Вы находитесь на странице: 1из 7

Human Environment Land Functions

Military PsyOps within the Framework of Information Operations


A
s Major general Desportes1 pointed it out recently, current wars are conducted, won or lost within the populations, and thus within the forces information environment. The forces indeed are being currently provided with a tool that is adapted to take ownership of that facet of the modern battlefield into which information is simultaneously the weapon, the ammunition and the target.

In the continuity of the information operations concept2 and of the corresponding joint doctrine3, the military Psychological operations (PsyOps)4 aim at supporting the force in its endeavour towards the desired end state. They thus provide it with a better perception and understanding of its human environment thanks to the environment information that they collect to build the maneuver upon it, a maneuver that contributes as well to shaping that environment in a favorable way.

BY THE (ACTING) CHIEF OF

LAND ACTION FORCES INFORMATION OPERATIONS GROUP (GIO5)

Information Operations (NATO InfoOps)


PsyOps and InfoOps, whats their relevance in the current environment? Lessons learned during these last few years from the conflicts where France has been engaged either alone or within a multinational framework (NATO or EU) have shown that PsyOps were indispensable to respond to these often perturbating actions conducted by multiple actors inside the armed forces information environment9. Those perturbations, that sometimes blur the military operations rationale and objectives, have also an effect on situation understanding: they originate from inaccuracy, truncated thruth or lies and entail emotions rather than reasonings. Failure to accomplish the mission given to national or multinational forces can be one of the expected result of these types of operations that aim at eroding the actions credibility, weakening the willingness to reach the objective, blurring the positive effects of the forces commtiment at the service of peace, denying their legitimacy at operating on behalf of national or international community interests. They threaten the achievement of the desired end state, be it in its political or military facet.

joint PsyOps doctrine is currently being finalized at the (French) joint staff level (EMA). It is more particularly oriented towards operational level types of operations6. Staffs are the main target audience. It is interoperable with NATO7 and EU8 joint concepts and doctrines. This will be a living document. It is intended to be enriched thanks to the InfoOps Groups (GIO) after action reviews and lessons learned; GIO is a unique organization within the Army which is dedicated to PsyOps. That group is responsible for operational preparation of all personnel involved in that domain and constitutes a reservoir of specialists who could be called upon to build up staff structures and tactical teams that would be further completed by reinforcements drawn out of the different Services.

DOCTRINE #

52

OCTOBER 2008

The Vision of Land Forces Operational Functions Experts


In addition, no armed forces belonging to a democratic country may operate today without taking into account the support of their own countrys public opinion, the one of the theater of operations population, and even sometimes the one of the international community. As a complement to the use of force usually implemented by armed forces in operations, friendly PsyOps aim at neutralizing opponents, explaining what is at stake, making the presence of friendly armed forces be accepted, bringing opposition forces to renounce to using force, involving neutral and undecided parties. In fewer words, they aim at making the populations to accept the peace that is brought by armed forces operating under an international mandate. They are thus to be conceived within the military intervention, stabilization, reconstruction continuum. The relevance of their action increases proportionnally to the decrase of forces kinetic activity10. They can add value to coercive maneuver but they take full relevance during stabilization and normalization phases. courses of action selected to achieve the military part of the desired end state are relevant, credible and efficient. PsyOps military strategy can thus be conceived as being a permanent duel of various will powers intending to master the information environment into which operate forces and influence activities. PsyOps consist then in delivering to carefully selected targets, pieces of information that have been intentionally elaborated so that these targets would get ownership of it. The expected objective is that they would relay, via their own network, a message that they would have by themselves deduced from the received information. Ideally, that message participates in a comprehensive approach that concurs to the achievement of the desired end state. It induces a transformation of the behaviors vis--vis the military strategy selected by the friendly forces. The figure underneath describes it: The information domain is the one of the media which freely deliver their information that may or may not be accepted by the people. The communication domain is characterized by the army operational communication towards the media which are totally free to exploit the information that has been transmitted as they want to do it.

