Winning the Hearts and Minds: Ophthalmology

Recent doctrine describes counterinsurgency (COIN) as a comprehensive effort designed to simultaneously defeat and contain insurgency and address its root causes. According to FM 3-24.2, the US Army thinking and doctrine on COIN tactics since the end of World War II have focused on the conduct of counterguerrilla operations in the later stages of insurgency. The Army has seen itself as defeating guerilla forces – usually communist forces – rather than defeating an entire insurgency. It was a success that could be achieved by using the force of the conventional army directly against guerilla forces. This doctrine of COIN began to take shape shortly after World War II.