Uw falls within the construct of irregular warfare iw and is one of u. Military forces should strengthen their future unconventional warfare capability by acknowledging the changing character of warfare and the need to balance their forces as an effective strategy in an era of persistent conflict. Unconventional warfare overview the focus in uw is on the indigenous resistance elements, not u. Challenges in coalition unconventional warfare the allied campaign in yugoslavia, 19411945 by j. Afghanistan and the troubled future of unconventional warfare.
About unconventional warfare uw ussocom library at joint. They must compare their present organization and capabilities against the perceived requirements of the future. With the renewed focus on unconventional warfare as a means of achieving u. Tc 1801 special forces unconventional warfare november 2010distribution restriction. An unconventional force defeated the ethiopian army forming the country of etheria. Unconventional warfare pocket guide the purpose of this document is to provide a pocket reference of unconventional warfare uw doctrine, concepts, academic inquiry, and suggested supplementary reading for military leaders and planners. Counter unconventional warfare cuw should thus prove central to u. Ambassador robert hutchings, chairman of the nic, opened the conference. Handling unconventional warfare in the south and the east by andreas jacobs and guillaume lasconjarias1 1 andreas jacobs and guillaume lasconjarias are both research advisors at the nato defense college in rome.
Pdf while unconventional warfare uw remains a viable, lowcost method of indirect warfare, some of the assumptions underpinning. Though state sponsorship of irregulars is one of the oldest and commonest forms of warfare, its modern western iteration dates to the work of the american office of strategic services oss and british special operations executive soe with resistance movements in nazioccupied europe during the second world war. Nato security policy and practice over the next several decades. Preparing the special forces operator for the unconventional warfare environment. The future of urban warfare in the age of megacities. See janos, unconventional warfare see note 1 above, 637. The role of civil affairs in unconventional warfare. Unconventional warfare includes, but is not limited to, the interrelated fields of guerrilla warfare. While unconventional warfare uw remains a viable, lowcost method of indirect warfare, some of the assumptions underpinning traditional uw have diverged from reality in the last two decades. Nonetheless, there was a sense that, for now, the classic middle of stateonstate, forceonforce, conventional warfare would be less prominent in the future as conflict shifted. The explosion of the information age and instantaneous media coverage lend themselves to unconventional operations. The definition of unconventional warfare and the scope of uw activities has long been. Conover d uring world war ii, operatives and military advisors of the british special operations executive soe and the american office of strategic services oss, which was a pre.
Government agencies and their contractors onlyto protect technical or operational information from automatic dissemination under the international exchangeprogram or by other means. He explained how the 2020 project is not meant to predict the future. Government agencies only to protect technical or operational information from automatic dissemination under the international exchange program or by other means. Tools for engaging the current and future threat trends of the postcold war environment masters thesis, united states army command and general staff college, 1999, 1. Future warfare and the decline of human decisionmaking. Unconventional warfare and fid foreign internal defense. Unconventional warfare and the principles of war dtic. About unconventional warfare uw ussocom library at.
As used by western special operations forces sof the terms special warfare, guerrilla warfare or unconventional warfare uw all mean roughly the same thing. Irregular warfare iw is a key element of modern great power competition gpc, and our adversaries are deftly exploiting unconventional methodologies particularly the use of information and intermediaries i. Picture big armies and many fronts marines coordinated airstrikes this month during a training exercise at the marine corps air ground combat center in twentynine palms. Whereas conventional warfare is used to reduce the opponents military capability, unconventional warfare is an. Finally, david kilcullen invites us to think about the future of unconventional warfare. On may 2526, the cna corporation held a conference on the changing nature of warfare on behalf of the national intelligence council nic, as part of their year 2020 project. Subconventional warfare requirements, impact and way ahead. Historical conditions for future unconventional warfare operations, by maj steven j.
Special forces operative in operational planning and mission control of unconventional warfare. The antonym of unconventional warfare is conventional warfare, which means a battle between states regular armed forces. Nonetheless, the definition currently resides in joint publication 102 the department of defense dictionary of military and associated terms and is now the foundation for us military unconventional warfare doctrine. The history of urban warfare also demonstrates that success depends on combined armed. Logistical support in unconventional warfare operations. Dixit general most conflicts in future will occur in the form of subconventional unconventional low intensity conflicts. With the end of the cold war in 1989, the requirements for the unconventional warfare mission withered and received less and less priority in training and resources. Pdf the evolution of unconventional warfare researchgate. It can include overt operations like public broadcasting and covert operations like psychological warfare and support to underground resistance groups. Paper sof and the future of global competition sof news. Future warfare will be increasingly blended with conventional and unconventional approaches.
