page_title: Counter-insurgency
section_title: Air operations
hierarchical_section_title: Counter-insurgency / Tactics / Air operations
caption_attribution_description: English: A Special Forces soldier with A Co., 1st Bn., 7th Special Forces Group gives an Afghan boy a coloring book in Kandahar Province, during a meeting with local leaders, Sept. 12, 2008. The SF team and Afghan commandos met with religious leaders to gain their support and obtain information about insurgents in the region. Special Forces soldiers, working with Afghan commandos in this region, often wear the Battle Dress Uniform to blend in with their Afghan counterparts. (Photo by Steve Hebert)
context_page_description: A counter-insurgency or counterinsurgency is defined by the United States Department of State as "comprehensive civilian and military efforts taken to simultaneously defeat and contain insurgency and address its root causes".
  An insurgency is a rebellion against a constituted authority when those taking part in the rebellion are not recognized as belligerents. It is "the organized use of subversion and violence to seize, nullify or challenge political control of a region. As such, it is primarily a political struggle, in which both sides use armed force to create space for their political, economic, and influence activities to be effective."
  Counter-insurgency campaigns of duly-elected or politically recognized governments take place during war, occupation by a foreign military or police force, and when internal conflicts that involve subversion and armed rebellion occur. The most effective counterinsurgency campaigns "integrate and synchronize political, security, economic, and informational components that reinforce governmental legitimacy and effectiveness while reducing insurgent influence over the population.
context_section_description: Air power can play an important role in counter-insurgency, capable of carrying out a wide range of operations:
  Transportation in support of combatants and civilians alike, including casualty evacuations;
  Intelligence gathering, surveillance, and reconnaissance;
  Psychological operations, through leaflet drops, loudspeakers, and radio broadcasts;
  Air-to-ground attack against 'soft' targets.
caption: A 7th SFG Special Forces medic gives a young boy a coloring book during a meeting with village religious leaders to gain their support and obtain information, Afghanistan 2008
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