Asymmetric Warfare Group

The Asymmetric Warfare Group (AWG) was a United States Army special mission unit created during the post-2001 wars to help conventional and special operations forces understand and defeat asymmetric threats. Rather than functioning as a conventional combat formation or a commercial brand, AWG served as an operational advisory, observation, experimentation, and knowledge-transfer organization. Its work connected forces operating in the field with the Army’s institutional organizations responsible for doctrine, training, capabilities development, and force modernization. AWG was activated at Fort Meade, Maryland, on March 8, 2006. It was initially established as a field operating agency under the operational control of the Army Deputy Chief of Staff, G-3/5/7. On November 11, 2011, it became a direct-reporting unit of the commanding general of the United States Army Training and Doctrine Command (TRADOC). This alignment strengthened its links with the Army Capabilities Integration Center, the Combined Arms Center, and the Army’s Centers of Excellence. The group also operated the Asymmetric Warfare Training Center at Fort A.P. Hill, Virginia, a facility associated particularly with breaching and subterranean-warfare training. The unit’s central method was to place military personnel, Department of the Army civilians, and contracted subject-matter experts close to operational formations and complex security environments. AWG personnel observed enemy and friendly tactics, techniques, and procedures; identified vulnerabilities and capability gaps; advised commanders before and during deployments; and transferred useful findings into training, doctrine, equipment improvements, and other Army processes. The organization was especially associated with countering improvised explosive devices and other irregular or rapidly evolving threats. Its work included recommending commercial off-the-shelf equipment, adapting existing military systems, and developing practical tools for route-clearance units. Examples of its counter-IED work included Iron Scrape, intended to help route-clearance patrols remove roadside debris that could conceal explosive devices, and Air Digger, a tool associated with Buffalo armored vehicles that enabled crews to move soil and debris around suspected explosive devices while preserving forensic evidence. These examples illustrate AWG’s broader role: it could identify a problem in the field, help develop a usable material solution, assess it, and accelerate the distribution of lessons across the Army rather than waiting for a lengthy conventional acquisition or doctrinal cycle. AWG also supported joint combined exchange training and foreign internal defense activities, assisted regionally aligned forces and special operations forces, and produced assessments and handbooks concerning subjects such as Islamic State tactics, Russian hybrid warfare, jungle operations, tunneling, subterranean environments, and the operating challenges of missions in which the Department of Defense was not the lead agency. Its training-related work included Adaptive Soldier Leader Training and Education and efforts to incorporate lessons into Combat Training Center rotations and deployment processing. The organization expanded as demand for operational advisory support grew. Its structure included a headquarters and headquarters detachment and squadrons associated with operations, concepts and integration, and training. The reference structure identified Able, Baker, and Charlie as operational squadrons, Dog as the concepts-and-integration squadron, and Easy as the training squadron. The authorized strength was reported as 377 personnel, including military and civilian staff and contracted experts. Advisors were maintained or deployed in support of major combatant commands and worldwide operating environments. The Army announced on October 2, 2020, that it planned to close AWG by September 30, 2021. The group conducted a casing-of-the-colors ceremony and was officially inactivated in 2021, with May 13, 2021, identified in the reference material as the formal inactivation date. Its historical significance lies less in a consumer-facing identity than in its institutional function as a rapid feedback and adaptation mechanism between operational experience and Army-wide training, doctrine, and capabilities development.

The Asymmetric Warfare Group emerged from the United States Army’s need to respond more quickly to irregular and asymmetric threats encountered during the war on terrorism. The organization was established in January 2006 as a field operating agency under the Army Deputy Chief of Staff, G-3/5/7, and activated at Fort Meade, Maryland, on March 8 of that year. Its initial purpose was to give commanders and Army institutions a dedicated source of operational observations and practical advice concerning threats that did not fit neatly into traditional force-development assumptions. AWG was designed to connect the operational Army with the institutional Army. Its personnel observed combat and training environments, assessed enemy capabilities and friendly-force vulnerabilities, and helped translate those observations into doctrine, education, tactics, equipment recommendations, and other DOTMLPF-P solutions. The group did not rely solely on formal studies conducted far from the battlefield. It emphasized direct observation and the deployment of military, civilian, and contracted experts into operational environments, where they could identify emerging problems and test potential responses. Counter-improvised-explosive-device activity became one of the unit’s most visible areas of work. AWG advised route-clearance and other combat formations, examined how explosive devices were concealed and employed, and helped identify methods to reduce exposure. Its recommendations included tools such as Iron Scrape, intended to remove roadside debris and reduce potential hiding places, and Air Digger, associated with Buffalo armored vehicles and designed to help crews clear material around suspected devices without unnecessarily destroying forensic evidence. These activities reflected the group’s role in developing both material and non-material solutions, including commercial products, modifications to military equipment, revised procedures, and training. On November 11, 2011, AWG was assigned to the United States Army Training and Doctrine Command as a direct-reporting unit to the TRADOC commanding general. This change improved coordination with the Army Capabilities Integration Center, the Combined Arms Center, and the Centers of Excellence. As operational advisory missions increased, AWG activated a third operational squadron in 2013. Its advisors supported major combatant commands and operated in diverse environments, seeking to identify current threats while anticipating the character of future conflict. The group’s activities extended beyond counter-IED operations. It supported joint combined exchange training and foreign internal defense, helped bridge knowledge gaps between special operations forces and the conventional Army, and conducted vulnerability assessments. Its work also addressed Islamic State tactics and procedures, Russian hybrid warfare based on observations from Ukraine, jungle operations, tunneling, subterranean warfare, and the challenges faced by joint task forces in environments where the Department of Defense was not the lead agency. AWG produced handbooks and instructional material and worked to incorporate its findings into Combat Training Center rotations, deployment reception and integration training, the Center for Army Lessons Learned, and other Army learning systems. The organization maintained a headquarters and headquarters detachment and squadrons covering operations, concepts and integration, and training. The documented structure included Able, Baker, and Charlie operational squadrons, Dog Squadron for concepts and integration, and Easy Squadron for training. Squadrons were commanded by lieutenant colonels and divided into troops commanded by majors. The authorized strength was 377 personnel, including Army servicemembers, Department of the Army civilians, and contracted subject-matter experts. The Asymmetric Warfare Training Center at Fort A.P. Hill, Virginia, provided specialized facilities and instruction in breaching and subterranean operations. The Army announced on October 2, 2020, that AWG would be closed by the end of fiscal year 2021. The unit subsequently conducted a casing-of-the-colors ceremony and was inactivated in 2021. The reference material gives May 13, 2021, as the formal inactivation date, while also describing the planned closure date as September 30, 2021. AWG’s legacy was its institutional model for rapidly collecting field observations, developing practical responses, and distributing lessons across the Army and joint force.

