1.

Record Nr.

UNINA9910696247003321

Autore

Campbell J. D (James D.)

Titolo

"Making riflemen from mud" [[electronic resource] ] : restoring the Army's culture of irregular warfare / / James D. Campbell

Pubbl/distr/stampa

[Carlisle Barracks, PA] : , : [Strategic Studies Institute, U.S. Army War College], , [2007]

Descrizione fisica

v, 29 pages : digital, PDF file

Collana

Carlisle papers in security strategy

Soggetti

Scouts (Reconnaissance)

Scouting (Reconnaissance) - United States

Indian scouts - United States

Counterinsurgency - United States - History

Guerrilla warfare - United States - History

Special forces (Military science) - United States - History

Asymmetric warfare

Civil-military relations - United States

Lingua di pubblicazione

Inglese

Formato

Materiale a stampa

Livello bibliografico

Monografia

Note generali

Title from title screen (viewed on Nov. 9, 2007).

"October 2007."

Nota di bibliografia

Includes bibliographical references (pages 23-29).

Sommario/riassunto

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.