Unconventional vs Conventional Warfare?

Question

What kind of warfare are we fighting in today and in the future? Will Special Ops be used more frequently than conventional forces?

Answer 1

The current US military doctrine is similar to that of the Cold War. Our armies are geared towards fighting large land battles on other continents, against other forces of similar composition. In that respect, we are invincible. However, the current world military situation does not lend itself to our style of warfare. Just look at Iraq: when we fought their conventional forces, we destroyed them, but unconventional guerrillas with IED's are causing much more damage. Same with Vietnam. Every time we fought them face to face, we defeated them, but they sniped us and shot mortars at us, and our own media forced us to leave.



Special Ops are increasingly being used more and more often. With the extensive media coverage of most of the world, there are few large operations or conflicts that go unnoticed. A job that would've been handled by a company of Marines in the past now is done by a squad of Special Forces, so that the operation can be kept under the radar. In the future, special forces will be used more and more often, as the threat of terrorist attacks become greater.

Answer 2

No more conventional warfare. Essentially every war we have fought since at least Vietnam, and possibly Korea, has been unconventional. We have tried to use conventional tactics, but with very limited success.

Answer 3

it depends on the enemy. Too broad a question. In Iraq, it's a police situation, trying to maintain order and peace. In Afghanistan, they're trying to find a group of people that are in hiding, and being supported by some of the local tribes.



The future... Iran, similar to Iraq, but with better weapons and not afraid to use it. N. Korea... maybe they'll just negotiate against war. But, it's a treacherous region with lots of hills and a morally defeated populace. China, lot's of people in a large military, but technowise, they're still a bit behind us. Venezuela, should be pretty easy and the population will enjoy the removal of Hugo... as long as we don't overstay our welcome. Russia, the next great enemy... equally matched and since the fall of communism, they've acquired a great wealth in oil and have shown their regional dominance with the invasion of Georgia while we just sat by and watched. We're going back to a dual Superpower society... East v West... again... this time, they might win. They've learned from their mistakes while we've gotten soft, especially where it counts... in Washington.



Spec Ops... will always be needed. And will only get better in the future. Hopefully training standards don't decline and equipment gets better.

Answer 4

Special Ops are conventional forces. Conventional warfare is the face to face type of fighting with guns, missiles, etc. Unconventional warfare consists of nuclear weapons, biological warfare, lasers, satellites, that sort of thing.

Answer 5

Unless it is an organized army vs another army (think WW1 and WW2) then it will always be unconventional urban guerilla warfare.



Special Ops will be used more frequently, and are currently being used at a greater number than ever before.

Answer 6

"conventional" is typical. this means to our day and age. i.e. in the revolutionary times fighting in the woods, using cover, and not in flanks was unconventional. now if you dont do that you will get annihilated unless your as numerous as the chinese. so if in the future lets say we have lazers then guns are obsolete but when they first came out it was not the typical firearm it wasnt "conventional"



hope i helped.