Unconventional Warfare: One Military View

Abstract

Unconventional warfare—itself part of the broader area known as special warfare—encompasses guerrilla warfare, escape and evasion, and conduct of subversion against hostile states during wartime. The specific modes of uncon ventional warfare pursued depend upon the general war con text. Although nuclear war or large-scale conventional war would produce opportunities for unconventional warfare ac tivity, the brush-fire war and cold war situations currently bring guerrilla and counterguerrilla actions into constant inter play. The unconventional, or Special Forces, soldier differs from the conventional soldier in degree; as well as being skilled in weaponry, demolition, communications, and medical aid and sanitation, he must possess high integrity and loyalty, tolerance, endurance, and stability, and he must be capable of decision and leadership in an alien environment. The United States counterinsurgency concept contemplates aggressive operations ranging from civil actions to fill voids into which communism could move to actual participation in guerrilla-hunting beside Free World colleagues whom the United States has helped train. The power of special warfare as an instrument lies more in the surging force of human will and values than in weaponry. In terms of allocation of manpower, training time, and resources, all military logic indicates a rising importance of special warfare as a part of any of the types of conflict in which the United States is likely to become involved.