This cycle typically involves extremists infiltrating a Sunni neighborhood, intimidating the population, setting up a base (often in derelict houses), then using that base to launch attacks on the Shi'a community in surrounding districts. Shi'a militias then retaliate, striking out at the Sunni neighborhood, killing innocent people, provoking blood feuds and further retaliation. The pall of fear, and the external threat, cements the extremists' hold over the local population. It allows them to pose as defenders of the people -- albeit defending against a threat they themselves cynically created to manipulate the people.

If we cannot break this cycle, then we cannot reverse the deteriorating security situation, and whatever else we do at the political or strategic level, the war on the streets will be lost. Thus, this cycle represents a life-threatening hemorrhage that has to be staunched, even at the cost of short-term political pain.

The "gated community" stops the cycle of sectarian violence in three ways.

First, it makes it much harder for terrorists to infiltrate a community. We only establish perimeter security (checkpoints, T-walls, etc.) once the area has been cleared and secured, close relations are established with the population, and we have troops on the ground securing the district in conjunction with the people. Once the gated community goes in, this makes it much harder for extremists to re-enter.

Second, the perimeter controls make it much harder for terrorists to launch attacks from within that district, because they have to smuggle a car bomb or suicide vest out, through a limited number of controlled access points. This reduces extremists' ability to use gated districts as a base to attack neighboring areas.

Third, if the terrorists do manage to mount an attack, the security controls protect the gated community against retaliation by "death squads". This reduces fear within the community, alienates extremists from the population (since they can no longer pose as defenders) and emboldens people, who would otherwise be too intimidated, to tip off the security forces to enemy presence.

Adhimiya is a case in point. This is the last remaining majority-Sunni district East of the Tigris. It has suffered a hemorrhage of refugees and a huge amount of social and humanitarian damage in the past 12 months. AQI had established a safe haven there, creating bomb factories and raiding bases from which to attack neighboring Shi'a areas in New Baghdad and Sadr City. Many of the most serious spectacular attacks on the Shi'a population originated from Adhimiya, and some extremely bloody revenge attacks were mounted in retaliation. Hundreds have been killed by car bombs emanating from Adhimiya, and hundreds of innocent Adhimiya residents have been killed in retaliation. A gated community in this district could thus save thousands of lives over the next few months.

We had to stop this hemorrhage, not only to protect the population of East Baghdad but to prevent the "cleansing" of Adhimiya and the murder or eviction of the innocent population. The gated community approach was therefore decided on -- in conjunction with the community and the Iraqi security forces -- as an emergency measure to break the cycle. The recent protest against the project originated as a coordinated AQI information operation (more on this in a moment).

Two other gated communities have already been established (in Ameriya and Ghazaliya districts) with no public protest, indeed with great support from the population. I was out on the ground in Ghazaliya a few weeks ago, and several locals thanked me for the security the gated community had brought to their district. Other patrols and interactions with the population tell the same story. And people from Shi'a districts that have been "gated" or provided with protective barriers have expressed the same appreciation to me in meetings over the past week.

Why the protest, then, in the case of Adhimiya? Principally because, if the gated community succeeds, AQI's ability to strike at Shi'a communities, and thus its ability to provoke sectarian violence, will be dramatically curtailed as it loses its base in East Baghdad. Hence AQI appears to have initiated the local protests, organized using cellphone text messages and mass-produced paper flyers in the district. This is classic AQI info ops -- stirring up the population through a combination of manipulation, intimidation and fear of other groups. The level of coordination and media manipulation applied in this case is also a hallmark of AQI info ops.

Incidentally, this was probably also the motivation behind the attack on the Sarafiya bridge (Iron Bridge) two weeks ago, around the time the gated community project started. This bridge is the only access from West Baghdad into Adhimiya, and thus bombing it may have been an attempt by AQI to remain un-molested in their base of operations.

The claims raised by the protesters were all false or exaggerated. The security controls are not permanent, and can be readily removed when the situation improves. They do not create a ghetto, since security forces will live inside the area alongside the population, and access (though controlled through authorized points) remains free-flowing. Thus this project does not represent oppression of the population, but rather protects them from insurgent intimidation.

Of course, there is a political downside, one that we are well aware of. But, on balance, given the extremely serious current situation, we believe this approach is valid -- as a temporary, emergency measure. Just like a tourniquet, this is a necessary technique but it has side-effects that have to be taken into account, and it can only be temporary. The gated community helps break the cycle of sectarian violence. Once it is stopped, other things become possible. And short-term political and media opposition, whipped up by coordinated AQI information ops, may be the price we have to pay in order to "stabilize the patient".

David Kilcullen is Senior Counter-Insurgency Advisor, Multi-National Force -- Iraq. These are his personal opinions, have not been vetted or screened, and do not represent the views of any government or organization.

Army Officer Accuses Generals of 'Intellectual and Moral Failures':

An active-duty Army officer is publishing a blistering attack on U.S. generals, saying they have botched the war in Iraq and misled Congress about the situation there.

"America's generals have repeated the mistakes of Vietnam in Iraq," charges Lt. Col. Paul Yingling, an Iraq veteran who is deputy commander of the 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment. "The intellectual and moral failures . . . constitute a crisis in American generals."...

The article, "General Failure," is to be published today in Armed Forces Journal. Its appearance signals the public emergence of a split inside the military between younger, mid-career officers and the top brass.

Many majors and lieutenant colonels have privately expressed anger and frustration with the performance of Gen. Tommy R. Franks, Lt. Gen. Ricardo S. Sanchez, Lt. Gen. Raymond T. Odierno and other top commanders in the war, calling them slow to grasp the realities of the war and overly optimistic in their assessments...

Armed Forces Journal - A Failure in Generalship by Lieutenant Colonel Paul Yingling:

For the second time in a generation, the United States faces the prospect of defeat at the hands of an insurgency. In April 1975, the U.S. fled the Republic of Vietnam, abandoning our allies to their fate at the hands of North Vietnamese communists. In 2007, Iraq's grave and deteriorating condition offers diminishing hope for an American victory and portends risk of an even wider and more destructive regional war.

These debacles are not attributable to individual failures, but rather to a crisis in an entire institution: America's general officer corps. America's generals have failed to prepare our armed forces for war and advise civilian authorities on the application of force to achieve the aims of policy. The argument that follows consists of three elements. First, generals have a responsibility to society to provide policymakers with a correct estimate of strategic probabilities. Second, America's generals in Vietnam and Iraq failed to perform this responsibility. Third, remedying the crisis in American generalship requires the intervention of Congress...

The Responsibilities of Generalship:

... To prepare forces for war, the general must visualize the conditions of future combat. To raise military forces properly, the general must visualize the quality and quantity of forces needed in the next war. To arm and equip military forces properly, the general must visualize the materiel requirements of future engagements. To train military forces properly, the general must visualize the human demands on future battlefields, and replicate those conditions in peacetime exercises. Of course, not even the most skilled general can visualize precisely how future wars will be fought. According to British military historian and soldier Sir Michael Howard, "In structuring and preparing an army for war, you can be clear that you will not get it precisely right, but the important thing is not to be too far wrong, so that you can put it right quickly."...

Failures of Generalship in Vietnam:

... America's generals not only failed to develop a strategy for victory in Vietnam, but also remained largely silent while the strategy developed by civilian politicians led to defeat. As H.R. McMaster noted in "Dereliction of Duty," the Joint Chiefs of Staff were divided by service parochialism and failed to develop a unified and coherent recommendation to the president for prosecuting the war to a successful conclusion. Army Chief of Staff Harold K. Johnson estimated in 1965 that victory would require as many as 700,000 troops for up to five years. Commandant of the Marine Corps Wallace Greene made a similar estimate on troop levels. As President Johnson incrementally escalated the war, neither man made his views known to the president or Congress. President Johnson made a concerted effort to conceal the costs and consequences of Vietnam from the public, but such duplicity required the passive consent of America's generals...

Failures of Generalship in Iraq:

America's generals have repeated the mistakes of Vietnam in Iraq. First, throughout the 1990s our generals failed to envision the conditions of future combat and prepare their forces accordingly. Second, America's generals failed to estimate correctly both the means and the ways necessary to achieve the aims of policy prior to beginning the war in Iraq. Finally, America's generals did not provide Congress and the public with an accurate assessment of the conflict in Iraq...

The Generals We Need:

... If America desires creative intelligence and moral courage in its general officer corps, it must create a system that rewards these qualities. Congress can create such incentives by exercising its proper oversight function in three areas. First, Congress must change the system for selecting general officers. Second, oversight committees must apply increased scrutiny over generating the necessary means and pursuing appropriate ways for applying America's military power. Third, the Senate must hold accountable through its confirmation powers those officers who fail to achieve the aims of policy at an acceptable cost in blood and treasure...

Read the whole AFJ article.

More:

Dereliction of Duty: Johnson, McNamara, the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and the Lies That Led to Vietnam by H.R. McMasters

The Sling and the Stone: On War in the 21st Century by T.X. Hammes

Fiasco: The American Military Adventure in Iraq by Thomas Ricks

Cobra II: The Inside Story of the Invasion and Occupation of Iraq by Michael Gordon and Bernard Trainor

Learning to Eat Soup with a Knife: Counterinsurgency Lessons from Malaya and Vietnam by John Nagl

Update: Small Wars Council discussion on A Failure in Generalship

There are a number of things that are quite striking in her article. For one, the problem is seen purely in terms of building a better mousetrap--er--database and processing capability. Army officials are quoted as saying the Pentagon needs an "unprecedented data enterprise" that would be accessed to "test hypotheses" so that commanders could make better decisions. The article ends with a warning that analysts need to "enlighten" decisionmakers on the need to gather such data and create such a capability before our adversaries do.

Even if we were to invest in such databases and capabilities, I doubt whether this could keep up with adversarial adaptability if the idea is to pre-empt their "unrestricted warfare" tactics. Our bureaucratic OODA loop will not keep up with those of nonstate "unrestricted warfare" adversaries. So it's hard to see how such an investment would pay off in this regard. It's also difficult to see which adversaries would want to make a similar investment and why. Applying "unrestricted warfare" techniques in the real world is so much cheaper.

Note that I'm not even addressing whether or not M&S can be used in a predictive sense. One must tread carefully here, for while there are success stories of tools being used in this way in other venues to solve other problems, for every one of those there are scores--if not hundreds--of failures. Godel's number theory has something to say about the ability of M&S to predictably model "unrestricted warfare" as practiced in the real world....

That said, there is still room for modeling "unrestricted warfare" at the operational and tactical level in such a way that will help educate minds to think more flexibly and rapidly. Seminar wargames work best to help create the environments where this can take place, but these are difficult to set up and run without devolving into a BOGSATT (Bunch Of Guys Sitting Around the Table Talking).

There have been some efforts in applying M&S to unrestricted warfare, but these are just initial, tentative efforts from what I can see. Interestingly enough, the commercial wargaming world hasn't done a whole lot on this front, either. Not a lot of excitement for the teen-aged males who like to blow things up on their PLAYSTATION 3 or X-BOX 360. Most attempts in the commercial world have been in simulating non-lethal means of coercion at the strategic level (e.g., diplomatic carrots and sticks, economic levers, etc.). But nothing really stands out in simulating the operational and tactical level problems "unrestricted warfare" poses for a state military force.

--Eric

But to overlook the lessons of Algeria, Vietnam, and various Middle East conflicts is remarkably selective use of history. Now that's malpractice in my book.

As Dr. Kilcullen noted, the field manual recognizes the increased requirement for discriminate force to remove irreconcilable extremists. What is does not do is justify the need to "out terrorize the terrorist" because we recognized that such an approach is utterly incongruous with modern environmental conditions, in particular, a global media presence and an enemy that is facile enough to exploit even the perception of excessive violence to its twisted ends.

There is much in the manual to discuss, while extremely useful is it not without shortcomings. Here I will part with David and argue that one issue that the manual does not satisfactorily address is the influence and impact of religion in today's global insurgency. No one argues that religion is something entirely new as a factor in war. But present day Western societies seem to have lost any understanding of its influence on their own history, or how it may affect the behavior of other communities. I suspect that some of us too breezily see it as a proxy for a political ideology, while others are uncomfortable with the subject and ignore it. Others simply dismiss the theological or spiritual beliefs of others as an irrational element that cannot be accounted for.

But its rather difficult to over look religious influences today. Certainly, Islamic fundamentalism and an ongoing schism within Islam makes religion a relevant factor today. In fact, some feel like Col Mike Morris of the Marine Corps University faculty believe that "the rise of Islamic fascism, championed by groups such as al-Qa'ida, is the central strategic problem of the age." Vali Nasr's brilliant book The Shia Revival focuses useful light on the issue. Of course, authors and terrorism experts including Bruce Hoffman, Jessica Stern and Mark Juergensmeyer have been studying this issue for some time.

A number of studies at RAND and at Harvard have attempted to come to grips with what appears to be an important cause or influence in human conflict. The literature on terrorism clearly documented a dramatic rise in the religious affiliation of terrorist organizations. A generation ago none of the eleven international terrorist organizations was religiously oriented. By 2004, nearly half of the world's identifiable and active terrorist groups are classified as religious. Today, the vast majority of terrorist groups using suicide attacks are Islamic, displacing secular groups like the Tamil Tigers. Furthermore, religiously-oriented organizations account for a disproportionately high percentage of attacks and casualties.

History suggests that religious influences can escalate the forms, levels, and types of violence. Religion lowers inhibitions and reduces moral barriers to violence, including suicide terrorism. This results in more frequent attacks, greater and longer battles, and more casualties. Religious-based conflicts tend to made it difficult to attain any political compromise or settlements. Not surprisingly, according to a detailed analysis by Dr. Monica Duffy Toft at Harvard, religious civil wars last longer (roughly two years longer) than the average intrastate conflict, and produce four times as many total casualties.

But for all the discussion about religion today, the new manual misses out on the influence of the subject. The introductory chapter mentions religious identity and "religious extremism" as a modern day complication. But the manual offers few indications that our Classical approach, the product of the anti-colonial Revolutionary War ere remains just as valid without any change. The manual alters its emphasis on non-kinetic factors and its numerous admonitions about violence with the admission that "killing extremists will be necessary." This does not satisfy the blood lust of Dr. Luttwak apparently. But I am concerned that our fundamental approach, based on Western rationalism and material or economic considerations, is not as universal as we think and may have to be altered in some way when we are competing for perceptions, legitimacy and populations against religious-based groups or among a population that is significantly represented by and identifies with a specific religion.

The new manual's operational approach never deviates from the classical era. Galula, Templar, Thompson and Kitson would be right at home. It never acknowledges that these guidelines blithely assume a population whose value systems are like ours, whose fundamental concepts about political order are consistent with representative democracy, universal individual rights and free market economies. But if the population's belief system is opposed to our approach, or longs for a return to the 7th century, is Galula still relevant or do we need to listen to Dr. Luttwak with more than a curt dismissal?

Religiously inspired or influenced conflicts may alter our usual prescriptions for counterinsurgency. Economic inducements and marginal material gains may not overcome someone's sacred faith, grasp of life's meaning, or strong sense of identity. School houses, soccer balls and smiles are not enough. Far too much of our theory is based within a Western mindset and assumes the existence of some cost-benefit calculation of self-interest that may not transcend all civilizations and cultures. Indeed, unconventional warfare theorists like Steve Metz of the Army's Strategic Studies Institute have noted that traditional "hearts and minds" approach may pertain only to national insurgents, and could be irrelevant or even counter-productive to postmodern global insurgents.

Whatever we chose to call it, the Long War has a religious element that is powerful. We need to better understand when and under what circumstances our comprehensive approach works and where it does not. The new Field Manual is a long series of strides forward, but it does not address this contemporary element satisfactorily in my opinion. I look forward to this forum's commentary to see if additional light can be shed on this issue.

Within this context, what follows are observations from collective experience: the distilled essence of what those who went before learned. They are expressed as commandments, for clarity, but are really more like folklore. Apply them judiciously and skeptically.

David Kilcullen intended his Twenty-Eight Articles, Fundamentals of Company-level Counterinsurgency as a guide for the company commander facing a COIN operation. Since the article first circulated, hundreds of officers have served as company commanders and in other positions in Iraq and Afghanistan. In this article some of those officers comment on how Kilcullen's thinking applied to their mission in theater. Other former or retired Soldiers measure Kilcullen's points against their own experiences in other countries, conflicts, and years. All -- including David Kilcullen -- are members of the community of interest at the Small Wars Journal and Council.

Part IV (Articles 21 -- 28).

