Army Cyber wants counter propaganda capabilities down to Bde! Isn’t that PSYOP?

At the recent AFCEA TechNet Trade show in Augusta the CDR of Army Cyber Command, LTG Stephen Fogarty made a bold move to reshape his nascent cyber commandos into an IO force to be integrated down to the BDE level (see: http://bit.ly/2zg6h2B, which is also a photo source).

The BCT is the new key maneuver element and that echelon does indeed make sense. However, one wonders how support could be provided down to the field elements and how amateurs with a modicum of hacking knowledge, some COTS and an internet connection can be restricted from doing their own thing.

We have already seen Division CDR turn into PSYOP officers dropping their own leaflets from their own heliocopters.

I have maintained that the Cyber Dudes, like their kinetic counterparts, are more interested in shooting electrons (read that Distributed Denial of Service, DDOS, etc.) then they are in the influence space.

In taking a page from the Air Force, whose prowess at leveraging current events into budget dollars is legendary, LTG Fogarty wants to capitalize on the publicity surrounding Russian disinformation efforts.

He feels that the BDE is the right echelon for the IO focal point because it is the lowest level where there’s a SCIF that could house the cleared personnel, systems and networks needed for that work. Down into the article, there is a mention that “ARCYBER is also collaborating with Army Special Operations, which runs psychological operations (formally known as Military Information Support Operations, MISO)”.

Another article, this one from c4isrnet is “ A new name – and focus – for Army Cyber Command” (another photo source). That article quotes LTG Fogarty as saying: that he needed to integrate the ‘information environment’ which includes the cyber domain – which encompasses electronic warfare, information operations, signal and intelligence – as well as space, psychological operations, public affairs, military deception and operational security.

Interestingly enough this is likely to involve more stars than a Planetarium on a good night. None other than the CG of TRADOC, GEN Paul funk chimed in quoted as saying that: “Our application of information dominance is too narrow, ……It is underdeveloped and lacks coordinated direction.”

Clearly the CG of US Cybercommand, GEN Paul M. Nakasone (also the Director of NSA), Commander, USSOCM, General Richard D. Clarke and LTG Francis M. Beaudette, CDR, Army Special Operations Command not to mention LTG Charles D. Luckey, Chief of the Army Reserve and CG, USAR Command. All of these GO’s have a dog in the fight.

Speaking of dog, what part of the dog’s anatomy do you think PSYOP will be? Does it look like a new branch, a hybrid of cyber and PSYOP is in the future?

The term ‘above my pay grade’ comes to mind.

PSYOP and Fried Chicken!

Most of us in the PSYOP Community have spent time at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, or as it is some times called “The Center of the Universe”. During out stints there we availed ourselves of legendary Southern Cuisine. While some favored Fried Chicken or catfish and hush puppies, I was a Waffle House fan.

What does this have to do with PSYOP? Well, up until this afternoon I would have said “nothing”. But thanks to the NY Times print edition of August 16, 2019 I learned that the UK is using takeout chicken boxes as an influence delivery vehicle. (see: https://nyti.ms/2Z22XaV, which is also a photo source).

Concerned with the just under 43,000 offenses committed with a knife (remember guns are very hard to come by in Britain so the knife is the weapon of choice) in the year ending 30 September 2018. In April 2018 reason.com ran an article “British Politicians Declare War on Knives”. (see: http://bit.ly/33Apmux, which is also a photo source). This concern was partially driven by the fact that the murder rate in New York City was lower than London’s.

 In the latest attempt to control knife attacks, the British government opted for a takeout chicken box campaign. More than 300,000 chicken boxes are part of the campaign being distributed by about 200 outlets in England and Wales.

The messages on the boxes are statements from convicted knife attackers and are designed “help reduce the numbers of young people carrying knives”. Critics label it as “explicitly racist, or at best, unfathomly stupid”.

It is implied of course that the majority of offenders are great fans of fried chicken!

We have seen PSYOP messages on leaflets, posters, soccer balls, dropped from bombs and balloons and delivered by simple radios – I’m pretty sure this is the first food/PSYOP campaign.

Having said all this, let’s step back for a moment. Did the British government do its homework? Did the establish that there is a relationship between their message delivery vehicle (the medium) and the target audience? Have they established MOE?

I’m guessing no to most of the above. Does this mean that food/PSYOP wouldn’t work in another place at another time to accomplish different goals? No, it doesn’t, but I may never look at Colonel Sanders again the same way.