Information operations (InfoOps) are part of an overall influence strategy The State overall strategy calls upon diplomatic, information, military and economic instruments of power to support a selected Deception foreign policy.
Operations

falsification Indoctrination Electronic warfare

Military strategy that is derived from that policy, aims at preserving the national interests, employing at the best the existing military capacities in order to reach the governments desired end state. Military strategy may have to implement PsyOps11 in order to influence the will power of these actors involved in a crisis or a conflict in order to achieve the military part of the desired end state. It aims at persuading any allied or neutral decision maker or any source of opposition that the objectives and

COERCION

Joint Internal communication

INFLUENCE

Information operations

propaganda

Network communication

Psyops
MEDIA OPERATIONAL

and Public Affairs INFOSEC General open communication OPSEC

INFORMATION Media

Media Operation

INFORM

COMMUNICATE

PERSUADE

Figure 1: Influence within information environment

OCTOBER 2008

53

DOCTRINE #

Human Environment Land Functions

The influence domain is the one of information operations where PsyOps is a key functionality. In order to influence the opponents decision making process, they aim at persuading specific individuals or groups of individuals by means of dedicated military assets and using local language. And last, the coercion domain relies on vectors of power, military or not, which impact onto physical fields.

Information operations : a coordinating functionality Information military strategy is being conducted before, during and after the crisis. It is coordinated at relevant level by the information operations cell and it involves various functionalities12 as shown on the figure below:

EFFECTS

DESIRED END STATE

Related Functions

(Information operations )
Dedicated information operations

Use of forces

CIMIC

Media OPS Public Affairs

PsyOps

deception

Data processing Operations

(OPSEC, INFOSEC)

EW

Destruction

Intelligence and CIS


Figure 2: Effects and information operations

PSYOPS
PsyOps to establish a less hostile information environment syOps are planned activities (Annex L of an OPLAN) and they aim at modifying the status of perceptions, representations and attitudes, in order to establish, maintain or modify the behavior of a person, or of a group of people also known as Target Audience13. Information that is provided in a relevant way to the target audience and that is approved at strategic and operational levels, must produce a visible and measurable effect. The actors behaviors (friendly, neutral or opposition sources) may be key to the resolution of a conflict and to peace restoration. It is necessary to understand what are the motivations of the different target audiences (civilian decision makers, military leaders, forces, populations, ...), in order to, if required, modify their perception, influence their will power and persuade them to accept the exit of the conflict. PsyOps, take advantage of the expansion of mass media communication capabilities that serve as a multiplier for influence operations effects. However, that efficiency

DOCTRINE #

54

OCTOBER 2008

The Vision of Land Forces Operational Functions Experts


depends on the target audiences perception, in accordance with their cultural standards, on emitters credibility and on the capability to keep promises or to lead military operations to success. PsyOps that participate in information operations contribute to the achievement of political and military objectives. Thanks to the implementation of specific or regular means they achieve actions that have been conceived at strategic or operational level. They may be conducted down to the tactical level. In principle they constitute long term endeavors. They deliver credible messages that are adapted to target audiences cultural and linguistic specificities. They use clearly identified emitters. In addition to the short terms expected effects in support of the combat forces, they must be conducted within the framework of a longer term vision as as far as their implementation and, even more important, as far as their effects are concerned, especially for what regards conflict prevention and peace keeping operations. As an example, although coercion operations may lead to ending confrontations, causes for restarting the fighting still remain once friendly forces have withdrawn. On the contrary, successful PsyOps that are often conducted concurrently with other operational functions linked to the environment such as CIMIC, lead to developing a lastingly restored peace where the desire to take arms again is very much degraded. During war operations, PsyOps exploit, within intellectual and emotional domains, the destruction of the physical or computational links between decision makers and their troops or their populations in order to break apart cohesion and capability to give orders, to be obeyed or to be supported. Messages used to influence behaviors, almost without any limitation, depend on the selected target audience, on the expected result and on current situation. Since PsyOps are aiming at reducing tensions or at multiplying armed forces efficiency, the military leaders at all levels must take into account that function in order to reach their objectives. Convincing isolated or surrounded enemy forces to cease fire; Establishing dissent amongst sources of opposition; Promoting friendly forces power and capabilities, how they deal with prisoners, defectors, civilians. Promoting as well victorys ineluctability, the peaces social and economic benefits - thanks in particular to CIMIC and support to international organizations - and the respect for local customs; Establishing an environment favorable to armed forces protection by modifying selected target audiences behavior through gaining and maintaining their willingness to cooperate and denying the opposition sources willingness to initiate hostile acts; Participating to promoting cessation of hostilities in order to reduce casualties for both sides as well as civilian populations sufferings; Participating to transitioning towards post conflict situation, especially by promoting reconciliation; Locally explaining goals and objectives that are sought by friendly forces; Identifying, analyzing and neutralizing opponents forces influence and propaganda operations; Joining up with information operations capabilities by providing or taking away information from opposition forces analysis capabilities; Reducing or neutralizing the support provided to sources of opposition, especially within the framework of counter guerilla operations; Helping host nations, with their agreement, to support and inform civilian populations; Participating to building up a positive image of the host nation and of the nations that would be engaged in the friendly coalition operation.

