Irregular Warfare Center opens Published April 16, 2009 By Nellis Public Affairs 99th Air Base Wing NELLIS AIR FORCE BASE, Nev. -- Brig. Gen. Kevin McLaughlin, U.S. Air Force Warfare Center vice commander, and Col. Ross Victor, director of the Coalition and Irregular Warfare Center of Excellence (CIWC), presided over the opening ceremony of the CIWC, April 6, here. The official opening of the CIWC is a first for the Air Force. The mission of this center is to facilitate the development of USAF capabilities in irregular warfare, and to facilitate the development of relevant airpower capabilities, capacities and relationships in partner nations in the Long War, said Capt. John L. Strauss, CIWC executive officer. "Irregular warfare is generally used as a blanket term for anything that isn't major combat operations," Colonel Victor said. "If you look at the early phases of Operation Iraqi Freedom, that was a traditional major combat operation with major fielded forces on both sides. But after all that was over, we found ourselves fighting a counterinsurgency campaign." "Incorporating irregular warfare into conventional warfare has been a common practice throughout the earliest warfare and continued through modern times to include the Vietnam War," said Captain Strauss. "Our proficiency in this type of warfare has taken the rhythm of the 'phoenix cycle'- dissolving as the wars ended, until now." Starting with a dedicated crew of 13, the CIWC came to be in May 2006 under the support and vision of the previous chief of staff of the Air Force, Gen. Michael T. Moseley. General Moseley's goal was to make the Air Force as capable in irregular warfare as we are in major combat operations, Colonel Victor said. To meet these needs, the staff of CIWC has since grown to include hired contractors. The CIWC has focused their efforts on irregular warfare best practices, providing strategic air power assessments to partner nations in the Long War, and Improvised Explosive Device network defeat, said Colonel Victor. Many of the challenges faced in this type of warfare involve non-military forces. "The hardest part is seeing progress when you've been successful," said Colonel Victor. "Because a lot of the work is education, how do you know when someone's got it? We're trying to turn this big ship, called the Air Force, and change direction. " Recently, an irregular warfare tiger team was commissioned by Gen. Norton A. Shwartz, the current chief of staff of the Air Force, to visit each of the major commands to gain an understanding of irregular warfare and build partnership activities in each of the theaters, Colonel Victor said. The tiger team, consisting of experienced experts in air advisory activities and irregular warfare, will gather input of the future demands for these activities, which will form the foundation for the changing the Air Force to better meet the challenges of irregular warfare. A true indication of the success of the CIWC would be the incorporation of the principles of irregular warfare throughout the Air Force doctrine and understanding that irregular warfare is a part of the spectrum of military operations, said Colonel Victor.
