From GMW to XGW: The Great Divorce

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I propose we say goodbye to such jargon as "Third Stage of the 4th Generation of War..."

The Term “Generation” Must Be Abandoned
Just as the abandonment of GMW (The Generations of Modern War) is a critical step in the evolution of XGW theory, the abandonment of “Generation” is the next step. Consider the many criticisms of “4GW” available on the web. Previously, proponents of XGW had to argue against these criticism, and assert that the critics did not really understand 4GW. Now, proponents can agree with the criticism, generalize them to criticism of GMW, and present XGW as an alternative.

I propose Grade, thus making XGW "X Grade War" Theory.

The rest of the entry is at tdaxp.

3 Comments

Good move. The GMW framework organizes the generations historically, while this discussion seems to group approaches into tendencies or modes of operation (Grades?) rather than specific historic periods.

Separating the two frameworks creates clarity and an ability to apply more rigor to the conversation.

I agree that 'Generation' is no longer the best terminology and if XGW is to fully realize its potential that issue must be addressed.

However, you are going to have to let the term 'Grade' grow on me. Not to be flippant but something about Fifth Grade Warfare brings to mind the mental image of noogies and spitballs.

Give me some time with it.

Yeah...I am not a big fan of "grade".

What else starts with a "G"?

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