Unconventional warfare Essays

The Revolutionary war began in 1775 and ended with the American victory over the British in 1783. It is also known as the war of independence. Americans gained their independence throughout the war after the British surrender at Yorktown, Virginia, in 1781. There were advantages and disadvantages of each side of the war. Despite the mistakes and struggles that the Americans faced, the advantages and the simple strategies they used enabled them to win the war over Britain. On the other hand, Britain

THE VIETNAM WAR 1. What is guerilla warfare and how should it be countered? The purpose of this seminar portfolio is to evaluate two issues of the Vietnam War. First to explain what is guerilla warfare and how should it be countered and secondly analyze why was the US unable to defeat the Vietcong. To assess these issues I will refer to academic literature

Irregular warfare is broken down to five activities; counterinsurgency, foreign internal defense, stability operations, unconventional warfare, and counterterrorism. History traces U.S. involvement with irregular warfare activities in seemingly every conflict it has been involved with. Regardless to the use of irregular warfare, most consider these conflicts conventional wars. Since WWII and the Korean War, conventional wars have no longer remained the norm for conflicts which the U.S. gets involved

According to the Training Circular 7-100, a hybrid threat is the diverse and dynamic combination of regular forces, irregular forces, and/or criminal elements all unified to achieve mutually benefitting effects. (Hybrid Threat 2010) Stated simply, hybrid threats are different groups of people coming together with their ultimate goal being to disrupt or discredit US forces and agendas. Because we have been fighting the same fight for so long, we tend to see this as a new threat when in fact it is

Variations in Tactics. In battle, there are not more than two methods of attack--the direct and the indirect; yet these two in combination give rise to an endless series of maneuvers (Sun Tzu, Art of War). Since 2002, the United States counterinsurgency strategy has shown that it has a heavy credence resembling Clausewitz–esk strategy. Using this type of battle stratagem emphasizes using superior western technology, doctrine fixated on lethal operations, and a misrepresented western view on jus

overconfident and underestimated the capabilities of the well-trained VC in guerrilla warfare who were very familiar and knowledgeable with the terrains and challenging environmental conditions that caused challenges for the US to engage them. VC forces were very effective and elusive by hiding underground through their extensive network of Cu Chi tunnels to evade the US forces and air bombardment. Through non-conventional warfare such as the guerrilla tactics employed by the VC, it made it harder for the

This style of warfare is always changing and always fluid with the operational environment. Often times the conventional force is as a severe disadvantage as it is slow to react and can be easily manipulated into positioning itself in to a position of defeat. For example

Trench warfare was a living hell. Death and destruction rained from the skies, while lead bullets peppered soldiers from the front. Their only protection was their wit, and a trench. A trench filled with rats, disease, and the stench of dead soldiers. No longer was war a glorious affair, but rather a crime against humanity. While in the modern world, technology has revolutionized warfare for the better. Combat has changed drastically since the time of trenches. No longer are trenches a soldier’s

Another disadvantage for American troops was the draft. 25% of total forces in-country were draftees or often referred to as ‘cherries’. (P17) Draftees accounted for 30% of combat deaths in Vietnam, and 61% of men killed were 21 or younger. (P17) These draftees were young, naive, and inexperienced in battle, along with the fact that they were forced to be there, raised questions about their effort and loyalty to the cause. A draftee, Eddy L. Stevenson, describes the nature of his experiences; “Can

Understanding Veterans’ Lives Have you ever really thought about the lives of veterans after a war? Mike Clark is a veteran who served in the Vietnam war. He was chosen as a combat medic because he didn’t perform well mechanically. Mike went through boot camp and was later trained to be a medic for about ten weeks. The Vietnam war itself wasn’t as bloody compared to other wars, but the percent that died is similar. Learning about World War II veterans, it is important to consider how veterans deal

“I was there. I saw it all. Immigrants, Muslims... Homosexuals, terrorists. Disease-ridden degenerates. They had to go.” As quoted from the dystopian political movie V for Vendetta directed by James McTeique, V believes he is not a terrorist and is a freedom fighter by referring the terrorists as degenerates. With a pursuit of dominant ideology along with government treating him as a huge threat, V is a heroic terrorist in view of his motivation and political affiliation, acts of violence, strategies

The Function of the Narrator in Slaughterhouse 5 A narrator is an essential element in every narrative, taking on the responsibility of telling the story. This central role is in the control the narrator has over the story, in terms of perspective and pace, as well as the sequence in which events are related to the reader. In the limitations imposed by the view presented to the reader, the narrator is able to address the issues and concerns of the novel. In Vonnegut’s Slaughterhouse 5, the narrator

The residents of Hiroshima, Japan began their day routinely on August 6, 1945. Some commuted to work or school, some sat down to read a newspaper, and some tended to the needs of their children. At exactly fifteen minutes past eight in the morning, all aspects of life as known to the city’s population of two hundred and forty five thousand people were decimated within an instant; it was an instant in which the first atomic bomb was dropped from an American plane, killing nearly one hundred thousand

Many people think of nuclear war as something that will never happen to us or simply dismiss the war threats that are given to us as jokes. That couldn’t be further from the truth. The threat is very real. Not only are those threats serious, but they hold a horrible promise for the future. Nuclear weapons have been used on multiple occasions, and in many cases, they’ve been tested on our own land, and by our own men. Though these “nukes” come in a variety of strengths and sizes, they are all designed

The story “The Things They Carried” by Tim O'Brien is about First Lieutenant Jimmy Cross in the Vietnam War, struggling to balance his love for a young girl named Martha and his duties as the Lieutenant. Throughout the story his love becomes an obsession which he cannot control. In the story the narrator keeps naming everything the soldiers carried(tangible and intangible) and tells the reader how much they weighed. By the end of the story we, as readers, realize that the soldiers are carrying all

In today's world, it is assumed that the world will end with a bang: quite literally. The metaphorical doomsday clock is set two minutes to midnight, and the world waits for the press of a button that will change everything. However, there are darker, more sinister aspects that are obvious, and yet they are paid no heed. In the article "End of days: is Western civilization on the brink of collapse?" by Laura Spinney, it warns that,"Western culture is reaching a critical juncture." This is caused

On December 24, 1914 the European men in the muddy trenches of WW1 were at an all time high in morale as soldiers expect their country to achieve a glorious victory, but According to their home countries the war was supposed to be done by now and people were promised to go home. Most of these young men were pressured into joining the war, or tricked by propaganda. Thinking it was a game they went into war prepared for the worst, but got them into the worst. Unfortunately people were still on the

Introduction For decades there has been a great controversy as to whether or not the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki were justified. It is often argued that these bombings were hideous atrocities the likes of which the world has never seen before, ones born of a nation’s thirst for vengeance and desire to exhibit its military and technological superiority. Some argue that though the bombings brought about the end to the Second World War, the deaths of more than two hundred thousand people

Imagine a world where instead of having warfare where soldiers are constantly risking their lives, the government could send in drones that would infect the enemy with uncontrollable diseases that they are unable to cure. This strategy is Bioterrorism. Bioterrorism is the usage or intentional release of biological agents such as viruses, bacteria, and fungi. Bioterrorism will be effective in the next thirty years for three reasons. Bioterrorism previous uses around the world, the advancements in

Introduction For decades there has been a great controversy as to whether or not the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki were justified. It is often argued that these bombings were hideous atrocities the likes of which the world has never seen before, ones born of a nation’s thirst for vengeance and desire to exhibit its military and technological superiority. Some argue that though the bombings brought about the end to the Second World War, the deaths of more than two hundred thousand people