Can counter-insurgency fighting work? An A-10 veteran says 'yes'

COIN and CAS are different explains Col. Scott.C.Campbell, as is winning or crushing hearts & minds

Close Air Support (CAS) and Counterinsurgency (COIN) are all too often used interchangeably, which is incorrect. COIN is a strategy that encompasses all elements of national (or multinational/coalition) power to defeat an insurgency. This includes aspects of military power combined arms operations and diplomatic, economic, and information power. CAS is but one supporting tool within the military element of power.

Defining CAS is important in understanding how it differs from COIN. CAS is defined (by US DoD Joint Publication 3-09, Joint Fire Support) as “air action by aircraft against hostile targets that are in close proximity to friendly forces and that require detailed integration of each air mission with the fire and movement of those forces.” The two defining elements are close proximity to friendly forces and the need for detailed integration with those forces.

COIN is not air-centric, but recent history informs us that airpower is typically an asymmetric advantage for the force fighting the insurgents who are often under-equipped and under-resourced. The challenge is dealing with a force that is not a uniformed, fielded army that often melts into the population, making CIVCAS a concern and targeting very complicated.

What frequently causes confusion between COIN and CAS is that COIN often involves operations where civilian casualties (CIVCAS) and collateral damage are of concern. Delivering aerial fires in close proximity to non-combatants does not qualify as CAS. CAS is specifically in relation to friendly combatant forces. However, this parallel does highlight some similarities between CAS and aerial fires supporting COIN that aren’t considered CAS.