Colonel Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a colonel was typically in charge o ...

Thomas X. Hammes is a retired

U.S. Marine The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for conducting expeditionary and amphibious operations through com ...

officer who is considered a specialist in counter-insurgency warfare.

Education

He has a Bachelor of Science degree from the United States Naval Academy, a master's degree from Oxford University, and is a graduate of the Marine Corps Command and Staff College and the Canadian National Defense College. He received his Ph.D. in modern history from Oxford University.

Military career

Hammes served for 30 years in the

United States Marine Corps The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for conducting expeditionary and amphibious operations through combi ...

Civilian career

Hammes is senior research fellow at the Institute for National Strategic Studies, National Defense University.

Research, writings, and commentaries

Hammes' first paper on

fourth-generation warfare Fourth-generation warfare (4GW) is conflict characterized by a blurring of the lines between war and politics, combatants and civilians. The term was first used in 1980 by a team of United States analysts, including William S. Lind, to describe ...

appeared in the ''

Marine Corps Gazette ''Marine Corps Gazette'' is a professional journal for U.S. Marines founded in 1916 at Marine Corps Base Quantico for members of the United States Marine Corps. Begun by then Col John A. Lejeune as the vehicle to launch the Marine Corps Associati ...

'' in 1994; he developed a book-length treatment while a senior Marine fellow in the Institute for National Security Studies at the

National Defense University The National Defense University (NDU) is an institution of higher education funded by the United States Department of Defense, intended to facilitate high-level education, training, and professional development of national security leaders. As ...

. In this work, ''The Sling and The Stone: On War in the 21st Century'', he openly criticized

The Pentagon The Pentagon is the headquarters building of the United States Department of Defense. It was constructed on an accelerated schedule during World War II. As a symbol of the U.S. military, the phrase ''The Pentagon'' is often used as a meton ...

and the

Joint Chiefs of Staff The Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) is the body of the most senior uniformed leaders within the United States Department of Defense, that advises the president of the United States, the secretary of defense, the Homeland Security Council and the ...

. Both Hammes and William Lind make use of the term "fourth-generation warfare", however Hammes considers it more of a "framework for study" rather than a revolutionary concept. Hammes traces the origins of fourth-generation warfare to

Mao Zedong Mao Zedong pronounced ; also romanised traditionally as Mao Tse-tung. (26 December 1893 – 9 September 1976), also known as Chairman Mao, was a Chinese communist revolutionary who was the founder of the People's Republic of China (PRC) ...

. In September 2006, Hammes was one of the retired U.S. military officers who, along with Generals

John Batiste John Robinson Batiste (born October 7, 1952 in Fairfax County, Virginia) is a retired officer of the United States Army, author, and the co-founder of Batiste Leadership. Military career John Batiste was commissioned as an infantry officer from ...

and

Paul Eaton Paul D. Eaton (born 1950) is a former United States Army officer who commanded the operations to train Iraqi troops during Operation Iraqi Freedom. Eaton served in that capacity between 2003 and 2004, and then returned to the US to become Deputy ...

, called for Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld to resign. They appeared in front of the

Senate Democratic Policy Committee The United States Senate Democratic Policy Committee is responsible for the creation of new United States Democratic Party policy proposals, supporting Democratic senators with legislative research, developing reports on legislation and policy, ...

to testify, the first prominent U.S. military officials to publicly criticize Rumsfeld. As a result of their remarks, they became widely known, with appearances on national news shows such as on

CNN CNN (Cable News Network) is a multinational cable news channel headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, U.S. Founded in 1980 by American media proprietor Ted Turner and Reese Schonfeld as a 24-hour cable news channel, and presently owned by ...

and

NPR National Public Radio (NPR, stylized in all lowercase) is an American privately and state funded nonprofit media organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with its NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California. It differs from other ...

. Hammes also appeared on the

PBS The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American public broadcaster and non-commercial, free-to-air television network based in Arlington, Virginia. PBS is a publicly funded nonprofit organization and the most prominent provider of educat ...

documentary series ''

Frontline Front line refers to the forward-most forces on a battlefield. Front line, front lines or variants may also refer to: Books and publications * ''Front Lines'' (novel), young adult historical novel by American author Michael Grant * ''Frontlines ...

'' where he criticized the use of private contractors in

Iraq Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to the north, Iran to the east, the Persian Gulf and K ...

. Hammes has also published two articles on strategy in the magazine ''Infinity Journal'', both articles being quoted in, among others, the ''

'' and the '' Huffington Post''. The first article, published in November 2010, is "Assumptions – A Fatal Oversight", and the second, published in June 2011, is "Limited means strategy: What to do when the cupboard is bare."

Selected bibliography

* ''Forgotten Warriors: The 1st Provisional Marine Brigade, The Corps' Ethos, and the Korean War''. Lawrence, KS: University of Kansas Press, 2010. * ''The Sling and the Stone: On War in the 21st Century''.

Zenith Press The Quarto Group is a global illustrated book publishing group founded in 1976. It is domiciled in the United States and listed on the London Stock Exchange. Quarto creates and sells illustrated books for adults and children, across 50 countri ...

, 2006.

References

Notes

External links

*
Video: "Patriots for Profit: The Rise of the Corporate Warrior"
Discussion by Hammes at Hammer Museum, Los Angeles January 12, 2010
Insurgency Modern Warfare evolves into a fourth Generation
* ttp://www.pritzkermilitary.org/whats_on/pritzker-military-presents/col-thomas-x-hammes-usmc-sling-and-stone/ video interview at the Pritzker Military Museum & Library {{DEFAULTSORT:Hammes, Thomas Year of birth missing (living people) Living people United States Marine Corps colonels Counterinsurgency theorists Alumni of the University of Oxford United States Naval Academy alumni