A military guide to terrorism in the twenty-first century

Understanding terrorism spans foreign and domestic threats of nation-states, rogue states with transnational or international agent demonstrations, and actors with specific strategies, tactics, and targets. A central aspect of this terrorism guide comprises foreign and domestic threats against the United States of America in a contemporary operational environment (COE). This informational handbook supports operational missions, institutional training, and professional military education for U.S. military forces in the Global War on Terrorism (GWOT). This capstone document provides an introduction to the nature of terrorism and recognition of terrorist threats to U.S. military forces. A common situational awareness by U.S. military forces considers three principal venues: forces that are deployed, forces that are in transit to or from an operational mission, and forces that are primarily installation or institution support.