U.S. soldiers will be spending less time honing their combat skills in simulated Afghan villages as the Army begins a new training regimen that seeks to prepare troops to fight “hybrid” enemies.
Hybrid is Pentagon-speak for adversaries who combine guerilla tactics with high-tech weaponry, such as the Hezbollah fighters who held off Israel’s armored forces with rockets and missiles in the 2006 war.
“In the future, the hybrid threat is what I see,” Army Chief of Staff Gen. Ray Odierno told reporters Feb. 21. He described it as a combination of conventional and nontraditional warfare to counter terrorists, insurgencies and criminal groups, Odierno said. “It’s a complex environment.”