21. Exploit a "single narrative". Since counterinsurgency is a competition to mobilize popular support, it pays to know how people are mobilized. In most societies there are opinion-makers: local leaders, pillars of the community, religious figures, media personalities, and others who set trends and influence public perceptions.

CPT Kranc on troop command: This goes right into the information operations (IO) plan. It must be tailored to fit your specific area. Again, this is something we don't train regularly and we learn by doing.

CPT Holzbach on platoon leadership: A good S-2 section will be producing a steady stream of "talking points" for the guys on patrol. Be a team player, even if you disagree with it. Hit the talking points.

MAJ Custis on battle captains: Although you won't have a narrative to worry about, you will be expected to be in the know, based on your proximity to the unit's planners. Provide context on ops to your peers when appropriate, but if you simply don't know anything more that what you heard in the operations order. Don't embellish.

MAJ Thornton on MiTTs: Not all IO common themes are directly aimed at the populace. I spent a significant amount of time mobilizing opinion in favor of our IA battalion commander. At one time the 2nd IA Division had a commander who was not remotely in line with CF goals. The 1/2/2 IA Battalion Commander was pretty much in line with our goals. The 2nd IA Division Commander had relationships with some of the provincial sheiks that were counterproductive to achieving security. Progress achieved when the battalion detained or killed certain relatives or associates of the sheiks was reversed by external pressure from the division commander.

Since the battalion commander was in line with our goals I made sure everyone knew the risks (both professional and personal) the battalion commander was taking in doing in supporting CF goals. I also pointed out that we--the MiTTs and CFs commanders and staffs--should hold this man and his battalion up as an example of cooperation. We needed other IA leaders to know whom we considered a friend. This set off a running gun battle internally over the IO "fight". Our brigade MiTT chief backed me and mobilized CF support as well. Eventually it paid off; we had followed through on our promise to take care of those who support our goals. And others knew it: the division commander was fired and a new one with a strong allegiance to Iraq replaced him. This was a sustained effort. The point is that you need to understand that not all of the opinions you have to influence are external to the ISF and CF.

MAJ Sullivan on MiTTs: This single narrative as an advisor is your FSF Commander. Whether you are on a battalion, brigade or division MiTT, you support that FSF Commander's intent, message and mission. You are not in charge of that unit, he is. As an advisor, you can try to influence his decisions and make recommendations. However, the ultimate decision lies with him. Do not publicly criticize or contradict the commander. Talk to him behind doors if you have an issue with a decision or action of his.

MAJ Mark Leslie on advisors: To me, the IO campaign although often subtle is really the main effort. IO is not a single event. It is the sum total of the unit's culture. Our actions are our message. They must signal what we want them to signal. You must also constantly evaluate that message using input from your local sources, sector tempo and attitude, and cultural norms. Again, IO theme has to reflect your metrics and your "knowing your neighborhood".

LTC Odom on country teams: The Rwandan Genocide was the most lethal information operation since World War II. 800,000 died in less than 100 days directed through a single radio station and word-of-mouth communications. And the Rwandan Refugee Exodus was similarly a massive IO; an entire ethnic group numbering in the millions picked up in mass and walked out of the country, again based on a single radio station and word-of-mouth communications. In establishing the U.S-Rwandan Demining Office, we played close attention to the role of press, radio, and word-of-mouth communications in devising the mine and unexploded ordnance awareness program. We also pushed the UN to move on funding UN radio stations to counter extremist IO from and inside the refugee camps.

MAJ McDermott on company command: You have to translate often flowery thematic speeches into language that every soldier can understand. If you do this, you can help develop a narrative that soldiers not only understand, but also buy into. Once you do this, then you have a chance to begin to win some of the "war of ideas". This is more involved than just providing a 3X5 card with talking points on it.

MAJ McDermott on MiTTs: You have to try and find the common ground between what the USG themes and narratives are, and what your unit's government's themes are. As an advisor help your unit develop their talking points and be the sanity check.

22. Local forces should mirror enemy, not ourselves. By this stage, you will be working closely with local forces, training or supporting them, and building indigenous capability. The natural tendency is to build forces in our own image, with the aim of eventually handing our role over to them. This is a mistake.

CPT Kranc on troop command: Further, they should mirror local operational requirements. What the use in providing the village doctor with an endocrinology lab that he doesn't know how to use? I don't know either, but some division surgeon thought it was a good idea. Additionally, just because we have bells and whistles for equipment doesn't mean our partnering Iraqi unit does to. We need to remember that. Often we don't.

CPT Holzbach on platoon leadership: The local forces will always be far better at catching the bad guys then we will ever be. Their intelligence will be better, they know the language, people, and terrain better. Let them execute.

MAJ Custis on battle captains: If you don't know what coalition partners are doing within your AO or in adjacent battle space, you've violated Article 16. Fire yourself and seek a position monitoring the clearing barrel at the entry control point.

MAJ Thornton on MiTTs: There are certain considerations you must take into account when assisting a host nation develop its security forces. First they may already know what they need to win their fight, especially if they have been in the fight for several years. And their ideas in this regard may be better than yours. Second is not to assume they have the same strengths and weaknesses you do.

For example, the IA have it over us when it comes to HUMINT potential. If they develop that capability, it will allow them to infiltrate terrorist networks and play psychological havoc with the enemy and his trusted networks. We cannot do this very well. We can, however encourage and assist the Iraqis efforts on HUMINT.

On the other hand, we must guard against our own enthusiasm becoming over bearing and disruptive. Imagine trying to give an Iraqi patrol directions from a CF unmanned aircraft system using an analyst who sits in a CF brigade tactical operations center (TOC) talking to a brigade radio telephone operator (RTO), talking to CF task force RTO, talking to a MiTT advisor, talking to an interpreter, talking to the IA TOC who is talking to the patrol is ludicrous.

Partners also need to understand capabilities -- the CF one night got miffed that their helicopters could not see the IA patrol at the 10-digit grid the CF TOC provided for an IED. I had to explain to them that the IA patrol had no ground positioning system (GPS) in their truck, first generation night vision (if they were lucky and had batteries), no electronic countermeasures in their trucks to protect them, and only Level II armor on their vehicles. Moreover, as I pointed out, the IA were well aware of these shortcomings and were not so stupid as to drive up on top of an IED. They would in fact stop a couple of hundred meters short, and patrol up to it to investigate.

MAJ Sullivan on MiTTs: You have to dance with the one that brought you. Your ability to influence how a FSF battalion or BDE is structures is probably outside your reach and not worth of a fight. There are some small changes you and your team can influence, however. Encourage your counterparts to train their units on COIN operations. However, do NOT teach classes yourself. Its their war, and advisors are there to help, not take the lead in teaching classes, instituting TO&E changes, etc.

Former Captain Bill Meara on the role of military advisor in Central America: We need to be aware of the institutional biases and shortcomings that make it difficult for us to deal with foreign insurgencies. We need to realize that our big, high-tech military machine—our big catapult—might not be much use against an insurgency built around people like Miguel Castellanos. I saw so many signs of our weaknesses in this area: the tank traps we were building in the "Choluteca gap," our big bucks, high-tech approach to support for the Salvadoran Armed Forces... I came to the conclusion that our powerful military is a blunt instrument, very capable of performing its primary mission (destroying enemy military forces), but poorly suited for cross-cultural battles for foreign hearts and minds. From "Contra Cross --- Insurgency and Tyranny in Central America, 1979-1989" by William R. Meara Published by Naval Institute Press, 2006

MAJ Mark Leslie on advisors- What works for us is not always the best course of action for others. We have to concede that sometimes ISF know how to deal with Iraqi business in the Iraqi way (or whatever country we are in). A different way of doing business does not necessarily mean it is the wrong way of doing business. We could and should learn a lot from our counterparts and host nation populace on cultivation of informants, social and economic projects, IO themes, as well as a few tactical tasks such as vehicle searches, and cache exploitation. They are after all (in this case) Iraqis and know where Iraqis hide stuff.

LTC Odom on country teams: In looking at assisting the Rwandan military, I always began by asking them for their assessed needs. They did not as is often the case look immediately for complex, high dollar systems; they first sought training and then logistics and communications. In contrast, the French and to a lesser degree Belgian build up of the former Rwandan military added light armor and other complex equipment that did little to halt the rebels. Sadly the most effective training and arming effort in the Rwandan tragedy were the massive importation of machetes and training of the killer militias to use them in the genocide.

MAJ McDermott on company command: Figure out how your unit can integrate with the locals. Plan on being proactive in dealing with them. You provide a mobile and lethal force that can provide the "muscle" to their intelligence feeds.

MAJ McDermott on MiTTs: You might not have a whole lot of input in what your unit is ging to look like, that might be decided by higher. However, you can be decisive in enaging with your counterpart and the unit's leaders in focusing their efforts on training the unit, and not getting wrapped up in technology wants. If the unit leadership understands the basics of shoot, move, and communicate then you are succeeding. If they get wrapped up in "where is our computer?", then you have to adjust the focus.

23: Practice armed civil affairs. Counterinsurgency is armed social work; an attempt to redress basic social and political problems while being shot at. This makes civil affairs a central counterinsurgency activity, not an afterthought.

CPT Kranc on troop command: CMO can be a decisive operation depending on where you are. You must be able to transition from CA to combat operations quickly. Additionally, the CA bubba isn't the only one doing CA work; your 19D1O is probably doing more CA in a day than the Civil Affairs officer will do in 3 days.

CPT Holzbach on platoon leadership: I used to like to work the hell out of my medics. It was standard for me to offer clean drinking water and a quick check up if anyone was having medical problems in a house. I pressed the medics to carry as much medication as they were qualified to use and the BN medical platoon was —to give. Dysentery and dehydration were common examples. Having our medic explain to them how to get better, and then providing the clean water that would make it possible, really put a lot of smiles on people's faces. Especially if it was a kid who was sick.

MAJ Custis on battle captains: Even if your unit doesn't have a supporting CA (Civil Affairs) element, or the one you do have is over-tasked, work the interagency theme and appreciate what the CA folks like to know. Try to glean relevant information during debriefs and make sure it gets to the people who can act on it. If you aren't sure if that's within your lane, clear it with the S-3, but don't sit on your thumbs and expect it to occur by magic.

MAJ Thornton on MiTTs: The IA has no civil affairs (CA) assets at the battalion level. They were attempting to establish a CA officer at the brigade level towards the end, but have no real resources to apply. The MITTs have no dedicated CA officer at the battalion brigade, or division level; you (or someone on your team) picked it up as an additional duty. To facilitate a better CA effort, we established ties to the closest provincial reconstruction team (PRT).

What the IA could do better than CF was offer CA insights of use to all; IA patrols were better at "atmospherics" or SWEAT-MS assessments than CF patrols. Discuss this with the various IA leaders and staff and report what they are saying. They can be a very effective weather vane for how the populace feels, what their concerns are, and where influence is needed. Discuss with your IA counterparts the possibility of getting to know local leaders and if possible addressing their problems. We made some money by obtaining supplies like water tanks and other resources then getting them in the hands of the IA so it became an IA effort. It did not matter to the people that it may have had US stamped on it, it came from the IA, and as such was Iraqi.

MAJ Mark Leslie on advisors: Every soldier is a CA officer. The ability to make a mature decision to go from non-lethal ops to lethal ops and then back to non-lethal ops -- all in the course of a single patrol-- are what we deal with in COIN. Lethal force is not always the answer and shouldn't be the first response to every situation. Rather a decision has to be made often in a very short period of time. That is why everyone must understand the IO theme depends on unit culture, use of rules of engagement, and considered escalation of force.

LTC Odom on country teams: You -- the individual soldier -- are a walking, talking CMO and IO, all wrapped into one. As such your actions or your inactions can have far reaching effects. In September 1994 I was on a road reconnaissance with a fellow embassy officer and a visitor to look at the influx of former Tutsi refugees back into Rwanda. I was driving and as we crested a hill, we ran up on a serious truck accident. We stopped, surveyed the casualties, and I drove back to the closest military checkpoint to get help. To make a long story short, we spent several hours doing our best to get the victims to the closest medical care. Several weeks later, I was meeting the Health Minister for the first time and I raised this incident proof for the need for better heath care. As it turned out members of the Health Minister's extended family had been in that truck accident and survived because we stopped and helped.

MAJ McDermott on company command: Best case, plan on allocating combat power to securing CA projects/initiatives. Worst Case plan on being the element that does both. Make sure the local CA leaders know who you are, and where you are located. Insist that they not make any local agreements without you being present at the negotiation because the CA team will obligate you to tasks without your input.

MAJ McDermott on MiTTs: You have to help your unit understand the important of providing a local solution to local problems. COIN is all about host nation government legitimacy. If your unit can help provide the local interface for the CA/developmental assistance, the people develop more faith in their government.

24. Small is beautiful. Another natural tendency is to go for large-scale, mass programs. In particular, we have a tendency to template ideas that succeed in one area and transplant them into another, and we tend to take small programs that work and try to replicate them on a larger scale.

CPT Kranc on troop command: Iraqis want to see results. The proliferation of small programs that work does wonders. Also, small is recoverable and cheap. They don't need to know that.

CPT Holzbach on platoon leadership: Like I said in article 23: it's the little things that count.

MAJ Custis on battle captains: For the battle captain, small details are beautiful. Be the duty expert at conducting a good debrief.

MAJ Thornton on MiTTs -- Understand that allot of small dents still have mass. If you make a big dent, be glad, but don't shoot for it on a regular basis at the sacrifice of the small dents you know you can make.

MAJ Sullivan on MiTTs: Small victories, small changes, shifting the direction a FSF unit is heading on 5 degrees pays big dividends later on. Do not expect to transform your FSF unit into the 75th Ranger Regiment in the year you are there. Look for those small victories, maintain some influence with your counterpart, and keep your unit improving steadily over time. Again, the marathon concept is very apropos in this case. Encourage small unit tactics, enhance the legitimacy of the FSF NCO corps and continue to move your FSF unit forward.

MAJ Mark Leslie on advisors: Small projects are easier and sow immediate results as well as long term "ammo" for those on patrol engaging the populace. As CPT Kranc stated, Iraqis want immediate results. We can keep our grand plan and massive, long term program. At the same time we need a few highly visible, well-placed projects that the community or sector we support actually wants (not what we think they need or want). Make it a media event and exploit it in our IO effort.

LTC Odom on country teams: As the Ambassador's military advisor and representative, I pushed establishing the U.S-Rwandan Demining Office as an achievable first step. It worked and it cemented relations between the U.S. and the new Rwandan government.

MAJ McDermott on company command: It comes down to managing expectations of the local populace. Execute what you know you can deliver. It is better to show many small successfully completed projects, then one massive partially completed project. It shows the locals that you can deliver, and that scope dictates time.

MAJ McDermott on MiTTs: See comment above but insert unit for local populace. Also MAJ Sullivan's comments hit the nail on the head.

25. Fight the enemy's strategy, not his forces. At this stage, if things are proceeding well, the insurgents will go over to the offensive. Yes, the offensive-- because you have created a situation so dangerous to the insurgents, by threatening to displace them from the environment, that they have to attack you and the population to get back into the game.

CPT Kranc on troop command: The strategy is the iceberg and his forces are the tip. Ask Capt Smith from the Titanic what was more important. We often look for the 10-meter target and forget what's downrange.

CPT Holzbach on platoon leadership: Don't go outside the wire looking to find, fix, and finish anybody. Go out looking to win the support of the people.

MAJ Custis on battle captains: The enemy's strategy is to wear you down. If you can implement elements of the points listed above, you will help the companies to get inside of his loop.

MAJ Thornton on MiTTs: You have to help you counterpart understand the enemy's strategy, then array the resources to match. This might be difficult in previous role of the indigenous was something along the line of mobility guarantor for CF. One of our biggest successes was convincing the IA it was alright to do what they knew needed to be done: they then moved out of the COPs that overlooked CF MSRs. They shifted into the neighborhoods and patrolled to contest the AIF's influence and deny them freedom of movement. This also goes back to points 1 and 2; you must understand the problem you have, not the one you want to have. The next step to this is to move past the security fight and linking security with stability. Then you can apply the other types of influence and debunk the AIF's claims of weak, ineffective government as you demonstrate the value of good government to the people.

MAJ Sullivan on MiTTs: Keep an offensive mindset and do not let your unit settle into a FOB mentality. The strength of the FSF units are their ability to interact with the population, gather intelligence and identify the sheep from the wolves. In order to capitalize on these strengths, maintain an offensive spirit and influence your counterpart to do the same. Rather than take a hit from the bad guys, go out and hit'em first. As the desk sergeant from Hillstreet Blues use to say, "Let's do it to them before they do it to us!"

