Unconventional Warfare

Pocket Guide

The purpose of this document is to provide a pocket reference of 

Unconventional Warfare (UW) doctrine, concepts, academic inquiry, and 

suggested supplementary reading for military leaders and planners.

Joint Publication (JP) 3-05.1 defines UW as: 

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.
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Point of contact for this guide is the United States Army Special Operations 

Command, Deputy Chief of Staff G3, Sensitive Activities Division G3X, 

AOOP-SA, Fort Bragg, North Carolina 28310.
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Contents

Unconventional Warfare Overview..................................................................... 4

Terms Used in UW................................................................................................. 5

Components of a Resistance................................................................................. 7

Phase 0: Steady State ............................................................................................11

UW Phase I: Preparation .....................................................................................11

UW Phase II: Initial Contact...............................................................................12

UW Phase III: Infiltration ...................................................................................13

UW Phase IV: Organization ...............................................................................13

UW Phase V: Buildup ..........................................................................................14

UW Phase VI: Employment ...............................................................................15

UW Phase VII: Transition...................................................................................15

Coordinating Foreign Disclosure and Release of U.S. TTPs.........................16

RESOURCES........................................................................................................17

Law and Policy..................................................................................................17

Doctrine: Joint, Army, and ARSOF Pubs....................................................19

Research and Science.......................................................................................25

White Papers, Academic Studies, and Other Articles ................................28

Books..................................................................................................................33

Videos.................................................................................................................35

Terms......................................................................................................................36
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Introduction

This guide is a quick reference of Unconventional Warfare (UW) theory, 

principles, and tactics, techniques and procedures. It is not a complete 

treatment of the subject. To guide further study, it includes (in annotated 

form) as many references as possible starting with established law, policy 

and doctrine, includes scientific studies, and finishes with recommended 

reading on the subject.

The term UW often elicits strong responses both negative and positive, 

though many have a fundamental misunderstanding of the term itself, and 

its application supporting U.S. policy. Simply, UW is the support to a 

resistance movement. Historically and most often, the U.S. supported a 

semi-organized militarized irregular force -- known in doctrine as a 

Guerrilla Force, as part of an insurgency -- such as the U.S. support to the 

Afghanistan Northern Alliance in 2001. This is most often due to a foreign 

policy decision on when to get involved. 

However, the application of UW is much broader and adaptive. The 

methods and techniques used and the planning for the operations are 

dependent on the state of the resistance movement, environment, and the 

desired end state. Support to a resistance organization in its incipient state 

requires significantly different planning and support than one in the war of 

movement state (using Mao's phases). The first will most likely be small, 

very sensitive, longer in duration, and often conducted under Title 50 

authority, whereas the latter is large scale and open, as with the Northern 

Alliance in 2001.

Thus to prepare and train a force to conduct UW writ large, the theoretical 

construct must encompass all developmental states of the resistance; 

numerous environments, ideologies and circumstances; and account for all 

possible paths to a desired end state. The straw man and scenarios 

discussed in doctrine are not prescriptive but descriptive of a comprehensive 

campaign necessary to explore all possibilities, and their applicability. 

UW has a wide range of applications in the contemporary environment, 

whether a textbook approached operation supporting the Syrian resistance, 

preparing a partner state ahead of potential occupation, or enabling a tribal 

group to resist Da’esh occupation in an Iraqi city. Special Operations 

Commanders must understand UW theories, principle, and tactics, and 

adapt them based on circumstance, the resistance, the opposition, and the 
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desired end-state. This guide will help commanders and their staffs to find 

the relevant information necessary to understand and conduct UW.

Unconventional Warfare Overview

The focus in UW is on the indigenous resistance elements, not U.S. force 

structures and procedures. UW falls within the construct of Irregular 

Warfare (IW) and is one of U.S. Special Operations Command's

(USSOCOM) Core Activities. USSOCOM Directives 10-1cc (U) and 525-

89 (S//NF) establishes USASOC as the Lead Component for UW. This 

directive also describes the SOF service component capabilities and tasks 

for UW.

Figure 1. USSOCOM Activities

Special Operations Core Activities

• Unconventional Warfare (UW)

• Foreign Internal Defense (FID)

• Direct Action (DA)

• Civil Affairs Operations (CAO)

• Special Reconnaissance (SR)

• Security Force Assistance (SFA)

• Counterterrorism (CT)

• Hostage Rescue and Recovery (HRR)

• Counterinsurgency (COIN)

• Foreign Humanitarian Assistance (FHA)

• Countering Weapons of Mass Destruction (CWMD)

• Military Information Support Operations (MISO)

(or occupying power)
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Terms Used in UW

Joint doctrine defines UW as 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. (JP 3-05)

More recently, published Public Law defines UW as "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, or guerrilla force in a denied area." [Public Law 

114-92 Sec. 1097, S.1356 — 114th Congress (2015-2016), National Defense 

Authorization Act for FY 2016]

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. (JP 3-05)

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. (JP 3-24)

Counter Insurgency: Comprehensive civilian and military efforts taken to 

defeat an insurgency and to address any core grievances. (JP 3-24)

Foreign Internal Defense: Participation by civilian and military agencies of a 

government in any of the action programs taken by another government or 

other designated organization to free and protect its society from 

subversion, lawlessness, insurgency, terrorism, and other threats to its 

security. (JP 3-22)

Coerce: Coercion is forcing someone of some entity to do something it 

would rather not do. UW can apply the method of coercion through 

supporting a resistance or insurgency. (JP 3-05.1)

Disrupt: Disruption prevents or impedes someone or some entity from 

doing something it would prefer to do. Although disruption can be a 

relatively small-scale, it can also be large-scale such as coordinated regional 

resistance. (JP 3-05.1)
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Overthrow: The USG may sponsor UW to overthrow a state or occupying 

power when it is intended that the supported successful resistance will 

support appropriate leaders for political control and governance. (JP 3-05.1)

Underground: Cellular organization within the resistance that has the 

ability to conduct operations in areas that are inaccessible to guerrillas, such 

as urban areas under the control of the local security forces. (JP 3-05.1)

Auxiliary: Refers to that portion of the population that provides active 

clandestine support to the guerrilla force or the underground. (JP 3-05.1)

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. (JP 3-05)

Denied Area: An area under enemy or unfriendly control in which friendly 

forces cannot expect to operate successfully within existing operational 

constraints and force capabilities. (JP 3-05)
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Components of a Resistance

Indigenous populations engaged in resistance are composed of the 

following primary components: the underground, auxiliary, guerrilla forces, 

public components, shadow government, and a government-in-exile. The 

goals, objectives, and success of the resistance will determine the level of 

development and relationships among the components. 

 The underground and guerrillas are politico-military entities that 

may conduct both political and military acts, and which represent 

the ends of a spectrum between clandestine and overt resistance. 

 The auxiliary represents a clandestine support structure for both 

the underground and guerrillas. 

 The public component functions as an overt, political, and/or 

material support entity. The public components may negotiate with 

the nation-state government or occupying power on behalf of 

resistance movement objectives, and will typically make overt 

appeals for domestic and international support. Public components 

may represent resistance strategic leadership or merely an interest 

section.

The underground is a cellular organization within the resistance that has the 

ability to conduct operations in areas that are inaccessible to guerrillas, such 

as urban areas under the control of the local security forces. Examples of 

underground functions include: intelligence, counterintelligence (CI) 

networks, special material fabrication (example: false identification), 

munitions, subversive radio, media networks (newspaper or leaflet print 

shops), social media, webpages, logistic networks, sabotage, clandestine 

medical facilities, and generation of funding.

The auxiliary refers to that portion of the population that provides active 

clandestine support to the guerrilla force or the underground. Members of 

the auxiliary are part-time volunteers who have value because of their 

normal position in the community. Some functions include: logistics 

procurement and distribution, labor for special materials, early warning for 

underground facilities and guerrilla bases, intelligence collection 

recruitment, communications couriers or messengers, distribution media 

and safe house management.
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A guerrilla is an irregular, predominantly indigenous member of a guerrilla 

force, organized similarly to military concepts and structure to conduct 

military and paramilitary operations in enemy held, hostile, or denied 

territory. Guerrillas are neither militias nor mercenary soldiers whose 

allegiance is secured solely by payment, nor are they criminal gangs 

conducting illegal activities for profit.

The public component refers to an overt political manifestation of a 

resistance. Public components are primarily responsible for negotiations 

with the nation-state government or occupying power representatives on 

behalf of resistance movement objectives. Every case of resistance is 

unique, and the degree to which public representatives exist will vary. If the 

nation-state decides to suppress these public components completely, the 

public components may have to dissolve and go underground. The public 

component is not synonymous with shadow government or governmentin-exile. 

A shadow government consists of governmental elements and activities 

performed by an irregular organization that replaces the governance 

functions of the existing regime (examples include security, health services, 

and taxation). Members of the shadow government can originate from any 

element of the irregular organization (e.g., underground, auxiliary, or 

guerrilla force). The shadow government operates in the denied area of an 

occupied territory.

A government-in-exile is a government displaced from its country of origin, 

yet remains recognized as a legitimate sovereign authority of a nation. A 

government-in-exile will normally take up sanctuary in a nearby allied or 

friendly nation-state.

Figure 2 below depicts the typical activities conducted by an insurgency or 

resistance movement. Most or all of the represented activities will be 

conducted by a successful resistance or insurgency regardless of whether 

the USG makes the policy decision to support it. USG support to resistance 

– UW – is initiated by either a presidential finding or an EXORD. UW then 

proceeds generally following a 7-phase conceptual model called the Seven 

Phases of Unconventional Warfare.
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Figure 2. Activities of an Insurgency or Resistance Movement
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Doctrinal Template for UW

Army doctrine describes ARSOF’s role in UW as phases. ARSOF activities 

before a presidential finding include shaping or conducting preparation of 

the environment. The extent of these activities is dependent on Global 

Combatant Command requirements and ARSOF access and placement. 

Other DOD terms used to describe this period include steady state, left of 

bang, and persistent engagement. This document describes this period of time as 

Phase 0. Since each UW campaign is unique, all phases of UW may not 

occur, depending upon U.S. objectives, the scale and tempo of the 

campaign, and the successes and failures of the resistance. Additionally, not 

all geographic areas where the resistance is active may be in the same phase

during a UW campaign.

