UW Flashcards
What is UW?
Activities conducted to enable a resistance movement or insurgency to
coerce, disrupt, or overthrow a government or occupying power by
operating through or with an underground, auxiliary and guerrilla
force in a denied area
UW Core Activities
Subversion Sabotage Guerrilla Warfare Personnel Recovery Intelligence Operations Preparation of the environment
What is Subversion?
actions designed to undermine the military, economic, psychological, or political strength or morale of a governing authority
What is Sabotage?
act or acts with intent to injure, interfere with, or obstruct any war materiel, premises, utilities, human and natural resources used for the national defense of a country.
What is Guerilla Warfare
Military and paramilitary operations conducted in enemy-held or hostile territory by irregular, predominantly indigenous, forces
What is a Guerrilla force?
A group of irregular, predominantly indigenous personnel organized along military lines to conduct military and paramilitary operations in enemy-held, hostile, or denied territory
What is a Guerrilla?
An irregular, predominantly indigenous member of a guerrilla force organized similar to military concepts and structure in order to conduct military and paramilitary operations in enemy-held, hostile, or denied territory
Guerrillas can exist independent of an insurgency but normally operate in the covert and overt resistance operations of an insurgency
A combat participant in guerrilla warfare
What is Nonconventional assisted recovery (NAR)?
the recovery of isolated persons by SOF air, ground, and maritime forces; and other government agencies (OGAs) specially trained to develop nonconventional assisted recovery infrastructure and interface with or employ indigenous or surrogate personnel.
What is Personnel Recovery?
the sum of military, diplomatic, and civil efforts to affect the recovery and reintegration of isolated personnel
What are Intelligence Operations?
tasks undertaken by military intelligence units through the intelligence disciplines to obtain information to satisfy validated requirements
What is Preparation of the Environment (PE)?
an umbrella term for activities conducted in foreign countries to shape and prepare an area for potential operations
During UW, PE occurs in a dual capacity:
- That conducted by U.S. forces to operate on the periphery of and within a designated UW operational area.
- The preparation of the denied area by resistance elements for the conduct of resistance operations and activities
PE Low-Visibility Operations
Sensitive operations wherein the political-military restrictions inherent in covert and clandestine operations are either not necessary or not feasible; actions are taken as required to limit exposure of those involved and/or their activities.
PE Clandestine operation
operation sponsored or conducted by governmental departments or agencies in such a way as to assure secrecy or concealment. A clandestine operation differs from a covert operation in that emphasis is placed on concealment of the operation rather than on concealment of the identity of the sponsor. In special operations, an activity may be both covert and clandestine and may focus equally on operational considerations and intelligence-related activities
PE Covert operation
operation that is so planned and executed as to conceal the identity of or permit plausible denial by the sponsor. A covert operation differs from a clandestine operation in that emphasis is placed on concealment of the identity of the sponsor rather than on concealment of the operation
PE Covert operation
An operation that is so planned and executed as to conceal the identity of or permit plausible denial by the sponsor. A covert operation differs from a clandestine operation in that emphasis is placed on concealment of the identity of the sponsor rather than on concealment of the operation
What is a Resistance Movement?
An organized effort by some portion of the civil population of a country to resist the legally established government or an occupying power and to disrupt civil order and stability.
What is an Insurgency?
The organized use of subversion and violence to seize, nullify, or challenge political control of a region. Insurgency can also refer to the group itself
Resistance Components
Underground
Auxiliary
Guerrillas
Public Component-overt political manifestation of a resistance
Shadow Government-will eventually take the place of the existing government
Government in exile-displaced from its country of origin yet remains recognized as a legitimate sovereign authority of a nation
Coercion
forcing someone of some entity to do something it would rather not. UW can apply the method of coercion through supporting a resistance or insurgency
What is deterrence?
situation in which an actor believes that gains from pursuing a certain action are outweighed by the costs that would be imposed by other actors for taking that action
What is Compellence?
situation in which an actor ceases or reverses actions because the costs imposed by other actors are or will soon outweigh the gains of those actions
Indirect Support
USG may indirectly render support through a coalition partner or a third-country location.
USG normally limits indirect support to logistical aid and training.
Direct Support
U.S. assistance can include advisors in sanctuaries or insurgent-controlled areas not in direct combat.
USG can also render assistance from a neighboring country
Combat Support
Includes all of the activities of indirect and direct support in addition to combat operations
Underground
covert unconventional warfare organization established to operate in areas denied to the guerrilla forces or conduct operations not suitable for guerrilla forces
Auxiliary
support element of the irregular organization whose organization and operations are clandestine in nature and whose members do not openly indicate their sympathy or involvement with the irregular movement
Resistance Partner
partner with whom the USG mutually establishes agreements to cooperate for some specified time in pursuit of mutually supporting specific objectives
resistance partner is influenced; he is not an employee or subordinate to be commanded and controlled
Surrogate
an employee or subordinate that an employer commands and controls and for whose actions the employer bears some legal and moral responsibility
Key Efforts to Support Resistance
Enable Political Activities
Shape the Information Environment
Provide Material and Nonmaterial Assistance
Conduct Military and Paramilitary
Four levels to assess feasibility to conduct Support to Resistance
Political
Operational
Resistance capability
Feasibility to conduct UW
Area Assessments
Initial
Principal
Area Complex
a clandestine, dispersed network of facilities to support resistance activities in a given area designed to achieve security, control, dispersion, and flexibility
Zone A
The insurgent base area itself
It is secured by a regular guard system, but it largely depends for its safety upon advance warnings received by clandestine agents (underground) in Zone C, or posted observers (auxiliary) in Zone B
Zone B
Territory lying beyond Zone A that is not well controlled by the enemy in which insurgent forces can operate overtly
The warning system depends on stationed observers (auxiliary), watching for enemy movements
Zone C
Enemy security forces, police, and military units exercise relatively effective control, and the populace may be predominantly hostile to insurgents
At the same time, there are excellent and rapid LOCs, whereby clandestine agents (underground) are able to warn the insurgents quickly of enemy activity
Seven Phases of UW
- Mission Preparation
- Initial Contact
- Infiltration
- Organization
- Buildup
- Employment
- Transition
