urban operations

Military operations in an urban area are not normally thought of as a 'Small Wars' concern, yet they are an important capability that will remain relevant. SWJ Editor's Note: This Small Wars Journal article was originally published on 20 July 2014.

Tunnel warfare is now becoming a contemporary concern as seen in its use by AQIM (al-Qaeda in the Islamic Magreb) in Mali, and by Hamas for smuggling, terrorism, and increasingly as a means of urban warfare in Gaza, Syria, and Iraq. Among other things, underground warfare is likely to merge with urban operations and proliferate in the megacity battles of tomorrow. Richemond-Barak does an excellent job of building a foundation for addressing these tactical, operational, and strategic challenges.

This article identifies future complications in achieving physical and psychological isolation, which both historically and doctrinally are so essential to successfully achieving military objectives in urban terrain. Furthermore, this article outlines tactical leader application of a new urban operational framework to understand and achieve both physical and psychological isolation in this future environment.

TRADOC Mad Scientist Project: Megacities - or more generally Dense Urban Areas - will emerge at the epicenter of future events necessitating military intervention.

TRADOC Mad Scientist Project: Besides the physical properties of urban terrain, the density of pervasive, networked sensors creates opportunities and challenges for military operations.

TRADOC Mad Scientist Project: The cyberspace domain of the future will most forcefully assert itself in urban areas.

General Milley is right. We need to take on the megacity combat challenge. If the enemy know we can fight there and win, he is much less likely to fight there at all.

Despite the growing emphasis on megacity contingencies, many question the premise of U.S. participation in megacity conflict.