Figure 4. Phase of UW
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Phase 0: Steady State

During the Steady State, the USG conducts Joint or

multinational operations or interagency activities to 

dissuade or deter potential adversaries and to 

assure or solidify relationships with friends and 

allies. These activities (below) normally precede, 

sometimes by years, the operations they are 

intended to support. .They are critical to establish, 

maintain, and reestablish the conditions whereby UW 

could be considered as a feasible U.S. strategic option. SOF can conduct 

Phase 0 activities continuously and in all operational modes (overt, low 

visibility, clandestine, and covert), and can include the full menu of theater 

cooperation engagement activities, and all preparation of the environment 

(PE) activities.

Activities

• Conduct continual Area Assessments 

• Conduct Preparation of the Environment (PE): Civil, Military, Physical, 

Virtual Domains

• Identify Threats, and Design and Plan UW Options

• Activities to Legitimize Narratives Supporting U.S. Interests and Potential 

Resistance Movements

• Build Internal and External Support for Potential Resistance Movements

• Conduct Activities to Set Conditions for the Introduction of U.S. Forces 

into the Area of Operations When Necessary

• Conduct Continual Military Information Support Operations (MISO) 

Assessments

• Maintain PR Intelligence Analysis to Support Assisted Recovery

Mechanisms

UW Phase I: Preparation

Preparation must begin with intelligence preparation of 

the environment (IPOE) to understand the dynamics 

within the populace. UW IPOE includes, but is

not limited to, a thorough analysis of the 

resistance force’s strengths, weaknesses, 

logistics concerns, level of training and 

experience, political or military agendas, factional 

relationships, and external political ties. Along with this 

data, IOPE requires a thorough target area study. At a minimum, the target 

area study includes governmental services, living conditions, and political, 

religious, economic, environmental, medical, and educational issues.
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Analysis and planning for transition to civil governance begins, to include 

contingency planning for collapse of the adversary government or power 

and sudden victory by the resistance.

Activities

• Conduct Continual Area Assessment

• Design, Plan, and Update the UW Campaign

• Gain Access to and Identify Resistance Assets

• Continue Preparation of the Environment (PE): Civil, Military, Physical, 

Virtual Domains

• Conduct MISO and Civil Affairs (CA) Support to UW

• Conduct Joint Intelligence Preparation of the Operational Environment 

(JIPOE)

• Synchronize Activities with Interagency Partners

• Develop Non-Standard Logistics (NSL) Infrastructure and Plan Support 

to Irregular Forces

• Maintain Support Mechanisms

• Maintain/Develop PR Intelligence Analysis to Support Nonconventional 

Assisted Recovery (NAR)/Unconventional Assisted Recovery (UAR)

mechanisms

UW Phase II: Initial Contact

Before the USG decides to render support to a 

resistance, it establishes contact with representatives of 

a resistance organization to assess the 

compatibility of U.S. and resistance 

interests and objectives. This 

assessment is largely a political negotiation 

between the USG and the resistance organization. 

Once the USG establishes compatibility, it assesses the 

resistance potential. During the initial contact, planners may arrange for the 

dispatch and reception of a pilot team. When possible, planners exfiltrate a 

resistance representative, referred to as an asset, from the operational area 

to brief the pilot team during its planning phase. The asset may accompany 

the team during their infiltration into the operational area and facilitate their 

linkup with resistance forces.

Activities

• Determine Mission Command Requirements

• Establish Contact with Resistance

• Prepare Pilot Teams and Synchronize with IA Partners

• Continue PE: Civil, Military, Physical, Virtual Domains
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• Conduct MISO and CA Support to UW

• Conduct JIPOE and continue R&S

• Synchronize Activities with IA Partners

• Establish Non-Standard Logistics (NSL) Stocks and Build Capacity to 

Support Irregular Forces

• Continue PR Analysis in Support of PR Mechanisms

UW Phase III: Infiltration

During infiltration, a pilot team clandestinely infiltrates 

the operational area to link up with the resistance force 

and to conduct or confirm a feasibility 

assessment. If the assessment is favorable, 

the pilot team coordinates to infiltrate and 

receive follow-on SF teams and supplies. MISO 

personnel, attached to follow-on SF teams, provide 

SFODAs with an early influence and information capability while 

developing an indigenous capability. As teams infiltrate the operational area 

and link up with their respective resistance-force counterparts, they begin 

their own operational assessment to confirm or deny the assumptions of 

the overarching UW campaign plan.

Activities

• Infiltrate Pilot Teams

• Conduct UW Area Assessment

• Establish Mission Command Infrastructure

• Minimize Risks to Force/Mission

• Continue PE: Civil, Military, Physical, Virtual Domains

• Conduct MISO and CA Support to UW

• Conduct JIPOE and Continue R&S

• Synchronize SOF, Resistance, and Interagency Activities

• Establish NSL Stocks and Plan Support to Irregular Forces

• Maintain Support Mechanisms

• Expand PR Infrastructure

UW Phase IV: Organization

Once U.S. advisors link up with resistance leadership, 

their objective is to determine and agree upon a plan to 

organize the resistance for expanded 

operations. In addition to physical 

preparations, this entails a confirmation of 

mutual objectives and prior agreements. This 

requires a period of rapport-building to develop trust and 
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confidence, as well as a period of discussion of expectations from both 

sides. Before a resistance organization can successfully engage in combat 

operations, its leadership must organize an infrastructure that can sustain 

itself in combat and withstand the anticipated hostile reaction to armed 

resistance. During organization, the resistance leadership develops a 

resistance cadre as the organizational nucleus for the buildup phase.

Activities

• Develop Resistance Campaign Plans

• Establish Operations and Intel Infrastructure

• Organize and Train Resistance Elements (Underground, Auxiliary, 

Guerrilla Forces)

• Enhance Force Protection Measures (FORCEPRO) and CounterIntelligence Capabilities

• Refine MISO Messaging

• Develop Area Complex and Logistics Infrastructure

• Expand Sanctuaries and Safe Havens

• Intensify UW Activities with OGAs

• Shadow Government Organizes Civil Support and Services

• Continue to Build PR (NAR/UAR) Architecture 

UW Phase V: Buildup

During buildup, the resistance cadre improves the 

organization’s clandestine supporting infrastructure to 

prepare for expanded offensive operations. 

When the organization begins to conduct 

operations of wider scope and across a wider 

area, many of these operations will draw attention 

from counter-guerrilla forces. The organization must 

have the supporting clandestine infrastructure to prepare for and sustain 

these operations.

Activities

• Grow Resistance Organization:

- Integrate Disparate Resistance Groups

- Increase Recruitment

- Intensify/Advance Training

• Enhance Targeting Capabilities, and Expand Operational Reach and 

Effectiveness

• Expand Persistent and Intrusive Reconnaissance and Surveillance (R&S)

Operations

• Intensify MISO Messaging
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• Synchronize Operational Effects with Joint Task Forces, other U.S.

Government Agencies, and Coalition Partners

• Continue to Build PR (NAR/UAR) Architecture

• Expand Logistics Stocks, Support, and Sustainment Capacity

UW Phase VI: Employment

During employment, the resistance force initiates an 

expanded scope of offensive operations to achieve 

the desired effects. The desired effects 

can range from causing the enemy to 

commit limited resources away from a 

pending invasion area, support to a pending 

invasion area (as in general war), or in the case of a 

separate insurgency (limited war), the achievement of specific strategic 

politico-military objectives. The main activities in this phase consist of 

interdiction and MISO. The specific tactics (raids and ambushes) and 

activities (intelligence gathering, force protection) that occur during 

employment are not exclusive to UW.

Activities

• Maintain Alignment of Resistance Campaign Activities with Resistance 

Narratives and Legitimacy

• Synchronize Resistance Operations and Activities Across Boundaries

• Expand Resistance Controlled Territory

• Employ MISO Messaging to Delegitimize Adversary and Legitimize 

Resistance

• Provide Civil-Military Support to Displaced Persons, Refugees & 

Evacuees (DPRE), and Expand and Prepare Resistance Capacity for 

Governance

UW Phase VII: Transition

SOF may conduct UW until they assist the resistance in 

removing the hostile power and the indigenous 

population becomes the government. At this 

point, it is critical to shift mindsets from 

defeating the adversary regime to 

protecting the newly installed government and 

its security personnel from insurgency, lawlessness, 

and subversion by former regime elements that attempt to 

organize their own resistance. Planners should have addressed transition 

planning in the feasibility assessment that formed the basis of the 

determination to support the resistance organization.
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Activities

• Promote New Government Legitimacy

• Transition from SOJTF to Security Forces Assistance (SFA)

• Demobilize and Integrate Guerrilla Forces, Underground and Auxiliary

• Provide Civil-Military Operations (CMO) Support to New Government

• MISO Themes Promote and Reinforce Civil Governance

• Be Prepared to Conduct FID/COIN

• Shadow Government and Government-in-Exile Transition Responsibility 

for Civil Governance

Coordinating Foreign Disclosure and Release of U.S. TTPs

The sharing and release of information to a resistance or other partners is 

part of the planning process for UW campaigns. Training, advising, and 

accompanying elements of a resistance will expose US TTPs, including 

sensitive and protected methods, to foreign nationals, and the effects of 

providing or withholding this information should be a deliberate decision.

Release, Transfer, and Export of Special Operations Tactics, Techniques, 

and Procedures. The release of classified military information (CMI) is 

governed by U.S. Law. Official government unclassified information must 

also be reviewed before disclosure to the public. Requests for information 

from the public, citing the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), are 

processed through FOIA channels. Requests for information from foreign 

governments through government channels are processed by the 

USSOCOM Foreign Disclosure Officer (FDO). 

Office of Primary Responsibility (OPR). The OPR for Unconventional 

Warfare (UW) is the USSOCOM J3X UW/PE Branch. Release of 

information regarding the tactics, techniques, and procedures (TTP), and 

doctrine for Special Operations (SO) capabilities associated with the 

conduct of UW is prohibited without the written consent of the 

USSOCOM OPR.