LTC Odom on country teams: We knew that the former Rwandan government, military, and associated killer militias would indeed mount a sustained insurgency against the new Rwandan government. Our challenge as a country team was to push for international action to close the camps or at least control them even as we cautioned the new government against acting unilaterally. We ultimately failed. The new government cleared the camps and then took down the neighboring country of the Congo to break the hardliner threat from the camps. But the new government did not win until it convinced the Hutu majority that the hardliners could not win inside Rwanda. The key to that victory was that small victory in late 1994 in integrating former military officers into the new Army. Those former military officers were highly effective in COIN operations against their former comrades.

MAJ McDermott on company command: You have ensure that your unit and your unit's leaders understand what the enemy strategy is and who they "win". Then focus your unit's actions on not feeding his strategy. I.e. don't reinforce enemy talking points by actions you take.

MAJ McDermott on MiTTs: Your indigenous unit is going to have better idea of what resonates with the population and what doesn't. You have to engage with your counterpart and determine what is going to work, and what doesn't work. Help them reach that level of understanding.

26. Build your own solution, attack only when he gets in the way. Try not to be distracted, or forced into a series of reactive moves, by a desire to kill or capture the insurgents. Your aim should be to implement your own solution -- the "game plan" you developed early in the campaign, and then refined through interaction with local partners.

CPT Kranc on troop command: For a company, since combat operations are what we've trained for, they're our comfort zone. Civil-military operations), IO, economic development, and the sustainment of security forces are all bigger moneymakers in COIN than combat operations. It's tough to get to work, but more productive once you do.

MAJ Custis on battle captains: I agree with CPT Kranc. If you don't understand some of the finer points of non-kinetic ops, you may actually be a hindrance to the guys outside the wire. This should be part of your continuous professional military education), and actually long before you stepped in country.

MAJ Thornton on MiTTs: If you are doing this right the enemy will become disrupted and reactionary to your strategy. Your counterparts will seize and maintain the initiative. This causes the enemy to reallocate resources to try and counter your work. This is good: he must focus on deterring a better armed, trained, and equipped opponent instead of terrorizing civilians. In gunfights where both parties meet by chance, the IA wins 99% of the time. As an advisor one of the key things you can do is facilitate mutual IA and CF understanding of their strengths and weaknesses. This allows the two to augment each other towards building a holistically better force rather than detracting from each other through ignorance.

MAJ Sullivan on MiTTs: This goes for working with your FSF units as well. Do not focus on problems or on what equipment you do not have. Remember, you are not in a U.S. unit so a lot of the "gee-whiz", high-tech stuff isn't going to be available (or necessarily beneficial) to your FSF unit. Work with your counterpart to utilize their strengths (HUMINT, dismounted patrolling) and harness your CF partner unit to build up weaknesses (Logistics, artillery, air support).

MAJ Mark Leslie on advisors: Killing the enemy once he has engaged or we have acquired him is easy and we can usually do that when necessary. Destruction in COIN is not the main effort. Separating the enemy from the populace and his support is harder and gets more results in the long run than killing one or two here and there. Projects and improving the way of life, as well as the quality of life, gets the same results. Although such efforts may not put the populace on our side, they may move the population away from the insurgents. That is the same effect as killing the insurgents but risks no collateral damage and makes fewer insurgents in the process. We have to be prepared to conduct combat operations at the drop of a hat. But all operations are in fact combat operations, just with a method of engagement than we have traditionally used.

LTC Odom on country teams: The senior Rwandan military commanders learned from the massacre at Kibeho; the original objective of that operation was to clear the camps. When it changed to catching extremists, the operation turned bloody. When the new Rwandan military cleared the camps in the Congo in 1996, they did not bother with catching the extremists. Instead they made sure that the refugees went home and that no new camps sprung up as extremist enclaves inside Rwanda.

MAJ McDermott on company command: CPT Kranc summed it up. Just remember that sometimes your subordinate leaders will have very good ideas. Make sure look for ideas from your subordinates as well as your leaders.

MAJ McDermott on MiTTs: MAJ Sullivan said it all; I can't reiterate enough the truth of his comments.

27. Keep extraction plan secret. The temptation to talk about home becomes almost unbearable toward the end of a tour.

CPT Kranc on troop command: Everyone has a farewell tour with the sheiks, tribal leaders, political leaders, and others in the AO they've worked with over the year. That gets back to the insurgents. We need to watch it, but I was guilty of this too. It's where human instinct and developed relationships interfere with what is doctrinally right.

MAJ Mark Leslie on advisors: Insurgents know when the "new guy" is coming in town and will test them. There is usually a spike in attacks or their efforts in exploiting the seam between the populace and us. Making this as "seamless" as possible is key.

MAJ Sullivan on MiTTs: Even though you may be going back home to safety and family, your counterparts will remain in the fight until either they are killed or peace springs forth. Talk to home should stay within your own team, not around your counterparts. You will want to bid farewell to the men you have just spend a year in the mud with, spilling blood, tears and sweat. The bond you will most likely build with these "foreign" security forces will be stronger than most others you have experienced. As much as you will want to go home, a part of you will always stay with that unit. As far as your extraction plan goes, keep the details to a minimum and within your own team.

LTC Odom on country teams: The temptation to "leave" mentally before you leave physically is not only unbearably tempting, it is dangerous. You are not home before you get there. Stay focused and help your replacement dial in properly. Your sincerity in that process will reinforce your counterparts' faith in your assistance.

MAJ McDermott on company command: Always prepare your men for the worst case, emphasize that you are deploying for a conditions based redeployment, not a timeline. Also stress OPSEC so as not tip your hand to the enemy. You have to reach a careful balance against the need and requirement for soldiers to notify their families when they are returning home.

MAJ McDermott on MiTTs: Your unit is at home. Do not be vocal in when you are redeploying, if asked, be honest, but remember your client unit is fighting for their home. They do not have the luxury of leaving theater. Be sensitive to how the security situation is impacting them.

28. Whatever else you do, keep the initiative. In counterinsurgency, the initiative is everything. If the enemy is reacting to you, you control the environment. Provided you mobilize the population, you will win.

CPT Kranc on troop command: Insurgents are used to the initiative; our battle drills are all named "react to contact or small arms or whatever. But with good intelligence and planning, you can kick an insurgent in the teeth by making him react. Insurgents handle "initiate ambush" much better than "react to contact". In the latter game, they usually die in place.

CPT Holzbach on platoon leadership: Keep patrolling, keep talking, keep listening, and keep making allies out there. If your living amongst them, that will go a long way to keeping the insurgents from erasing your gains. It's like a hearts and minds OODA loop.

MAJ Custis on battle captains: Collaborate with your counterparts, battle NCOs, and the Ops Chief to get better every day. If you think you've developed the smoothest COC going, remember that the day may come where all previous watch rotations pale in comparison to the hell that breaks loose. Do your best to be prepared for it.

MAJ Thornton on MiTTs: Help your partners recognize change and opportunity. Often windows of opportunity have a distinct time limit. Do your best to understand how long the window will remain open, where it applies, and what effects it may offer.

MAJ Sullivan on MiTTs: Keep the initiative and MAINTAIN INFLUENCE!!!! This is what advisors do, the influence their counterparts. You cannot command the unit; therefore maintaining influence is your key to not only bettering your FSF unit, but your own successful completion of your tour as well. Be there with your FSF unit, embed with them, develop rapport with as many soldiers as you can.

MAJ Mark Leslie on advisors: Keeping the initiative is impossible without a finger on the "pulse of your sector" or good intelligence. All this comes from your rapport with the locals and goes back to cultural awareness and fostering relationships. Lose the initiative and we are back to "reactive policing".

LTC Odom on country teams: I found that when I started to assume that I knew what was going on, I had already lost the initiative and risked surprise. This also played out in the information dominance struggle with Washington DC. In fast breaking situations like Goma, it was better to have the consuming agencies waiting for my call than to have them calling me. I was one and they were in a word, many. My solution was to set a pattern of routine updates via voice and message--and to offer no "off the cuff" updates in between. The same thing happened in the Kibeho massacre aftermath when after 30 hours on the road gathering information I tried to grab some sleep only to have an analyst call me demanding an update. I refused for two reasons: first and foremost I was too tired to give a coherent report and did not want to offer that classic "bad first report". Second, I did not want to surrender the initiative on when or what I reported to someone riding a desk thousands of miles away. "Wait out" is often the best response when dealing with higher.

MAJ McDermott on company command: Keep the initiative in order to keep the enemy reacting to you. Your activities can keep him off cycle and make him more vulnerable and less effective. A good offense is the best defense.

MAJ McDermott on MiTTs: Like MAJ Sullivan stated, don't lose your influence with your unit. Other than that, see above comment.

Within this context, what follows are observations from collective experience: the distilled essence of what those who went before learned. They are expressed as commandments, for clarity, but are really more like folklore. Apply them judiciously and skeptically.

David Kilcullen intended his Twenty-Eight Articles, Fundamentals of Company-level Counterinsurgency as a guide for the company commander facing a COIN operation. Since the article first circulated, hundreds of officers have served as company commanders and in other positions in Iraq and Afghanistan. In this article some of those officers comment on how Kilcullen's thinking applied to their mission in theater. Other former or retired Soldiers measure Kilcullen's points against their own experiences in other countries, conflicts, and years. All -- including David Kilcullen -- are members of the community of interest at the Small Wars Journal and Council.

Part III (Articles 13 -- 20).

13. Build trusted networks. Once you have settled into your sector, your next task is to build trusted networks. This is the true meaning of the phrase "hearts and minds", which comprises two separate components. "Hearts" means persuading people their best interests are served by your success; "Minds" means convincing them that you can protect them, and that resisting you is pointless. Note that neither concept has to do with whether people like you. Calculated self-interest, not emotion, is what counts.

CPT Kranc on troop command: May seem like common sense but many units think they can do it on their own. There are people in the community who want to help, despite great risk to themselves and their family. Taking them in and getting them to help your unit will make the unit successful. Goes back to the cultural advisor piece. If the tree branches are overt operations, the tree's roots are relationships with and in the local populace.

CPT Holzbach: The more time you spend with the locals, the easier and more natural this can be. Bend over backwards to protect the people, first and foremost. Go to ridiculous lengths to protect anyone who wants to give you info. Protect them like you would protect one of your soldiers. Keep your word. If you promise to do something or be somewhere, write it down and make it part of the mission for your next patrol. How much the locals perceive you as trustworthy is so important it should be right up there with how trustworthy your comrades perceive you to be.

MAJ Custis on battle captains: This goes back to Article 4. You are nothing more than a one-trick pony if you don't know what the current IO theme is, where CAG (Civil Affairs Group) elements are operating, or don't go down to the company areas every now and then to break bread. When you get the chance to go forward to "see" the battle space, try to discuss current ops with a squad leader. It's a little thing, but it goes toward building trust that you can get the dust-off bird in because you are not just another Fobbit.

MAJ Thornton on MiTTs: A MiTT must network with CF as well as with the IA. The IA was good at working snitches. They needed more money and flexibility to develop and compete with AIF cell phone and Internet snitches. It might be useful to assist your counterpart on building a network with an eye on the long-term goals. CF personnel may be uncomfortable with this. It is very subjective from our linear point of view; indigenous forces often deal in the subjective. Perception matters, and who appears to have good relationships is often as important (or more so) then a reputation built on good work. Networks are not just about informants reporting on enemy activity.

MAJ Sullivan on MiTTs: You will develop these networks both within your FSF organization and your CF partners. Network with your brethren U.S. officers and NCOs. They will take care of you when no one else will. Teach your FSF leaders to do the same within their organization. I taught our Bn S-4 NCOIC how to network and "schmooze" with the Bde S-4 NCOIC. The other Iraqi Battalions never could figure out why MSG Raad and our battalion always got the best gear first!

MAJ Mark Leslie on advisors: This is key in our success. Cultural awareness and sensitivity is key here as CPT Kranc says. Rapport and relationship building are critical. Nobody expects us to be powder puffs. Using "calculated brutality" -- force when necessary and only necessary and then only precise force when possible -- goes a long way with developing a relationship and trusted networks.

LTC Odom on country teams: As an intelligence operator I worked to develop trusted networks across the gamut of host nation, foreign presence, and international organizations inside Rwanda and on its borders. One of my first challenges was to establish contact with the new government, earn their trust, and understand their thinking. That challenge never went away. I also watched as the new government and military developed its own trusted networks using the "hearts and minds" approach described by Kilcullen.

MAJ McDermott on company command: Figure out how to protect information sources, how to receive tips from the locals without compromising them. If you can do this, you will develop a level of trust with the community. This is a huge success in COIN. There are many ways to go about this. We often faked detentions. Traffic Control Points also offer opportunities. You have to really evaluate what your interpreter is providing as well. Make sure he is translating and not "polishing" things up, the more literal the better.

MAJ McDermott on MiTT: You have to establish trust first and foremost with your interpreters. They are the ones who are caught in the middle between you and your client unit. You have to establish a relationship with them that makes them feel comfortable, safe, and secure in telling you information that the unit leadership might not want you to hear. You have to let them know that they work for you, not the HN unit. This will lead to the unit trusting the interpreter as an agent of the MiTT's, and allowing a better flow of information between the unit and the MiTT's. Once the leaders pick up on this trust, they will begin to trust you as well. This enables you and your counterparts to have very candid and necessary discussions about what is going on in the unit, real and perceived issues, and the teaching, coaching, and mentoring of your counterpart for viable and fair solutions.

14. Start easy. If you were trained in maneuver warfare you know about surfaces and gaps. This applies to counterinsurgency as much as any other form of maneuver. Don't try to crack the hardest nut first -- don't go straight for the main insurgent stronghold, try to provoke a decisive showdown, or focus efforts on villages that support the insurgents. Instead, start from secure areas and work gradually outwards.

CPT Kranc on troop command: Some go in and try to take down the entire AQIZ network in Iraq in their first 48 hours. The easiest victories have very little to do with kinetic operations; SWEAT-MS victories, tribal engagements, and equipping of security forces are the easiest 3 things to focus on. The populace sees this and will warm to your unit quickly.

MAJ Custis on battle captains: The RIP/TOA will be the first challenge, but if you can hit a homerun there, you should be okay. There are really no easy and early victories, but rehearse your staff's actions so they flow like water when a casualty requires evacuation to a higher echelon of care. Be the smooth operator when you pick up the handset, and if you can handle the stress of a troops-in-contact situation like a radio DJ, you will instill confidence in the guys on the ground.

MAJ Thornton on MiTTs: You have to build credibility as an advisor. This may mean just letting them know you are not as smart as someone once told you. And that you know that in some areas you have to do much catching up. Where you can help -- like in the obtaining of CL IX and CLIIIB-- do so vigorously. Where you are weak -- understanding the local AOR--acknowledge that fact. Be careful how you reference and use your experiences from a previous rotation or life; just because it worked in one place does not guarantee its success in the new place.

MAJ Sullivan on MiTTs: Again, substitute "advisory work" for COIN. Look for quick victories and easy gains as you develop rapport. Eat in the Iraqi mess hall. Take time to understand their views on religion. Ask one of the soldiers to teach you just one new word in their language every day. These simple examples not only help build rapport with your new unit, they start you on a path to success early on.

MAJ Mark Leslie on advisors: This goes back to campaign plan development, before the campaign and during the campaign. There are non-lethal engagements/victories that are just as important as lethal ones. Units must understand that and embrace it in order to be successful.

LTC Odom on country teams: When we reopened the embassy in Kigali, Rwanda the roof was partially blown off by a 120mm mortar round, the embassy communications gear was shot up, and 60 percent of the local staff was dead or missing. We kept things as simple as possible and we learned that the niceties could wait for more normal times. I used the same technique with my counterparts: I offered what I could deliver and I delivered it on time or ahead of time. Finally I tried always to keep the situation in mind when discussing events and policies with my counterparts. Broad sweeping statements about reconciliation were fine as long term goals; as short-term projects, they were irrelevant. We--the Rwandans and the international community--were better served when the new Army integrated one hundred former Army officers rather than waiting for the rest of the former military to return. Those initially integrated officers proved critical to winning the counterinsurgency against their former comrades in 1998.

MAJ McDermott on company command: You have to know your unit. That means you as the commander have to have an honest assessment of what your units capabilities are. Once you have determined that, you need to determine what missions will get you biggest bang for the buck. Smaller initial successes build confidence in individual, unit, and leader abilities. Build everyone's confidence in climbing a hill as a unit, before you take on a mountain. Success begets success!!

MAJ McDermott on MiTT: See above, and factor in interoperability issues.

