IWC Supports the George C. Marshall Center’s Seminar on Irregular Warfare and Hybrid Threats

An IWC team, led by Dr. Kevin Stringer, Chair for Education, Dr. Rick Newton, Chair of Futures, and Kathryn Newton, Chief of Curriculum Design and Development, recently served as visiting faculty and academic support specialists during the George C. Marshall Center’s seminar on Irregular Warfare and Hybrid Threats in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany, from Jan. 19 – Feb. 10.

For three weeks, more than 70 mid-career professionals and practitioners representing both governmental and civilian agencies, from almost 50 countries, came together to address hybrid threats to peace and security. The course used a mix of lectures from highly qualified subject matter experts, panel discussions, seminar discussions, and a culminating exercise to help the participants identify the symptoms of hybrid attacks and consider appropriate actions to counter the “Gray Zone” tactics employed by adversarial state and non-state actors.

IWC’s contribution to the Marshall Center is tangible evidence of Dr. Dennis Walters,’ IWC Acting Director, intent to create broad and innovative connections across the regional centers. During the team’s meeting with George C. Marshall Center leadership, both Centers emphasized the value of strong partnerships and how each can contribute to the others’ success.

Even though the Center is just four months old, it is already showing its value by amplifying and collaborating with the global IW community of practice, while also helping partners appreciate the irregular threats they are facing. With the success of this engagement, the IW Center will be doing more to help others address the challenges of irregular warfare.

The IWC serves as the central mechanism for developing the Department of Defense’s (DOD) irregular warfare knowledge and advancing the Department’s understanding of irregular warfare concepts and doctrine in collaboration with key allies and partners.

The Center’s research and efforts tackle the challenges and threats faced by the U.S. and its allies and partners as they protect their security, stability, and democratic principles. Based on this research, the IWC supports adjustments to Department policies and doctrine, and provides advanced irregular warfare education with allies and partners, facilitated by expert practitioners, to support innovative and practical responses to emerging challenges.

The Center’s foundation is built upon 3 main pillars:

• AMPLIFY and collaborate to build an innovative and adaptable global networked IW community of interest.
• Strategically ILLUMINATE current and future irregular threats, crises, and obstacles.
• ADDRESS current and future irregular threats to the US, allies, and partners by providing optionality to leaders.

The IWC addresses rising concerns and challenges with customizable expeditionary education and training packages for allies and partners. The Center facilitates and utilizes an interactive platform for the global network to collaborate and provide leadership for pre-crisis indicators through increased communication, education, and data sourcing.

The IWC serves as the only global DOD center, which works in close collaboration to amplify Regional Centers’ IW efforts. The Center reached initial operating capacity in October 2022 and launched operationally in a virtual presence, where it will function until a physical location is finalized.