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When the US military set out to combat ISIS in Iraq in the mid-2010s, it did so determined to operate “by, with, and through” partner forces. That approach would prove to have advantages in the case of Operation Inherent Resolve. But it can also prove deeply challenging.
This episode features a conversation with Brigadier General Pat Work, who served as the commander of 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne Division during Operation Inherent Resolve, and Mr. Jeff Martini, a senior researcher at the RAND Corporation and coauthor of a 2022 report on US ground force contributions in the fight against ISIS in Iraq. They discuss the conditions that encouraged an approach that placed partnered forces at the center of operational plans, before examining Operation Inherent Resolve's effectiveness and exploring the question of how the United States can best prepare for future partnered operations in global operational environment characterized by strategic competition.
Intro music: "Unsilenced" by Ketsa
US Army Special Forces units continued to quietly operate in Afghanistan when conventional troops withdrew around 2015. These soldiers have worked closely with Afghan...
Where does irregular warfare fit within the framework of national security policy? Does the recently released Irregular Warfare Annex to the National Defense Strategy ...
Subscribe to the IWI monthly newsletter by going to www.irregularwarfare.org! This episode explores the French experience with irregular warfare in the Sahel region of...