15. Seek early victories. In this early phase, your aim is to stamp your dominance in your sector. Do this by seeking an early victory. This will probably not translate into a combat victory over the enemy: looking for such a victory can be overly aggressive and create collateral damage, especially since you really do not yet understand your sector. Also, such a combat victory depends on the enemy being stupid enough to present you with a clear-cut target, a rare windfall in counterinsurgency. Instead, you may achieve a victory by resolving long-standing issues your predecessors have failed to address, or co-opting a key local leader who has resisted cooperation with our forces. Like any other form of armed propaganda, achieving even a small victory early in the tour sets the tone for what comes later, and helps seize the initiative, which you have probably lost due to the inevitable hiatus entailed by the handover-takeover with your predecessor.

CPT Kranc on troop command: See #14.

MAJ Custis on battle captains: See # 14.

MAJ Thornton: See #14.

MAJ Sullivan on MiTTs: See #14.

MAJ Mark Leslie on advisors: The important term here is "victory". Every member of the command must understand that a victory, is not necessarily won through a lethal fight. Explain this to the troops and exploit this with the populace.

LTC Odom on country teams: Sometimes those early victories are painful. In April 1995, the new Rwandan government and military decided after months of ineffective UN efforts to close the internally displaced persons (IDP) camps inside Rwanda. The IDP camps protected concentrations of hardliner genocidal killers; they refused to return to their homes. As the new Rwandan military forcefully closed the last camp at Kibeho, a massacre took place as Rwandan soldiers, hardliners, and civilians exploded in a frenzy of killing. Some 2000 people died. But the remaining IDP camps closed quietly and 18 months later when the new Rwandan military finally moved against the extremist camps in Zaire, the closings were relatively bloodless.

MAJ McDermott on company command: See #14, and see Mark Leslie's comments on "victory".

MAJ McDermott on MiTT: See #14, and MAJ mark Leslie's comments above.

16. Practice deterrent patrolling. Establish patrolling methods that deter the enemy from attacking you. Often our patrolling approach seems designed to provoke, then defeat, enemy attacks. This is counter-productive: it leads to a raiding, day-tripping mindset or, worse, a bunker mentality. Instead, practice deterrent patrolling.

CPT Kranc on troop command: Firebase concepts, which conventional units were completely against initially, lend well to this. Dominating the environment through sheer presence to deter attacks goes back to reconnaissance and surveillance planning.

CPT Holzbach on platoon leadership: This goes back to the concept of "being there". The point that is crucial to avoiding enemy attacks is to stay off the main roads. Because IEDs account for so many of our casualties, stay away from the areas where they are effective: major roads, access ramps, and intersections.

MAJ Custis on battle captains: Deterrent patrolling is high-level math, in terms of the battle tracking and coordination required. Check and double-check to make sure that adjacent units know what is going on. Sit down with the patrol leaders whenever possible, and don't just know what the route looks like, but ask him where he expects to make contact. Know what his SOP (Standing Operating Procedure) is for breaking contact or going firm, and how he would prefer to make link-up with the QRF. You owe him that much, so don't be the distant voice in a box that has to develop situation awareness through multiple radio calls.

MAJ Thornton on MiTTs: This is something we have struggled with on a day-to-day basis. There are several tactics our IA battalion used to secure its area and all required resources. Ambushes, over-watches and small kill teams require enough personnel to execute the actual mission, security elements, and a QRF on standby to extract them. Patrols require sufficient numbers of soldiers and survivable vehicles to ensure that the patrol can succeed if it has to react to new information, or has chance contact. Patrols have been the most critical component of the battalion's security plan because the influence and provide information on the population, disrupt enemy activities and provide flexibility.

The biggest question regarding patrols is selecting the right number. Without good intelligence, the number of patrols, their sizes, and their frequency must be increased. If the security force has good intelligence--either through the population or through its own ability to collect information and do timely analysis--then the number of patrols can be reduced. Valuable resources can be reallocated to other tasks. This is very much a chicken and egg issue. For the population to support the security force with timely information the security force must win the public's support and secure the public against retribution. For the security force to have enough resources to collect and analyze its own information it must dedicate a significant portion of its strength to those tasks, which takes away from its ability to patrol. In the latter it also assumes the requirements and risk of training and resourcing another capability while trying to sustain its pace.

MAJ Sullivan on MiTTs: Ok, deterrent patrolling but within your own battalion AO. Get out and walk around the battalion, just like you would do in a U.S. unit. This not only lets the FSFs see you taking an interest in their welfare, but gives you a good assessment on the morale, welfare and esprit de corps of your unit. Advisors need to be good leaders. Leaders take the time to interface with their people and assess unit morale. Your "walkabouts" keep you up to speed with how your unit is doing on its daily garrison activities and it also gives you the opportunity to see/interact with soldiers you may not normally see on a daily basis (i.e., someone other than your counterpart).

MAJ Mark Leslie on advisor: The COP concept is critical. "Little America" FOBs defeat our purpose. Patrolling just to patrol is like reactive policing, contributing only "after the fact". These patrols lead to reactive responses that are often not within our strategy. You must use IPB and war-gaming not only for lethal actions and engagements but also non-lethal and verbal engagements. What is our plan to counter negative effects of actions "outside the wire"?

LTC Odom on country teams: If you wait until someone declares an "emergency" is taking place to actually look at your own area of operation, you will at best not know what you are looking at and at worst run full blown into an ambush, riot, or some other extreme form of unpleasantness.

MAJ McDermott on company command -- A patrol serves a deterrent by itself. The key aspect to any patrol is its ability to deal with any enemy it encounters. At a bare minimum, a patrol needs to be able to destroy, fix, or secure. You must have a quick reaction force ready to rapidly reinforce your patrol. It also means that presence and deterrence are not necessarily the same thing. You can achieve deterrence by "flooding the zone" with a multitude of patrols. You get true presence when you conduct dismounted foot patrols. Dismounted patrols enable the patrol to engage with the locals and develop rapport. This is how you begin to win the battle of ideas.

MAJ McDermott on MiTT: See my above comments, but it also key to help your unit understand their responsibility to their people. HN forces on the ground interacting with their own populace does builds an incredible amount of legitimacy in the eyes of the populace bout their government.

17. Be prepared for setbacks. Setbacks are normal in counterinsurgency, as in every other form of war. You will make mistakes, lose people, or occasionally kill or detain the wrong person.

CPT Kranc on troop command: Things don't go perfectly, despite even the best of plans. Western logic doesn't always translate well. Despite your best effort to explain a specific COA to a sheik, he may not roll with it. If you've hinged your entire plan on the COA he's refuted, you probably needed to plan a bit better. Stuff happens. Deal with it.

CPT Holzbach on platoon leadership: The local forces will disappoint you many, many times. And sometimes your own soldiers will too. Fix the problem, and keep going.

MAJ Custis on battle captains -- The greatest compliment I ever got as a battle captain came from the XO of the rifle company attached to us for Fallujah. He pulled me aside and said that whenever things got crazy, it was good to hear my voice on the net, because he knew things were going to be okay and that the COC wouldn't be imposing more stress on them, on top of the enemy friction. Bad things do happen, but the battle captain needs to internalize his emotions until he is off watch. It doesn't matter if you have a KIA who was your number one NCO when you were a company commander. You've got to help the company clear the contact. Take a deep breath, throw in a dip or light up a Marlboro... Do anything to stay focused until the patrol is back inside the wire.

MAJ Thornton on MiTTs: Absolutely! Persevere and don't take it personal. It is not. It is just that your "great idea" might work stupendously in the CF context, but given the resources available to the indigenous unit, may not remotely match reality. Check yourself into Betty Ford's clinic and come back to earth. Get over it and move on.

MAJ Sullivan on MiTTs: Setbacks as an advisor will happen all the time. What you cannot do, however, is lose your influence with your counterpart. Influence = Rapport x (credibility + value). If you have zero rapport, you have no influence. Do not make rash decisions, or try and force an issue to the point where you are sacrificing your rapport with your counterpart. There are times you will have to let your unit go forward even if you disagree with the commander. He is in command, you are not. Do everything you can to influence his decisions but do not think for one second that you command that unit. Roll with the setbacks but always strive to maintain influence with your counterpart. Some influence is much better than no influence

MAJ Mark Leslie on advisors: I agree completely with MAJ Thornton. Nothing is persona. But for advisors, plans and success are often hinged on personal relationships. Always have a contingency, allow yourself and soldiers and decompress at least twice a week and have a plan to get them to "refocus" and get in the war mentality prior to rolling back out the wire. Patrol briefs are interactive. Getting your own game face back on and making everyone understand that nothing is routine is critical.

LTC Odom on country teams: You must allow yourself and your troops to decompress. Frustration can be relieved through anger or laughter. Sometimes it takes both. You cannot be "controlled serious" all the time. Neither can your troops. If you try, you will fail. If you try to make your troops "controlled serious" all the time, you will fail your troops. As for setbacks, it is not who gets knocked down; it is who is still standing.

MAJ McDermott on company command: Nobody wins every contest. What you have to do as a leader is maintain the focus of your subordinate leaders and elements so that you can work through any setbacks. Maintain your sense of humor.

MAJ McDermott on MiTT: You have to manage the expectations of yourself, your unit, and your partner units. Different cultures handle set backs differently. You have to meld your professional military ethic with your counter-parts and determine your way ahead.

18. Remember the global audience. One of the biggest differences between the counterinsurgencies our fathers fought and those we face today is the omnipresence of globalized media.

CPT Kranc on troop command: Perception is reality, even if it's wrong. The way this war is covered, a private flashing a group of kids with the muzzle of his weapon on routine patrol can be cut and spliced into a nasty IO message for the insurgents. We are always on stage and they have the benefit of the doubt globally right now.

CPT Holzbach: Some in the media will paint you as the bad guy no matter what. Stay informed, but don't take it too hard when you see all the anti-American, anti-war stuff that's out there.

MAJ Custis on battle captains: Nothing to add here, other than that this should be common sense. If you have greater access to the NIPRNET (Internet) in the COC, keep your peers informed.

MAJ Thornton on MiTTs: You have to sell your guys--warts and strengths--so the CF understands how best to work with them. We did get reporters and I talked about my patch. Understand that the people you advise may be tied to the local environment they are operating in.

MAJ Mark Leslie on advisors -- Perception is reality. Media is everywhere and a reality. Embrace them and use them as a way to get your message across. Local media or host nation media are a key tool. You may have to schmooze them but they are a combat multiplier and worth the effort. We used local media all the time, often with great effects.

Keep in mind how things look. Consider female soldiers searching females. The Soldiers may not look like females in body armor, helmet, and eye-protection to the local press. They roll by, photographs the searches and suddenly we have males searching females. Have the females let their hair down while outside the wire on these operations. Invite the local media and you have discounted that perception.

MAJ Sullivan on MiTTs: Everyone says our advisory efforts are the number one priority in theater. Do not shy away from media attention and do not have the "I hate reporters" attitude plastered on your forehead. You are a salesman. Just like a good commander, sell your unit. Give them credit for success, even if you planted the seed. Make your commander and unit look good, especially when the media is involved. If you get a chance to tell the advisors story, do not shirk away from it. Tell the media the truth about the hardships and the successes your team has experienced to date.

LTC Odom on country teams: You meet the media in the strangest places. I went out on a mop up tour of an attack against an insurgent base on Iwawa Island on lake Kivu. As I stepped on the island with my Rwandan and UN counterparts, a Belgian television reporter filmed us; the next day I was on Belgian television as the U.S. "advisor and planner" of the Rwandan attack. The strangest things can put you in the media glare; on December 1, 1995 I was on the front page lower half of the Washington Post, accused of holding a dog for ransom in Rwanda. Also be aware that media figures --like Soldiers and units--rotate. In Rwanda, those of us who were "old hands" from 1994 and the genocide saw the Kibeho massacre in 1995 in an entirely different light from those who had just arrived.

MAJ McDermott on company command: The "strategic corporal" is a reality. You have to set the tone for what is acceptable and what isn't. I am referring to personal conduct and the use of "new media" outlets. Web-based self broadcast/publication opportunities (You-Tube/Blogs), provide a an outlet that many soldiers to share their story with anyone who looks. This means that they have to be aware that enemy, host nation, US, and the inter-national community will be watching, so don't be a jackass. On professional media, reiterate to soldiers that they need to talk at their pay grade and not to speculate about things above it.

MAJ McDermott on MiTT: You are your unit's PAO, understand your unit, and understand that perceptions they create in media will be different between their populace and the U.S. population. Help them get their story out, and help them learn to get ahead of the media cycle. Often they are very skeptical of the media, more so than us. We have to help them work through it.

19. Engage the women; beware the children. Most insurgent fighters are men. But in traditional societies, women are hugely influential in forming the social networks that insurgents use for support. Co-opting neutral or friendly women, through targeted social and economic programs, builds networks of enlightened self-interest that eventually undermine the insurgents.

CPT Kranc on troop command: Iraq, despite the men's perspective, is a matriarchal society. Getting into the women's networks influences the family network and gets 14 year old Joe Jihadist grounded and beaten with a wooden stick by his mom. Aside from the pure comedic value of these types of events, the women's circles are often the untapped venues of success in this type of society. Conversely, the insurgents are more ruthless than we are. They use kids because they're impressionable and, to them, expendable. It's much easier, seemingly, to deal with the kids, but they're distracters and oftentimes scout for insurgents.

CPT Holzbach on platoon leadership: I agree completely with CPT Kranc on this point. You can never be sure what the kids are up to. But don't neglect them entirely. Remember, COIN is a very long process, and the fight will be going on long after we're gone. Plant good seeds in the heads of the next generation. Give them good memories of the Americans that will make them hesitate to fight us down the road.

MAJ Custis on battle captains: When it's 2 am and you get a call from a company, reporting that their attached Human Intelligence Exploitation Team has an informer who is ready to give the 411 on a local and active IED cell, but she wants to be relocated or placed into protective custody with her four children, you need to have a script and plan or the moment will slip away.

MAJ Thornton on MiTTs: We tried to help the IA engage the family by providing something for the kids. The idea was to portray the ISF as the good guy who cared, but was strong enough to contest and win the area. Show strength first and then add sincerity.

MAJ Sullivan on MiTTs: Your FSFs do this, not you. Encourage your commander / counterpart to provide services for the community and to encourage contact between the soldiers and their fellow citizens. However, do not sacrifice the security of a unit to accomplish a small social interactive victory.

MAJ Mark Leslie on advisors: Women were often reluctant to approach us initially. But we often gave care packages out to families after a cordon and knock to the family. We took care to separate the bad from the good. This allowed us to cultivate many female informants and trustees this way. We did this on the sly and we usually let the ISF take the lead. It was their neighborhood and perception was pretty important for their security.

LTC Odom on country teams: The Rwandan civil war and genocide fundamentally altered to role of women in Rwandan society. First there was the number of widows after the genocide and second some 250,000 Rwandan women were deliberately raped as part of the genocide. Thirteen years later those "survivors" of the genocide are still dying from AIDS. In setting our goals as a country team, we deliberately sought to empower women through training programs, like criminal investigation. The new Rwandan government did the same; the Mayor of Kigali was a woman.

MAJ McDermott on company command: This goes back to familiarize yourself on the culture, and find out, if possible, from your predecessor how they engage with these different groups. Soldiers love children, and they love to give them candy and toys. While we might view this as totally benevolent, in some cultures this is seen as undermining the authorities of the male population. You have to know hoe to do this based on the culture. You also have to be ready to ask for assistance from higher as far as providing an element with female soldiers that in many cultures are the more acceptable group to "engage" with the local female population. Women often provide the most honets assessment of what the true needs of the community are (roads, schools, medical facilities, etc.).

MAJ McDermott on MiTT: Your unit will be more culturally attuned to how to deal with the women, and that is fine. However, this awareness can also hinder interaction in some cultures. You need to work with your counterparts in order to determine the best method guarantee a productive dialogue between the unit leadership and the local female population.

20. Take stock regularly. You probably already know that a "body count" tells you little, because you usually cannot know how many insurgents there were to start with, how many moved into the area, transferred from supporter to combatant status or how many new fighters the conflict has created. But you still need to develop metrics early in the tour and refine them as the operation progresses. They should cover a range of social, informational, military and economic issues.

CPT Kranc on troop command: It may seem like common sense, but after continuous operations for prolonged periods, it's tougher to do than you'd think. Determining the metrics of progress can change from week to week. But it lets us know where we are and where we need to go.