Request for release, transfer and export of SO TTP's will comply with 

USSOCOM Directive 350-27. The International Programs Branch (SCSO 

J32-IP) is the USSOCOM OPR for SO TTP Transfers. Proposed transfers 

are considered on a case-by-case- basis, in consultation with the UW OPR, 

and supported by USSOCOM when the transfer results in tangible and 

direct benefit to U.S. foreign policy and national security objectives. 

Request for release, extraction or dissemination of UW or associated TTP's 

are processed through the UW OPR.
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RESOURCES 

Law and Policy

Title 10, U.S. Code, Armed Forces

The baseline US legal authority for UW is in Title 10, USC, Section 167(j). This provision 

states that UW is one of the activities of USSOCOM.

http://uscode.house.gov/browse/prelim@title10&edition=prelim

Title 22, U.S. Code, Foreign Relations and Intercourse

Essential to understand Chief of Mission authorities to design, plan, and execute UW campaigns 

and PE activities.

http://uscode.house.gov/browse/prelim@title22&edition=prelim

Title 50, U.S. Code, War and National Defense

Provides presidential authority and limitations in regard to authorizing covert action. Requires the 

congressional intelligence committees to be kept fully and currently informed of all covert actions 

which are the responsibility of, are engaged in by, or are carried out for or on behalf of, any 

department, agency, or entity of the USG.

http://uscode.house.gov/browse/prelim@title50&edition=prelim

Public Law 114-92, Section 1097

Provides a more expansive definition of Unconventional Warfare (UW) that allows activities 

conducted with an underground, auxiliary, or guerrilla force to meet the threshold for UW.

Executive Order 12333, United States Intelligence Activities, Signed 4 December 

1984 [As amended by Executive Orders 13284 (2003), 13355 (2004) and 13470 

(2008)]

Lays out roles for various intelligence agencies and provides guidelines for actions of intelligence 

agencies.

www.archives.gov/federal-register/codification/executive-order/12333.html

Executive Order 13470, 30 July 2008

Amended EO 12333 to strengthen the role of the Director of National Intelligence.

www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/FR-2008-08-04/pdf/E8-17940.pdf

DoDD 5100.01, Functions of the Department of Defense and Its Major 

Components, 21 December 2010

Describes organizational relationships within DoD, delineates major functions, supports DoD 

strategic processes and aligns with the overall goals and priorities of DoD. 

www.dtic.mil/whs/directives/corres/pdf/510001p.pdf

DoDD 3000.07, Irregular Warfare, 28 August 2014

Establishes policy and assigns responsibilities for DoD conduct of IW and development of 

capabilities to address irregular challenges or threats to national security. IW includes relevant 
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DoD activities and operations such as CT, UW, FID, COIN, and stability operations that 

involve establishing or re-establishing order in a fragile state or territory. 

www.dtic.mil/whs/directives/corres/pdf/300007p.pdf

DODI 3002.04, DOD Personnel Recovery—Non-Conventional Assisted Recovery 

(NAR), 17 November 2014

Establishes policy and assigns responsibilities for NAR as an integral part of personnel recovery 

in the DoD; Prescribes procedures for the development, planning, and integration of NAR in 

cooperation with intelligence, special operations, and interagency partners. 

www.dtic.mil/whs/directives/corres/pdf/300007p.pdf

USSOCOM Directive 525-5 (S//NF) Advanced Special Operations Techniques

(U), 14 November 2013

Provides guidance and assigns responsibilities for the conduct of activities using Advance Special 

Operations Techniques (ASOT) by SOF. 

(SIPRNET) https://intelshare.intelink.sgov.gov/sites/usasocg3x/UWpedia/UWLibrary

USSOCOM Directive 525-16 (S//NF) Preparation of the Environment (U), 14 

November 2013

Establishes common concepts and provides general guidance for the planning, conduct, and 

resourcing of PE by SOF. PE includes those actions taken to prepare the operational environment 

for potential operations.

(SIPRNET) https://intelshare.intelink.sgov.gov/sites/usasocg3x/UWpedia/UWLibrary

USSOCOM Directive 525-89 (S//NF) Unconventional Warfare (U), 31 May 2012

Establishes USASOC as Lead Component for Unconventional Warfare (UW).

(SIPRNET) https://intelshare.intelink.sgov.gov/sites/usasocg3x/UWpedia/UWLibrary

Executive Order, Hostage Recovery Activities, 24 June 2015

Establishes a single USG operational body to coordinate all efforts for the recovery of U.S. 

nationals taken hostage abroad, with policy guidance coordinated through the National Security 

Council. 

https://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2015/06/24/executive-order-and-presidentialpolicy-directive-hostage-recovery

Presidential Policy Directive/PPD-29 U.S. National Taken Hostage Abroad and 

Personnel Recovery Efforts, 24 June 2015

PPD-29, including its classified annex, supersedes and revokes NSPD-12. This policy directs a 

renewed, more agile USG response to hostage taking of U.S. nationals and other specified 

individuals abroad. 

https://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2015/06/24/presidential-policy-directivehostage-recovery-activities
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Doctrine: Joint, Army, and ARSOF Pubs

Joint Publications (JP)

JP 3-05 Special Operations, 16 July 2014

Provides overarching doctrine for special operations and the employment and support for special 

operations forces (SOF) across the range of military operations. Sets forth joint doctrine to govern 

the activities and performance of the Armed Forces of the United States in joint operations and 

provides the doctrinal basis for interagency coordination and involvement in multinational 

operations. Provides an overview for special operations and describes special operations core 

activities. Describes command and control of SOF and discusses the support considerations for 

SOF, provides military guidance to combatant commands and joint force commanders, and 

prescribes joint doctrine for operations, education, and training.

http://www.dtic.mil/doctrine/new_pubs/jp3_05.pdf

JP 3-05.1, Unconventional Warfare, 15 September 2015

This publication has been prepared under the direction of the CJCS. Sets forth joint doctrine to 

govern the activities and performance of the Armed Forces of the United States in joint operations, 

and it provides considerations for military interaction with governmental and nongovernmental 

agencies, multinational forces, and other interorganizational partners. Provides joint doctrine to 

assess, plan, and execute unconventional warfare.

https://jdeis.js.mil/jdeis/new_pubs/jp3_05_1.pdf

JP 3-50 Personnel Recovery, 02 October 2015

This publication has been prepared under the direction of the CJCS. Sets forth joint doctrine to 

govern the activities and performance of the Armed Forces of the United States in joint operations, 

and it provides considerations for military interaction with governmental and nongovernmental 

agencies, multinational forces, and other interorganizational partners. Provides doctrine for the 

preparation, planning, execution, and assessment of personnel recovery.

https://jdeis.js.mil/jdeis/new_pubs/jp3_50.pdf

JP 3-50 APP B, (S//NF) Personnel Recovery-Appendix B, Classified Intelligence 

Support to Personnel Recovery (U), 02 October 2015

(SIPR ACCESS ONLY) 

JP 3-50 APP E, (S//NF) Personnel Recovery-Appendix E, Classified Planning 

Supplement (U), 02 October 2015

(SIPR ACCESS ONLY)

Universal Joint Task List (UJTL)

Universal Joint Task List (UJTL), 15 March 2016

The Universal Joint Task List (UJTL) is a menu of tasks in a common language, which serves 

as the foundation for joint operations planning across the range of military and interagency 

operations. The UJTL supports DOD to conduct joint force development, readiness reporting, 
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experimentation, joint training and education, and lessons learned. It is the basic language in 

developing joint mission essential task lists (JMETL) and agency mission essential task lists 

(AMETL).

http://www.dtic.mil/doctrine/training/ujtl_tasks.pdf

SN 3.8 Conduct Special Operations Activities, 06 January 2015

Conduct full-spectrum special operations activities to support or achieve national strategic objectives. 

JP 3-05 (primary). This task includes establishing strategic appreciation and conducting mission 

analysis prior to execution. The Joint Staff / Secretary of Defense (SecDef) may designate 

Commander, United States Special Operations Command (CDRUSSOCOM) as supported 

commander for execution of global operations, including special operations activities against 

terrorists and their networks. Special operations core activities include: direct action (DA), special 

reconnaissance (SR), countering weapons of mass destruction (CWMD), counterterrorism (CT), 

unconventional warfare (UW), foreign internal defense (FID), security force assistance (SFA), 

hostage rescue and recovery, counterinsurgency (COIN), foreign humanitarian assistance (FHA), 

military information support operations (MISO), civil affairs (CA) operations, and other

activities as directed by the President or the SecDef. 

http://www.dtic.mil/doctrine/training/ujtl_tasks.pdf

ST 1.3.7 Conduct Unconventional Warfare (UW), Change 01 February 2016

Conduct military and paramilitary operations, normally of long duration, 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. JP 3-

05, JP 3-05.1 (primary), CJCSI 3126.01A, CJCSI 3210.06A, DODD 3000.07. This task 

can be performed across joint operations areas (JOAs), and integrates and synchronizes indigenous 

or surrogate forces that are organized, trained, equipped, supported, and directed by an external 

source. It includes direct offensive, low visibility, covert or clandestine operations, as well as indirect 

activities of subversion, sabotage, intelligence activities, and evasion and escape. This task may 

require language proficiency and/or regional expertise and cultural knowledge to effectively 

communicate with and/or understand the cultures of coalition forces, international partners, 

and/or local populations and/or understand the operational environment (OE).

OP 1.2.4.8 Conduct Unconventional Warfare (UW), 06 January 2015 

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. JP 3-05 (primary), JP 3-05.1, CJCSI 3126.01A, CJCSI 3210.06, DODD 

3000.07. The paramilitary aspect of unconventional warfare (UW) may place the Department of 

Defense (DOD) in a supporting role to interorganizational partners. The necessity to operate with 

a varying mix of clandestine/covert means and ways places a premium on operations security and 

actionable intelligence. This task may require language proficiency and/or regional expertise and 

cultural knowledge to effectively communicate with and/or understand the cultures of coalition 

forces, international partners, and/or local populations and/or understand the operational 

environment (OE). 
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Army Doctrine and Training Publications (ADRP) 

ADRP 1-03, The Army Universal Task List (AUTL), 02 October 2015

ADRP 1-03 provides the structure and content of the Army Universal Task List (AUTL). 

