Field Manual FM 3-24 MCWP 3-33.5 Insurgencies and Countering Insurgencies May 2014

Field Manual FM 3-24 MCWP 3-33.5 Insurgencies and Countering Insurgencies May 2014 provides doctrine for Army and Marine units that are countering an insurgency. It provides a doctrinal foundation for counterinsurgency and is a guide for units fighting or training for counterinsurgency operations. Part one, the "Strategic and Operational Context," provides a framework for understanding the environment where a counterinsurgency exists. Part one consists of chapters one through three. Part two, "Insurgencies," provides a doctrinal framework for understanding an insurgency. Part two consists of chapters four and five. Part three, "Counterinsurgencies," describes how to plan and execute operations to enable a host nation to defeat an insurgency. Chapter 1, "Understanding the Strategic Context," answers the questions of how and why U.S. forces might get involved in a counterinsurgency. Chapter 1 highlights that there are many different ways U.S. forces could counter an insurgency and that there are a range of various contexts in which an insurgency can occur. Chapter 2, "Understanding an Operational Environment," provides context for an operational environment where an insurgency might be occurring. Chapter 3, "Culture," describes the role of culture in counterinsurgency operations. Understanding culture is essential in any effort to support a counterinsurgency effort. Culture is of unique importance in understanding an operational environment. Chapter 4, "Insurgency Prerequisites and Fundamentals," provides doctrine for understanding the prerequisites of an insurgency and the root causes that allow an insurgency to keep and gain legitimacy. Chapter 5, "Insurgency Threat Characteristics," provides doctrine for understanding the threat characteristics of an insurgency. Chapter 6, "Command and Control and Mission Command," provides doctrine for executing command and control under the philosophy of mission command. In a counterinsurgency effort, many units may perform many different tasks in decentralized operations. Understanding decentralized operations and ensuring these units are meeting the overall commander's intent is essential for successful counterinsurgency operations. Chapter 7, "Planning and Operational Considerations," provides guidance on how commanders and staffs can work from conceptual planning to detailed planning in counterinsurgency operations. Chapter 8, "Intelligence," provides considerations for intelligence in counterinsurgency. Because understanding the environment is essential in counterinsurgency, intelligence facilities successful operations. Chapter 9, "Direct Approaches to Counter an Insurgency," provides guidance on how the Army and the Marine Corps directly counter an insurgency at the operational and tactical level. The operational philosophy behind the direct approach is shape-clear-hold-build-transition. Chapter 10, "Indirect Methods for Countering Insurgencies," provides a framework for working with and through a host nation. While the U.S. may provide the primary counterinsurgent forces, it may also work indirectly through the host nation. There are also important indirect enablers. Chapter 11, "Working with Host-Nation Forces," provides a foundation for understanding how security cooperation efforts are integrated into a counterinsurgency effort. Whether U.S. forces are, for a time, the primary counterinsurgent forces or they are working indirectly through a host nation, enabling the host nation through security cooperation activities is essential. Chapter 12, "Assessments," provides doctrine for understanding how a counterinsurgency environment changes and determining if counterinsurgent actions are having an effect on achieving the desired end state. Chapter 13, "Legal Considerations" provides some legal considerations that are important for commanders and staffs to consider in all counterinsurgency operations.