CPT Holzbach on platoon leadership: At the platoon level, this article is more important for not getting complacent. Constantly re-evaluate how you operate. What routes do you use the most? What neighborhoods do you visit the most frequently? What times do you patrol at, and how long are your patrols? Which of the locals do you talk to the most? Which spots do you like to set up at for overwatch? When everyday is Groundhog Day, one of your hardest jobs will be to mix up the what, when, and how of your operations. If you can catch even a whiff of a pattern, you can bet the insurgents have noticed it before you, and are already planning to use it to attack you. IEDs are not the biggest killer of our guys. Patterns are.

MAJ Custis on battle captains: Regardless of what the battle captains and NCOs are doing, pull them in for a daily update brief. Too much gets lost between multiple changeover briefs. Ask the S-3 to attend and give his take on the current and future operations picture. Even better, invite the commanding officer. You may be surprised how much information he can confirm or deny based on his rounds outside the wire.

MAJ Thornton on MiTTs: One of the hardest things I think was to determine where resources could be redistributed based on success. There seemed to be no metric for transitioning from mostly "security " to stability. We were working with the PRT on this in the end. In the end a strategy that relies on solely security with no eye towards stability will result in either a heavy-handed dictatorship, or an attrition of security resources. You have to help the higher echelon elements with the resources to build capacity towards infrastructure and stability understand when and where to apply those resources based on a number of factors. Your input matters because you have a ground perspective.

MAJ Sullivan on MiTTs: Do this not only with your FSF unit, but within your own MiTT as well. Have a weekly meeting to determine how things are going. A daily azimuth check with your own team ensures everyone is on focus for the training/operations for that day. Take the time as well to have down time within your team. It is a marathon, not a sprint. You need all members of your team healthy and alert for 365 days. Set up a schedule to rotate days off, or half days off so every member of your team gets down time. And remember to get time for yourself as well.

MAJ Mark Leslie on advisors: Metrics of success vary from sector to sector. Tactical PSYOP teams are a good but often underused resource here. You have to use everyone: advisors, neighboring MiTTs, and local forces. Before you set your metrics make sure you understand the economic and social structures in your neighborhood.

LTC Odom on country teams: We met daily as a country team in Rwanda. And we knew what each other were doing. More importantly we shared information on what we learned in our daily contacts and followed up on the resultant leads.

MAJ McDermott on company command: Develop metrics that are not enemy centric. Things like an increase in the presence of children playing soccer, more shops selling goods, increased pedestrian traffic, women going to market are all great things to look at as far as measuring success. If the population feels more secure (a tactical military success), you will see more segments of the population "out and about", then you are winning in COIN. If you see the numbers go down, then you should re-evaluate what you are doing, and engage with your trusted network.

MAJ McDermott on MiTT: You are there for a year, and you are trying to build capability and capacity. You have to continually reassess what is working and what is not. Furthermore, you have to continually reassess if you are still on the correct glide path to success. It is very easy to draw the wrong conclusions from early small successes.

Within this context, what follows are observations from collective experience: the distilled essence of what those who went before learned. They are expressed as commandments, for clarity, but are really more like folklore. Apply them judiciously and skeptically.

David Kilcullen intended his Twenty-Eight Articles, Fundamentals of Company-level Counterinsurgency as a guide for the company commander facing a COIN operation. Since the article first circulated, hundreds of officers have served as company commanders and in other positions in Iraq and Afghanistan. In this article some of those officers comment on how Kilcullen's thinking applied to their mission in theater. Other former or retired Soldiers measure Kilcullen's points against their own experiences in other countries, conflicts, and years. All -- including David Kilcullen -- are members of the community of interest at the Small Wars Journal and Council.

Part II (Articles 6 -- 12).

6. Find a political / cultural advisor. In a force optimized for counterinsurgency, you might receive a political/cultural adviser at company level: a diplomat or military foreign area officer, able to speak the language and navigate the intricacies of local politics.

CPT Kranc on troop command: Why did Special Forces (SF) traditionally conduct unconventional warfare and foreign internal defense missions? Because being culturally astute are SF imperatives in their doctrine. We, in the conventional force, were never trained that way. Good units pulled in people who knew what they were talking about. I remember learning a great deal from Dr. Hashim. Once in theater, I got hooked into a sheik's family who brought me up to speed on the specific cultural do's and don'ts in my area. It helped place my soldiers in my troop on a higher plain of understanding than other units in theater. Our performance and results spoke to that.

CPT Holzbach on platoon leadership: Your interpreter will be your local advisor. You can't trust them with too much info, just for basic OPSEC reasons, but they are priceless sources of local info on cultural norms.

MAJ Custis on battle captains: I found that the contract linguists are a remarkable source of ground-truth information, if you only listen to them. A lot of what they say has to be taken with a grain of salt, because they love rumors, but after you're done with the shaker, they still provide a lot of context. You'd be surprised what you can pick up over a cigarette and cup of tea.

MAJ Thornton on MiTTs: Tag, advisor you are it! Understand that you are your counterparts' advisor on the U.S. and especially U.S. and Coalition Forces. Moreover, you are the CF's advisor on the IA. As an advisor, you will also be called upon to represent your government and possibly to provide insights into your government's actions or possible actions -- have an understanding of your culture (what you like and dislike about it), avoid selling it as "the best"; and understand your politics.

MAJ Sullivan on MiTTs: MAJ Thornton nails it on the head. You are it! Get politically/culturally smart as possible before arriving in theater. Develop a rapport plan during your train-up. Figure out as a team how you are going to gain a better understanding of your unit's culture (both regional and professional) and politics. Again, look to assign different areas to different personnel. You cannot do everything yourself. A rapport plan should break down different responsibilities based on the personalities of your team. If you have a more social NCO versus a Captain, have that NCO do more of your rapport building.

Former Captain Bill Meara on the role of military advisor in Central America: Cultural factors really do form the equivalent of a terrain feature that cannot be ignored. I started crashing up against cultural differences as a twenty year-old in Guatemala. How could those nice people be so cruel to their Indian Cinderella's? Later, my counterinsurgency classroom El Salvador, with my students who insisted on copying every slide and who refused to answer questions unless I'd previously given an answer provided more reminders that sometimes the foreigners really don't think like we do. In that contra rehabilitation center, I observed the inability of even sympathetic Americans to understand Nicaragua's wounded young. And then there was the contra witchcraft meeting, and all that that memorable incident said about the cultural divide that separates us from the world's peasant warriors.

Fluency in foreign languages is the indispensable key to understanding. Even with strong language skills, it is difficult for us to really understand people like the contras—without strong fluency, we have no chance of understanding them. We don't need people like that fellow from Washington who wandered uncomfortably through the contra camp until he found the English-speaking politico from Miami, or the colonel-crat from Ft. Bragg who seemed so proud of his inability to speak Vietnamese. In order to be effective, you need to be able to sit in those late-night clouds of cigarette smoke and coffee fumes and understand the anguished stories of peasant guerrillas. You need to know what they mean when you hear them referring to you as a "chele," and you definitely need to know the difference between hablando paja and haciendo paja! You need to be able to curse like a contra when necessary, and if you want to really understand them, you need to have a level of fluency that lets you feel the same goose bumps they feel when they sing that song about those who've been lost. If you can't do these things, you run the risk of never understanding them, of never seeing them as real, complicated human beings. You will be prone to seeing them as mono-dimensional caricatures, like the stereotyped characters of Doonesbury... From "Contra Cross --- Insurgency and Tyranny in Central America, 1979-1989" by William R. Meara Published by Naval Institute Press, 2006

SFC Reber on teams: I am inclined to cover articles 1 thru 6 under one category. Well informed, prepared and appropriately trained for Goma was the only way Colonel Odom and I made it through. One missing element would have spelled disaster for our two-man team. What he didn't cover, I did and vice versa. Neither of us had the time to check on the other but we knew each other quite well. When we got more help from visiting defense attachés, Colonel Odom placed them in the right spots. In some cases, he had to sort some out and one went home.

MAJ Mark Leslie on advisors: To me this is one if not the key issue in Iraq today. Culturally sensitivity is often viewed as a weakness and when planning combat operations it must be used in the MDMP and mission analysis process. A school-trained cultural advisor per company may be a pipe dream, but does not mean the idea is dead. I believe that it is worth the cost, time, and commitment to train a guy per squad trained as a cultural advisor. This would pay off huge dividends in Iraq. If we cannot do it at the squad, then we need it at the platoon level, perhaps as another additional duty for someone. The person chosen would have to become an expert to the best of his ability. Language proficiency's importance cannot be overstated. Every soldier should know, study, and carry the Defense Language Institute language survival guide. A few words learned a week in train-up and a few words used in conversation on a mission can and will pay huge dividends in a COIN environment.

LTC Odom on country teams: This goes back to point one; never stop seeking knowledge. I sought others' opinions. But be a questioning seeker of such knowledge. I have met FAOs whose actual time on the ground was almost none. I have served with Foreign Service Officers who had years inside a single country but never learned a thing. And on interpreters, always filter what they say to you through the prism of agenda: why are they telling you what they are telling you?

MAJ McDermott on company command: See point one, and then find a local and develop the trusted network. You are going to have to rely on your interpreter and whatever else you might have learned in your education and career. Understand that sometimes your subordinates might know more than you, listen to them.

MAJ McDermott on MiTT: Find a couple of honest broke interpreters. They often can give you some very good insights into what is going on in a unit. Make sure you visit with the soldiers and the NCO's. You can learn a lot about the units morale and capabilities from these guys. Key is developing a relationship with an interpreter to the point that you trust one another with your respective lives because that is what your are really doing in the long run.

7. Train the squad leaders, then trust them. Counterinsurgency is a squad and platoon leader's war, and often a private soldier's war.

CPT Kranc on troop command: On the high intensity battlefield, I, as a troop commander, can maneuver individual sections much easier than the COIN environment. The abilities of my junior leaders are paramount to everything I do. They conduct independent operations. Most of my patrols in my troop were lead by an E5 or E6. I had 3 officers in my troop. They couldn't be everywhere. I, as did my PLs, had to trust my NCOs to do the right thing constant with the commander's intent I wrote.

CPT Holzbach on platoon leadership: Ensure that your NCOs are applying Article 1 before and during the deployment. Make it formal training if you must. It is the nature of NCOs to take pride in their job and their performance of that job. If you make Article 1 part of their job, you'll have squad leaders and patrol leaders who you will be able to trust. Always ask for their advice. Give them a sense of ownership of any particular mission, and then let them execute. This is basic leadership.

MAJ Custis on battle captains: Get your COC people to as much formal and informal training as possible, even if it means foregoing multiple COC exercises. The Battle NCOs may think that steady state operations are mind numbing, but when you have rockets impacting around the COC, troops in contact, and a developing CASEVAC situation, a properly trained NCO truly shines. My battalion had an ops idiot savant who amazed me daily with his ability to pull in COP feeds, re-wire the COC after displacement, and sense when things needed to happen. He was a graduate of an operations specialist course, and it paid off during both deployments.

MAJ Thornton on MiTTs: Advisors on a small team have to be allowed the type of decentralized independence to get things done. Running a MiTT like a rifle company is counterproductive.

MAJ Sullivan on MiTTs: You are a small unit, not a company or platoon. Build trust in your subordinates early and gain a good understanding of both their strengths and weaknesses. Understand their strengths and harness those to gain results. Work on or avoid exposing their weaknesses to your FSFs to both save face on their part and prevent any doubt in your team's competence from bubbling to the surface.

MAJ Mark Leslie on advisors: NCOs and even soldiers make strategic decisions on the battlefield in a matter of seconds. Trusting them to make the right decision is not even a question. That bond of trust and confidence is only developed if we train them, develop them, inform them, and trust them on a daily basis. There is no close-hold information about a sector; you cannot hold back information they may need to make a decision. There simple is no room for micro-management here. Every soldier is a decision maker in COIN.

LTC Odom on country teams: The smallest possible unit is two. There is neither time nor people to allow the luxury of micro-managing a two-person shop in a place like Goma, Zaire or Kigali, Rwanda. I had to first assess that my fellow team members knew their job and then let them do it.

MAJ McDermott on company command: COIN is about decentralized operations this means you are going to have to balance risk against security. If you as a company commander don't have the confidence in you platoons and squads to go out and do great things alone, then you need to take a good look at yourself in the mirror. You have the responsibility to get these guys ready to go out do these missions. If they can't successfully do theirs, you are not going to be successful in yours.

MAJ McDermott on MiTT: A MiTT is basically a squad, MiTT's need to find out one another's strengths are task organize accordingly so that there isn't a drop off in capability while on operations.

8. Rank is nothing: talent is everything. Not everyone is good at counterinsurgency. Many people don't understand the concept, and some who do can't execute it.

CPT Kranc on troop command: Goes back to the rule of thirds that Tom Ricks talks about in Fiasco. Some are really good at COIN, some suck. Some of our best COIN operators are E5s and E4s who are out there every day. They understand how 2nd and 3rd order effects work. They see them up close and personal.

CPT Holzbach: You'll have to work with the soldiers and NCOs Uncle Sam gives you. Many Joes will not "get" counterinsurgency, usually because of inadequate training. You must constantly work to improve this problem by explaining why you're doing whatever it is you're doing. This will be especially difficult if one of your soldiers gets killed. Your platoon will want to take the gloves off. After one of my soldiers was killed, an E-5 I had stated that it would be effective if we dropped HE mortar rounds on one of the neighborhoods until the locals gave up the bad guys. This was mostly just blowing off steam, but you have to cut it off immediately. Explain that such things have been tried before by less civilized nations, and they don't work.

Of equal importance is to seriously examine your own COIN abilities. Just because you're reading this article does not mean you're good at COIN, or will become good at it. If you have an E-3 who really seems talented at this stuff, ask for his opinion. Rank is nothing.

MAJ Custis on battle captains: See article 7. If the square peg won't fit into the round hole, keep searching until you find a fit.

MAJ Thornton on MiTTs: This goes with point 7. I would add that a guy who comes to do one thing might not be very good at that one thing. You must put your round pegs in round holes and your square ones in square holes. Trying to force the issue is a waste of time and talent. Some of my best team members took on responsibilities that fell outside their MOS. We had two fire support NCOs, but little need to call for fire. One proved to be a fantastic collection manager and detainee affairs specialist. The other was very adept at Adobe Photoshop; he became my IO specialist.

MAJ Sullivan on MiTTs: This is an important statement for future advisors to understand. Substitute "advisory work" for "counterinsurgency." Serving as an effective advisor is not for everyone. Just because an officer or NCO has had a successful career up to this point is not an indicator of their ability to advise FSFs. Take a look at the type of person T.E. Lawrence was, a loner, truly in love with the language, culture and with little to no military training. Was his lack of military training a hindrance? On the contrary, it was a huge benefit. Lawrence did not have any of the preconceived notions of "proper" warfare during his time as an advisor to the Bedouin forces. Take a hard look at the character of your team members. If you have someone who just does not "get it", seriously look to replace that team member.

MAJ Mark Leslie on advisors: Once again you have to tailor your teams to your mission profile and the personalities of the team, whatever size element that "team" may be. Some teams are better at some things than others. Waiting until you are in country in a COIN fight is not the place to develop a team. Exploit the apparent strengths of your teams and subtly work on weaknesses if possible. Just tell me what to do and not how to do it and you may be pleasantly surprised.

SFC Reber on teams: Colonel Odom mentioned me several areas on the Small Wars Council. I don't consider what I did extraordinary. Most good NCO and Officer teams can perform equally well, providing they know what they're getting into. Fixing Colonel Odom's phone so it would last for days, scrounging disposable weapons, and running logistics support for the Joint Task Force were all based on my knowledge of the country coupled with the situation at hand.

LTC Odom on country teams: Just as you assess who can do a job and leave them to it, you must weed out those who cannot. COIN and stability operations environments exhibit the strategic compression of action and events. A single talented individual can do wonders; a lesser-talented individual can be disastrous. Working three different languages, Sergeant First Class Reber negotiated and coordinated multi-national use of an over crowded airfield in Goma. A field grade officer I had working for me in contrast ended up going home early when he proved unable to work in that environment.

MAJ McDermott on company command: You have to —to take an honest look at your subordinate leaders. You also have to be —to move people around based on strengths. This means don't let the administrative burden prevent you from doing what needs to be done. That being said, rank does matter. You have to observe your guys and determine who should work with whom in order to offset any large gaps in capability between people (i.e. kick ass team leaders with a week squad leader, etc.).

MAJ McDermott on MiTT: With your partner unit, you have to enable the chain-of-command to develop into an effective tool. This means that you have to look at the long term systemic fix as being the better course of action than the short term immediate fix. A pratfall is utilizing an Iraqi platoon leader over the company commander based on capabilities of the two individuals. You have to empower the leaders, or else you going to create an undisciplined mob that will not fight well. Work with you partner unit in developing and appointing good subordinate leaders. Help your counterpart identify and place into leadership roles those junior officers, non-commissioned officers, and soldiers that should be in positions of responsibility based on merits, not other non-relevant reasons.

