What did WE learn in OEF/OIF, that is going to help the next generation win against ISIS?

For OIF the first thing I realized when I was there during the start was there were not enough people sent over. Compared to previous operations we used overwhelming firepower and forces, thete weren't enough people to help the Iraqis after the main battle elements when theough nor was there a sufficient force to take care of the POWs. Many Iraqi fighters were let go. If we took even half of the forces we took during Desert Storm we could have QRF in place to quickly quell any uprising. We increased our forces in Iraq but i feel it was too late. As for the ISIS part, we should probably look to Vietnam as well as the current 2 wars since Viet Cong blended into the local population. We fought this type of battle before and we were winning in Vietnam, but the public didn't care just like they didn't care about Iraq even though there were chemical weapons found there.

Stop fighting the last war. I would hope the future leaders look at the forecasts of events throughout the world and have units that are able to deal with the threat (align BDE's/Divisions/Corps with certain areas maybe?), not just through numbers and bullets, but an actual knowledge of the area, it's geographic makeup, history stuff like that (and not crammed into a 30 day field problem before deploying). Stop trying to compete with SOF, and be able to compliment them and vice versa in equipment and some training.

It seems we have to be prepared to answer the question 'Why' much more than we ever imagined. Also, we have to shed the legacy attitude WADITW (We always did it that way) I think we have to give them freedom to fail and opportunities to innovate.

Personally, I've learned that deploying to give these people a "spanking" and telling them "that's a no no," while telling them what we believe to be right has not worked.

Possible Solution: monitor and accept this shift in power taking place in other countries. Power shifting has been going on since mankind began, but nowadays it is viewed as something new and most terrifying.

I know, some believe we need to kill/capture all the bad guys to scare/tear the population from their wicked influence, then, we all will find peace, harmony, love, respect.

Bigger picture, defeating ISIS isn't the issue, we can defeat any relatively small group of insurgents for a time. The counter insurgency fight, made famous by General Petraus has gone out of fashion but is still relevant in todays fight. You have to clear, hold, secure and build over time, provide the proper examples of democracy minus the rampant corruption we saw in Iraq and Afghanistan because at the end of the day, people want a safe place to raise their kids, and to be able to provide for them in some reasonable way in the hope for a better future. It took us 240 years to get where we are and look at the work we still have to do.

Smaller picture, we have a large stable of experienced combat veterans that know how to fight, win and sustain themselves but as time goes by fewer and fewer of them are left to pass along those lessons. I see it every day. Ask any group of soldier who was in when 9-11 happened, then ask again how many have deployed, right. You get my point. Maybe we provide a group of veterans that can stick around as civilian contractors and help pass along their knowledge to the young leaders of today and hopefully enough will listen to stay alive in the next firefight.

That we fought the good fight, But it was a total waste of money, time & most important LIVES.... The Iraqi government & people don't wan to fight to defend themselves, They want others to do it for them, By their guidelines & policies that don't & haven't worked!

Let the Air Force and Navy use air superiority to win.

Here's the thing with IS and all the others like them...they pull people in to their groups not just from the countries they are in but surrounding areas and around the world. We need to (as in all the countries they affect) bomb where they are. Bomb it flat. If the government of a country supports them then cut off all aid to that country, make that country feel as if they are on the moon. Forget tip toeing around trying to be "PC". We need to hit these buggers where it hurts. Also freeze all accounts they may have and give that money to one fund the bombings and troops as well as to help the families they have hurt. Pay back boom.

That's a very complex question. You can not defeat ISIS by fighting only in Iraq, and in my opinion, a counter insurgency fight simply will not work. MASSIVE fire and maneuver (B-52 iron bomb carpet bombing, battalions of artillery firing on target, in towns, or where ever they attempt to fight or run, NO protected locations, UN RESTRICTED, TOTAL WARFARE, minimal ROE, open the gates of hell on them (read WW II total destruction of the enemy and everything around them and the rest of the world opinion be damned!). OR if you don't want to destroy everything; un mothball all the C-123 tankers that sprayed agent orange, fill them with VX and crop dust everywhere ISIS is, after a few weeks, send all the refugees back their homes. ISIS will NOT surrender, they have to be EXTERMINATED! Until something cataclysmic happens again in the US, by ISIS led/inspiration, the Great American Public (99% that has no skin in the fight to include the politicians)....simply have no will / back bone to do what's necessary to "win".

I agree with several of the other responses. It's 6 of 1 and half dozen of the other. The will to fight on want it is the key. I believe they where to satisfied having us do their work for them.