The British and US experience with the use of local, irregular security forces suggest their importance in assisting the host nation government and counterinsurgent forces. Their successful establishment, training, and employment demonstrate the...
This monograph offers a way of thinking about counterinsurgency tactics. There are five salient propositions that bind the paper. First, tactical success in a Phase II insurgency (such is the nature of the Salvadoran insurgency) is defined as the...
This monograph develops an alternative approach to counterinsurgency, and explains how the current narratives in the field of counterinsurgency are not completely accurate. Counterinsurgents only need to properly understand the environment and then...
We have all heard the saying the “Perception is Reality”. This statement is especially salient when discussing military operations in a post conflict environment. The implications of the perceptions of the local populace during the transition...
The intent behind this paper was to develop a set of key principles that would support both planners and operators in the conduct of counterinsurgency operations. This set of principles would also be morally acceptable on an international level,...
Recent changes have made urban operations a greater probability in future contingencies. For years, the common approach to military operations in urban terrain (MOUT) has been to avoid it as much as possible. With that approach, our doctrine and...
This monograph examines the execution of the Commander’s Emergency Response Program (CERP) by operational forces and offers a methodology to better its execution. This study asserts that CERP is a necessary and appropriate program for operational...
This thesis explores the applicability of current US counterinsurgency doctrine in Joint Publication 3-24, Field Manual 3-24 and Field Manual 3-24.2 to the Lebanese Hizballah and Taliban insurgencies. In particular, this thesis examines the Cold...
This monograph examines the operational concept of Force XXI, the U.S. Army of the 21st Century, to determine if it will be applicable against an enemy employing an unconventional warfare strategy. The study suggests that the concept, as it is...
A characteristic of insurgency and internal defense is the difficulty of leaders to accurately gauge progress or regression. The measurement of progress is necessary in order to provide officials with a basis for continuing, improving, or...
The purpose of this research was to obtain a historically rooted understanding of the development, application, and adaptation of the British COIN approach--one from which the US has borrowed heavily. It focuses upon those factors which interfere...
This paper analyzes the relevancy of the terms center of gravity and decisive points at the operational level of war in communist insurgencies. It begins by proposing acceptable meanings for the terms center of gravity, decisive points, subversion,...
Phase III Operation Iraqi Freedom has shown our military’s propensity to focus on major combat operations (MCO) often at the expense of post-MCO security and reconstruction. Without clear doctrinal guidance of how to establish effective security...
The Niger Delta region is the nerve of the Nigerian economy. The region has witnessed series of conflicts largely due to the oil resources therein. Violent militancy in the Niger Delta assumed a new dimension in the mid nineties as the residents...
The British and US experience with the use of local, irregular security forces suggest their importance in assisting the host nation government and counterinsurgent forces. Their successful establishment, training, and employment demonstrate the...
The purpose of this study is to develop a more definitive doctrine for the conduct of populace and resources control activities by a ROAD infantry division assigned an internal defense mission. Internal defense is a term coined to supplant the...
Improvements in technology worldwide have amplified the impact strategic lieutenants and strategic corporals have on strategic matters. These Strategic Soldiers and their respective leaders must not only be aware of their potential influence in a...
Terrorism is not a unique phenomenon. It is merely a tactic of political violence to achieve a political end. An examination of past insurgencies reveals terrorism as a tactic to produce effects against the ruling government or the populace. ...
This monograph examines the potential roles of indigenous forces in the transition period from decisive combat through post conflict reconstruction. More specifically, should Unconventional Warfare doctrine assess, train and develop suitable...
Does following the rule of law assist security forces in defeating an armed insurgency? If so, what factors assist or prevent security forces from conducting operations in accordance with rule of law principles? Counterinsurgency literature and...