9. Have a game plan. The final preparation task is to develop a game plan: a mental picture of how you see the operation developing.

CPT Kranc on troop command: It may be surprising to you that many units go into an area without one. This ties back into points 1-4.

CPT Holzbach: This will rest heavily on your commander's intent. Depending on how much freedom you have to control your own AO, you may need to develop a fairly detailed, long-term plan.

MAJ Custis on battle captains: Treat the deployment as a marathon, not a sprint. Rehearse your actions in garrison and develop a rough plan to support ops in the area of operations, but don't become enamored with that plan. Don't be afraid to employ tricks you pick up during the relief in place and transfer of authority (RIP/TOA). It wasn't until we'd been in country for over four months and had fought the second battle of Fallujah that our battle captain system really started to click and run smoothly. During a RIP in Ramadi, we even stole some tactics, techniques, and procedures from the Army.

MAJ Thornton on MiTTs: Here the advisor helps the counterpart to develop a "vision" with the understanding that you the advisor have a one-year shelf life!

MAJ Sullivan on MiTTs: This starts at your training location. Whether its at Fort Riley or another location, sit down with your team and start building a game plan. Include rapport, culture, advising and team survivability in that plan. Will it change once you get with your unit? Absolutely. Your plan is like a fighting position...you are constantly improving it whenever you have time. But It is better to take the time while in CONUS to develop a plan rather than wait until you are in the 130 degree heat worried about IEDs in country. Start planning EARLY!!!

MAJ Mark Leslie on advisors: It is critical to develop a game plan or vision, but not a rigid one. When reality smacks you in the face, your plan or vision will change once in theater due to a number of competing priorities. Don't resist it, "knowing your neighborhood" means being able to remain flexible and change your priorities based on the needs of your clients-the people of your sector.

LTC Odom on country teams: Anything you do outside a plan is probably reactive or at best opportunistic. As Defense Attaché in Goma, Zaire I had a 6-person team drawn from missions in four different countries. As Defense Attaché in Kigali, Rwanda I wrote an inter-agency campaign for Rwandan recovery plan that was accepted at U.S. European Command. In the same capacity, I made sure that my team --whether my non-commissioned officer assistant and me or a larger group--understood what we were trying to do and how we would seek to do it. The only times that my team and I had problems was when someone got "off plan".

MAJ McDermott on company command: Understand where you make a difference as a Company Commander. Have a plan that will support what you have to achieve in the non-lethal range of operations as an individual against what you have to do as a leader. This means you are going to have to develop what your command team is going to divide up as far as responsibilities. You are going to have to empower subordinates to make decisions in your absence, you have to plan on this. You are going to have to develop a plan based on your pre-deployment training of how you and your company leadership are going to interact with the local leadership. Do you as the commander always take the lead, or are you going to appear for special events in order to increase the bargaining power of your subordinates, and therefore your own bargaining power. You have to develop this plan before you deploy, and you have to make sure all of your subordinates understand it.

MAJ McDermott on MiTT: You have to plan on living with your unit, and sticking to that plan. You might get the opportunity to live elsewhere, you have to avoid the temptation to become a "commuter" advisor by living on an American FOB. The important plan you have as an advisor is realizing that you are not fighting with a US unit, and that you have to plan on reducing the friction between your unit and the American units in the area. Your primary responsibility as a MiTT is increasing your unit's capability. This means that you have to focus your plan on your unit, not the individuals. Define your success on the improvement and success of your unit, not your individual counterpart. For everything else, plan on being flexible.

10. Be there. The first rule of deployment in counterinsurgency is to be there. You can almost never outrun the enemy. If you are not present when an incident happens, there is usually little you can do about it. So your first order of business is to establish presence.

CPT Kranc on troop command: Near and dear to my heart. As a reconnaissance tactics instructor, it's my job to communicate to the force that reconnaissance and surveillance planning and operations work in COIN just like they do in high intensity environments. If you're unable to place effective fires at the critical point and time (which in COIN is 3-7 seconds) you'll lose the engagement. Developing named areas of interest (NAIs) on areas that have high improvised explosive devices (IEDs) and over watching them will eliminate IEDs in given area. Again, goes back to IPB and planning

CPT Holzbach: If you know what's going on in your neighborhood, you can be present for any important local events (if your invited). But this mostly goes back to spending as much time with the locals as is feasible. Living amongst them is the ideal.

MAJ Custis on battle captains: As a battle captain, you can't be there if you are exhausted. Those days will come for sure, but the companies outside the wire deserve better, and if you are starting a 12-hour watch after only fours hours of sleep because you were playing Xbox, then you are simply negligent. Build a duty rotation like Marine Security Guard duty. Try to give the battle staff time off, if possible. At one point when we were in Ramadi for a few months, our rotation had it where the battle captain and his NCO could have 36 hours off, after a 3-day duty period. It keeps everyone rested and maintains his or her sanity. You will need it when the worst days come. Another component to "being there" is to have a semblance of depth. My task force had to split to support the Fallujah fight, and we learned the hard lesson that we did not have enough well-trained battle captains to do so without incurring more risk than we needed to. The senior personnel went forward and the junior guys did a stellar job, but they had to violate the first point in this paragraph.

MAJ Thornton on MiTTs: The fact that our battalion lived in a combat outpost (COP) on key terrain allowed us to influence the population directly and continuously. Out of the entire brigade MiTTs we were the only ones who lived in the same building as our counterparts. This scared many a CF guy who feared we might be compromised. But when somebody had to know what was really going on, we got the call. Finally on tactics random patrolling of contested areas is the next best thing to HUMINT that allows you to get the bad guy in his house the day before he plans to hit a target.

MAJ Sullivan on MiTTs: You MUST embed with your unit. Advisors who "commute" to work do not share the same dangers, hardships and experiences with their unit. Advisors need to be there, 24/7 with their unit. If higher commanders try and unembed your MiTT, jump up and down screaming. Unless there is a verifiable threat against your MiTT, you not only lose most if not all your credibility with your unit, you expose yourselves to increased risk while traveling back and forth to see your unit. Live with them, fight with them!

MAJ Mark Leslie on advisors: Enough cannot be said about living among the population in combat outposts. Our small advisory detachment had had a better feel for our sector, had more informants, and gathered more intelligence than the rest of the task force combined. This is critical in developing an IO campaign, a vision, and objectives during a tour. The populace respects you more and your rapport with them grows as does your credibility.

LTC Odom on country teams: If a tree falls in the forest and no hears it, did it make a noise? Yes. If you are not out and looking at your area of operation, will "trees" fall unheard in your absence? No. The locals will hear them. If you do not get out and look you will never establish what is normal for your area; that means you will never really know what is abnormal.

MAJ McDermott on company command: You have to figure out your battle-rhythm based on what you see as decisive activities. This means you have to accept that you are not going to be as involved in the "exciting stuff" (i.e. hunting down insurgents), as the more important yet mundane and often frustrating roles that you will have to perform based on your rank and responsibility (negotiating with the tribal and local political leaders). You have to understand ahead of time where you can make the biggest difference and enable the greatest level of success.

MAJ McDermott on MiTT: You have to plan on living with your unit. Opportunities might arise to live elsewhere and commute, but you are more effective if you are enduring many of the same conditions that your unit is as well. Don't be a commuter advisor.

11. Avoid knee jerk responses to first impressions. Don't act rashly, get the facts first. The violence you see may be part of the insurgent strategy, it may be various interest groups fighting it out, or it may be people settling personal vendettas. Or, it may just be daily life: "normality" in Kandahar is not the same as in Kansas.

CPT Kranc on troop command: First reports are wrong 95% of the time. Insurgents know when RIP/TOA is happening. Depending on where you are, some lay low and some hammer the new unit. Those laying low can paralyze a new unit into inaction. Going into the game with a plan and sticking to it is better than initial improvisation.

CPT Holzbach: Due to the high impact your face time with the locals creates, you must think shrewdly about what to say and what to do. We're all trained on what to do when under fire, and that's great. But what about when a local asks you to arbitrate some disagreement? Do you strictly enforce the law, even to the detriment of the greater good or your mission? What if the person you rule against is one of your best informants? Is that really wise? Would doing otherwise be favoritism? Would that tarnish your Honor and Integrity? In the often dirty world of COIN, does it even matter? You must think out the impact your words and decisions will have, as much as time permits.

MAJ Custis on battle captains: I'll trump CPT Kranc a bit and say that initial reports are wrong 99% of the time. Every time you press an RTO for more details, the urge to embellish creeps in and reporting morphs into speculation. Give the unit 30 minutes to submit a follow-up report, and preferably after the senior man on the scene has made his assessment of just what the hell happened. In a running gunfight, remember that silence on the net probably means the commander has a helmet fire going on. He is busy...give him some space.

MAJ Thornton on MiTTs: Absolutely! It takes time and effort to understand the AO. Our desire to impose our rules and standards in some ways works against us. This goes back to points 1 and 2.

MAJ Sullivan on MiTTs: This goes for what you see in your FSF unit. Just like good commanders take time to assess the climate in their unit, do not try to make rapid changes to your FSF unit. Also, understand the difference between a cultural norm and a professional military culture. You have to understand what the cultural norm. However, we need to work on a professional military culture which is rooted in that FSFs culture, but also allows that unit to perform its mission, regardless. Take the time to look at your unit from all sides and keep in mind the culture from which they are coming from. Do NOT judge a FSF using U.S. standards. This sets you up not only for disappointment, but also to make rash decisions or snap judgments of your unit.

Former Captain Bill Meara on the role of military advisor in Central America: Regional expertise and experience are obviously important. People working on insurgencies shouldn't be doing so on their first trip to the region. In Yamales I found myself making use of lessons learned as far back as my student days in Guatemala. Insurgency is serious business and amateurs should not be allowed to dabble in it. From "Contra Cross --- Insurgency and Tyranny in Central America, 1979-1989" by William R. Meara Published by Naval Institute Press, 2006.

MAJ Mark Leslie on advisors: Important to keep in mind and instill in your soldiers that "tactical patience" is even more important in COIN than most other environments. Insurgents plan their actions to elicit overreaction on our part. This is part of their strategy and key in their support base.

LTC Odom on country teams: See point 10. Also remember that different cultures define normality differently.

CPT McDermott on company command: CPT Holzbach brought up a lot of good points. As company commander, you have to accept that you are the "adult leadership" on the ground. You have to understand how to balance immediate security fixes against systemic repairs.

MAJ McDermott on MiTT: You have to truly figure out what you are being told. This goes back to understanding your unit. You have to separate legitimate information from hyperbole, listen to what your trusted HN members are telling you. Often your trusted unit members are the first to give you a more accurate report of what happened.

12. Prepare for handover from Day One. Believe it or not, you will not resolve the insurgency on your watch.

CPT Kranc on troop command: We reinvent the wheel on each rotation. It has been said we fought the Vietnam War for one year 11 times, rather than for 11 years. Many units get the RIP/TOA files and paperwork and never look at them again. That's a travesty. Additionally, some units are preparing to RIP/TOA with indigenous forces. That needs to be planned from Day 1.

CPT Holzbach: Don't set up your relief for failure. Teach them everything you know. Don't assume they know anything about the local situation, the country at large, or even COIN in general.

MAJ Thornton on MiTTs: Yes, but in the MiTT case what you want to do is work yourself out of a job. During your RIP/TOA you can make recommendations about where to redistribute effort. We went with electronic products for handover and that worked. But all transitions demand context and even if you do a good handover, that context does not become apparent until the new guys have a chance to understand the problem they face differs from what they expected. If possible bring the new team in on your thoughts prior to their deployment, it will help them get read in.

MAJ Sullivan on MiTTs: Working yourself out of a job is great...but do not expect it to happen on your watch. Work on a continuity file from the first day you get on the job. Keep copies of all your assessments, reports and files on members of your unit. Try and conduct internal (MiTT) AARs, capture these comments and have them accessible to the new team that will eventually take your place, whether in 90 days or a year. This gives your replacements and idea of what steps you have taken, training you have conducted and operations which occurred during your time as an advisor.

MAJ Mark Leslie on advisors: Turnover was on my list of "coulda, shoulda, woulda" things. My biggest regret is that I did not do the electronic version in a legible, coherent, organized manner, mostly due to time issues. I should have made time. I did hand over three "green pocket size, NSN, field books" crammed with information on the sector, informants, caches, and other tips to my successor. All grids were coded for OPSEC but they proved invaluable to him. I wish I had done a better job of keeping a day-to-day journal. I would prefer that from the guy I am doing RIP/TOA with more than an electronic copy.

LTC Odom on country teams: Understand that you will leave and they --the locals--will not. Fight for an effective transition before you go and fight for one when you leave. My longest running "dispute" with headquarters from Rwanda was the need to make the Defense Attaché Office in Kigali permanent. I succeeded. Had I not persisted in that effort, the National Command Authorities' ability to get reliable information on the Congo Wars from 1996 until present (2007) would have been severely crippled. On a related note in the fall of 1994, I was fortunate that the officer who would ultimately replace me in 1996 came out for 60 days to help me. He was and still is a great officer and a great analyst who never stops asking hard questions and seeking harder answers. His very first night in country, I had to tell him to slow down, as we were unlikely to "fix" Rwanda before dinner. Much later he thanked me for that, saying it helped him keep the issues in proper perspective.

MAJ McDermott on company command: Determine what your piece of the bigger picture is, and then determine what you can truly achieve in 15 months. Back on point nine, in developing a game plan, you already know that you are going to perform security/combat operations. You have to figure out what types of realistic objectives that you can establish on other lines of operations. Your PDSS could potentially serve you well in this area.

MAJ McDermott on MiTT: You have to develop an early assessment of your unit. Find out as much as you can before you arrive. WITH YOUR COUNTERPART, establish some realistic goals on where you two would like the unit as far as capabilities are concerned in a year. Explain to your counterpart, that this is not a fixed mark on the wall but a goal. Therefore, adjust accordingly. Furthermore, temper these goals with reality, and reinforce with your counterparts, what activities and actions support reaching the goal. Also develop a draft proposal of the way ahead for the unit after your year is up. Many things can change, but if you have a concept that you can share with your replacement it will help make the transition less painful for all involved, especially for the client unit.

Within this context, what follows are observations from collective experience: the distilled essence of what those who went before learned. They are expressed as commandments, for clarity, but are really more like folklore. Apply them judiciously and skeptically.

David Kilcullen intended his Twenty-Eight Articles, Fundamentals of Company-level Counterinsurgency as a guide for the company commander facing a COIN operation. Since the article first circulated, hundreds of officers have served as company commanders and in other positions in Iraq and Afghanistan. In this article some of those officers comment on how Kilcullen's thinking applied to their mission in theater. Other former or retired Soldiers measure Kilcullen's points against their own experiences in other countries, conflicts, and years. All -- including David Kilcullen -- are members of the community of interest at the Small Wars Journal and Council.

Captain Ryan Kranc, U.S. Army, served as regimental training officer and then a troop commander in 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment in Tal Afar, Iraq; he offers his comments on Kilcullen from the perspective of a troop (company) commander.

Captain Mike Holzbach, U.S. Army, served in a variety of staff positions before taking over the Mortar Platoon of 1-64AR, 3ID in Baghdad from April 05 until Oct 05 during OIF after which he returned to his position on staff.

Major Jon Custis, U.S. Marine Corps, has two tours in Iraq; he comments here as a battle captain in a combat operations center (COC) (tactical operations center) during the second Battle of Fallujah.

Major Robert Thornton, U.S. Army, is just completing a tour as a battalion executive officer and S3 advisor on a Military Transition Team (MiTT) in Mosul, Iraq. He comments on how Kilcullen's points applied to MiTTs.

Major Michael Sullivan, U.S. Army, served on one of the original Advisor Support Teams (AST), the precursor to today's current MiTTs. MAJ Sullivan stood up the 6th Iraqi Army Battalion from scratch, starting in Taji and conducting the majority of the training and operations in Kirkush, Iraq. He is currently working for the Joint Center for International Security Force Assistance in Fort Leavenworth, Kansas and will begin the Advanced Military Studies Program this summer.

Major Mark Leslie, U.S. Army, is currently the Deputy Chief of Training and Organization for the Stryker Transformation Team, FT. Benning, Ga. He is a graduate of OCS and earned a Bachelor of Science in Criminal Justice from Troy State University and is currently pursuing an MBA. Major Leslie has served in numerous Infantry assignments to include: LRS Team Leader, Ranger Instructor, Rifle platoon leader, BN S-4 and multiple Company Commands. He has served in numerous deployments to include Operations Just Cause in Panama, Operations Desert Shield/Storm, and Operation Iraqi Freedom II. He served as an Advisor to the Iraqi National Guard with the 1st Cavalry Division in Iraq.