PsyOps open new fields for possible actions Supported by a credible resort to force, PsyOps may have the following objectives: Eroding opponents legitimacy and credibility (defended cause, political system, civilian and military decision makers, social cohesion, opponents possibilities of success, social and economical damages that they have created ...); Weakening the willpower of real or potential opponents which oppose the Force Commanders desired end state, weakening as well opposition forces loyalty;

1 Commanding General, Forces Employment Doctrine Center (CDEF). 2 PIA (French joint publication) 03-152, 2005. 3 PIA 03-252, 2006. 4 In French, oprations militaires dinfluence (OMI). 5 Groupement dinformation oprationnelle. 6 PIA 00-202, 2006. 7 MC 402/2, Politique sur les oprations psychologiques de lOTAN (NATO polycy for PsyOps), AJP 3.10.1, Doctrine interarmes des oprations psychologiques (Joint doctrine for PsyOps). 8 Concept for EU PSYOPS in EU-led military CMOS (Restricted), 2004. 9 All these systems, organizations, individuals which collect, exploit or disseminate information. 10 Conventional armed forces. 11 Joint doctrine for force employment in operations, 2003, chapter 1, P5. 12 See definition in annex. 13 NATO: Target Audience: an individual or a group of people (from whom an homogeneous reaction is expected) who are submitted to PsyOps persuasion actions.

OCTOBER 2008

55

DOCTRINE #

Human Environment Land Functions

Everybody performs influence operations, the chaos theory.


very deployment of power, especially a military one, has always a psychological impact; however it might not be the expected one. This should not be confused with PsyOps. Actions such as power projection, limited strikes, force deployment into a JOA, the forces multinationality, technological superiority, level of training (...) participate in weakening opposition sources willpower and have psychological effects. Forces behavior, their attitude - aggressive or not - may have an effect upon opposition sources or neutral actors. These actions are not part of PsyOps unless their main objective is to influence target audiences emotions, motivations, reasoning, decision making process or behavior. On the other hand PsyOps may exploit these actions by seeking an effect that would have been induced by planned actions or identified capabilities. They thus may disseminate messages about resorting to force, making promises that will be kept, explaining conditions of surrender, offering safe passage to the defectors, promoting cessation of support to a resistance, evacuating civilian populations from future area of operations... And last, should forces be engaged, attacking opponents minds contributes to support friendly forces moral superiority. The perception of the armed forces potential employment, which participates to force protection, contributes to some sort of deterrence against the actions that could be conducted against them, especially terrorist ones. PsyOps, which temper violence, may contribute to reduce friendly or opposing casualties by reducing opposing forces willingness to fight, especially by promoting surrender, rallying or desertion. Through weakening opposition sources morale and thus their efficiency, PsyOps play a key role in asymmetric conflicts (stabilization and counter guerilla operations).

Annex 1 - GLOSSARY

information protection activity OTAN (AJP-3.10) Activits de protection de linformation

Information protection activity comprises any activity that prevents an adversary from gaining information relating to friendly operations. It includes, but is not limited to, Operations Security (OPSEC), information security (INFOSEC) and counter- intelligence, surveillance, targeting, acquisition and reconnaissance (ISTAR).

area of influence OTAN (AAP-6) zone dinfluence

A geographical area wherein a commander is directly capable of influencing operations, by manuvre or fire support systems normally under his command or control.

Combat Psychological Operations (CPO), Union europenne, Oprations militaires dinfluence stratgiques

Planned psychological operations conducted against approved target audiences in support of the objectives of the commanders at all levels as an integral part of combat operations and designed to defeat the opposing force by reducing or eliminating its will to continue aggression in the AOO, as well as to support the operational freedom of the commander.

