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Languages : en
Pages : 66
Book Description
Prior to the Second World War, the Army had a deeply engrained facility with and acceptance of what we now term unconventional warfare -- raising, training, advising and cooperating with tribal militias, local paramilitaries, and other non-state armed groups. This culture of irregular warfare stemmed from nearly 300 years of American military tradition, from the colonial period until 1941, and was based on extensive experience in cooperating with Native American tribes and individual scouts during the expansion of the western frontier. These traditions of unconventional war reached maturity in the years of fighting on the western plains after the Civil War, and were given ultimate expression in the creation of the Philippine Scouts at the beginning of the twentieth century. Since World War Two the wider military has lost this expertise and comfort with unconventional operations, with the Special Operations community taking on the sole proprietorship of this role. Given the variety of political environments in which today's conventional soldiers may find themselves, and the current nature of conflicts ongoing and likely to occur in the world, the Army as a whole can and must regain this formerly held culture of facility with irregular war.