Irregular Warfare 110 (IW-110)

IW-110 Purpose:

Irregular Warfare 110 provides information on Irregular Warfare (IW) approaches for Homeland Security (HS) and Homeland Defense (HD). IW-110 is one of several online courses developed by the Department of Defense’s Irregular Warfare Center (IWC) which is responsible for advancing the understanding of IW activities, concepts, and doctrine. IW-110 pivots horizontally from foundational knowledge provided in IW-101, to provide HS and HD professionals with awareness of the utility of applying IW approaches in the homeland.

Note: While IW-101 is not a prerequisite to enroll in IW-110, completion of IW-101 is highly encouraged.

Course Sections & Topics:

Section 1: Introduction to Homeland Security & Homeland Defense

  • – Intro to Homeland Security & Defense

Section 2: Understanding Hybrid Threats to the Homeland

  • – Intro to Hybrid Threats
  • – State Use of Hybrid Activities in the Homeland
  • – Transnational Criminal Organizations’ (TCO) Threats to the Homeland
  • – Foreign Terrorist Threats to the Homeland

Section 3: Comprehensive Defense / Total Defense as a Baseline

  • – Countering Hybrid Threats
  • – The Comprehensive Defense Approach
  • – Global Application of Total Defense

Section 4: Application of IW in Homeland Security & Defense

  • – Conceptualizing IW for Homeland Security & Defense
  • – IW Operations and Activities
  • – Counter Threat Networks (CTN) for Homeland Security & Defense
  • – Counter Threat Finance (CTF) for Homeland Security & Defense
  • – Counterterrorism (CT) for Homeland Security & Defense
  • – Interagency Collaboration

Section 5: Course Summary

Accessing the Course

Option 1: IW-110 is hosted by the Center for Homeland Defense and Security (CHDS) at the Naval Postgraduate School. To access IW-110, create a CHDS account using an official email address, e.g. .mil, .gov, .org, .us, .eu, or a country suffix if you are not a U.S. citizen, e.g., .fi (Finland), .lv (Latvia). After confirming your account via email, log in to your CHDS account and access IW-110 from the CHDS’ Self-Study Catalog.

REGISTER HERE

Option 2: IW-110 is available on the Defense Security Cooperation University’s (DSCU) virtual classroom called MyDSCU. An account is required and registration can be completed at this link. From the myDSCU homepage (once logged in), type IW-110 in the search bar at the top right. 

For detailed instructions on accessing the course on the DSCU’s learning platform, download the IWC eLearning QRC_2025.

REGISTER HERE

Individuals without a CAC and Foreign Nationals

Only applicable for Option 2. Since this category of user has neither SSN nor DoD ID (EDIPI), the user will be identified by a Foreign Identification Number (FIN) to prevent duplicate accounts. Within myDSCU, students will be identified only by their student number (DAUID).

For instructions on accessing the course without a CAC, you can download the Individuals without a CAC instructions.