Innovation or Inertia--COIN is a Toss Up

David Ucko's new article is up at Orbis-Innovation or Inertia the U.S Military and the Learning of Counterinsurgency link at IRG. Ucko has some very nice words to say about the American military's ability to turn and burn on a dime, BUT, notes that DOD still still thinks of COIN as optional glitz not main fare meat and potatoes. Follow the money, Ucko states. Where are the investment in budgets going. Not into COIN. Even the Marine Corps, with its point man investment in Boyd, can only afford one week of COIN training at a training village for 03's. What's their investment in the Osprey whirly bird? Gazillions and years? At any rate, Ucko's article is worth the read even if you are going to find that COIN is still a toss up with DOD. What did you expect? The DOD is a humongous dinosaur with a walnut size brain that takes years to receive msgs that it has been kicked in the ass.