Carlo Muí±ozn at Inside Defense reports that the new DoD Directive for Irregular Warfare was signed and released on 1 December. The Directive establishes policy and assigns responsibilities for DoD conduct of IW and development of capabilities to address irregular challenges to national security and requires any conflicting issuances be identified to the Under Secretary of Defense for Policy (USD(P)) and the OSD Director, Administration and Management. Here's an excerpt from Inside Defense:
A new Pentagon directive on irregular warfare drops the idea of making US Special Operations Command the joint proponent for IW and assigns a leading role for developing IW doctrine and capabilities to US Joint Forces Command. ...links IW to the "core US military mission" of stability operations, noting that improving the Defense Department's IW proficiency enhances DOD's conduct of stability operations...
JFCOM, rather than SOCOM, will assist the Office of the Secretary of Defense in "identifying tracking requirements for critical skills and experiences relevant to IW"... JFCOM will also handle another task previously envisioned for SOCOM: leading the identification of "joint IW-relevant capabilities" and recommending priorities for developing those capabilities.
The directive also says JFCOM chief Gen. James Mattis will lead the collaborative development of joint standards for general purpose forces' "IW-relevant training and readiness," along with Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Adm. Michael Mullen and the service chiefs...
Further, in what could be an attempt to advance a more holistic approach to IW, the final directive omits language that would have required organizations to assign IW tasks to a specific official, as opposed to the institution at large. The final version of the directive notably lists stability operations on the roster of IW missions...
For those who subscribe to Inside Defense there is much more - or sign up for an account at the Inside Defense News Stand - the first three downloads are free.
For those who would like to read DoD Directive 3000.07 (Irregular Warfare) in full, Small Wars Journal has posted it here.
For additional background on IW see the Irregular Warfare Joint Operating Concept. The stated purpose of the IW JOC is to describe how future joint force commanders will accomplish strategic objectives through the conduct of protracted IW on a global or regional scale. It identifies capabilities and capacities required to successfully prosecute IW. Many of the ideas advocated in this JOC are drawn from best practices of current conflicts and history.
Update
US to Raise 'Irregular War' Capabilities - Ann Scott Tyson, Washington Post
The Pentagon this week approved a major policy directive that elevates the military's mission of "irregular warfare" - the increasingly prevalent campaigns to battle insurgents and terrorists, often with foreign partners and sometimes clandestinely - to an equal footing with traditional combat.
The directive, signed by Deputy Defense Secretary Gordon England on Monday, requires the Pentagon to step up its capabilities across the board to fight unconventionally, such as by working with foreign security forces, surrogates and indigenous resistance movements to shore up fragile states, extend the reach of US forces into denied areas or battle hostile regimes.
The policy, a result of more than a year of debate in the defense establishment, is part of a broader overhaul of the US military's role as the threat of large-scale combat against other nations' armies has waned and new dangers have arisen from shadowy non-state actors, such as terrorists that target civilian populations.
More at The Washington Post.
Update # 2
Pentagon Steers Toward Irregular Warfare - Westhawk, Westhawk
... When (and if) implemented, this directive will be a sweeping change in the functioning of the entire Defense Department. Naturally, the extent to which the directive's intent is carried out will depend on who leads the Department in the future, on Congressional input and appropriations, and on what actually happens in the world over the next decade (the enemies' votes). As written, the directive establishes the basis for a dramatic change in the US military. An appropriate global context will ensure the completion of this transformation.
Mike Vickers's directive assigns irregular warfare responsibilities and tasks to every corner of the US Defense establishment. All of the under-secretariats inside the Pentagon, the Services, the combatant commands, and the Joint Staff are assigned their homework.
The directive represents a crushing defeat for those who wished to keep irregular warfare doctrine and execution segregated inside a discrete box within the Department. Under this directive, everyone in the Department has a significant part to play. Thus Gian Gentile's nightmare has come true...
More at Westhawk.