{"id":60173,"date":"2020-10-02T16:15:09","date_gmt":"2020-10-02T16:15:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/militarytimes\/uncategorized\/2020\/10\/02\/the-army-is-shutting-down-its-much-lauded-asymmetric-warfare-group\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T03:00:00","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T03:00:00","slug":"the-army-is-shutting-down-its-much-lauded-asymmetric-warfare-group","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/militarytimes\/news\/your-military\/2020\/10\/02\/the-army-is-shutting-down-its-much-lauded-asymmetric-warfare-group\/","title":{"rendered":"The Army is shutting down its highly praised Asymmetric Warfare Group"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">For nearly 15 years a little known but highly influential Army group has been in the middle of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.militarytimes.com\/news\/your-military\/2019\/02\/26\/10-things-soldiers-and-marines-need-when-heading-underground\/\" target=_blank>how the Army learns<\/a> immediate lessons from combat, adapts to the evolving battlefield and saves soldiers&#8217; lives.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">It\u2019s called Asymmetric Warfare Group, and the Army is shutting it down next year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Army made its official announcement today that by mid-2021, AWG will be discontinued.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">An Army statement to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.militarytimes.com\/news\/your-army\/2019\/02\/26\/the-tech-it-takes-to-fight-subterranean\/\" target=_blank>Army Times<\/a>:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThe functions of AWG, including the solutions to current and emerging threats, will transition to other Army organizations. Also, to ensure the utility of the organization\u2019s work over the past 14 years is not lost, all lessons learned will be maintained by the U.S. Army Combined Arms Center (CAC), via the Center for Army Lessons Learned (CALL), Centers of Excellence (COEs), and other TRADOC enterprise stakeholders.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\t<aside class=\"smg-interstitial-link wp-block-smg-interstitial-link\">\n\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/militarytimes\/news\/your-military\/2019\/02\/26\/the-subterranean-battlefield-warfare-is-going-underground-into-dark-tight-spaces\/\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__inner\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__media\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"300\" height=\"169\" src=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/online-16x9.jpg.jpg?w=300\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__image wp-post-image\" alt=\"\" \/>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__content\">\n\t\t\t\t<span class=\"smg-interstitial-link__kicker\">Related<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t<h3 class=\"smg-interstitial-link__title\">The subterranean battlefield: Warfare is going underground, into dark, tight spaces<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"smg-interstitial-link__excerpt\">It is the most primitive and close combat a fighter may face. Welcome to the subterranean.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/a>\n\t<\/aside>\n\t\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In early 2019, Army Times accompanied AWG trainers \u2014 many of them multiple combat tour veterans, both uniformed and retired civilian contractors \u2014 to Fort Bragg, North Carolina, as they conducted subterranean warfare training for soldiers with the 1st Brigade Combat Team of the 82nd Airborne Division.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">That effort, to train most of the Army BCTs in underground fighting, was just one of many examples of how AWG took an Army problem, either tactical or material, and found a fix.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">By their own accounting, AWG provided 24 materiel solutions, 92 non-materiel solutions and at least 35 solutions that combined both material and non-material efforts. Those spanned everything from the Lethal Miniature Aerial Missile, or Switchblade, to reducing electromagnetic signature reduction.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1199\" height=\"809\" src=\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/drones.jpg.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-67699\" srcset=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/drones.jpg.jpg 1199w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/drones.jpg.jpg?resize=300,202 300w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/drones.jpg.jpg?resize=768,518 768w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/drones.jpg.jpg?resize=1024,691 1024w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1199px) 100vw, 1199px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">(Army)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Along the way, AWG published 72 key guides, from training aides to handy pocket reference guides and full handbooks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Those publications covered Russian New Generation Warfare, Chinese land warfare strategies and the aftermath of bloody fighting in Mosul and Raqqah, and many other subjects. From these documents a larger Army and joint strategy has emerged in how to fight wars now and in the future.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Some of those papers are the foundational documents for the Army\u2019s practical approach to great power competition, many predating the actual shift in the National Defense Strategy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Exact reasons for AWG closure are not clear, but sources who spoke with Army Times on the condition of anonymity said that the cuts came from last year\u2019s house cleaning that eliminated a number of programs to make room in the budget for other modernization efforts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The group initially formed as a focused group to counter the improvised explosive device threat as it emerged early in the Iraq War in 2003.