Major John (Jim) McDermott, U.S. Army, served as rifle company commander in the 4th Infantry division during the initial parts of OIF I in 2003. He then served as a MiTT with the Iraqi Army from January 2005 until January 2006. MAJ McDermott is currently a military liaison and project officer at the States Department's Interagency COIN Initiative in Washington DC and will begin the Advanced Military Studies Program this summer.

Lieutenant Colonel Thomas Odom, U.S. Army, retired in 1996 after 15 years as a Foreign Area Officer for the Middle East and sub-Saharan Africa. His final 30 months was as the U.S. Defense Attaché in Zaire 1993-1994 and then Rwanda 1994-1996. His comments on Kilcullen are from the perspective of the senior military representative on a U.S. embassy country team. Colonel Odom is the author of three books concerning COIN, contingency operations, and unconventional warfare. These include: Leavenworth Paper #14 The Dragon Operations: Hostage Rescues in the Congo 1964-1965, Combat Studies Institute, 1988; Shaba II: The French and Belgian Intervention in Zaire in 1978, Combat Studies Institute, 1993; and Journey into Darkness: Genocide in Rwanda, Texas A&M University Press, 2005. Colonel Odom was also a co-writer with MG Robert Scales and Lieutenant Colonel Terry Johnson on Certain Victory: The U.S. Army in the Gulf War, Government Printing Office, 1993.

Other contributors to this project include:

Former U.S. Army Special Forces Captain William (Bill) R. Meara was a psychological operations advisor in the military advisory group in El Salvador in the 1980s. After leaving the military and joining the Foreign Service, U.S. Department of State, Mr. Meara became the U.S. Ambassador in Honduras' main liaison to the Contras. Mr. Meara recounts those experiences in his book, Contra Cross --- Insurgency and Tyranny in Central America, 1979-1989, published by Naval Institute Press, 2006. His comments in this paper are taken from the conclusions of his book.

Sergeant First Class Stan Reber, U.S. Army, retired after more than 15 years continuous service overseas in the US security assistance and defense attaché system. As the operations coordinator for the US Defense Attaché Office in Kinshasa, Zaire (now the Democratic Republic of the Congo) SFC Reber was cited for his resourcefulness and bravery during two full scale military rebellions in 1991 and 1993 as well as Operation Support Hope in 1994 when he worked with Colonel Odom in Goma.

Lieutenant Colonel Steve Franke, U.S. Army retired from active duty after a career as a Special Forces and Foreign Area Officer. He was the Assistant Army Attaché in Amman, Jordan and has served throughout the Middle East in various capacities.

Part I (Articles 1 -- 5).

1. Know your turf. Know the people, the topography, economy, history, religion and culture.

CPT Kranc on troop command: Very little difference from saying "Conduct IPB"

CPT Holzbach on platoon leadership: Do the book studying before you deploy. Learn what you can all the way from "Who's Mohammad?" to "What impact did the recently deceased or dying government/authority/power structure have on the city I'll be operating in?". Once you're in country, it has to switch to the local situation, and knowledge of that is very time sensitive and specific. It will be best garnered by constant patrolling, living amongst the locals, and talk, talk, talk.

MAJ Custis on battle captains: Kilcullen makes reference to developing a mental model of your area of operations. Try as we might to study imagery, review the maps and gain situational awareness, it took us in excess of three months to realize that battle captains need to physically see the battle space with the naked eye. We eventually caught helicopters, which flew over the turf or went out when the battalion commander went forward to check on the companies.

MAJ Thornton on MiTTs: I would say this is linked to point 2. Diagnose the problem. If you do not understand relationships, people, cultural economics, human terrain and all of those you will only see the symptoms rather than actually diagnosing the problem. You really need to analyze in depth the linkage between your turf and the problems to understand the solutions you must pursue. As advisor you must consider how your counterparts see the problems; failing to do that means you are likely to be ignored.

I would also add that you need to research your area or city. You can do this in discussions with your counterparts about politics, culture, and religion. You can also do some online research and read a few books. If you try to understand the culture and politics based solely on the context of the moment, you are going to misunderstand it. For example, you cannot define normality for Mosul based on its current status. You have to understand what it could be or what it was. .

MAJ Sullivan on MiTTs: This starts way before the MiTT members ever reach Kuwait. As soon as future advisors find out which country their advisor mission will take them, research into where they will serve. There are dozens of books, on-line resources, subject matter experts, etc where you can start to understand ALL the terrains including physical, personal and historical. Although understanding the religion of the people is important, try and delve deeper into the tribal structures both within your foreign security forces (FSF) unit and the area you will operate in. Do not wait until you are in country to start trying to find out your turf.

MAJ Leslie: We called this "knowing your neighborhood". It is imperative that units understand that every sector and every insurgency is different and that "knowing your neighborhood" may require a different skill set in each sector. In an insurgency, as recorded here many times, HUMINT is everything. Knowing your neighborhood is HUMINT. Not only for intelligence but to gauge the demeanor in your neighborhood as well as template possible responses and reactions to planned operations.

LTC Odom on country teams: Whether you are serving as a Defense Attaché as I did, a battle captain or troop commander, you can never know enough about your area of responsibility and you will certainly never know everything. Nothing replaces first hand observation, especially first hand observation backed with an unquenched thirst for knowledge.

MAJ McDermott on company command: IPB, but you have to expand the understanding of "Order Of Battle". You have to do some research and reading on your own beyond what the handy country guide says. Understanding underlying currents and historic examples of the political and economic systems that people utilize will make you more effective. It will also help you generate realistic expectations of what to expect on the ground in your AO, the old human terrain is decisive in COIN concept.

MAJ McDermott on MiTT: You have to know and learn who you are working with. When you are tasked to go on MiTT duty attempt to find out as much as possible before you leave CONUS, this will help you understand who and what you are working with. It will also increase your effectiveness because you can help make the advisor team transition appear more seamless to the Host Nation you are assisting.

2. Diagnose the problem. Once you know your area and its people, you can begin to diagnose the problem.

CPT Kranc on troop command: Looks like Mission Analysis

CPT Holzbach on platoon leadership: At the platoon level, the problem will likely be something along the line of better government services and better security, but not always. These issues will be very specific and will need very specific remedies. The neighborhood full of police and military personnel may be able to protect themselves, but the one without any such residents may not.

MAJ Custis on battle captains: A battle captain's problem is not the same tactical problem a company or platoon faces. He needs to move information (reporting) as quickly as possible, have a clear understanding of what needs to happen when a commanders critical intelligence requirement is tripped, when he must roust the quick reaction force out of the ready room, and which means of communication to use in order to expedite a casualty evacuation request. Battle captains have to share lessons learned and offer ideas, and get the rest of the COC staff in synch so that they do not add to the friction when troops are in contact.

MAJ Thornton on MiTTs: see comments on point 1.

MAJ Sullivan on MiTTs: Agreed. Define the tactical problem. This includes not only determining the easily-seen surface issues, but the deeper undercurrents which will continually shift under you like plates under the Earth's surface. Getting to know both the FSF and the local population will clue you into a few different things. 1) You gain a better understanding on the interaction between the local populace, the insurgents and the local security forces. Don't forget about local police, border guards and facility guards. Just because they may not work for the same Ministry as your unit, they are key players in your AO and will effect operations, interactions and are part of your tactical problem.

MAJ Leslie: I too see this as mission analysis but on a more complicated level. This deals with the human factor. You must look at the insurgents' potential threats and at the same time detail, template, and gauge the response from your neighborhood. Again this comes back to the need to "know your neighborhood".

LTC Odom on country teams: Ignorance combined with hasty decisions often equates to stupidity. Take the time to understand your AO before you start making decisions. As you do make those decisions, you will become the subject matter expert on your area of operations.

MAJ McDermott on company command: You have to do this to support point number one. When you do your analysis and begin to develop your plan. You must have realistic facts and assumptions on what capabilities and capacities that your organization has in order to manage the expectations that you, your subordinates, your higher, and the populace have as to what the problem is and how to fix it.

3. Organize for intelligence. In counterinsurgency, killing the enemy is easy. Finding him is often nearly impossible. Intelligence and operations are complementary.

CPT Kranc on troop command: Companies don't have intelligence sections. Smart and innovative companies have developed intelligence sections that collect and analyze intelligence from the platoons. These ad-hoc sections were more often than not better suited and outperformed BN intelligence sections with actual intelligence MOS soldiers.

CPT Holzbach on platoon leadership: It's been said before and for good reason: everyone is an intelligence gatherer. The individual soldier will have his hands full with providing security, but rarely so much that he cant spare a moment to smile and say a few greeting words to the people around him. This can encourage a local who may be unsure if he really wants to talk to us. If he does, it should become the patrol leader's job to do the talking at that point. And now that single Joe just played a big part in adding a piece to the puzzle. Now it's up to the patrol leader to squeeze every drop of info possible from the source.

MAJ Custis on battle captains: The critical detail here is that COC staff needs to be organized to maximize the capture of information for analysis. Do not let the S-2 (Intelligence) staff stray out of reach of your daily battle rhythm. Because current operations and intelligence sections often report what should be the same information, up two separate paths, patrol, raid, and contact debriefs must be conducted with S-3 and S-2 representation. The patrol leader may conduct a more detailed debrief later with the intelligence rep, but ops has to reserve the right to final review of follow-on reporting offered up by the S-2. The night battle captain at regiment has queried me on significant events tidbits that the regiment briefed but regiment operations did not know. It is an unnecessarily painful experience.

MAJ Thornton on MiTTs: As an advisor this also means collecting information about your counterparts. I did this openly, telling my counterparts up front that I was collecting on them. It was not a surprise to them; certainly they had assumed all along this would happen. I also assumed they collected on me. The key point was that getting it out in the open let all of us know where we stood and actually created a stronger relationship.

As for the collection and analysis on anti-Iraqi forces (AIF) and others, I concentrated on building trust by following through on issues. As I helped the Iraqi Army (IA), they helped us. Before long, we had the coalition forces (CF) in our intelligence cycle as well. Timely dissemination of relevant information allowed different analysts to turn it into intelligence. At first it was hard to establish the right linkages, but after networking I knew who the relevant players were in both the IA and CF. In that regard I was a middle man as much as analyst.

MAJ Sullivan on MiTTs: You are working with the greatest intelligence-gathering tool available in theater...indigenous forces! You will most likely have to rely exclusively on your interpreter to not only translate for you, but to clue you in on attitudes, hidden meanings and local variations on speech to appraise how your FSF are doing with gather intelligence. MiTTs are in a good position to leverage intelligence between coalition and FSFs. As a U.S. military member, you'll have access to places and intelligence your local counterpart may not have. On the other hand, your HUMINT gathering capability with your local troops is much greater than any asset U.S. forces have available. You will work both sides of the fence to help each unit out. In the end though, it is up to the MiTTs to serve as the conduit to the U.S. commanders regarding a current, local assessment on operations.

MAJ Mark Leslie as an advisor: I agree wholeheartedly with Maj Thornton. As an advisor, you must organize and prepare for intelligence because you are going to be flooded with it. The hard part is the sorting and filtering as well as classification before it simply inundates you. Our team was always better informed than anyone else in the Task Force because we lived with the populace, saw them every day, and had established a rapport based on the understanding that our best interests were their best interests. Daily information sharing is important across the whole team; it gives everyone a chance to compare notes and is often very revealing. Each unit should do this in whatever format suits them best.

LTC Franke on advisors: In serving as a contract-training advisor to an Arab military, setting rules of engagement with counterparts was important. Last month, I was on a MTT to train, advise, and coach, the staffs of a separate brigade with a mission to secure key facilities in an outlying province. My team briefed that we normally based our training and practical exercises on intelligence preparation of the battlefield and the military decision making process on a standard scenario set elsewhere. It was sort of like saying "Your brigade needs to plan and exercise on Fort Riley, even if your brigade is based in Germany." After we pitched that generic scenario in the initial coordination meeting, the brigade commander--a Major General--said that he reported directly to his country's leaders. He added that his troops and time were precious, and therefore, training on an unrealistic and artificial scenario "would not fly." Instead he demanded IPB and MDMP training using his actual contingency missions.

With that, he turned to his S2 and directed the S2 to provide our team the brigade's controlled-distribution maps and associated intelligence estimates, overlays, and other data. I actually signed for each sheet. As the intelligence trainer I was given complete access to this unit's war plans. The brigade commander--a Fort Leavenworth graduate--told the S2 to tell us anything we wanted to know that related reasonably to "mission training." It was an intelligence collector's dream.

But I was there as an advisor. The S2 and I achieved a delicate, discreet and productive balance. I declined to take detailed notes, and I only accepted whatever paperwork he or his Assistant S2 wrote down and provided about his unit. He was a master of the art of "say nothing and mean it" and an initial defensive "conspiracy of courtesy," which dissipated over time. At the end of the exercise, the S2 retrieved his maps and gratefully claimed our various overlays, offering many "thank you very too much indeeds" and put them in his safe until we returned for another iteration.

We were flabbergasted at receiving such access and cooperativeness, as was the resident detachment of U.S. Army advisors to the brigade. They said they had never seen any overlays nor had they ever discussed the brigade's actual mission sets.

Bottom line is that until discreet ROE and related appropriate guidance are resolved about normal and incidental collection and (un-normal) external reporting, we contract trainers strictly and strongly "stay in our lanes" to build, protect and sustain our two-way relationships with our counterparts.

LTC Odom: Most attachés grasp that they are intelligence officers and that their shop is an intelligence-gathering unit. Many attachés do not understand that they are also intelligence analysts; my goal as a Defense Attaché was to provide analyzed intelligence to consumers in the rear or on the ground. If you stick to merely reporting what happened, you are leaving it up to someone else to explain why it happened. If you were indeed the subject matter expert on your AO, why would you leave such explanations to lesser-qualified people?

MAJ Thornton's point on collecting on counterparts is especially relevant. I used a similar technique; I told my counterparts in Rwanda that I was there to help the U.S. government better understand what was happening. In doing that I would be reporting on our efforts--and if they wanted to make certain points clear to me, I would insure that their views went forward.

MAJ McDermott on company command: You have to ensure that you put good soldiers in your company and HQ. Don't let it become a dumping ground for marginal; performers from the platoons, even the drivers. These soldiers have to be able to help connect the dots as treports come in from the platoons. They also have to be smart enough to recognize when they are hearing "good info", and how that should trigger them contacting higher if the information is critical. You have to focus on every soldier as a collector. You have too make sure these guys are paying attention to the details of their surroundings, like patterns of activity amongst the locals, and changes in the physical environment. You have to help them develop TTP's for talking with locals and receiving information from locals that does not enable an insurgent to take revenge on the cooperative individual and thus intimidate the rest of the populace.

MAJ McDermott on MiTT: We have to determine how we are going to resource intelligence collection and analysis for the MiTT. The host nation forces, in my case Iraqi, are the greatest gathers of intelligence on the battlefield. They understand the area and its problems. We have to organize and develop methods that enable their intelligence to be acted upon. Often this intelligence is stuff they picked up while home on vacation. We have to develop methods that enable this intelligence to be distributed, verified, and acted upon when this intelligence affects other units outside the Iraqi or partner U.S. units' AOs. Example, if the soldier is from Ramadi, and he is based at Taji, comes off vacation in Ramadi with intelligence about Ramadi, how does that intel go from MND-B to MND-W.

4. Organize for interagency operations -- Almost everything in counterinsurgency is interagency.

CPT Kranc on troop command: in your typical mission rehearsal exercise, a company doesn't even touch inter-agency operations. In theater, maximizing the effectiveness of inter-agency operations, particularly in the realm of civil-military projects, can make or break your combat tour.

CPT Holzbach on platoon leadership: You'll be patrolling with the likes of civil affairs and who knows what else. Be ready to learn from them and provide the support they need to accomplish their mission. A good relationship with them can pay big dividends down the road, such as being able to "borrow" that soldier who can speak Arabic. He can listen to local chatter on the streets when the people think they're out of earshot of your interpreter.

MAJ Custis on battle captains: Even if the battle captain doesn't organize anything regarding interagency operations, he should know where these folks live, and stop by for a chat when they are on the forward operating base. A fellow battle captain and task force information operations officer introduced me to the civil affairs headquarters responsible for our AO. A couple of visits helped us explain matters to the company commander who was justifiably frustrated that his recommended pump house project hadn't seen movement for several weeks.