• 2021

  AWG inactivated

  [1]Asymmetric Warfare Groupen.wikipedia.org

  The unit conducted a casing-of-the-colors ceremony and was formally inactivated; the reference material identifies May 13 as the official inactivation date.

• 2020

  Closure announced

  [1]Asymmetric Warfare Groupen.wikipedia.org

  The Army announced on October 2 that it planned to close the group by September 30, 2021.

• 2016

  Tenth anniversary

  [1]Asymmetric Warfare Groupen.wikipedia.org

  AWG marked ten years of activity supporting operational forces, threat assessment, training, and Army capability development.

• 2013

  Third operational squadron activated

  [1]Asymmetric Warfare Groupen.wikipedia.org

  The group expanded its operational advisory capacity by activating a third operational squadron.

• 2011

  Assignment to TRADOC

  [1]Asymmetric Warfare Groupen.wikipedia.org

  AWG became a direct-reporting unit of the commanding general of the United States Army Training and Doctrine Command, strengthening its links to Army modernization and training institutions.

• 2006

  AWG is established and activated

  [1]Asymmetric Warfare Groupen.wikipedia.org

  The group was established in January and activated at Fort Meade, Maryland, on March 8 as an Army field operating agency focused on asymmetric threats.

A rapid-adaptation and operational advisory organization positioned between deployed Army and joint forces and the Army institutions responsible for doctrine, training, modernization, and capability integration.

• Counter-IED field equipment

  Iron Scrape

  A tool developed in connection with AWG’s counter-IED work to help route-clearance patrols remove roadside debris. By clearing material that could conceal explosive devices, it addressed a practical vulnerability encountered by Army units operating in Iraq.

• Counter-IED field equipment

  Air Digger

  A material solution associated with Buffalo armored vehicles. It enabled route-clearance crews to move soil and debris around suspected improvised explosive devices while reducing the risk of triggering a detonation and compromising forensic evidence.

• Military doctrine and education

  Operational threat handbooks and training materials

  AWG produced and helped distribute handbooks, references, and instructional products covering subjects including Islamic State tactics, Russian hybrid warfare, jungle operations, tunneling, subterranean environments, and complex operating environments.

• 2020

  Plan the closure of AWGStrategy

  Background

  After approximately fifteen years of activity, the Army announced that the unit would no longer continue as a standing organization.

  Action taken

  The Army announced on October 2 that AWG would close by September 30, 2021.

  Aftermath

  AWG conducted its final transition and was inactivated in 2021.

  Source

• 2011

  Move AWG under TRADOCStrategy

  Background

  Growing operational advisory requirements created a need for closer integration with the Army’s training, doctrine, and capabilities organizations.

  Action taken

  AWG was assigned to TRADOC as a direct-reporting unit of the command’s commanding general.

  Aftermath

  The assignment improved coordination with the Army Capabilities Integration Center, Combined Arms Center, and Centers of Excellence.

  Source

• 2006

  Create a dedicated asymmetric-threat advisory organizationStrategy

  Background

  The Army needed a mechanism for identifying irregular threats and operational capability gaps directly from the field during the war on terrorism.

  Action taken

  It established and activated AWG as a field operating agency that combined operational observation, advisory assistance, experimentation, and rapid knowledge dissemination.

  Aftermath

  The organization became a bridge between deployed forces and Army institutions responsible for doctrine, training, and capabilities development.

  Source

1. 1Asymmetric Warfare Groupen.wikipedia.org