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">There isn\u2019t much comparable to AWG, an organization that has had the permission to go to the battlefield, see the threat directly, come up with a solution and, once approved, get it implemented across the force rapidly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">At times, AWG has had as many as 400 staff assigned to it, with locations both at Fort Meade, Maryland, the headquarters, and a dedicated training facility at Fort A.P. Hill, Virginia.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"5760\" height=\"3840\" src=\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/180720-A-BW099-0050.jpg.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-67701\" srcset=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/180720-A-BW099-0050.jpg.jpg 5760w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/180720-A-BW099-0050.jpg.jpg?resize=300,200 300w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/180720-A-BW099-0050.jpg.jpg?resize=768,512 768w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/180720-A-BW099-0050.jpg.jpg?resize=1024,683 1024w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/180720-A-BW099-0050.jpg.jpg?resize=1536,1024 1536w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/180720-A-BW099-0050.jpg.jpg?resize=2048,1365 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 5760px) 100vw, 5760px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">The Asymmetric Warfare Group (AWG) assist U.S. Soldiers, assigned to 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault) in breach training for Dense Urban Terrain, focusing on Subterranean aspects at Fort Campbell, Ky., July 20, 2018. (Spc. Jordan Buck\/Army)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">And it\u2019s not yet clear what is going to be done with the $94 million urban training facility, considered state of the art by some urban warfare experts, complete with a tunnel system and areas for complex training.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThe Army is currently determining the final disposition of the facility,\u201d a spokesman told Army Times.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">AWG is essentially divided into four teams \u2014 Able, Baker, Charlie and Dog. Able and Baker switched back and forth doing four-month rotations in combat zones over a period of about six years, said Col. Scott Shaw, group commander of AWG.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Charlie served as a training squadron while Dog was in charge of concepts and integration.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The core of their mission was to make soldiers more lethal, protect soldiers and advise commanders on localized trends or enemy tactics, techniques and procedures.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">That involved some MacGyver-like work in spotting nuances in enemy threats and connecting dots across the combat theater.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The group helped develop the RHINO that assisted teams in Iraq to find IEDs. They worked on a Fast Obscuring Grenade used as a counter-sniper protection system.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">If bullets were flying \u2014 at Americans, Brits or other allies in Iraq or Afghanistan \u2014 AWG members were there to figure out what the enemy was doing and how they were adapting downrange.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">They\u2019d then work on a solution and spread what was successful to pre-deployment units and beyond in their training capacity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">That was until 2012.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Army put AWG with Army Training and Doctrine Command and tasked it with figuring out how the Army was going to pivot to large-scale ground combat operations, Shaw said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">But the wars continued, and AWG continued to provide theater support.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Two veterans of AWG spoke with Army Times while on assignment at the National Training Center in Fort Irwin, California, this past week.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Retired Army Lt. Col. Michael Bowman spent 21 years in service before joining AWG 10 years ago as a civilian.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Bowman has seen the organization work to counter threats from IEDs, drones and subterranean warfare, and assist in training up the new security force assistance brigades that have come into the Army in recent years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"5457\" height=\"3638\" src=\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/f1508554536.jpg.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-67707\" srcset=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/f1508554536.jpg.jpg 5457w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/f1508554536.jpg.jpg?resize=300,200 300w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/f1508554536.jpg.jpg?resize=768,512 768w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/f1508554536.jpg.jpg?resize=1024,683 1024w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/f1508554536.jpg.jpg?resize=1536,1024 1536w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/f1508554536.jpg.jpg?resize=2048,1365 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 5457px) 100vw, 5457px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">AWG observer\/advisor demonstrating marksmanship techniques. (Army)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cFrom the theater back to the Pentagon, we articulate what is really happening on the ground, from observation to solution, to either train differently downrange, at the (combat training centers) or the schoolhouses,\u201d Bowman said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Lt. Col. Scott Akerley serves on AWG\u2019s Group Operational Analysis Team.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Much of the knowledges and best practices are being gathered for the Center for Army Lessons Learned to hold.