Course Overview
IW 201 expands upon the baseline delivered in IW 101 and provides a deeper understanding of the definitions, concepts, activities and employment of IW as a tool of modern statecraft. The course examines seven unique definitions and conceptualizations of IW, both within the United States and globally. It then details the 12 recognized missions, operations, and activities of IW, providing examples of how, why, and when these missions are conducted. Finally, IW 201 provides detailed vignettes describing how U.S. adversaries are employing IW approaches around the world today. The vignettes cover: China’s IW strategy in the South China Sea, the Russian IW campaign to seize Crimea in 2014, and Iranian use of proxies as an asymmetric strategy.
There are no prerequisites to enroll in IW 201, however completion of IW 101 is highly encouraged. If you have not completed IW 101 (90 min), please register and complete it from within the CHDS’ Self Study Course catalog.
Learning Objectives:
- Explore the complex character of irregular warfare.
- Identify irregular warfare missions, operations and activities.
- Examine contemporary employment of irregular warfare by foreign threats.
Irregular Warfare Center (IWC)
The stated mission of the Irregular Warfare Center (IWC) from Title X § 345 is: “to serve as a central mechanism for developing the irregular warfare knowledge of the Department of Defense and advancing the understanding of irregular warfare concepts and doctrine, in collaboration with key partners and allies.”
Information about the IWC, to include additional training opportunities can be found on the IWC website at: https://irregularwarfarecenter.org
Irregular Warfare 201
About the Instructor
Dr. Jeffrey V. Gardner
Dr. Gardner is the Chief of Curriculum and Senior Faculty at the Irregular Warfare Center (IWC). He is a retired U.S. Army Lieutenant Colonel who served at all levels from tactical to strategic. He has deployments to the Balkans, Afghanistan and in a Joint Special Operations Task Force in Iraq. He served at the U.S. European Command and on the staff of U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff. After retiring he worked at NATO Allied Command Transformation as a counter terrorism planner and instructor. He also served as a Colonel of Militia commanding a state defense force brigade for incident response, command and control and crisis management.
Dr Gardner has also worked as faculty at the NATO Special Operations University for 10 years teaching intelligence and advanced courses such as Countering Hybrid Threats and Comprehensive Defense for Allied Special Operations Command (SOFCOM). Dr Gardner has over 18 years of instructional experience including in the U.S. National Defense University Joint and Combined Warfighting School as an Assistant Professor, Curriculum Lead and won faculty of the year in 2011. He holds three master’s degrees, a PhD in Homeland Security, is an Army Strategist, a U.S. Joint Planner, and an Air War College graduate. Dr Gardner also instructs civilian college courses on Homeland Security/Defense.