DOCTRINE #

56

OCTOBER 2008

The Vision of Land Forces Operational Functions Experts


Contre-OMI counter-PSYOPS Counter PsyOps are actions aiming at detecting, analyzing and neutralizing sources of oppositions PsyOps that aim at influencing national or allied populations and forces. Counter PsyOpss target these audiences that are affected by sources of oppositions propaganda or other PsyOps. These target audiences do not include friendly forces - they are the domain of military internal communication- not do they include national public opinion, the COMOPS (operational communication) domain. Counter PsyOps leads the fight against opponents PsyOps in coordination with the staffs other divisions, especially J2.

Crisis Response Psychological Operations (CRPO) Union europenne Oprations militaires dinfluence pour la stabilisation et la reconstruction

Planned psychological operations conducted as an integral part of Crisis Management Operations, designed to create a supportive atmosphere and willingness to co-operate among the parties in conflict and population in the AOO, in order to assist in the achievement of mission objectives and the protection of own forces.

Critres defficacit Measure of effectiveness - MOE

Measures of effectiveness (MOE) are indicators measuring the evolution of a target audience behavior towards a sought attitude or behavior. MOEs express an increase or a decrease in a selected target audiences specific.

Information environment

Ensemble of the systems, organizations, individuals that collect, exploit or broadcast information.

Infocible target audience

An individual or group selected for influence or attack by means of psychological operations.

Information security OTAN AAP31 Scurit des informations

The protection of information against unauthorised disclosure, transfer modification or destruction, whether accidental or intentional.

Data processing security and counter attack operations Glossaire interarmes 2004

Within the computerized data processing domain, these are the actions that have been undertaken in order to paralyze the opponents systems, to hamper data flows to alter these or to intercept them for gaining awareness.

Oprations militaires dinfluence Psychological operations

PsyOps are planned activities that aim at modifying the status of perceptions, representations and attitudes, in order to establish, maintain or modify behaviors of a person, of a group of people also known as Target Audience. Information that is provided in a relevant way to the target audience and that is approved at strategic and operational levels must produce a visible and measurable effect.

Psychological operations Union europenne Oprations psychologiques

Psychological Operations are planned psychological activities using methods of communication directed at politically approved audiences, in order to influence perceptions, attitudes and behaviour, affecting the achievement of political and military objectives.

OCTOBER 2008

57

DOCTRINE #

Human Environment Land Functions

Psychological operations OTAN MC 402 Oprations psychologiques

Planned psychological activities using methods of communications and other means directed to approved audiences in order to influence perceptions, attitudes and behaviour, affecting the achievement of political and military objectives. Whilst some Allied countries differ in their national definitions of PSYOPS, all have agreed to the definition contained in MC 402, on which this AJP is founded.

Operations security (OPSEC) PIA 03-252 AAP6

The process which gives a military operation or exercise appropriate security, using passive or active means, to deny the enemy knowledge of the dispositions, capabilities and intentions of friendly forces. Related terms: counterintelligence; countersurveillance; electronic warfare; physical security; port security; protective security; security; tactical security.

Source of opposition PIA 03-252

(proposed new definition) a source of opposition is a generic term that designates any State, power or actor (civilian or military) capable of having a negative impact on the achievement of the political objective (desired end-state). (former definition) a source of opposition is a person or a group of people which has the willingness to act and relies on one or several networks. It develops and implements its own strategy, that may either support or oppose Frances or coalitions desired end state. A source of opposition produces effects in material and immaterial fields. A source of opposition may be active or potential since it can relate to an opponent declared or not, a neutral party which is being importuned or a friendly party with diverging interests.

Strategic Psychological Operations (SPO) European Union oprations militaires dinfluence stratgiques

Planned psychological operations that pursue objectives to gain the support and co-operation of friendly and neutral audiences and to alter the will and ability of hostile, potentially hostile or neutral audiences to commit aggressive action, and contribute to crisis management and deterrence in support of diplomatic actions.

Information strategy PIA 03-252

Information strategy defines the application of the general strategy within the information domain for all civilian and military actors, which can contribute to the resolution of a crisis. Information strategy is thus interministerial by essence; it can be interallied. It coordinates the employment of economic diplomatic and military tools to achieve the desired effects in order to reach the desired end state. It is translated into an ensemble of guidance and establishes themes and key message for all implementation tools.

Psychological Operations (PsyOps) strategy

PsyOps aims at persuading any allied or neutral decision maker or any source of opposition that the objectives and courses of action selected to achieve the military part of the desired end state are relevant, credible and efficient.

DOCTRINE #

58

OCTOBER 2008

Вам также может понравиться