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cWe\u2019re actually putting together a synopsis of those in written form,\u201d Akerley said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The lieutenant colonel knew before he joined AWG four years ago that the work they did helped soldiers in combat.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">AWG trainers developed tactics his soldiers used during a 2009 Iraq deployment, such as better search techniques, counter-sniper and sensitive-sight exploitation. They just didn\u2019t know it came from AWG.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">But a specific problem that vexed his command brought AWG in close.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The soldiers were working in the Hawija, Iraq, area and seeing RKG-3 anti-tank grenades being used against their forces. AWG trained his soldiers on new tactics that essentially stopped the threat, he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cI believe they saved my soldiers and other soldiers&#8217; lives,\u201d Akerley said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Shaw remembers his first encounter with the nascent AWG when he was commanding soldiers in combat in Iraq. Soldiers had just found an IED in the stairwell of a building that had been secured in a key market.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">He expected a lengthy cordon and EOD disposal unit. But a soldier radioed him saying that a guy with the counter-IED group, the predecessor to AWG, had disarmed it with his Leatherman multi-tool.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Numerous times, in theater and back stateside, he would bump into AWG staff, either doing training or in the midst of the fighting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">At the end of the Iraq War, when his unit continued on with combat advising, staying in Kuwait, AWG advisors came in to help with transitioning the Iraqi Army.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">He observed the same kind of assistance when he commanded troops in Afghanistan, just before taking over command at AWG. So, taking command of the group was a choice assignment, he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Perhaps the legacy of AWG that has permeated the Army since at least 2011, and may do so beyond, is its Adaptive Soldier Leader Training and Education. The ASLTE program came down to AWG as one of its early directives from TRADOC.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">That effort resulted in a shift from \u201cinstructor-based learning\u201d to a \u201cstudent-centric learning environment\u201d according to a 2014 Army statement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The preservation of AWG\u2019s work, not just the field studies and training, but its open-minded approach and unvarnished truth-telling across the echelons, is what many alumni of the group hope to see happen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">For that information and advances to be lost, \u201cthat would be almost criminal,\u201d Shaw said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cI will sleep well at night knowing that I and this organization have done what we were charged to do and then some by a large margin,\u201d Shaw said. \u201cI am tremendously proud, and that\u2019s the personal side.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"500\" data-dnt=\"true\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Inbox: Army announced the discontinuation of both the Asymmetric Warfare Group and the Rapid Equipping Force as the U.S. Army transitions from counterinsurgency operations to a focus on multi-domain operations and large-scale combat operations. <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/1FRhtIRQMs\">pic.twitter.com\/1FRhtIRQMs<\/a><\/p>&mdash; Howard Altman (@haltman) <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/haltman\/status\/1312057750986268677?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">October 2, 2020<\/a><\/blockquote><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.x.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" width=\"200\" height=\"113\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/hvZwCHFgLzA?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture\" allowfullscreen title=\"See tanks destroyed, soldiers dodge airstrikes in harrowing footage\"><\/iframe>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The group helped with rapid, real-time change for forces in theater and headed to combat.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":67695,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-noindex":"","_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-nofollow":"","_yoast_wpseo_canonical":"","_acf":"","_yoast_wpseo_primary_category":88,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","_smg_distribution_targets":[]},"categories":[29,116,117,15,88],"tags":[],"coauthors":[3419],"class_list":["post-60173","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-home","category-left-column","category-middle-column","category-news","category-your-military"],"acf":{"subheadline":"","legacy_arc_id":"7LNOG4MK7ZE6ZEEK4HFFGKB5R4","arc_canonical_url":"\/news\/your-army\/2020\/10\/02\/the-army-is-shutting-down-its-much-lauded-asymmetric-warfare-group\/","remove_feature_photo":false,"is_sponsored":false,"subtype":"","redirect_url":"","disable_inline_ads":false,"native_logo_pretext":"Presented By:"},"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v26.0 (Yoast SEO v28.1) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>The Army is shutting down its highly praised Asymmetric Warfare Group - Military Times<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The group helped with rapid, real-time change for forces in theater and headed to combat.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"noindex, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"The Army is shutting down its highly praised Asymmetric Warfare Group\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The group helped with rapid, real-time change for forces in theater and headed to combat.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" 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