WASHINGTON, June 11, 2009 – The U.S. military is studying how to improve smaller-unit capabilities to better confront enemies who practice irregular or conventional warfare, or both, a senior U.S. military officer said here today.
The studies are part of U.S. Joint Forces Command’s National Program for Small Unit Excellence initiative, Army Maj. Gen. Jason K. Kamiya, chief of the Norfolk, Va.,-based command’s joint training directorate, and the commander of its Joint Warfighting Center, told reporters at a Pentagon roundtable meeting.
Senior U.S. military leaders believe that highly trained, smaller units would be better able to battle future foes that practice irregular warfare, Kamiya said, as well as enemies that wage hybrid warfare, a combination of irregular and conventional warfare.
An example of such squad-sized “super” units can be found in the special operations realm, Kamiya said, where the diverse and honed talents and capabilities of 11-member teams make them more powerful than some larger, conventional military units.
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