Counterinsurgency (COIN) continues to be a controversial subject among military leaders. Critics argue that the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan have made the U.S. military, particularly the Army, COIN-centric. They maintain that equipping U.S. forces to combat insurgency has eroded their conventional war fighting capabilities. Those committed to preserving and even enhancing COIN capabilities, on the other hand, insist that doing so need not compromise the ability of the military to perform other tasks. They also point out that the likelihood of even a mid-level conventional war remains low while the probability of unconventional engagements is high. This monograph reviews the COIN debate, analyzes current force structure, and concludes that contrary to the more extreme positions taken by critics and proponents, the U.S. military has achieved a healthy balance between COIN and other capabilities and COIN should remain a core task of an enhanced U.S. Special Operations Command (SOCOM) that could train conventional soldiers in COIN tactics in the event that a large expeditionary FOIN mission becomes necessary.

This resource may prove helpful to active duty military soldiers, military analysts, military contractor supports, ROTC students, as well as military leaders.Master degree students pursuing coursework in Homeland Security degree courses and certificates, especially classes such as Political Violence and Terrorism, Security and Civil Liberties, Interagency cooperation, and undergraduate homeland security degree programs to include coursework for Terrorism and Counterterrorism, cyberwarfare and international counterintelligence classes may find this text helpful for research papers relating to global security and counterinsurgency topics.

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