HYBRID WARFARE AND IRREGULAR WARFARE

摘要

I would like to commend the Honorable Robert Wilkie and Col John Jogerst, USAF, retired, for their excellent, thought-provoking articles on hybrid warfare ("Hybrid Warfare: Something Old, Not Something New," Winter 2009) and irregular warfare ("Preparing for Irregular Warfare: The Future Ain't What It Used to Be," Winter 2009), respectively. In response to the shift from conventional warfare to hybrid warfare and irregular warfare, both authors argue for the need to improve the Air Force's conventional capabilities in support of counterinsurgency (COIN). Although, as Jogerst observes, the value of airpower in COIN is indisputable, the Air Force continues to struggle in communicating its role and contribution to the joint fight in COIN. I agree with them and recognize the Air Force's communication struggle, but I am deeply concerned that focusing on airpower's contribution to COIN will further divert national attention from strategies involving the use of air-power to achieve national objectives at much lower costs.