Irregular Warfare: A Leadership Challenge

War is often thought of in the traditional large force-on-force style of conflict – with famous battles of World War I, World War II, and the Korean War often at the forefront. Yet Irregular Warfare (IW) is a different kind of conflict that intensified in the last few decades with the wars in the Middle East. This article examines the challenges associated with IW, to include leader development and necessary changes, unit recognition and mitigation of high stress levels, and creating a shared understanding between allied nations to increase buy-in and mission success.