Irregular Warfare - A Whole-of-government Approach to Complex Operations
Booz Allen guides clients through a whole-of-government approach to complex operations.
One of the central security challenges confronting the nation for the foreseeable future is something called irregular warfare.
Booz Allen’s Glenn Lawson is an expert in irregular warfare (IW), having spent 24 of his 27 years in the Army in Special Operations. As a strategic planner for the Department of Defense (DoD) Joint Staff, he helped write the National Military Strategic Plan for the War on Terrorism, and played a part in expanding the role of the US Special Operations Combatant Command (USSOCOM) to meet its post-9/11 responsibilities.
Boozallen.com spoke with Lawson about irregular warfare and how Booz Allen is helping clients understand and be ready to address this new reality.
boozallen.com: First give us a better idea of what IW is and how it differs from traditional warfare.
Lawson: Traditional warfare involves state-controlled militaries either defeating opposing militaries in open battle or by seizing terrain to force their capitulation. The population was not considered a major factor in the conflict and would be forced to accept whichever side won the war. But with increasing frequency we've seen that even if you defeat the military on the battlefield, even if you seize the enemy’s capital or country, this singular focus on defeating the adversary in battle may not assure you of victory.
Instead, irregular warfare focuses not just on defeating irregular threats; it also highlights the need to focus more broadly on the role that the population plays in these types of conflicts. Gaining an understanding of the population at the local, national, and regional level helps the planner create a better strategy for preventing conflict, or if necessary, to mitigate the influence that these irregular adversaries have over the relevant population. While irregular warfare frequently requires military action directly against an adversary, military action alone will not be sufficient to win these irregular conflicts. It requires a holistic approach utilizing all elements of our national power, as well as those of our partners. These whole-of-government efforts—also called complex operations—are becoming the new normal for the future.
Being successful in IW requires a long-term, persistent commitment. We have to better understand the population and their grievances, and use both direct and indirect means to achieve success, such as supporting the civil government, training and advising host nation security forces, building infrastructure, and buoying the local economy.
boozallen.com: Some of those sound like responsibilities of the civil and business sectors. How does that involve the DoD?
Lawson: While it's not traditionally the DoD’s role to conduct these activities themselves, there are many ways the military can support the efforts of the civil and business sectors. For instance, in many cases, lawlessness and banditry impede the work of civil and humanitarian agencies, such as the US Agency for International Development, that are trying to help steady and grow a country’s economy. The DoD can train security forces to help combat lawlessness, air lift needed supplies, or provide engineering expertise for civic projects.
boozallen.com: So Booz Allen’s irregular warfare services are part of the firm’s Mission Integration initiative because the challenge is to help the defense, civil, security, and other sectors collaborate across their mission areas?
Lawson: That’s correct. IW cannot be fought by the military only. Understanding and dealing with this new operational reality will require a coherent, whole-of-government approach. Mission Integration helps key stakeholders develop a common understanding of these irregular challenges, build a more common framework for action, and identify opportunities to better integrate their efforts.
boozallen.com: What is Booz Allen’s history of working on irregular warfare?
Lawson: Booz Allen initiated this effort to define IW by drafting a Future Operating Concept, Waging Irregular Warfare, in 2005. Later that year, Booz Allen was asked by the USSOCOM and the Office of the Secretary of Defense (OSD) to host a series of workshops designed to advance the Department’s understanding of irregular warfare and its impact upon the future operating environment. Our workshop findings were used to shape the 2006 Quadrennial Defense Review (QDR) Report, which placed increased emphasis on addressing irregular challenges. Upon completion of the QDR, Booz Allen helped OSD develop, coordinate, and manage implementation of the DOD IW Execution Roadmap designed to track the Department’s efforts to institutionalize IW. Our Future Operating Concept also created a baseline for Booz Allen support of the USSOCOM and US Marine Corps co-development of a Multi-Service Concept for Irregular Warfare in 2006, followed by the development the Department’s first IW Joint Operating Concept (JOC), which was approved by the Secretary of Defense in 2007. Since then, we have helped the USSOCOM develop three supporting Joint Integrating Concepts related to IW, and conducted the Department’s first IW capabilities based assessment. We are now supporting the effort by USSOCOM and US Joint Forces Command to develop Version 2.0 of the IW JOC.
So we were there when the ideas about irregular warfare were born, and we have been at the forefront of DoD thought leadership on IW for the past four years. We helped our clients understand the changing operational environment and the strategic and operational impact that IW has upon their organizations. Our firm’s thought leadership in IW has resulted in Booz Allen being a part of every major IW initiative since 2005.
boozallen.com: What are we doing now to help our clients understand and be ready for what IW entails?
Lawson: IW is a very dynamic issue that is constantly evolving, so we’re helping our clients understand not just where they’ve been but help them get ready for what’s next. Our Booz Allen team is charged with guiding our clients through the complex problem solving strategies necessary to clearly articulate their policy and strategy vision—defining the desired end-state that guides long-range planning and capability development for IW.
interview posted August 5, 2009
