world-wide clashes and those actions being taken or those needed to reduce and prevent them. The Irregular Warfare Centre added historic doctrine and training from the former UK Special Operations Executive (SOE) and US Office of Strategic Services (OSS) with current Special Operations trade-craft, cutting edge systemic Intelligence analysis, social psychology, and anthropology, and quickly scaled to become a Department of Defense focused external intelligence and operational support element enhanced by a Community of Interest and Purpose. The capabilities within the Irregular Warfare Centre's vast network capitalize on unique expertise identified across sectors, industries, other historic global guerrilla or unconventional expertise, and academia to innovatively solve irregular conflict issues and complex threats of global importance around the world. We can provide fee based Training, Academic Curriculum assistance, Professional Services, and a rapid response Complex Issues Solution Force to help those drowning in information yet thirsting for analytical insight. Further, as experts on many facets of Irregular Warfare and having one of the largest collections of guerrilla and other unconventional warfare manuals and archives from the SOE and OSS in WWII to the past fifty years' revolutionary group writings, we can help you navigate myriad IW solutions in the market today, which have unfortunately emerged as corporate branded solutinions to increase vendor market-share, as opposed to being viable vetted solutions derived from extensive on the ground experience, with sound methodologies, proven processes, and the knowledge to understand best approaches based on tacit situational awareness. We welcome your IW lessons learned contributions, best practices, suggestions, creative concepts, and inquiries that can be leveraged to support the DoD Execution Roadmap, Directives, and Joint Operating Concepts. Irregular Warfare Definition(s):
taken on a new form and grown to new levels. The type of warfare is not new, and few of the tactics are new. What is new is that this type of war has recently reached a global level—and the United States and its allies have found themselves ill prepared. Many strategists and theorists have attempted to grasp the concept of the war we are facing today, yet none have adequately given it definition and understanding." Similarly, President George W. Bush addressed the topic to a West Point graduating class, "This is another type of war, new in its intensity, ancient in its origin—war by guerrillas, subversives, insurgents, assassins, war by ambush instead of by combat; by infiltration, instead of aggression, seeking victory by eroding and exhausting the enemy instead of engaging him. . . . It preys on economic unrest and ethnic conflicts. It requires in those situations where we must counter it, and these are the kinds of challenges that will be before us in the next decade if freedom is to be saved, a whole new kind of strategy, a wholly different kind of force, and therefore a new and wholly different kind of military training". The Irregular Warfare Centre has compiled a number of terms that are often misunderstood or mis-used in description within the context of Irregular Warfare. In most cases the definitions we have provided below are widely held as acceptable, however, interpretation and formal use varies or changes dynamically. ASYMMETRIC WARFARE: A conflict between two foes of vastly different capabilities where belligerents can differ in essence and in the struggle, interact and attempt to exploit each other's characteristic weaknesses. This is in contrast to symmetric warfare, where two powers have similar military power and resources and rely on conventional warfare tactics that are similar overall, differing only in details and execution. GENERATIONS OF WARFARE: The generations of warfare have been described as: 1st Generation: tactics of line and column; which developed in the age of the smoothbore musket. 2nd Generation: tactics of linear fire and movement, with reliance on indirect fire. 3rd Generation: tactics of infiltration to bypass and collapse the enemy's combat forces rather than seeking to close with and destroy them; and defense in depth. 4th Generation: tactics of secrecy, terror, and confusion to overcome the asymmetrical gap characterized by a “stateless” entity fighting a state. GUERRILLA WARFARE: A method of combat where a small group of combatants use mobile tactics (ambushes, raids, etc.) to combat a larger and less mobile formal army. The guerrilla army uses ambush (stealth and surprise) and mobility (draw enemy forces to terrain unsuited to them) in attacking vulnerable targets in enemy territory. IRREGULAR WARFARE: A violent struggle among state and non-state actors for legitimacy and influence over the relevant populations. IW favors indirect and asymmetric approaches, though it may employ the full range of military and other capabilities, in order to erode an adversary's power, influence, and will. ---Irregular Warfare (IW) Joint Operating Concept (JOC) UNCONVENTIONAL WARFARE (UW): The United States Department of Defense defines UW as a broad spectrum of military and paramilitary operations, normally of long duration, predominantly conducted through, with, or by indigenous or surrogate forces that are organized, trained, equipped, supported, and directed in varying degrees by an external source. It includes, but is not limited to, guerrilla warfare, subversion, sabotage, intelligence activities, and unconventional assisted recovery. |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
|
| ©2009 Irregular Warfare Centre, Inc. All rights reserved. |