Conventional war versus irregular war: is the MAGTF the model to address both? When asked to compare and contrast U.S. military operations and capabilities in conventional and irregular warfare, one cannot ignore the Marines of the Marine Corps. Air-Ground Task Force (MAGTF). The MAGTF is the Marine Corps' force protection aboard and how it contributes to the national security of this great nation. Five unique skills allow the Marine Corps to successfully accomplish this; however, they all focus on conventional warfare except for one, war culture and dynamic decision-making. Well-coordinated conventional operations and decentralized leadership combine to form a solid foundation for successful irregular warfare. Therefore, conventional warfare should take priority. Conventional Warfare or Irregular Warfare Irregular warfare is not a new tactic and has been discussed by some of the great strategists, such as, Jomini and Clausewitz. The titles may have evolved from Guerrilla to Insurgent to Terrorist to just the Unconventional Forces phase; however, they are all representative of the violence used to counter the conventional military forces of a nation-state. Conventional or traditional warfare is “conducted by forces designed, trained and equipped for major combat operations against a similar enemy.” Conventional warfare, in its purest form, is a “violent struggle for dominance between nation-states or coalitions and alliances of nation-states.” Irregular warfare supports indirect and asymmetric approaches and “refers to all unconventional methods of violence used to counter the traditional capabilities of a nation-state's military forces; and to undermine the authority of a local government or, middle of paper, the most significant threat to the national objectives of the United States. ConclusionFor the U.S. military, well-coordinated conventional operations and decentralized leadership combine to provide a solid foundation for successful irregular warfare; therefore, conventional warfare should take priority in preparing for future military operations. For the U.S. Marine Corps, this means refining the MAGTF for conventional operations. As the great strategist Jomini points out, comparing the equipment of the forces and the battlefield successes of regular and irregular forces, "experience has shown that irregular charges can cause the defeat of the best cavalry in partial skirmishes; but it also demonstrated that they should not be counted on in regular battles on which the fate of a war may depend… it is always better to give the cavalry a regular organization..”