Irregular Warfare and The Marine Corps

Many thanks to Col John A. Keenan, Marine Corps Gazette Editor, (A fellow Marine and great Small Wars Journal and personal friend) and the Gazette for once again permitting SWJ to repost an important article that addresses critical issues.

Irregular Warfare and the Marine Corps:  A changed security environment creates new opportunities by Col Robert K. Dobson, Jr., USMC (Ret).

After more than a decade of continuous combat operations against an elusive foe that is at times an insurgent, extremist, criminal, nonstate actor, and/ or terrorist, and often frustrated by the politics of the conflict, Marines have begun to look forward to returning to their “amphibious roots.” This has become the bumper sticker slogan that is being interpreted by many as returning to training for combat operations. This is nothing new. After the Vietnam War, the message “no more Vietnams” emanated from the defense establishment…