International records / OpenAlex research

Preparing for Irregular Warfare: The Future Ain't What It Used to Be

Abstract : Contrary to doctrine and direction, the Air Force's actions make clear that it does not consider IW a priority. It's now fashionable in the Pentagon for airpower advocates to dismiss COIN as the last and call for an all-out push for modernization to prepare for war with a technologically sophisticated peer or near-peer enemy. Despite an inability to predict our involvement in insurgencies after the initial phases of Operations Enduring Freedom or Iraqi Freedom, the Air Staff appears confident that such insurgencies will not occur again. Yet, of the 14 major conflicts raging in the s…