Irregular Warfare 101 (IW-101)

IW-101 Purpose:

IW-101 offers an introduction to the fundamental aspects of Irregular Warfare and it consolidates key concepts from U.S. policy, doctrine, and academia in about 90 minutes. This course has three sections which include 1) strategic competition, forms of warfare and definition and nature of IW, 2) describing IW operations and activities, and 3) discussing the global practitioners of IW and trends.

Course Sections & Topics:

Section 1: Introduction

  • – Introduction to U.S. Irregular Warfare

Section 2: Defining Irregular Warfare

  • – What is Irregular Warfare?
  • – Irregular Warfare Operations & Activities

Section 3: Irregular Warfare Actors: Who & Why

  • – Global Practitioners of Irregular Warfare

Accessing the Course

Option 1: This course is hosted by the Center for Homeland Defense and Security (CHDS) at the Naval Postgraduate School. To access the course, 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 the course from the CHDS’ Self-Study Catalog.

REGISTER HERE

Option 2: This course is also 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-101 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.