Yesterday’s Inside the Pentagon had an excellent overview of current efforts underway in the Department of Defense to address issues associated with Irregular Warfare - Joint Panel Blesses New Concept for Defeating Terrorist Networks by Fawzia Sheikh (subscription required – visit Inside Defense News Stand for a special access offer).

Here are several highlights from the article:

(1) A new draft Defense Department Joint Integrating Concept (JIC) for Defeating Terrorist Networks, which is being drafted to help implement DOD's broad vision for irregular warfare, won a key endorsement from the Joint Capabilities Board (JCB).

(2) US Special Operations Command (USSOCOM) will continue as the lead sponsor of the JIC.

(3) The idea behind the Defeating Terrorist Networks JIC is to take "a more holistic approach to tackling the root causes of these networks."

(4) USSOCOM is also leading the development of three other intertwined JICs: Counterinsurgency, Foreign Internal Defense and Unconventional Warfare.

(5) The Irregular Warfare Joint Operating Concept describes how future Joint Force Commanders may conduct protracted irregular wars to meet national strategic objectives in the 2014 to 2026 time frame. The latest JICs connected to Irregular Warfare are in their infancy and "don't have a lot of flesh on the bones yet."

(6) The Unconventional Warfare JIC describes destabilization of foreign nations that pose a threat to US forces. Foreign Internal Defense has to do with training and equipping foreign forces to battle an actual or threatened insurgency in a foreign state. While work has just begun on the Counterinsurgency, Foreign Internal Defense and Unconventional Warfare JICs, the next-most advanced concept following Defeating Terrorist Networks is Strategic Communications. US Joint Forces Command, in conjunction with US Strategic Command and USSOCOM, are leading the development of the Strategic Communications JIC.

(7) The Strategic Communications JIC will describe how a Joint Force will Conduct Strategic Communications activities in eight to 20 years.

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