The AUTL is intended to inform all members of the Profession of Arms of what the Army 

contributes to the joint force in terms of tasks performed. Additionally, it is intended that 

proponent training developers use the AUTL to develop more comprehensive training and 

evaluation outline evaluation criteria for collective tasks and proponent combat developers to better 

understand the tasks a given unit must perform. The Army Universal Task List (AUTL) 

describes what well-trained, well-led, and well-equipped Soldiers do for the Nation. While focused 

on the land dimension, abilities of Army forces complement abilities of other Services. The ability 

of Army forces to perform tasks builds the credible land power necessary for joint force commanders 

to preclude and deter enemy action, win decisively if deterrence fails, and establish a rapid return to 

sustained stability.

http://armypubs.army.mil/doctrine/DR_pubs/dr_a/pdf/adrp1_03.pdf

ADP 3-05, Special Operations, 31 August 2012

Describes the role of United States Army Special Operations Forces (ARSOF) in the U.S. 

Army’s operating concept to shape operational environments in the countries and regions of 

consequence, prevent conflict through the application of special operations and conventional 

deterrence, and when necessary help win our nation’s wars. Outlines ARSOF’s requirement to 

provide in the nation’s defense unequalled surgical strike and special warfare capabilities. Together 

these two different but mutually supporting forms of special operations comprise the American 

Way of Special Operations Warfighting. Provides a broad understanding of Army special 

operations by describing how executing the two mutually supporting critical capabilities of special 

warfare and surgical strike contribute to unified land operations. Provides a foundation for how the

Army meets the joint force commander’s needs by appropriately blending ARSOF and 

conventional forces. Defines and discusses special operations in the strategic context within which 

ARSOF expect to operate. It also discusses the roles and critical capabilities of Army special 

operations and describes the principles, regional mechanisms, characteristics, and imperatives of 

ARSOF. The principal audience of commanders and staffs of Army headquarters serving as 

joint task force or multinational headquarters should also refer to applicable joint or multinational 

doctrine concerning the range of military operations and joint or multinational forces.

http://armypubs.army.mil/doctrine/DR_pubs/dr_a/pdf/adp3_05.pdf

ADRP 3-05, Special Operations, 31 August 2012

Army Doctrine Reference Publication (ADRP) 3-05, Special Operations, provides a broad 

understanding of Army special operations by describing how executing the two mutually supporting

critical capabilities of special warfare and surgical strike contribute to unified land operations. 

ADRP 3-05 provides a foundation for how the Army meets the joint force commander’s needs by 

appropriate integration of Army special operations forces (ARSOF) and conventional forces. 

Army special operations forces are those Active and Reserve Component Army forces designated 

by the Secretary of Defense that are specifically organized, trained, and equipped to conduct and 

support special operations. The acronym ARSOF represents Civil Affairs (CA), Military 

Information Support operations (MISO), Rangers, Special Forces (SF), Special Mission Units, 

and Army special operations aviation forces assigned to the United States Army Special 
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Operations Command (USASOC)—all supported by the Sustainment Brigade (Special 

Operations) (Airborne) (SB[SO][A]).

http://armypubs.army.mil/doctrine/DR_pubs/dr_a/pdf/adrp3_05.pdf

Army Tactical Tasks (ART) 

ART 7.6.4 Conduct Irregular Warfare

Irregular warfare is a violent struggle among state and non-state actors for legitimacy and influence 

over the relevant population(s) (JP 1). United States Army forces operations grouped under 

irregular warfare are foreign internal defense, support for insurgencies, counterinsurgency, combating 

terrorism, and unconventional warfare. (JP 3-26) (JS)

https://rdl.train.army.mil/catalog-ws/view/100.ATSC/60E015C4-01FE-4235-8775-

F386C48654A7-1361576471062/report.pdf

ART 7.6.4.5 Conduct Unconventional Warfare (UW)

Unconventional warfare is a broad spectrum of military and paramilitary operations, normally of 

long duration, predominantly conducted through, with, or by host-nation or surrogate forces that 

are organized, trained, equipped, supported, and directed in varying degrees by an external source. 

It includes, but is not limited to, guerrilla warfare, subversion, sabotage, intelligence activities, and 

unconventional assisted recovery. Unconventional warfare is operations conducted by, with, or 

through irregular forces in support of a resistance movement, insurgency, or conventional military 

operations. (ATP 3-05.1) (USAJFKSWCS)

https://rdl.train.army.mil/

Field Manuals (FM)

FM 3-05 Army Special Operations, January 2014

Field Manual 3-05, Army Special Operations, provides the United States (U.S.) Army special 

operations forces commander and staff information on the structure and functions involved in 

Army special operations forces activities. Army special operations forces represent all forces 

assigned to the United States Army Special Operations Command: Special Forces, Military 

Information Support Operations, Civil Affairs, Rangers, Army special operations aviation, the 

528th Sustainment Brigade (Special Operations) (Airborne), and Special Mission Units. The 

principal audience for Field Manual 3-05 is Army special operations forces, joint, and land 

component force commanders and staff; the publication provides a broad understanding of Army 

special operations forces. This publication also provides guidance for Army special operations forces 

commanders who determine the force structure, budget, training, materiel, and operations and 

sustainment requirements necessary to prepare Army special operations forces to conduct their 

missions. This Service doctrine is consistent with joint doctrine.

https://armypubs.us.army.mil/doctrine/DR_pubs/dr_c/pdf/fm3_05.pdf

FM 3-18 Special Forces Operations, 08 May 2014

FM 3-18 is the principal manual for Special Forces (SF) doctrine. It describes SF roles, 

missions, capabilities, organization, mission command, employment, and sustainment operations 
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across the range of military operations. This manual is a continuation of the doctrine established in 

the JP 3-05 series, ADP 3-05, ADRP 3-05, and FM 3-05.

The principal audience for FM 3-18 is all members of the profession of arms. Commanders and 

staffs of Army headquarters serving as joint task force (JTF) or multinational headquarters 

should also refer to applicable joint or multinational doctrine concerning the range of military 

operations and joint or multinational forces. Trainers and educators throughout the Army will also 

use this publication.

https://armypubs.us.army.mil/doctrine/DR_pubs/dr_c/pdf/fm3_18.pdf

Army Training Publications (ATP) 

ATP 3-05.1 Unconventional Warfare, September 2013

ATP 3-05.1, Unconventional Warfare, is the Army’s doctrinal foundation for UW and is the 

broadest and most comprehensive United States Government (USG) doctrinal publication on the 

subject of UW. ATP 3-05.1 therefore provides doctrine directly useful to all users within the U.S. 

Army, but is deliberately intended to be useful to other Services in the Department of Defense 

(DOD) and joint, interagency, intergovernmental, and multinational (JIIM) audiences. Moreover, 

although UW is inherently a sensitive subject, ATP 3-05.1 is intentionally kept unclassified to 

make it accessible to civilian policy makers with a role in oversight and support of UW activities. 

ATP 3-05.1 is written to emphasize the strategic and operational utility of UW as a policy 

option available to national-level and theater-level decision makers. The ATP is therefore written 

for planners at the TSOC and SF group level who would be charged with recommending and 

planning strategic and operational options to geographic combatant commanders (GCCs), 

Ambassadors, and interagency decision makers at all levels of the USG. ATP 3-05.1 contains 

five chapters and six appendices that are summarized in the following paragraphs.

https://armypubs.us.army.mil/doctrine/DR_pubs/dr_c/pdf/atp3_05x1.pdf

ATP 3-05.1, C1 Unconventional Warfare, 25 November 2015

Army Techniques Publication (ATP) 3-05.1, Unconventional Warfare, provides the current 

United States (U.S.) Army Special Forces (SF) concept of planning and conducting 

unconventional warfare (UW) operations. ATP 3-05.1 describes UW fundamentals, activities, 

and considerations involved in the planning and execution of UW throughout the full range of 

military operations, and emphasize UW as a strategic policy option. This publication serves as the 

doctrinal foundation for subordinate Army special operations forces (ARSOF) UW doctrine, 

force integration, materiel acquisition, professional education, and individual and unit training. 

This publication also serves as the Army’s description of UW, which will be useful in the larger 

joint and interagency environment.

https://armypubs.us.army.mil/doctrine/DR_pubs/dr_c/pdf/atp3_05x1c1.pdf

ATP 3-18.20, (S//NF) Advanced Special Operations Techniques (ASOT) (U), 30

December 2015

Defines the Special Forces concept of planning and employing ASOT in support of special 

operations forces (SOF) core activities, describes the fundamentals, activities, and considerations for 

planning and employing ASOT, and serves as the doctrinal foundation for ASOT to Army 

special operations forces (ARSOF). ATP 3-18.20 applies to ARSOF and may apply to 
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NAVSPECWARCOM and MARSOC Active, National Guard, and Reserve units, and is 

useful to the larger joint and interorganizational environment.

(SIPR ACCESS ONLY)

ATP 3-18.72 (S//NF) Special Forces Personnel Recovery (U), 13 January 2016

ATP 3-18.72 provides the doctrinal framework for U.S. Army special operations forces 

(ARSOF) personnel recovery operations from both the perspective of the recovery force, as well as 

that of the individual evader. It also provides an explanation of the various personnel recovery 

mission tasks, capabilities, limitations, general guidance, and employment techniques at both the 

strategic and tactical levels. Prepared under the direction of the Special Forces Doctrine Division, 

United States Army Special Operations Center of Excellence, USAJFKSWCS. This 

publication outlines the contributions of SF to the theater personnel recovery effort. SF personnel 

recovery missions seek to achieve specific, well defined and often sensitive results of strategic or 

operational significance. SF personnel recovery missions are conducted in support of their own 

operations , when directed by the joint task force commander to support combat search and rescue 

(CSAR) operation, when the threat to the recovery force is high enough to warrant the conduct of a 

special operation, and when SF are the only forces available or capable. 

