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Title: Planning for Psychological Operations: A Proposal
Subject: The joint planning and coordination process required
to influence an adversary's decisions relating to the use or possible
use of their military involves psychological operations (PSYOP).
The combined efforts of the military, State Department, Executive
branch, and other organizations and the IOPs at their disposal must
be closely coordinated to ensure the most advantageous synergistic
effect. In order to accomplish this, the multidimensionality of
PSYOP must be accepted and integrated into a national strategy.
Author(s): Lee-Volker Cox; Ralph P Millsap Jr. (Faculty
Advisor)
DTIC Keywords: COERCIVE FORCE, DECEPTION, DECISION MAKING,
DETERRENCE, INFORMATION THEORY, MASS DESTRUCTION WEAPONS, PROPAGANDA,
PSYCHOLOGICAL OPERATIONS, PSYCHOLOGICAL WARFARE, PUBLIC RELATIONS
Abstract: It is incumbent upon the state to gain support
for national objectives. Employment of instruments of power is designed
to influence other nations and organizations to respond favorably.
Therefore, impacting the decision making process is the underlying
principle for IOP power projection and highlights the psychological
element. During a period of declining resources and increased world
competition, the United States must find new ways to reach out and
promote American interests. In order to maximize the impact and
exploit the influence events create, joint planning and interagency
coordination of psychological operations are critical.
The current ad hoc interagency coordination and joint planning process
do not maximize the psychological factors' impact and fully exploit
its asymmetrical influence on a target audience's decision making
process. Traditional views towards concepts, particularly military
PSYOP, do not lead to the innovative solutions demanded by an environment
of declining funds and resources. This study recognizes the multidimensional
aspect of military PSYOP and calls for redefining an area of operations
that has changed little over the years. Additionally, the establishment
of an organization responsible for the development of a national
marketing strategy integrating all IOPs to achieve objectives beyond
the tactical level is advocated.
Reviewing subject matter literature from the last forty years provided
the project's basis for concepts relating to PSYOP and the Soviet
missile gap deception case study. Internet searches, interviews,
and recent literature brought current issues to light and developed
a picture of U.S. organizations involved in influencing target audiences.
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