Psychological operations (PSYOPs) are military operations to convey selected information and indicators to audiences to influence their motives and objective reasoning, and ultimately the behavior of governments, organizations, groups, and large foreign powers.

The purpose of United States psychological operations is to induce or reinforce behavior perceived to be favorable to U.S. objectives. They are an important part of the range of diplomatic, informational, military and economic activities available to the U.S. They can be utilized during both peacetime and conflict. At the strategic level, psychological operations include informational activities conducted by the U.S. government agencies outside of the military arena, though many utilize Department of Defense (DoD) assets. They are conducted across the range of military operations, including during peacetime, in a defined operational area to promote the effectiveness of the joint force commander's (JFC) campaigns and strategies. At the tactical level, they are conducted in the area assigned to a tactical commander across the range of military operations to support the tactical mission against opposing forces.

Psychological operations can encourage popular discontent with the opposition's leadership, and by combining persuasion with a credible threat, degrade an adversary's ability to conduct or sustain military operations. They can also disrupt, confuse, and protract the adversary's decision-making process, undermining command and control.Air Force Doctrine Document, 2-5.3 Psychological Operations (27 August 1999) When properly employed, they have the potential to save the lives of friendly or enemy forces by reducing the adversary's will to fight. By lowering the adversary's morale and then its efficiency, psychological can also discourage aggressive actions by creating indifference within their ranks, ultimately leading to surrender.

The integrated employment of the core capabilities of electronic warfare, computer network operations, psychological operations, military deception, and operations security, in concert with specified supporting and related capabilities, to influence, disrupt, corrupt or usurp adversarial human and automated decision making while protecting our own.

Between 2010 and 2014, psychological operations were renamed Military Information Support Operations (MISO), briefly returning to their original nomenclature in August 2014, only to return to MISO shortly thereafter in 2015. The term was again renamed back to psychological operations in October 2017.

Process The U.S. Army is responsible for military psychological warfare doctrine. U.S. psychological operations forces are generally forbidden to attempt to change the opinions of "U.S. persons" (citizens, residents, or legal entities), in any location globally. However, commanders may use psychological operations forces to provide public information to U.S. audiences during times of disaster or crisis. During noncombatant evacuation operation (NEO) for instance, they can provide evacuation information to U.S. and third-country nationals would also adhere to the order.

During Defense Support of Civil Authorities (DSCA) operations, military public affairs activities, military civil authority information support (CAIS) activities, public information actions, and news media access to the DSCA operational area are subject to approval by the federal department or agency assigned primary responsibility for managing and coordinating a specific emergency support function in the National Response Framework. Psychological operations forces are restricted by policy and SECDEF guidance to only broadcasting and disseminating public information. When authorized for employment in this manner, the forces utilize their media development, production, and dissemination capabilities to deliver public or other critical information during domestic emergencies. Their mission is strictly to inform (i.e. not conducting psychological operations).

Psychological operations were a key Battlefield Operating System used extensively to support Unified Task Force (UNITAF) Somalia operations. In order to maximize the psychological impact, the United States established a Joint PSYOPs Task Force under the supervision of the Director of Operations, which integrated into all plans and operations.

Psychological operations units

The majority of U.S. military psychological operations units are in the Army. In the United States Department of Defense, these are the Army's 4th Psychological Operations Group, 8th Psychological Operations Group; the United States Navy also plans and executes limited psychological operations missions.

United States servicemembers are prohibited by law from conducting psychological operations on domestic audiences. However, information intended for foreign audiences, including public diplomacy and psychological operations, are increasingly is consumed by our domestic audience and vice-versa."

Army

Until shortly after the start of the war on terror, the Army's Psychological Operations elements were administratively organized alongside Civil Affairs to form the U.S. Army Civil Affairs and Psychological Operations Command (USACAPOC), forming a part of the U.S. Army Special Operations Command (USASOC). In May 2006 the USCAPOC was reorganized to instead fall under the Army reserve command, and all active duty elements were placed directly into USASOC. While reserve psychological operations forces no longer belong to USASOC, that command retains control of psychological operation doctrine.

Army units

There are four psychological operations units in the U.S. Army:

2nd Psychological Operations Group 4th Psychological Operations Group (Airborne) 7th Psychological Operations Group 8th Psychological Operations Group (Airborne)

The 4th Psychological Operations Group (Airborne), based at Fort Bragg, was historically the only active duty psychological operations unit remaining in the United States Army following the close of the Vietnam War, until the August 26th, 2011 activation of 8th Psychological Operations Group (Airborne). The 2nd and the 7th Psychological Operations Groups are in the Army Reserve.