(SIPR ACCESS ONLY)

Training Circulars (TC) 

TC 18-01 Special Forces Unconventional Warfare, January 2011

Training Circular (TC) 18-01, Special Forces Unconventional Warfare, defines the current

United States (U.S.) Army Special Forces (SF) concept of planning and conducting 

unconventional warfare (UW) operations. For the foreseeable future, U.S. forces will 

predominantly engage in irregular warfare (IW) operations. TC 18-01 is authoritative but not 

directive. It serves as a guide and does not preclude SF units from developing their own standing 

operating procedures (SOPs) to meet their needs. It explains planning and the roles of SF, 

Military Information Support operations (MISO), and Civil Affairs (CA) in UW operations. 

There are appropriate manuals within the series that addresses the other primary SF missions in 

detail. The primary users of this manual are commanders, staff officers, and operational personnel 

at the team (Special Forces operational detachment A [SFODA]), company (Special Forces 

operational detachment B [SFODB]), and battalion (Special Forces operational detachment C 

[SFODC]) levels. This TC is specifically for SF Soldiers; however, it is also intended for use 

Army wide to improve the integration of SF into the plans and operations of other special 

operations forces (SOF) and conventional forces.

https://armypubs.us.army.mil/doctrine/DR_pubs/dr_c/pdf/tc18_01.pdf

TC 31-16 (S//NF) Special Forces Guide to Preparation of the Environment (U),

6 June 2007

This TC provides concepts, functions, and procedures for SF conducting PE to support current 

and future SOF operations.

(SIPRNET) https://intelshare.intelink.sgov.gov/site/usasocg3/uwpedia
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Research and Science

USASOC Assessing Revolutionary and Insurgency Strategies (ARIS)

The Assessing Revolutionary and Insurgent Strategies (ARIS) project consists of research 

conducted for the US Army Special Operations Command by the National Security Analysis 

Department of The Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory. Its goal is to produce 

academically rigorous yet operationally relevant research to develop and illustrate a common 

understanding of insurgency and revolution. Intended to form a bedrock body of knowledge for 

members of the Special Operations Forces, the ARIS studies allow users to distill vast amounts of 

material from a wide array of campaigns and extract relevant lessons, enabling the development of 

future doctrine, professional education, and training. The ARIS project follows in the tradition of 

research conducted by the Special Operations Research Office (SORO) of American University in 

the 1950s and 1960s, adding new research to that body of work, republishing original SORO 

studies, and releasing updated editions of selected SORO studies.

http://www.soc.mil/ARIS/ARIS.html

Casebook on Insurgency and Revolutionary Warfare, Volume I: 1933-1962, 25 

January 2013 (Rev Ed.) 

This casebook provides summary descriptive accounts of 23 revolutions that have occurred in seven 

geographic areas of the world, mostly since World War II. These areas include Southeast Asia, 

Latin America, North Africa, sub-Sahara Africa, Middle East, Far East and Europe. Each 

revolution is described in terms of the environment in which it occurred, the form of the 

revolutionary movement itself and the results it accomplished. 

http://www.soc.mil/ARIS/CasebookV1S.pdf

Casebook on Insurgency and Revolutionary Warfare, Volume II: 1962-2009, 27 

April 2012

This casebook provides summary descriptive accounts of 23 revolutions that have occurred since 

1962. Many of these revolutions are still active-some in steady state violent conflict, others in 

decline, still others possibly approaching a complete resurgence. Each case presents a background of 

physical, cultural, social, economic and political factors that are relevant and important to 

understand the revolution. 

http://www.soc.mil/ARIS/Casebook%20Vol%202%20%2004-27-12S.pdf

Undergrounds in Insurgency, Revolutionary, and Resistance Warfare, 25 January 

2013 (2nd Ed.)

Since the original publication of Undergrounds in Insurgent, Revolutionary, and Resistance 

Warfare in 1963, much has changed yet much has remained the same. The internet, 

globalization,, social media, the demise of the Soviet Communism and the Cold War, and the rise 

of Islamic fundamentalism have all impacted the nature and functionality of undergrounds. The 

purpose of this book is to educate the student and practitioner of insurgency and counterinsurgency 

and to examine the anatomy of undergrounds in various insurgencies of recent history. 

http://www.soc.mil/ARIS/UndergroundsS.pdf
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Human Factors Considerations of Undergrounds in Insurgencies, 25 January 2013 

(2nd Ed.)

During the 1950s through the mid-1960s social scientists and military personnel researched 

relevant political, cultural, social, and behavioral issues occurring within the emerging nations of 

Asia, Africa and Latin America. The Army had a particular interest in understanding the 

process of violent social change in order to be able to cope directly or indirectly or indirectly through 

assistance and advice with revolutionary actions. This book, Human Factors Considerations of 

Undergrounds in Insurgencies, is the second edition to the 1966 book of the same name and delves 

deeper into theory and further into background materials and focuses less on operational details.

http://www.soc.mil/ARIS/HumanFactorsS.pdf

Irregular Warfare Annotated Bibliography, 2 June 2011

The aim of the bibliography is to provide readers and offering of both a more traditional military 

perspective as well as perspectives from social scientist, including political scientist, sociologist, 

psychologist and anthropologists studying similar phenomena. The following sources include general 

history and analysis related to each core task: operational or “how to” guides; and works 

discussing particular insurgencies. 

http://www.soc.mil/ARIS/IWAnnotated_BibliographyS.pdf

Legal Implications of the Status of Persons in Resistance

Our nation requires a special warfare capability. That capability requires intellectual investment in 

evolving our understanding of the legal environment and how that environment impacts US policy 

options and potential UW campaigns. As the legal analysis demonstrates, there will be some cases 

in which both the person’s status as well as US government and international policy toward a 

resistance movement and its activities will be vague at best. This finding reinforces that strategists 

and practitioners must anticipate ambiguity in UW campaigns. Readers are encouraged read, 

analyze, debate, challenge, and consider how this analysis could impact Special Forces’ ability to 

perform its UW mission.

http://www.soc.mil/ARIS/ARIS_Legal_Status-BOOK.pdf

Case Studies in Insurgency and Revolutionary Warfare-Columbia (1964-2009)

This case study presents a detailed account of revolutionary and insurgent activities in Colom via 

during the period from 1964 until 2009. It is specifically intended to provide a foundation for 

Special Force personnel to understand the circumstances, environment, and catalyst for revolution; 

the organization of resistance or insurgent organizations and their development, modes of operation, 

external support, and successes and failures; the counterinsurgents’ organization, modes of 

operation, and external support, as well as their effects on resistance; and the outcomes and longterm ramification of the revolutionary/ insurgent activities. 

http://www.soc.mil/ARIS/ARIS_Colombia-BOOK.pdf

Case Study in Guerilla War: Greece During World War II, 1961 (Rev Ed.)

Greece was selected as a logical subject for a pilot study on a guerrilla campaign by this Office for a 

number of reasons. Many similarities and cogent analogies exist between the guerrilla war in 

Greece in the early 1940’s and those conflicts which have since broken out in other areas. On the 

other hand, certain aspects of the Greek situation are unique and of specific value. A study of the 
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guerrilla warfare in Greece provides extremely useful insights into various perplexing problems 

concerning the exploitation and countering of guerrilla groups.

http://www.soc.mil/ARIS/ARIS_Greece-BOOK-small.pdf

Casebook on Insurgency and Revolutionary Warfare: Algeria 1954-1962, 1963 (Rev 

Ed.) 

The Algerian Revolution case study is not a chronological narrative of the revolution from 

beginning to end. That type of historical case study is valuable for many purposes and a number 

have been published (see Bibliography). Rather, this study attempts to analyze, individually and 

successively through time, a number of factors in the revolutionary situation and the revolutionary 

movement itself which, on the basis of prior studies of revolutions, have been identified as being 

generally related to the occurrence, form, and outcome of a revolution. The case study, then, is 

devised to test the “explanatory power” of certain statements of relationships in terms of their 

applicability to the Algerian Revolution in particular. For this reason the reader is urged to read 

the definition of terms and the conceptual framework underlying the study which appears in the 

Technical Appendix.

http://www.soc.mil/ARIS/ARIS_Algeria-BOOK-small.pdf

Casebook on Insurgency and Revolutionary Warfare: Cuba 1953-1959 1963 (Rev 

Ed.)

This report on the recent Cuban Revolution is the first in a series of studies analyzing the rapid, 

often violent, change in political and socioeconomic order which is usually called revolution. From 

the many instances of modern revolution, the Cuban revolution was selected for these reasons: 

Cuban interests and those of the West are closely related and have been so for a long time. Second, 

events subsequent to the revolution have shown that the action or the lack of action by powers 

outside Cuba had a profound effect on the outcome of the revolution. Third, because the external 

powers involved in the post-revolutionary situation in Cuba are Communist, there is concern that 

the Cuban Revolution becomes a prototype for Communist revolutions elsewhere in Latin 

America. Lastly, the final form of the Cuban Revolution was different from its initial 

manifestations. It appeared originally to be a political protest movement with moderate aims; it 

grew into a major upheaval which changed the foundations of Cuban life.

http://www.soc.mil/ARIS/ARIS_Cuba-BOOK-small.pdf

Casebook on Insurgency and Revolutionary Warfare: Guatemala 1944-1954, 

November 1964 (Rev Ed.)

The Guatemalan study examines and attempts to analyze the rise and demise of the Communist 

Party in relation to the political activities of Guatemalan military officers during a period between 

two revolutions: the 1944 revolution which brought to power a liberal government within which the 

Communist Party gained power; and the 1954 revolution which made a conservative military 

officer head of state. The study also examines economic, social, and political factors which have 

been identified as being generally related to the rise of communism in Guatemala.

http://www.soc.mil/ARIS/ARIS_Guatemala-BOOK-small.pdf
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White Papers, Academic Studies, and Other Articles

UW Library – Reference Repository

Aggregation of over 1,000 indexed and searchable UW documents, including: resistance 

movements, insurgency resource academic studies, historical reports, theses, research, and analyses of 

various subjects and fields of study related to this aspect of human conflict. 

