The Forgotten Lessons of Counterinsurgency

Throughout USAF history, the primary focus of the leadership and overall strategy has focused on traditional wars. The construct of the USAF today stems from the pursuit of force structures and weapon systems designed to succeed in a traditional war confrontation. The emphasis on traditional wars and the corresponding USAF culture often resulted in a negative effect on the capability of the USAF to employ airpower in the special operations or counterinsurgency (COIN) realm. In the past, the USAF achieved dramatic strides in developing assets and forces capable of accomplishing special operations missions when the need arose. However, the appeal of traditional wars often resulted in the systematic removal of this capability after conflicts due to post war budget constraints.