Shoemaker's Children

There’s an old proverb that goes “Shoemaker’s children walk barefoot.” The implication is that the shoemaker is so busy making shoes for sale that he doesn’t have time to take care of his family. 

What does this have to do with PSYOP/MISO?

I’m afraid quite a bit. Like many of you I am a member of a number of on-line groups. While some are part of LinkedIn and generally open to anyone who is interested, others are a bit more selective requiring an introduction by an existing member and a basic vetting process.

This week I was reviewing my correspondence from one of my more selective groups when the subject of “Acronym Check’ attracted my attention. It seems that one of the list members was very confused by the terms PSYOP and MISO and wasn’t sure which was proper or how they are used in today’s doctrine.

Frankly I was a bit taken aback. Given the exposure that MISO has gotten in Afghanistan and elsewhere I was laboring under the illusion that ‘the Big Army’ at least was aware of the current jargon because our operations were integrated into the big picture.

Apparently that is not the case. I drafted a post that included language I had validated by SWC and that ended up on the list shortly after I sent it in. Interestingly enough it did not generate one word of comment.

Admittedly I’m pretty much on the side lines these days, but I would be very interested in hearing what y’all out there in the field are experiencing and what we might want to do if there is indeed a problem.

Photo source: http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2012-06-26/beauty/31957770_1_nails-tea-tree-oil-clean-water