The views expressed in this paper are the responsibility of the authors alone and do not neces. Warfare to lay the intellectual foundation for a future iw joint concept. We should therefore adapt or face severe challenges in the near future. This study examines the application of unconventional warfare in the future. This study examines the continuing relevance, if any, of the unconventional warfare mission in the. Afghanistan and the troubled future of unconventional. Us doctrine assumes there will usually be a government in exile with which the uw plan can be developed. The us must define the future of iw and the american narrative as key elements of its competition for global influence. Unconventional warfare uw doctrine, concepts, academic inquiry, and suggested. Unconventional warfare is the opposite of conventional warfare. Most defense analysts agree that the nature of the future security environment will be multipolar regionally focused with inherent diversity and complexity. Army special forces unconventional warfare training. Unconventional warfare consists of activities to enable a resistance or insurgency to coerce, disrupt or overthrow a government or occupying power through and with an.
Unconventional warfare in the contemporary operational. The november 30, 2010 revision of the us army training circular tc 1801, special forces. Army special operations forces unconventional warfare. Kilgore w united states army w 0 4 distribution statement a. Special forces unconventional warfare operations april 2003 distribution restriction. Unconventional warfare united states department of. New debates about warfare focus on how the evolution of the space and cyberspace domains will in.
Unconventional warfare includes, but is not limited to, the interrelated fields of guerrilla warfare, evasion and escape, subversion, sabotage, and other operations of a low visibility, covert or clandestine nature. A leaders handbook to unconventional warfare public intelligence. Afghanistan and the troubled future of unconventional warfare by hy s. The return of political warfare center for strategic and. Interestingly, although he was referring to wars between unequal states, janos, unconventional warfare note 1 above foresaw that increasing disparities in powers of states would likely lead to an increase in unconventional warfare. Unconventional warfare does not belong to special forces. Unconventional warfare defined dod as defines unconventional warfare. Security forces personnel will continue to find themselves employed less in. Likewise, a number of unmanned and semiautonomous systems are already in wide use, and autonomous systems are in prototype or development. Rands publications do not necessarily reflect the opinions of its research clients and sponsors. A leaders handbook to unconventional warfare 9 understanding unconventional warfare unconventional warfare, or uw, is defined as activities conducted to enable a resistance movement or insurgency to coerce, disrupt or overthrow an occupying power or government by operating through or with an underground, auxiliary and. The first operational lightspeed weapon, the us air forces yal1a.
This thesis examines civil affairs current role and surveys past conflicts to explore civil affairs. Participants assessed that in the future, it will be essential to invest in unconventional. It is a well written and thoroughly researched evaluation of the us militarys ability to wage unconventional warfare in the modern age, through the lens of the afghan campaign in operation enduring freedom. Army special forces unconventional warfare training manual november 2010 1. The future of urban warfare margarita konaev 11 militaries into urban areas. Operations in afghanistan and northern iraq demonstrated sfs ability to successfully leverage a surrogate force to. Army war college 24 may 2004 the views expressed in this and other papers associated with the nic 2020 project are those of individual participants. A broad spectrum of military and paramilitary operations conducted in enemyheld, enemy controlled or politically sensitive territory.
This study examines the application of unconventional warfare in the future arsenal of the united states army. Army special operations command civil affairs force must assess its capability to conduct civil affairs operations in support of an unconventional warfare campaign. The term political warfare refers to the employment of military, intelligence, diplomatic, financial, and other meansshort of conventional warto achieve national objectives. In his reading, several technological and nontechnological drivers are likely to make our traditional modelling of unconventional warfare obsolete. Military inthetraditional means throughthe use of an organized and equipped air force, navy, and army, or employing large ground forces and. Current unconventional warfare capability versus future war requirements strategic leaders are charged with looking into the future while living in the present. Today, sof are uniquely capable and postured to engage in the competition for global influence. Ultimately, this paper determines that unrestricted warfare is neither a revolution in military thought nor an executable doctrine for future warfare but a collection of tactics. Thought some of you might be interested in this given the recent events in libya, syria and now mali. Subconventional warfare requirements, impact and way ahead k. Pdf afghanistan and the troubled future of unconventional. Intelligence requirements are the basis for current and future intelligence operations and are. The concept was formally introduced into doctrine in 1955, specifically to convey a wider responsibility than simply working alongside guerrilla forces. As military budgets and public support for conflict erode, unconventional warfare uw provides.