Making Riflemen from Mud: Restoring the Army's Culture of Irregular Warfare (CSL Student Issue Paper, Volume S01-07, Jul 2007)
Abstract
In the ongoing effort to both succeed in our current fights in Iraq, Afghanistan, the Philippines, East Africa and elsewhere, and to continue the evolution of our doctrine and tactics to address upcoming threats, the Army must certainly look to the future. The Army must also, however, look to the past as well, to recapture some of those organizational strengths that have led to success in our long history of low-level conflict. One of these strengths was the institutionalized practice of working with and through local irregular military forces. This practice and the comfort and ease with which the Army at large followed it in the period prior to the Cold War need to be reclaimed Army-wide. The culture of irregular warfare - advising, liaison, training, leading and operating closely with local tribal levies, militias and other non-state forces - must be embraced by every part of the Army, and moved out of its current sole proprietorship in the Special Operations Command. This development is imperative now more than ever, given the limited number of Special Forces units and the demands currently being placed upon them - conventional units can, and must be able to conduct irregular operations wherever they are deployed. This paper will examine both the Army's historical practice of working with indigenous forces and auxiliaries, and the institutional training programs formerly in place designed to prepare officers and soldiers for roles as advisors, working with both irregular and regular forces. Using these examples, and discussing current operations and the debates surrounding incorporation of local irregular troops into those operations, I will recommend some steps that can and should be taken by the Army in order to restore the culture of generalized acceptance and facility in dealing with indigenous forces. This essay is not a call for establishment of an American "foreign legion," or units of "native" or "colonial" troops.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Jul 01, 2007
- Accession Number
- ADA515538
Entities
People
- James D. Campbell
Organizations
- United States Army War College