UW Pocket Guide
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 52589 (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)
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