4th generation warfare

1st Generation is Napoleonic style warfare. Firearms and cannons with fewer mercenaries fought by nations. 2nd Generation warfare is similar to the Civil War or WWI with nation alignments and hard line tactics. 3rd Generation warfare is similar to WWII with high speed armor and movement on the battlefield. 4th Generation warfare (4GW) has a goal of collapsing the enemy internally rather than physically destroying them. Targets will include such things as the population's support for the war and the enemy's culture.

The ideal 4GW soldier lives almost completely off the land and off the enemy's society while operating on broad mission orders. They operate on a large battlefield in which maneuverability is important. Command and control falls upon each soldier or team (cell) leader. There is no organizational hierarchy that resembles the military that gives instructions to the cells. Each soldier or group functions autonomously under the notion of commander's intent. 4GW is as old as Sun Tzu and was the main means of operation for the Shinobi.

If you want to take the skills of the Shinobi and move those into modern time there are two sets of tactics you must learn. 4th Generation warfare and the weapons and tactics of close quarters combat. We live in a world that is quickly moving into insurgency style combat worldwide. By learning the tactics of the insurgent we can reproduce them on the milsim battlefield. American soldiers and law enforcement officers need to understand the type of enemy they face and what kind of tactics they employ.

We must remember that the enemy's "weapons technology” in the 9-11 attacks consisted of box cutters and ceramic knives, combined with a determination to die for a cause. Don’t forget it worked and our military-security-law-enforcement bureaucracy was helpless to stop it.

We need to review tactics used by the Vietnamese, Sandinistas, Palestinians, Taliban and al Qaeda. Most of these tactics will not completely apply to milsim due to extensive use of IEDs and other explosive devices.