(SIPRNET) https://intelshare.intelink.sgov.gov/site/usasocg3/uwpedia

Little Green Men: A Primer on Modern Russian Unconventional Warfare, Ukraine 

2013–2014, by Robert R. Leonhard, Stephen P. Phillips, and the ARIS Team

This document is intended as a primer—a brief, informative treatment—concerning the ongoing 

conflict in Ukraine. It is an unclassified expansion of an earlier classified version that drew from 

numerous classified and unclassified sources, including key US Department of State diplomatic 

cables.

http://www.jhuapl.edu/ourwork/nsa/papers/ARIS_LittleGreenMen.pdf

Russian UW in the Ukraine, USASOC, 2014 (S//NF)

Vladimir Putin spoke at a collegium of the ministry of defense where he stated “Our task – to 

create mobile, well-equipped armed forces, ready to promptly and adequately respond to potential 

threats.”

(SIPRNET) https://intelshare.intelink.sgov.gov/site/usasocg3/uwpedia

Hybrid Structures, USASOC, 26 September 2014 

This paper is intended to serve as a catalyst to generate discourse among the ARSOF and 

Conventional Force communities to explore new and innovative concepts, doctrine, partnerships 

and technological advancements to fulfill the ARSOF mission command capabilities required after 

2022.

http://www.soc.mil/AUSA2014/Hybrid%20structures%20White%20Paper.pdf

Counter-Unconventional Warfare, 26 September 2014, USASOC

Hybrid Warfare involves a state or state-like actor’s use of all available diplomatic, informational, 

military, and economic means to destabilize an adversary. Whole-of-government by nature, 

Hybrid Warfare as seen in the Russian and Iranian cases places a particular premium on 

unconventional warfare (UW). 

https://info.publicintelligence.net/USASOC-CounterUnconventionalWarfare.pdf 

Redefining the Win, 4 January 2015, USASOC

The Redefined Win Concept centers on proactive U.S. competition with State / Non-State Actors 

for the relative superiority over the physical, cognitive and moral security of key populations in the 

areas we choose to campaign. 

https://usasoc.soc.mil/usasoc/g9/co/_layouts/WordViewer.aspx?id=/usasoc/g9/co/Shared%20Documents/01%20

White%20Papers/USASOC%20White%20Paper%20-%20Redefining%20the%20Win%20-

%20Final%20(V3%208)%20-%20RAW.docx&DefaultItemOpen=1
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SOF Support to Political Warfare, 29 April 2015, USASOC

This white paper presents the concept of SOF Support to Political Warfare to leaders and 

policymakers as a dynamic means of achieving national security goals and objectives. Embracing 

the whole-of-government framework with significant targeted military contributions, Political 

Warfare enables America’s leaders to undertake proactive strategic initiatives to shape 

environments, preempt conflicts, and significantly degrade adversaries’ hybrid and asymmetric 

advantages. 

https://usasoc.soc.mil/usasoc/g9/co/Shared%20Documents/Forms/Universal%20Columns.aspx?RootF

older=%2Fusasoc%2Fg9%2Fco%2FShared%20Documents%2F01%20White%20Papers%2FCurrent

Cognitive Joint Force Entry, 26 September 2014, USASOC

This paper describes the emerging idea of Cognitive Joint Force Entry. It provides an initial 

framework to consider how Inform and Influence Activities (IIA) can contribute to success in the 

shaping phase of campaigning. It also presents Cognitive Joint Force Entry as a vital capability in 

a critical domain working at strategic windows of opportunity where other instruments of national 

power may not or cannot function.

http://www.soc.mil/AUSA2014/Cognitive%20Joint%20Force%20Entry%20White%20Paper.pdf

Unconventional Options for the Defense of the Baltic States: The Swiss Approach 

by Jan Osburg, RAND, 2016

This RAND perspective examines how key concepts and elements of the decentralized resistance 

approach that was part of Swiss military strategy during the Cold War could also benefit the 

defense of the Baltic states.

http://www.rand.org/content/dam/rand/pubs/perspectives/PE100/PE179/RAND_PE17

9.pdf

Unconventional Warfare in the Gray Zone, Joseph L. Votel, Charles T. Cleveland, 

Charles T. Connett, and Will Irwin, National Defense University Press, 1 January 

2016

As Operations Enduring Freedom and Iraqi Freedom have come to an end, this article examines 

the current and future conditions and implications for SOF. As the U.S. Armed Forces are faced 

with growing fiscal constraints, a smaller military and waning support for further large-scale 

deployment of troops, the homeland will continue to face increasing threats and our response will 

take place in a segment of the conflict continuum that some are calling the “Gray Zone,” or an 

area that occupies space in the peace-conflict continuum. It is in here, the “Gray Zone”, that SOF 

is the preeminent force of choice in such conditions. Special warfare tasks will increasingly rely on 

SOF’s ability to build trust and confidence with our indigenous partners—host nation military 

and paramilitary forces, irregular resistance elements through either Unconventional Warfare 

(UW) or Foreign Internal Defense (FID) —to generate the requisite mass through indigenous 

forces, to engage our adversaries and thus eliminating the need for a large U.S. force presence. This 

paper further examines one key requirement of determining what success looks like in the “Gray 

Zone” and establishing meaningful criteria for measuring the effectiveness of such operations. 

“Unconventional Warfare in the Gray Zone” provides a different lens in which to evaluate what 

winning is, especially in places or situations where the U.S Government is unlikely to commit large 

military formations in decisive engagements against similarly armed foes. As this paper suggests, 

“winning” in the “Gray Zone” is not our traditional perception, but is best summed up as the 
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U.S. Government maintaining positional advantage, specifically our ability to influence partners, 

populations, and threats toward achievement of our regional or strategic objectives. In essence, it 

means retaining decision space, maximizing desirable strategic options, or simply denying an 

adversary a decisive positional advantage.

http://ndupress.ndu.edu/Media/News/NewsArticleView/tabid/7849/Article/643108/unc

onventional-warfare-in-the-gray-zone.aspx

“The New Social Media Paradox: a Symbol of Self-Determination or a Boon for 

Big Brother?” Sara Smyth, International Journal of Cyber Criminology, (August 2, 

2012). 2011 International Journal of Cyber Criminology (IJCC) ISSN: 0974 – 2891 

January – June 2012, Vol. 6 (1): 924–950

Examines social media applications and tools impact on demand for political reform. Part II 

discusses the use of Facebook, Twitter, Internet, and mobile phones by protesters around the world 

in 2011; Part III discusses democratic and authoritarian government response; Part IV studies 

relevant policy concerns in American and Canadian legal contexts; and Part V notes implications 

for other online social networking sites.

http://ssrn.com/abstract=2122939

“A Social Movement Approach to Unconventional Warfare,” Doowan Lee, Special 

Warfare Magazine, U.S. Army Special Warfare Center and School, July 2013

Delineates major components of social movement theory to inform UW planners on how to foment 

a resistance movement capable of garnering popular support as well as waging guerrilla warfare. 

Illustrates how the social movement approach can be operationalized for UW campaigns to

enhance operational flexibility and strategic utility of UW by incorporating the logic of social 

mobilization and understanding of how to leverage existing social infrastructure. Examines UWrelevant lessons from the Arab Spring and other resistance movements.

https://static.dvidshub.net/media/pubs/pdf_12346.pdf

“Quick Reference Guide of Terms” in “Defining War,” Jeffrey Hasler, Special 

Warfare, US Army John F. Kennedy Special Warfare Center and School, January 

2011.

Mr. Hasler discusses the importance in using properly approved doctrinal terms and 

definitions to provide continuity, unity, and clarity amongst Soldiers and leaders of every 

echelon.

http://www.soc.mil/swcs/swmag/archive/SW2401/SW2401DefiningWar.html

“Continuity in the Chinese Mind for War,” Jeffrey Hasler, Special Warfare, US 

Army John F. Kennedy Special Warfare Center and School, July 2012.

This article asserts the People’s Republic of China (PRC) as an expanding power and 

examines Chinese history to consider the continuity of special-warfare stratagem and will 

alive in the eternal Chinese military mind. It characterizes Chinese military tradition and 

discusses Confucianism, Lao Tzu’s Tao Te Ching, and Sun Tzu’s The Art of War, 

recommending further study of the PRC, Chinese traditions, and their challenges to 

American interests.
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http://www.soc.mil/SWCS/SWmag/archive/SW2503/SW2503ContinuityInTheChineseMi

ndForWar.html

“Crossing the Red Line: Social Media and Social Network Analysis for 

Unconventional Campaign Planning,” Seth Lucente and Greg Wilson, Special 

Warfare Magazine, Special Operations Command, July 2013

Analysis of considerations in Syria to develop unconventional intervention strategies that

achieve U.S. policy objectives and limit expenditures. Discusses creation of a common operational 

picture from which policymakers and SOF military commanders can make informed decisions 

using open source, social media, temporal records, geospatial data and relational analysis.

https://static.dvidshub.net/media/pubs/pdf_12346.pdf

Demystifying the Title 10-50 Debate: Distinguishing Military Operations, 

Intelligence Activities and Covert Action, Presidents and Fellows of Harvard 

College, Andru E. Wall, 2011

This article asserts that modern warfare requires close integration of military and intelligence forces. 

The Secretary of Defense possesses authorities under Title 10 and Title 50 and is best suited to 

lead U.S. government operations against external unconventional and cyber threats. Titles 10 and 

50 create mutually supporting, not mutually exclusive, authorities. Operations conducted under 

military command and control pursuant to a Secretary of Defense-issued execute order are military 

operations and not intelligence activities. Attempts by congressional overseers to redefine military 

preparatory operations as intelligence activities are legally and historically unsupportable. Congress 

should revise its antiquated oversight structure to reflect our integrated and interconnected world.

http://www.soc.mil/528th/PDFs/Title10Title50.pdf

Guidelines for Relations Between U.S. Armed Forces and Non-Governmental 

Humanitarian Organizations in Hostile or Potentially Hostile Environments, 2007

Short pamphlet with recommended guidelines to facilitate interaction between U.S. Armed Forces 

and NGOs.

http://www.usip.org/sites/default/files/guidelines_pamphlet.pdf

Guide to Non-Governmental Organizations for the Military: A Primer, 2009

This book is about NGOs, often referred to as private voluntary organizations (PVOs), 

nonprofits, charities, and (humanitarian) aid organizations. Its aim is to orient the military with 

NGOs: their operations, strengths, limitations, budgets, practices, and other characteristics that 

make them unique actors in a large and dynamic humanitarian community. This book has been 

produced specifically for uniformed services personnel, but it may prove useful to others in 

understanding some of the military-specific issues in foreign aid. Designed as a quick reference, 

annex 2 is a compilation of the most informative websites highlighted in different sections of the 

book. Annex 1 covers the basics for NGOs commonly found in humanitarian emergencies around 

the world and ones the military are likely to encounter.

