JP 3-0, page 123

Joint Operations Across the Range of Military Operations V-17 (2) Political concerns dominate a show of force operation, and as such, military forces often are under significant legal and political constraints and restraints. The military force coordinates its operations with the country teams affected. A show of force can involve a wide range of military forces including joint US or multinational forces. Often, bilateral or multinational training and exercises are scheduled (time and location) with the intent of demonstrating strength and resolve. Forces conducting a show of force operation are also capable of FDOs and transitioning to crisis response or limited contingency activities. l. Support to Insurgency. An insurgency is defined as the organized use of subversion and violence by a group or movement that seeks to overthrow or force change of a governing authority. Insurgency can also refer to the group itself. It uses a mixture of political, economic, informational, and combat actions to achieve its political aims. It is a protracted politico-military struggle designed to weaken the control and legitimacy of an established government, an interim governing body, or a peace process while increasing insurgent control and legitimacy—the central issues in an insurgency. The US may support selected insurgencies that oppose oppressive regimes. The US coordinates this support with its friends and allies. Because support for an insurgency is often covert, many of the operations connected with it are special activities. Due to their extensive unconventional warfare training, Special Forces are well suited to provide this support. Conventional forces may assist when the situation requires their functional specialties. US forces may provide logistic and training support as it did for the Mujahadin resistance in Afghanistan during the Soviet occupation in the 1980s. In certain circumstances the US can provide direct combat support, such as support to the French Resistance in World War II, the Afghanistan Northern Alliance to remove the Taliban in 2001-2002, or for NATO’s liberation of Kosovo in 1999. m. Counterinsurgency operations include support provided to a government in the military, paramilitary, political, economic, psychological, and civic actions it undertakes to defeat insurgency. Insurgents will increasingly resort to irregular forms of warfare as effective ways to undermine their adversaries’ legitimacy and credibility and to isolate their adversaries from the relevant populations and their external supporters, physically as well as psychologically. At the same time, they also seek to bolster their own legitimacy and credibility to exercise authority over that same population. COIN operations often include security assistance programs such as foreign military sales, foreign military financing, and international military education and training. Such support also may include FID and SFA. In some cases, US COIN operations can be much more extensive and involve joint force limited contingency or major operations. For further guidance on support to COIN, refer to JP 3-24, Counterinsurgency Operations, and JP 3-22, Foreign Internal Defense.