Maintaining Our Priorities: Transforming a Force for the Counterinsurgency War
Abstract
The military is continuously evaluating the measures of effectiveness of its actions against the highly adaptive insurgent. Because this war is not fought on the traditional battlefield, and is instead waged in a population, there is a need to prioritize efforts toward strengthening the civil-military connection. Leveraging indigenous military forces will serve to both narrow the divide with this population and will relieve the strain on the U.S. military. A rededicated information operations campaign targeting both the sanctuary of the insurgency and the American public will work to discredit the insurgent's actions and will bolster the determination of the people to stay behind the effort of a long war. The importance of human intelligence cannot be underestimated. A program that has been long neglected, there is concern that this valuable source of information is still not getting the attention it warrants. Finally, the greatest strength of the American military force is not its technology; it is people. This paper will argue that giving the soldier, sailor, airman, or Marine the mental tools to make correct decisions in this complex environment is essential in gaining the edge on this enemy.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Oct 10, 2006
- Accession Number
- ADA463487
Entities
People
- Doug Langenberg
Organizations
- Naval War College