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/235163824_Guide_to_Nongovernmental_Organiza

tions_for_the_Military_A_primer_for_the_military_about_private_voluntary_and_nongovernm

ental_organizations_operating_in_humanitarian_emergencies_globally or

http://fas.org/irp/doddir/dod/ngo-guide.pdf
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Christophe Fournier, Doctors Without Borders, NATO Speech, December 8, 2009

Fournier explains why Doctors without Borders can never be part of a “military-humanitarian 

coalition”, the importance to make a clear distinction between impartial humanitarian actors and 

other more partisan aid actors, and finally the harmful consequences on the local population when 

this distinction is blurred. This conference was an opportunity to clarify that Doctors without 

Borders doesn’t believe in a unity of purpose, but in a mutual understanding with all warring 

parties that allows for the deployment of impartial aid operations in order to contain the 

devastations of war.

http://www.msf.org/article/nato-speech-christophe-fournier

(S//NF) Non Standard Logistics Support to Unconventional Warfare: Sourcebook 

for Planning and Capability Development (U), Matthew Boyer, Dwayne Butler, 

John Halliday, Kristan Kinghoffer, and Roy Speaks, RAND Corporation, February 

2012 

Examines the role and ability of USASOC logistics to support UW campaigns, with emphasis 

on those phases that require clandestine support to an insurgency. This study is of interest to 

military logistics planners and developers, particularly those supporting UW.

(SIPRNET) https://intelshare.intelink.sgov.gov/sites/rand-cooperation

“Personnel Recovery Operations for Special Operations Forces in Urban 

Environments: Modeling Successful Overt and Clandestine Methods of Recovery,”

Marshall Ecklund and Michael McNerney, June 2004

This thesis presents two prescriptive models for approaching challenges to SOF with regard to PR 

in an urban environment. It begins by developing a model for overt recovery methods using 

McRaven’s model of Special Operations as the foundation. This model is then tested against three 

different case studies from operations in Mogadishu, Somalia in 1993. The original six principles 

proposed by McRaven are complimented with four newly prescribed principles that account for the 

interactions of the isolated personnel. A nonconventional assisted recovery (NAR) model is 

presented for clandestine personnel recovery methods. This model borrows the relative superiority 

concept from McRaven’s theory, but proposes six different principles. The model is evaluated using 

three case studies, one from the French theater of operations during World War II, another from 

the Korean War, and the third from Operation Iraqi Freedom. 

http://www.dtic.mil/docs/citations/ADA425043

“The US Personnel Recovery Architecture under Chief of Mission Responsibility: 

Department of State and Department of Defense Coordination,” Alejandro Nunez 

22 May 2013

This paper discusses the importance of identifying gaps in PR architectures, determining how the 

DoS and DoD effectively coordinate during a PR event (within a Chief of Mission environment), 

and focuses on U.S. Army operations in the Western Hemisphere.

http://www.dtic.mil/docs/citations/ADA590491

“Whole of Government Approach to Personnel Recovery”, William J. Rowell, 22 

Mar 2012

This paper aims to create a shared understanding of the specific and even unique aspects of 

personnel recovery at the strategic level. An examination of Annex 1 to National Security 
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Presidential Directive - 12 provides a policy understanding that incorporates personnel recovery 

into a holistic government approach. This paper describes personnel recovery architecture, the two 

fundamental models used overseas, and recommends the development of a national strategy for PR.

http://www.dtic.mil/docs/citations/ADA561846

Books

iGuerilla: Reshaping the Face of War in the 21st Century, 20 May 2015, John 

Sutherland

ISBN-10: 1940773105

ISBN-13: 978-1940773100

Author John Sutherland alerts those in the United States and Western Europe to the threat posed 

by the modern Salafist-Jihadi insurgency which has infiltrated the West via virtual and physical 

means. Sutherland argues that the Wiki-warrior phenomena of armed insurgents empowered by 

globalization, information-based technologies, and sophisticated network methodologies are not an 

aberration, and represent a grave threat to international security.

Invisible Armies: An Epic History of Guerrilla Warfare from Ancient Times to the 

Present, 2013, Max Boot 

ISBN-13: 978-0871406880

ISBN-10: 0871406888

Invisible Armies presents an entirely original narrative of warfare, which demonstrates that, far 

from the exception, loosely organized partisan or guerrilla are the historical norm.

U.S. Army Special Warfare: Its Origins: Revised Edition, 24 May 2002, Alfred H. 

Paddock Jr.

ISBN-10: 0700611770

ISBN-13: 978-0700611775

Special warfare was a key component of American military operations long before Afghanistan 

and even before the heroic deeds of the Green Berets. Alfred Paddock's revised edition of his classic 

study for two decades the definitive word on the subject honors the fiftieth anniversary of the 

organizations responsible for Army special warfare, and serves as a timely reminder of the likely 

role such forces can play in combating threats to American national security.

American Guerrilla: The Forgotten Heroics of Russell W. Volckmann, April 20, 

2012, Mike Guardia

ISBN-10: 1612000894

ISBN-13: 978-1612000893

The Man Who Escaped from Bataan, Raised a Filipino Army against the Japanese, and became 

the True "Father" of Army Special Forces

Behind Japanese Lines: With the OSS in Burma, 4 February 2014, Richard Dunlop

ISBN-10: 1626365385

ISBN-13: 978-1626365384

In early 1942, with World War II going badly, President Roosevelt turned to General William 

“Wild Bill” Donovan, now known historically as the “Father of Central Intelligence,” with orders 
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to form a special unit whose primary mission was to prepare for the eventual reopening of the 

Burma Road linking Burma and China by performing guerilla operations behind the Japanese 

lines.

The Jedburghs: The Secret History of the Allied Special Forces, France 1944 

Paperback – October 10, 2006, Will Erwin

ISBN-10: 1586484621

ISBN-13: 978-1586484620

The story of the Special Forces in World War II has never fully been told before. Information 

about them began to be declassified only in the 1980s. Known as the Jedburghs, these Special 

Forces were selected from members of the British, American, and Free French armies to be 

dropped in teams of three deep behind German lines

Disrupting Dark Networks (Structural Analysis in the Social Sciences), 10 January 

2013, Sean F. Everton

ISBN-10: 1107606683

ISBN-13: 978-1107606685

This is the first book in which counterinsurgency theory and social network analysis are coupled. 

Disrupting Dark Networks focuses on how social network analysis can be used to craft strategies 

to track, destabilize, and disrupt covert and illegal networks. The book begins with an overview of 

the key terms and assumptions of social network analysis and various counterinsurgency strategies.

Social Network Analysis: Methods and Applications (Structural Analysis in the 

Social Sciences), 25 November 1994, Katherine Faust

ISBN-10: 0521387078

ISBN-13: 978-0521387071

Social network analysis, which focuses on relationships among social entities, is used widely in the 

social and behavioral sciences, as well as in economics, marketing, and industrial engineering. 

Social Network Analysis: Methods and Applications reviews and discusses methods for the 

analysis of social networks with a focus on applications of these methods to many substantive 

examples

Comparative Perspectives on Social Movements: Political Opportunities, 

Mobilizing Structures, and Cultural Framings (Cambridge Studies in Comparative 

Politics), 26 January 1996, Doug McAdam, John D. McCarthy, Mayer N. Zald

ISBN-10: 0521485169

ISBN-13: 978-0521485166

Social movements such as environmentalism, feminism, nationalism, and the anti-immigration 

movement figure prominently in the modern world. Comparative Perspectives on Social Movements 

examines social movements in a comparative perspective, focusing on the role of ideology and beliefs, 

mechanisms of mobilization, and how politics shapes the development and outcomes of movements.

Dynamics of Contention (Cambridge Studies in Contentious Politics), 10 

September 2001, Doug McAdam, Sidney Tarrow, Charles Tilly

ISBN-10: 0521011876

ISBN-13: 978-0521011877
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Dissatisfied with the compartmentalization of studies concerning strikes, wars, revolutions, social 

movements, and other forms of political struggle, McAdam, Tarrow, and Tilly identify causal 

mechanisms and processes that recur across a wide range of contentious politics. Critical of the 

static, single-actor models (including their own) that have prevailed in the field, they shift the focus 

of analysis to dynamic interaction.

SOE: The Special Operations Executive 1940-1946

1984, M.R.D. Foot

ISBN-0-563-20193-2

SOE, the Special Operations Executive was small but tough British secret service that was set up 

in July 1940. It was composed of 10,000 men and 3,200 women of whom a full third were secret 

agents. The unit exercised vast influence on the war all over the world. This book clearly explains 

how SOE was run, the caliber of its men and women, the tools they used, how and where they 

applied them and their successes and failures

The Secret Army: The Memoirs of General Bor-Komorowski, December 1, 2011, 

Tadeuz Bor-Komorowski

ISBN-978-1-84832-595-1

The tale of Bor-Komorowski and the Uprising is the story of a proud nation and their fight 

against enemies and betrayal by allies. Based on true encounters when Germany invaded Poland in 

1939. Bor was the commander of units defending the Vistula River before being pushed eastwards 

by the German’s fierce advance. Despite being surrounded be German forces, he escaped to 

Cracow. Although he planned to escape to the West, he was ordered to stay and start a resistance 

movement. In the summer of 1941, he was sent to Warsaw and by 1943 had been appointed lead 

of the Home Army. The Polish resistance carried out sabotage and vital intelligence for the allies 

but their main task was to prepare for an uprising when the Nazis were in retreat to help liberate 

the country. After receiving orders from the Polish Government-in-Exile to commence operations 

on 1 August 1944, the Resistance held out for sixty-three days against vastly superior armaments. 

It was compromised when the oft-promise counter-attack from the Russians failed to materialize.

Guiding Principles for Stabilization and Reconstruction, United States Institute for 

Peace, November 1, 2009.

