Journal

Chapter One, Genesis: Day & Night

The once-praised concept known as population-centric counterinsurgency, typically abbreviated simply as "COIN", has fallen on hard times.

A review of Thieves of State: How Corruption Threatens Global Security by Sarah Chayes.

Fifteen police officers were killed in a ‘military-style’ ambush in Jalisco on 6 April 2015. The attack resulted in the highest death toll in a single attack since 2010.

The current military approach relegates narratives to a supporting communications effort. Inasmuch, the US military continues to struggle with employing information as an instrument of national power.

Writing and advice in the military often focus on key developmental positions – even though we spend most of our time on staff or broadening assignments.

If training and using allies continues as the US way of war, then the latest generation of US Advisors should add Vegetius to their bookshelves.

Emili J. Blasco, a Washington correspondent for ABC Spain, authored a groundbreaking new book focusing on the corruption in Venezuelan politics.

This article examines how the analytical methods developed during World War II influenced future military intelligence analysis in Vietnam, Iraq, and Afghanistan.

Those of us focused on the narrative battle are pretty much in agreement about one thing: we are losing. We are losing badly.

The use of qualitative analysis within the Army intelligence community can help remedy certain capability gaps in obtaining locally nuanced information.

Many pundits and politicians decry America and the Obama administration’s lack of a strategy on how to deal with the ISIS. 

The real issue is whether the Mexican public and authorities can tolerate such a setback.

For a variety of reasons, policymakers are increasingly enamored with special operations forces (SOF) and risk damaging not only the future credibility of the forces but also national security.

A workshop on ‘Proxy Actors, Psyops & Irregular Forces: The Future of Modern Warfare?’ was held by The Scottish Centre for War Studies, University of Glasgow.

The United States’ military must find a way to accomplish its strategic objectives during wars among populations.

While lessons learned from the Battle of Fallujah have replaced the lectures on the Battle of Waterloo its relevance in interacting with multinational coalitions during joint operations remains.

It is widely acknowledged that ISIS is enormously sophisticated in its use of Social Media. It is also widely acknowledged that they have had great success recruiting fighters from around the globe.

The Epic Journey of Uruguay’s Tupamaros

Using interviews as background and Afghanistan as a case study, this article captures tactics that may allow future commanders to build the basis for sustainable governance.

As the development of a doctrine for the Human Domain within the SOF community continues, the need for expertise to meet doctrinal needs will soon overburden available resources.

The full spectrum of UW capabilities has been underappreciated both as a mission area and corresponding capability set.

Why Military Advising Was So Successful in Vietnam…for the Chinese: And What the US Can Learn From It

The US Army can expect a future of potential or protracted confrontation among state, nonstate, and individual actors who will use violence to achieve political, religious, and other ideological ends.

Zack Baddorf recently went to the Ukraine to cover the bloody conflict for War Is Boring that has cost over 6,000 lives and devastation to the eastern portion of the country.

I am an anthropologist and with help from my creative course designer Jessica DeVisser, we just built a culture MOOC (massive open online course) within a multi-media iBook.

Throughout our Nation’s history, our population is allowed to grow old because many of our young do not.

This war is indeed global. Every region on earth is bearing the brunt of Islamist jihad terrorism and insurgency.

“They don’t think it be like it is, but it do."

In every conflict we have ever fought within any maneuver element, there has always been a person on the Point.

For decades now Special Operations Forces have made numerous important contributions to the military services from equipment to tactics to actual operations

SWJ Book Review: Ghost Fleet: A Novel of the Next World War by Peter W. Singer and August Cole

Justifications for the establishment of a “Nonlinear Warfare Center of Excellence”.

On Self-Declared Caliph Ibrahim’s May 2015 Message to Muslims: Key Problems of Motivation, Marginalization, Illogic, and Empirical Delusion in the Caliphate Project

This paper sheds light on the relocation of power and control over security from state to non-state armed actors.

A SWJ interview with Jim Thomas, Vice President and Director of Studies at the Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments.

A SWJ interview with Jakub Grygiel and Wess Mitchell, authors of Limited War is Back.

By educating and empowering girls in the developing world, we might eventually send fewer Americans into combat overseas.

The U.S. Navy’s success in future major combat operations may well be determined by its ability to reject centralized C2, establish tenets of Mission Command, and train toward its employment.

A Small Wars Journal interview with retired US Army Special Forces Colonel David S. Maxwell.

The program should exist independent of contingency operations, remaining instead as an established and enduring military contribution.

The recent success of the Nigerian government and the international coalition in the fight against Boko Haram is a welcome development.

We offer 12 lessons to other individuals and organizations that may operate in similar environments conducting crisis response.

Many commanders struggle to write effective Intent statements in a manner that clearly describe their visualization, facilitates effective planning, and provides for disciplined initiative.

Within military coalitions and governmental organizations, the term ‘deep dive’ continues to gain in popularity and design application for complex conflict environments.

A constellation of stars is falling on Washington.  As each of the new chiefs takes his chair, he will have to grapple with the pressing problems of strategy, programs, and budgets.

Mexican Cartel Tactical Note #24: Gendarmerie Ambushed in Ocotlan, Jalisco State by Narco Commando—5 Killed, 8 Wounded

Given current adversaries and the changing nature of the world we live in today, the US Army needs to embrace Secretary Work’s advice on the need for innovation.

A SWJ discussion with Emma Sky, the author of the just published book “The Unraveling: High Hopes and Missed Opportunities in Iraq”.

It will come as bad news to many in the Army that there is no longer any such thing as “the enemy.”