Course Overview
Irregular Warfare (IW) challenges frequently span national boundaries and require coordinated strategies among U.S. government agencies as well as allied and partner nations. Toward this end, IW-301 is built to educate practitioners on the form, functions, and features of IW campaigning with a focus on the development of a regionally based, integrated interagency IW campaign plan. This course reviews and expands on key concepts from baseline IWC online courses and includes detailed, IW perspectives on the interagency, cross-government planning, operational design, and the principles of IW campaigning.
Course Requirements
IW-301 requires completion of a) self-paced eLearning modules with knowledge checks, b) development and submission of a regional, integrated interagency IW campaign plan, and c) an evaluation of the submitted IW campaign plan compared to an exemplar (provided after submission).
Estimated Learning Time
The time to complete IW-301 will vary greatly depending on students’ a) completion of previous IWC courses (i.e., IW-101, 110, 201), b) existing knowledge and practical experience with IW concepts in the global operating environment, and c) individual effort and level of detail put into the development of the integrated interagency IW campaign plan submission. Estimate between 8–16 hours to complete the entire course.
Course Outcome
Participants completing all course requirements will receive a completion certificate and be awarded 12 hours of learning credit.
Learning Objectives:
- Identify the principles of interagency cooperation and the IW-related roles of U.S. Government departments and agencies.
- Analyze a strategic situation containing IW-related challenges and opportunities.
- Plan the employment of IW activities during competition within an integrated interagency IW Campaign Plan.
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.”
This course was developed in alignment with the 2026 National Defense Strategy (NDS), and in fulfillment with the IWC roles specified in DoD Instruction 3000.7 Irregular Warfare (2025). Additionally, IWC online courses also serve to enable the inclusion of IW into Joint Professional Military Education (JPME) as an “enduring” special areas of emphasis requirement per CJCSM 1810.01A (12 February 2026).
Information about the IWC, to include additional training opportunities can be found on the IWC website at: https://irregularwarfarecenter.org
Irregular Warfare 301
IW 301: Campaign Plan Scenarios
About the Instructor
Paul Burton, COL (R)
Paul Burton, COL (R) was a career active-duty Special Forces Officer and the senior Irregular Warfare instructor in the U.S. Army John F. Kennedy Special Warfare Center and School. He was the lead instructor for the Operational Design Course and Irregular Warfare Planners Course and presently teaches across the Special Operation enterprise. He served in non-conflict countries as well as combat zones, most notably as a Task Force commander in Afghanistan, CJSOTF commander in CENTCOM, and the Multi-National Force Iraq commandant of the Counterinsurgency and Stability Operations Center. His final tour in the army was in the Special Warfare Center and School where he stood up the Education Directorate which evolved into the only Education Group in the army.
Upon retirement from the army in November of 2011, COL (R) Burton has been the involved in both classified and un-classified projects, serving as the site lead for the largest Unconventional Warfare exercise in the United States history. He has lectured and taught from Poland to Australia and served as a panel member subject matter expert for College of International Security Affairs, National Defense University at Fort Bragg on Irregular Warfare. He is published in multiple periodicals ranging on topics from SOF education, leadership, to Irregular Warfare. He holds a Bachelor of Science in History from Arizona State University, a Military History master’s degree from Command and General Staff College, and a Strategic Studies master’s degree from the U.S. Army War College.