Navy Navy psychological operations policy is specified in OPNAVINST 3434.1, "Psychological Operations". Leaflets are dropped utilizing the PDU-5B dispenser unit (aka Leaflet Bomb). The Navy coordinates extensively with the Army as the majority of psychological operations assets reside within USASOC. Psychological operations planning and execution is coordinated through the Naval Network Warfare Command (NETWARCOM) and the Naval Information Operations Command (NIOC), both located in Norfolk, VA.

Air Force The Air National Guard provides support for psychological operations using the EC-130 Commando Solo, operated by the 193d Special Operations Wing. As a general purpose electronic warfare platform, Commando Solo aircraft can also jam enemy psychological warfare and propaganda broadcasts.

Marines

In 2018, the Marine Corps created a new Military Occupational Specialty (MOS) with designator 0521 for psychological operations Marines. Candidates will have to complete the Army’s Psychological Qualification Operations Course. The qualification course includes classes in psychology, sociology, cultural training blocks, language training, and human dynamics training, among other training components. They conduct Military Information Support Operations (MISO), which are missions that convey selected information and indicators to foreign organizations, groups, and individuals to influence their emotions, motives, objective reasoning, and ultimately their behavior in a manner favorable to the Commander’s objectives.

History World War I During World War I, the Propaganda Sub-Section was established under the American Expeditionary Force (AEF) Military Intelligence Branch within the Executive Division of the General Staff in early 1918.

World War II There was extensive use of psychological operations in World War II, including from the Office of War Information, the Morale Operations branch of the Office of Strategic Services (OSS), with planning starting even before the U.S. entry into the war with the creation of the Office of the Coordinator of Inter-American Affairs (OCIAA), under Nelson Rockefeller, with the responsibility for psychological operations targeted at Latin America. Special operations and intelligence concerning Latin America was a bureaucratic problem throughout the war. Where the OSS eventually had most such responsibilities, the FBI had its own intelligence system in Latin America.

On 11 July 1941, William Donovan was named the Coordinator of Information, which subsequently became the OSS. At first, there was a unit called the Foreign Information Service inside COI, headed by Robert Sherwood, which produced propaganda outside Latin America.

The OSS Morale Operations (MO) branch was the psychological operations arm of the OSS. In general, its units worked on a theater-by-theater basis, without a great deal of central coordination. It was present in most theaters, with the exception of the Southwest Pacific theater under Douglas MacArthur, who was hostile to the OSS. Dwight Eisenhower was notably supportive of psychological operations, had psychological warfare organization in the staff of all his commands, and worked with OSS and OWI.

Engineers of the 1st Radio Section of the 1st MRBC recorded POW interviews for front- line broadcasts, and reproduced the sound effects of vast numbers of tanks and other motor vehicles for Allied armored units in attempts to mislead German intelligence and lower enemy morale. Leaflets were also delivered, principally from aircraft but also with artillery shells.

Cold War Radio

The U.S. engaged in major worldwide radio broadcasts to contain communism, through Radio Free Europe and Radio Liberty.

Korea

Psychological operations were used extensively during the Korean War. The 1st Loudspeaker and Leaflet Company was sent to Korea in fall 1950. Especially for the operations directed against troops of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK; North Korea), it was essential to work with Republic of Korea (ROK; South Korea personnel) to develop propaganda with the most effective linguistic and cultural context. Since the war was a United Nations mandated operation, political sensitivities were high. While rules limited mentioning the People's Republic of China or the Soviet Union, first due to fear it would increase their intervention, and later because it might demoralize ROK civilians, Stalin was depicted and Chinese troops were targeted in leafleting.

Various methods were used to deliver propaganda, with constraints imposed by exceptionally rugged terrain and that radios were relatively uncommon among DPRK and PRC troops. Loudspeaker teams often had to get dangerously close to enemy positions. Artillery and light aircraft delivered leaflets on the front lines, while heavy bombers dropped leaflets in the rear. Over 2.5 billion leaflets were dropped over North Korea during the war. Some leafleting of North Korea was resumed after the Korean War, such as in the Cold War Operation Jilli from 1964 to 1968.

Vietnam