ISBN 978-1-60127-033-7

Discusses American Peace-building in developing countries.

http://www.usip.org/sites/default/files/guiding_principles_full.pdf

Videos

Defiance (2008)

A historic war drama based on the real-life Bielski Partisans. During World War II (1939-

1945), two Polish Jewish brothers join anti-Nazi freedom fighters in the Białowieża Forest, 

straddling the border of Belarus and Poland, where they eventually manage to create a make-shift 

town harboring over 1000 Eastern European Jews. Details the tactics used by the Bielski 

Partisans to evade and counter-attack anti-partisan police forces and the German military.
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Michael Collins (1996)

Biopic of Michael Collins, Irish revolutionary, veteran of the Easter Rising (1916) against the 

British Army, and leader of the Irish Republican Army (IRA) during the Irish War of 

Independence (1919-1921). Details Collins' role in the development of the IRA's anti-British 

guerrilla tactics; his emergence as one of the era's preeminent Irish political leaders and a key 

architect of the 1921 Anglo-Irish Treaty; and his death during the Irish Civil War (1922-

1923).

Farewell to the King (1989)

A U.S. military deserter takes refuge among Dayak tribesmen in Borneo during World War II 

(1939-1945). After being named king of the tribe, the deserter is approached by British forces 

who aim to stage a guerrilla resistance struggle against the Japanese, who have occupied Borneo. 

The deserter mobilizes his tribe in the anti-Japanese struggle.

Red Dawn (1984)

This Cold War classic tells the story of a rag-tag group of Colorado high school students who take 

to the hills to wage a guerrilla insurgency against the Soviet-Cuban-Nicaraguan military forces 

who have invaded the continental United States, initiating World War III. Fighting behind 

enemy lines, living off the land, and using stealth and maneuverability, the kids manage to severely 

disrupt a much larger conventional military's campaign of occupation.

The Dogs of War (1980)

James Shannon, an American Vietnam War veteran working as mercenary, is hired by a British 

corporation to assess the fictional resource-rich West African country of Zangaro in order to 

determine the stability of the regime and the country's foreign investment potential.

Lawrence of Arabia (1962)

Englishman who led Arab Bedouin fighters against Ottoman Turkish military forces during 

World War I (1914-1918). Fluent in Arabic and an expert in Bedouin and Muslim culture, 

Lawrence lived among the Bedouin and managed to unite various warring tribes, leading them in a 

guerrilla campaign against the Turkish army.

The Special Operations Executive 1940 - 1946

What was the foundation of the underground army that helped turn the balance of power during 

World War Two? The agents of the SOE demonstrated tremendous courage, and enjoyed many 

successes, in their guerrilla war against Hitler's forces. This is their amazing story.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/worldwars/wwtwo/soe_01.shtml 

Terms

Area Command - In unconventional warfare, the irregular organizational structure 

established within an unconventional warfare operational area to command and 

control irregular forces advised by Army Special Forces. It denotes the resistance 

leadership that directs, controls, integrates, and supports all resistance activities in 

the area of operations (AO). (ATP 3-05.1)
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Area Complex - a clandestine, dispersed network of facilities to support resistance 

activities. It is a “liberated zone” designed to achieve security, control, dispersion, 

and flexibility. To support resistance activities, an area complex must include a 

security system, base camps, communications, logistics, medical facilities, supply 

caches, training areas, and escape and recovery mechanisms. The area complex may 

consist of friendly villages or towns under guerrilla military or political control.

(ATP 3-05.1)

Auxiliary - For the purpose of unconventional warfare, the 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. (ADRP 3-05)

Cache - A source of subsistence and supplies, typically containing items such as 

food, water, medical items, and/or communications equipment, packaged to 

prevent damage from exposure and hidden in isolated locations by such methods 

as burial, concealment, and/or submersion, to support isolated personnel. (JP 3-50)

Clandestine Operation - An 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 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. 

(JP 3-05.1)

Covert Operation - An operation that is so planned and executed as to conceal the 

identity of or permit plausible denial by the sponsor. (JP 3-05)

Denied Area - An area under enemy or unfriendly control in which friendly forces 

cannot expect to operate successfully within existing operational constraints and 

force capabilities. (JP 3-05)

Government-in-Exile - A government that has been displaced from its country, 

but remains recognized as the legitimate sovereign authority. (ATP 3-05.1)

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. Although a 

guerrilla and guerrilla forces can exist independent of an insurgency, guerrillas 

normally operate in covert and overt resistance operations of an insurgency. (ATP 

3-05.1)
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Guerrilla Base - A temporary site where guerrilla installations, headquarters, and 

some guerrilla units are located. A guerrilla base is considered to be transitory and 

must be capable of rapid displacement by personnel within the base. (ATP 3-05.1)

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. (JP 3-05)

Guerrilla Warfare - Military and paramilitary operations conducted in enemy-held 

or hostile territory by irregular, predominantly indigenous forces. See also 

unconventional warfare. (JP 3-05.1)

Insurgency - The organized use of subversion and violence by a group or 

movement that seeks to overthrow or force change of a governing authority. 

Insurgency can also refer to the group itself. (JP 3-24)

Intelligence Operations - The variety of intelligence and counterintelligence tasks 

that are carried out by various intelligence organizations and activities within the 

intelligence process. (JP 2-01)

Intelligence Preparation of the Battlespace (IPB) - The analytical 

methodologies employed by the Services or joint force component commands to 

reduce uncertainties concerning the enemy, environment, time, and terrain. 

Intelligence preparation of the battlespace supports the individual operations of the 

joint force component commands. See also joint intelligence preparation of the 

operational environment. (JP 2-01.3)

Joint Intelligence Preparation of the Operational Environment (JIPOE) - The 

analytical process used by joint intelligence organizations to produce intelligence 

estimates and other intelligence products in support of the joint force commander's 

decision making process. It is a continuous process that includes defining the 

operational environment; describing the impact of the operational environment; 

evaluating the adversary; and determining adversary courses of action. (JP 2-01.3)

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. Execution of these operations is undertaken with the 

knowledge that the action and/or sponsorship of the operation may preclude 

plausible denial by the initiating power. (JP 3-05.1)

Mission Support Site - A preselected area used as a temporary base or stopover 

point. The mission support site is used to increase the operational range within the 

joint special operations area. (ATP 3-05.1)
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Nonconventional Assisted Recovery (NAR) - Personnel recovery conducted by 

indigenous/surrogate personnel that are trained, supported, and led by special 

operations forces, unconventional warfare ground and maritime forces, or other 

government agencies’ personnel that have been specifically trained and directed to 

establish and operate indigenous or surrogate infrastructures. Also called NAR. (JP 

3-50) (Also refer to DODI 3002.04, Nov 17, 2014.) 

Operational Environment - A composite of the conditions, circumstances, and 

influences that affect the employment of capabilities and bear on the decisions of 

the commander. (JP 3-0)

Personnel Recovery (PR) - The aggregation of military, civil, and political efforts 

to recover captured, detained, evading, isolated or missing personnel from 

uncertain or hostile environments and denied areas. Personnel recovery may occur 

through military action, action by nongovernmental organizations, other U.S.

Government-approved action, and diplomatic initiatives, or through any 

combination of these options. Although personnel recovery may occur during 

noncombatant evacuation operations (NEOs), NEO is not a subset of personnel 

recovery. (DODD 2310.2)

Pilot Team - A deliberately structured composite organization comprised of 

Special Forces operational detachment members, with likely augmentation by 

interagency or other skilled personnel, designed to infiltrate a designated area to 

conduct sensitive preparation of the environment activities and assess the potential 

to conduct unconventional warfare in support of U.S. objectives. (ATP 3-05.1)

Preparation of the Environment - An umbrella term for operations and activities 

conducted by selectively trained special operations forces to develop an 

environment for potential future special operations. (JP 3-05)

Recovery Mechanisms (RM) - Indigenous or surrogate infrastructure that is 

specifically developed, trained, and directed by United States forces to contact, 

authenticate, support, move, and exfiltrate isolated personnel from uncertain or 

hostile areas back to friendly control. Also called RM. (JP 3-50)

Recovery Teams (RT) – In personnel recovery, designated United States or 

United States-directed forces, that are specifically trained to operate in conjunction 

with indigenous or surrogate forces, and are tasked to contact, authenticate, 

support, move, and exfiltrate isolated personnel. Also called RT. (JP 3-50)

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. (JP 3-05)

Shadow Government - Governmental elements and activities performed by the 

irregular organization that will eventually take the place of the existing government. 
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Members of the shadow government can be in any element of the irregular 

organization (underground, auxiliary, or guerrilla force). (ATP 3-05.1)

Subversion - Actions designed to undermine the military, economic, psychological, 

or political strength or morale of a governing authority. See also unconventional 

warfare. (JP 3-24)

Subversive Political Action - A planned series of activities designed to 

accomplish political objectives by influencing, dominating, or displacing individuals 

or groups who are so placed as to affect the decisions and actions of another

government. (JP 1-02)

Unconventional Assisted Recovery (UAR) - Nonconventional Assisted 

Recovery conducted by special operations forces. (JP 3-50)

Unconventional Assisted Recovery Coordination Cell (UARCC) - A 

compartmented special operations forces facility, established by the joint force 

special operations component commander, staffed on a continuous basis by 

supervisory personnel and tactical planners to coordinate, synchronize, and deconflict nonconventional assisted recovery operations within the operational area 

assigned to the joint force commander. (JP 3-50)

Unconventional Assisted Recovery Mechanism (UARM) - UARM 

encompasses SOF activities related to the creation, coordination, supervision, 

command and control, and use of recovery mechanisms either in support of 

Combatant Commands, or as directed by the National Command Authorities. 

UARM’s may involve using an unconventional assisted recovery team (DODI 

2310.6)

Unconventional Assisted Recovery Team (UART) - A designated special 

operations forces unconventional warfare ground or maritime force capable of

conducting unconventional assisted recovery with indigenous or surrogate forces. 

(DODI 2310.6)

Underground - A cellular covert element within unconventional warfare that is 

compartmentalized and conducts covert or clandestine activities in areas normally 

denied to the auxiliary and the guerrilla force. (ADRP 3-05)