Hard Broke: Asymmetric Warfare, Great Power Competition, and Institutional Paralysis

By Col Matthew D. Matter US Army (Ret.)

"At a time when we are closely examining programs and processes across the Department of Defense, this excellent book by Matt Matter is a valuable resource for planners, policymakers, and leaders across the Defense enterprise. Having watched closely our struggle to contend with and eventually overcome the devastating effects of the improvised explosive device threat, Matt is well qualified to share observations and specific recommendations on not just how we approach asymmetry but, more importantly, how this plays into the future of great power competition and our imperative to prevail in this existential challenge." - Joseph L. Votel General (Ret.), U.S. Army

The American way of war is enabled by the concept of massing all available firepower--when done correctly it makes US forces hard to beat. However improvised explosive devices have increasingly enabled a new kind of asymmetric warfare, one that conventional forces continue to struggle to counter. This book offers a "counter-IED playbook," one based upon the author's experiences of over 90 months of combat operations, working the problem sets of Fires, Effects, IEDs,
Close Target Reconnaissance, Tracking-Tagging-Locating (TTL), and Information Operations.

This text offers insights into the ways through some of the most complicated problems that have tested the Department of Defense, and the Army--the problems of how a conventional force is organized, manned, equipped, and trained to deal with the problem of IEDs; and how the Army is doctrinally organized to deal with an emerging revolution of military affairs.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1636244432
• ISBN13: 9781636244433
• Release Date: May 2025
• Publisher: Casemate
• Length: 288 Pages
• Weight: 1.10 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.2" x 6.1" x 9.1"