A View of Irregular Warfare
A View of Irregular Warfare
A Work in Progress (Draft)
by Colonel Daniel Kelly, Small Wars Journal
A View of Irregular Warfare (Full PDF Article)
SWJ Editors Note: We present this draft (work in progress) essay to encourage feedback by Small Wars Journal readership. The author welcomes comments and suggestions that add to our understanding of the complex operational environments of today — and — tomorrow.
In June 2007, I reported aboard Marine Corps Base Quantico to establish the USMC Center for Irregular Warfare. A Director with no staff, I jumped right into the maelstrom of the challenging environment called Irregular Warfare (IW). Armed with the new tools of my trade, the Multi-Service Concept for Irregular Warfare, a draft version of the Irregular Warfare Joint Operating Concept, the Small Wars Manual and several articles by Frank Hoffman I was ready to do my duty for the Marine Corps.
It did not take long to see that this thing called Irregular Warfare had taken on a life of its own as an untamable monster. My initial journey through Pentagon hallways to countless seminars, workshops and war games was marked by acquaintances with “duty experts” whose views on IW were as numerous as they were varied.
