March 30, 2026

Proficient at Irregular Warfare? Time to Emphasize ‘Method of Instruction’ in the U.S. Army Special Forces Regiment

The United States Army Special Forces (SF) Regiment should strongly consider making “method of instruction” (MOI) a more prominent aspect of entry-level Green Berets’ education to remain competitive within the irregular warfare domain. The problem is that aspiring Green Berets attending the Special Forces Qualification Course (SFQC or Q-Course) receive only a small block of instruction concerning MOI. SF soldiers are expected to report to their assigned Special Forces Group and be capable teachers. However, they do not receive any substantive formal instructor or teacher training until many years later. Therefore, the purpose of this article is to argue the importance of MOI as an irregular warfare tool for the SF Regiment, to outline the MOIs most relevant to SF conducting irregular warfare activities, and finally to offer a recommended course of action (COA) for improving the SFQC with increased irregular warfare-focused MOI education and training. The SF Regiment can achieve a higher level of supremacy in irregular warfare by prioritizing MOI and developing future SF advisors as highly effective instructors from the outset of their careers.