A Standing Unconventional Warfare Task Force to Combat Insurgency in the 21st Century
Abstract
Today the U.S. military confronts transnational and theologically based radical Islamic insurgent movements. In Afghanistan and Iraq these insurgents have joined with local insurgents that comprise elements of the deposed Taliban and Ba'athist regimes respectively and other groups including criminals and foreign fighters. Collectively these groups have one objective; to overthrow regimes they consider illegitimate to evict any vestige of foreign influence associated with the existing order and to seize power for themselves. The predicted global persistence of insurgencies and the constant pressures placed on our military forces to confront insurgency necessitates the restructuring of the existing U.S. Army Special Forces Command headquarters organization into a standing deployable Unconventional Warfare Task Force. This organizational model offers the Department of Defense a permanent expeditionary and cohesive headquarters specifically designed to command and control a modular unconventional capabilities-based force while minimizing the size of direct conventional force participation in future counterinsurgency campaigns. My intent is to briefly examine the key aspects of the security environment the lessons learned from Operations ENDURING FREEDOM and IRAQI FREEDOM force structure considerations and forces structure recommendations to determine the most effective organizational model at the national level for conducting counterinsurgency. My conclusion will ultimately make the recommendation to restructure the existing U.S. Army Special Forces Command Headquarters into standing deployable Unconventional Warfare Task Force to combat current and future insurgencies.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Mar 18, 2005
- Accession Number
- ADA432859
Entities
People
- Christopher Haas
Organizations
- United States Army War College