MAJ Thornton on MiTTs: This one was a work in progress. I was just getting to know the provincial reconstruction team (PRT) and some of the other players. The MiTTs are not Adapted for this. I recommend an additional smart guy at say the brigade or division MiTT level to become the inter-agency coordinator. I did this by default but never as much as I wanted.

MAJ Sullivan on MiTTs: This is especially hard for a small MiTT element, especially if you are operating in a remote location. Find out who the State Department reps are (if any), NGOs operating in your AO, and make points of contact with your attached coalition unit. They have the resources to conduct the liaisons with interagencies. Harness what you can based on your location, your communications architecture and the availability of interagency personnel operating where you are. During your MiTT training, see if you can get out into the local government agencies to gain a better understanding how SWEAT-MS works in our country. Parcel out your team to familiarize themselves with trash removal, sewage systems, water companies, electric companies, police stations, etc. This will pay big dividends later on.

MAJ Mark Leslie on advisors: Interagency coordination is a plus, but one often overlooked and not planned for in train up. Preparing for this prior to deployment and designating one team member for this is key. Consider having functional areas: give a staff Captain the additional duty of the "garbage guy" and another that of "water guy" and so on. Place one person in charge to coordinate the effort and develop a training plan would help out when doing interagency coordination. Talking intelligently to these agencies and having a narrow field of fire when requesting assistance is conducive to cooperation.

LTC Odom on country teams: Throw a rock in a place like Goma, Zaire during Operation Support Hope and you would probably hit an international aid worker, a soldier, or a refugee. Get the rock to skip a bit and you would probably tag all three. The international worker could have come from a long list of countries or agencies. The soldier could have been Rwandan, Zairian, French, British (in mufti), or Irish (also in mufti). The same was true inside Rwanda only with greater United Nations representation. The program that worked all available avenues was the program most likely to succeed.

MAJ McDermott on company command: Be —to provide combat power to secure these guys when they go do their interagency "thing". You also have to be aware that the interagency might not show up in a timely manner. That means that you need to think about what you can accomplish with organic resources in these areas because a little goes a long way. Make sure these plans have the ability to be handed to off to whoever with minimal heartburn for all involved. Be prepared to provide resources that enable reaching the agreed upon endstate that the interagency folks just don't have.

MAJ McDermott on MiTT -- Help your unit establish cooperative programs with other security forces owned by other ministries in your area. Encourage your Iraqi counter-part to develop rapport with the various police organizations operating in his Area of Operations.

5. Travel light and harden combat service support (CSS).

CPT Kranc on troop command: It doesn't take a Rhodes scholar to see that CSS convoys were getting hammered right off the bat (remember PVT Lynch). We didn't do a good job in training our logisticians to fight on the roads. Conversely, for every tank or Bradley with a good load plan in theater I saw eight "gypsy" wagons for tanks with all kinds of crap hanging off them that their crew would never use. Store what you don't use.

CPT Holzbach on platoon leadership: NCOs must enforce common sense equipment load out plans whether mounted or dismounted.

MAJ Custis on battle captains: All I can speak to is the travel light piece, and you've got to maintain the ability to revert to pens, maps, and acetate to fight the fight. For hardening, don't let digital communications rest on a single point of failure. Test back-up systems regularly.

MAJ Thornton on MiTTs: Using a hierarchical supply system does not work especially well; we coined the term "Wal-Mart Logistics" to describe the blend of local economy and regional support units (RSUs) that seems to work best. As for traveling light, my kit looked much different on the way out than it did on the way in; I'd stripped to one magazine in the weapon, with a ready magazine set up on the side, a bandolier with six extras in the truck, my side plates, and a PRC 148. I also had my 9mm with one extra magazine, helmet, and body armor.

MAJ Sullivan on MiTTs: Think about your load plan while going through training, not once you get in theater. As a MiTT, you are alone and unafraid while out with your Iraqi unit. There is not a better potential propaganda coup for the bad guys than to capture a U.S. Advisor. Plan to sustain yourself long enough to either a) reach the nearest coalition FOB or b) wait until help arrives.

MAJ Mark Leslie on advisors: Travel light is good, but tailoring the load to the mission is better. No need to "need and not have" when mounted. It is always better to have and not need with some common sense. If you tailor your load according to the operation and pre-package the rest for an "on the spot" delivery if needed, it is a safer method. I agree with the train of thought on "don't rely solely on technology". Carbon paper, grease pencils, alcohol pins, and a good old-fashioned paper maps are what I used daily. I could share these with my Iraqi counterparts, and could distribute them easily and quickly, no matter what my digital status.

LTC Odom on country teams: Travel light is good but traveling with a verified packing list is better. The most likely person to forget something is the solitary traveler. Traveling light does not mean going without communications, necessary supplies, and means of protection. It also means arming oneself with the latest information possible. Those who travel without a "flight plan" cannot even hope for assistance. I can attest personally that two brains are better than one when it comes to this type planning; I could communicate with the Joint Staff via cellular phone for hours from Goma, Zaire because my NCO jerry-rigged satellite communications batteries to work on a DC adaptor.

MAJ McDermott on company command: Optimize your load plans based on having to execute 72 hours of operations without resupply. Focus on necessities not "nice to haves". Understand that you going to have to provide combat power to support LOGPAC operations outside of secure areas. Furthermore, manage your platoons so that maintain a good rotation plan that doesn't compromise your security when conducting resupply operations.

MAJ McDermott on MiTT: Always have plan on having 96 hours of nothing but host nation forces. Always have a retrograde plan that factors only the advisors executing. This might appear drastic, but you have to have a plan. Travel heavy as advisors, because you are going to have be very self-reliant out and about.

Professor Luttwak is a famous defense policy expert, with publications on the Roman Empire, nuclear strategy, coups d'état and globalization, among others. He is not a specialist in counterinsurgency, but his opinions carry much weight and we should all welcome his recent foray into the field. I hope he will forgive this précis, but in essence he argues that "insurgents do not always win, actually they usually lose. But their defeats can rarely be attributed to counterinsurgency warfare, as we shall see". The means he argues are most effective (but does not himself advocate, of course) are wholesale reprisals and "out-terrorizing" the insurgents.

The first part of the article is a critique of the new counter-insurgency manual, FM 3-24. As Dr Luttwak acknowledges, he is actually critiquing the so-called "straw-man" draft (leaked onto the internet in early 2006) not the final version published last December (about three months before his Harper's piece appeared). This is a pity, because the official version differs substantially from the straw-man he critiques.

For example, Dr Luttwak criticizes the draft's focus on legitimacy as a means to popular consent, suggesting that coercion makes up for lack of consent: "government needs no popular support when it has obedience". If he had seen the final version he may have been more comfortable with these words (from Chapter 1):

All governments rule through a combination of consent and coercion...Legitimacy makes it easier for a state to carry out its key functions.... "police states" typically cannot regulate society or can do so only by applying overwhelming coercion. Legitimate governance is inherently stable; the societal support it engenders allows it to adequately manage the internal problems, change, and conflict that affect individual and collective well-being. Conversely, governance that is not legitimate is inherently unstable; as soon as the state's coercive power is disrupted, the populace ceases to obey it.

Some other comments seem based on incomplete information. Dr Luttwak observes that "better government...is certainly wanted in France, Norway and the United States but obviously not in Afghanistan or Iraq, where many people prefer indigenous and religious oppression". This differs markedly from my field experience in both countries. One night last summer, a member of a tribe that sits astride the Afghan-Pakistan border told me: "you want to bring us 'democracy' at the national level, but we already have democracy within the khel. What we want from the government is security, honor, justice and prosperity. If anyone offers us those things, we will fight for him to the death. If democracy only brings elections, what use is it?" In my experience, this is a fairly widespread view in both Afghanistan and Iraq. It reflects cultural differences in the way social groups conceive of the state, and varying notions of democracy and legitimacy. But ordinary Iraqis and Afghans have told me repeatedly that they want effective government that is responsive to people's needs. This is legitimate government, defined through their (emic) terms of justice, honor and responsiveness, not our (etic) categories of parliamentary elections and English common law.

Dr Luttwak argues that "the vast majority of Afghans and Iraqis, assiduous mosque-goers, illiterates or at best semi-illiterate, naturally believe their religious leaders" (who, Dr Luttwak suggests, incite violence with claims that America seeks to destroy Islam and control oil resources). Again, this is at variance with field observation. In fact, neither Iraqis nor Afghans are particularly assiduous mosque-goers. And religious figures are prominent on all sides of both conflicts, in moderate and extreme political groups; there is an extremely wide range of clerical opinion, ranging from quietism through support for democratic government, to extremism. More fundamentally, in these societies, religious faith is not a function of ignorance and credulity, as Dr Luttwak implies, but a widespread cultural norm that infuses all social classes, political orientations and education levels. Indeed, this is one criticism of FM 3-24 that others (including Ralph Peters) have raised, arguing that it minimizes the role of religion. Again, this is a valid criticism of the leaked straw-man, but was addressed in the final version.

In his discussion of intelligence work, Dr Luttwak draws a sharp distinction between intelligence problems and political problems, criticizing the manual for insufficiently addressing political issues. In my view, this is a fair point (though, again, the final version includes much more discussion of political factors than the unofficial draft). The U.S. government is currently preparing a whole-of-government counterinsurgency handbook, which will address political issues more fully.

Dr Luttwak's point about sectarian tendencies in security forces is useful. I am unsure when Dr Luttwak was last in Afghanistan, so he may have more recent information than me. But my impression of the Iraqis I work with now, and the Afghans I worked with last year, is that though such tendencies are real, the presence of U.S. forces, joint operations, and partnership of police with soldiers, provide "checks and balances" that mitigate them. And the growing professionalism of security forces is reducing these tendencies, particularly in Afghanistan. That is, in fact, the point of the Joint Security Stations, which resulted in a large drop in sectarian violence in areas of Iraq where they have been applied. So we may end up making some progress on this issue.

We have also had some success addressing Dr Luttwak's concerns about language proficiency. He writes of the "astonishing linguistic incapacity" of the U.S. military, comparing unfavorably the number of Arabic students at defense language institutes with historical training efforts in Chinese and Japanese. Again, he may not have the latest information on this. According to the Defense Language Institute, by 2005 there were over 300 Arabic instructors and more than 1000 Arabic students in training—a ten-fold increase since before 9/11. Language skills are still too rare in the field, but I have seen steady improvement in the past few years. The new manual pays a great deal of attention to developing and improving cultural and language capabilities.

More importantly, Dr Luttwak implies that only indigenous forces can do counterinsurgency, because only they have the local knowledge, cultural understanding and language ability to work effectively. I could not agree more: imagine how Californians would react if the Iraqi military tried to police the streets of Los Angeles. Commanders in Iraq and Afghanistan also agree, and have made major efforts all along to train local forces to do the job themselves. In addition, the partnership of Iraqi or Afghan forces with U.S. units in the field today gives commanders immediate access to cultural and linguistic understanding from local partners, while U.S. forces reinforce them (Iraqis use the term thabit) and help them ensure that their behavior accords with legal and human rights standards. Local forces are crucial, which is why the manual emphasizes partnership so heavily.

Another benefit of working alongside locals, right in the heart of an operating area, is that it encourages the population to report on the insurgents. Dr Luttwak argues that "many of the local inhabitants certainly know who the insurgents are...but they are not telling". Actually, they now are. Every U.S. unit that has applied the new manual's approach, living among the people and focusing on their security, has reported a flood of unsolicited tips from the population and volunteering of information about insurgents.

Having knocked the stuffing out of the straw-man, Dr Luttwak suggests an "easy and reliable way of defeating all insurgencies everywhere": essentially, to "out-terrorize" insurgents through reprisals, mass executions, and collective punishments. He cites German forces in the Second World War, claiming this approach was standard, "and very effective it was too in containing resistance movements with very few troops". Again, I beg to differ. One German officer on the Eastern Front remarked: "the German Army in Russia was like an elephant attacking a nest of ants. The elephant will kill millions. But in the end the ants will eat him to the bone". German methods in Yugoslavia, Greece and Russia proved extremely counterproductive. And as Barbara Tuchman argued in The Guns of August, earlier German brutality against civilians in Belgium and France in 1914 helped provoke worldwide revulsion, contributing to eventual American intervention and German defeat in the First World War. (These are historical observations, of course, and do not in any way impugn modern Germany or today's Bundeswehr).

The methods Dr. Luttwak mentions are thus not a prescription for success, but a recipe for disaster. As he quickly admits, U.S. and Coalition forces would never consider such methods for a moment. And this is just as well, since this approach does not work. The best method we know of, despite its imperfections, has worked in numerous campaigns over several decades, and is the one we are now using: counterinsurgency. I admit (and have argued elsewhere) that classical counterinsurgency needs updating for current conditions. But the Nazis, Syrians, Taliban, Iranians, Saddam Hussein and others all tried brutalizing the population, and the evidence is that this simply does not work in the long term.

Dr. Luttwak's final point is one of his strongest. He argues that there is ambivalence in the United States approach, that America is "—to start wars because of future projected threats...—to conquer territory or even entire countries, and yet is un—to govern what it conquers, even for a few years". What he calls "the critical ambivalence of occupiers who refuse to govern" is indeed worth discussing, though it is properly an issue of political will, strategic culture and national character, rather than counterinsurgency technique. As a colleague said to me in Iraq last year, "we need to either make a serious effort to govern these people, or get the hell out". But Iraq and Afghanistan now have sovereign governments; and we (with many other countries) are helping these governments to do exactly that—make a serious effort to govern their people effectively. And we have no plans for permanent presence: as the President said, we will stay as long as we are needed, and not a day longer.

Overall, I found Professor Luttwak's viewpoint fascinating, and a thought-provoking addition to our ongoing professional discussion, but ultimately not quite convincing. Perhaps that's just me—things do tend to look different, and more complicated, from here in the field. But I would encourage people to read both the Harper's piece, and the actual final version of FM 3-24, and make up their own minds. On-the-ground facts (like language improvements, partnering with Iraqi forces, the drop in sectarian violence, joint operations, and improved governance) are also worth taking into account.

None of this means we will automatically win in Iraq and Afghanistan; unlike some pundits, most of us with a professional background in counterinsurgency always expected this to be a forbiddingly difficult undertaking. Our approach remains fundamentally field-oriented and evidence-based, and clearly there are still many things that could go wrong, dark days ahead, and extremely demanding and complex challenges to be faced, as in every war. Admittedly, also, we waited a long time before adopting our current approach, which inevitably makes things harder. And as John Nagl so convincingly demonstrated, our counterinsurgency doctrine will undoubtedly need ongoing and agile adaptation as things develop. But to suggest that counterinsurgency is intrinsically flawed, that it is "malpractice", or that wholesale slaughter and oppression are the only viable solution (albeit one that we will never apply) is an argument that the facts simply do not support.

Dr. David Kilcullen is Senior Counter-Insurgency Advisor to the Commanding General, Multi-National Force Iraq. Though authorized to post at SWJ Blog, these are his personal views, do not reflect those of any government or organization, and have not been screened or vetted.

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SWJ Editors Note: Small Wars Council discussion: Edward Luttwak - Counterinsurgency as Military Malpractice

Several odds and ends from the Small Wars Journal and Council...

Bing West is off to Iraq again to research his next OIF / Telic book -- Do or Die. The third in his Iraq 'trilogy' (The March Up and No True Glory are one and two), Do or Die will focus on recent developments concerning our counterinsurgency efforts and prospects for the future. Here is a link to a recent National Review commentary by Bing also titled Do or Die. We are anticipating several blog reports from Bing while in-country.

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Bill Nagle (my SWJ / SWC partner in crime) and I spent a pleasant afternoon several weeks ago in the Washington D.C. radio studio of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation. We were there to be interviewed by Stan Correy of Background Briefing on a range of Small Wars related subjects to include on-line 'communities of interest', lessons learned -- or not learned, Dave Kilcullen, counterinsurgency... Our segment is part of a show scheduled to be broadcast on 15 April - Iraq: New Team, New Strategy, New Tensions.

"America has a new policy for Iraq: soft power. It's cultural counterinsurgency. Possibly too little too late, it may even be impossible. Americans don't speak the language, and don't understand the many cultures."

We have no idea on which portions (if any) of our interview may be used.

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Recent Small Wars Council threads you should be reading -- and sharing your insights on:

Fighting for the Soul of Islam

3 Generals Spurn the Position of War "Czar"

Attitudes Towards the Media

Islamic Army of Iraq Denounces Al-Qaeda in Iraq

Beyond Lies in American Food Aid: The Dead Bodies

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