Episode Details

The battlefield is more than guns, aircraft, ships and vehicles. Sometimes the most important weapon is an adversary’s perception. 

Since inception, US Army Special Forces have been central to shaping human behavior and enemy perspective; still the most important factors in military decision making. 

The objective isn’t always to change what someone believes. Sometimes we only need to change what they do, where they go, or the decision they make long enough to create an advantage. That’s the battlefield of Psychological Operations and Civil Affairs. 

From the John F. Kennedy Special Warfare Museum at Fort Bragg, I sat down with Colonel Steve Santucci, Colonel Jeff Uherka, and Colonel Bob Cusick to go inside two of the most misunderstood capabilities in Army Special Operations and examine how Psychological Operations and Civil Affairs are shaping today’s battlefield. 

For these units, the mission is about precision influence. Identify the decision maker. Understand how they think. Force a decision. Create time and space. Then give commanders an opportunity to exploit it. 

Artificial intelligence, large language models, cyber capabilities, drones, and the digital information environment are creating new ways to understand and influence an audience. But on a battlefield where communications can be degraded and the electromagnetic spectrum contested, some of the answers may come from the past. 

Information warfare is also being consolidated under Army Special Operations, and the Army is building a more unified approach to how it trains and employs information professionals across the force. 

On today’s battlefield, destroying the enemy may not always be the most powerful option. If we can influence what they see, shape what they understand, and change the decisions they make, we may never have to fire a shot.

Highlights:

00:00 - Introduction

02:59 - Defining PSYOPs and Civil Affairs Missions

07:50 - Behavior vs. Mindset

10:57 - Delivery Mechanisms

13:25 - Language and Culture

17:25 - Recruitment

21:07 - Qualification Course Pipelines

27:18 - Decentralization to Special Forces Groups

31:31 - Consolidation of Army Information Operations

39:53 - Future Operating Capabilities

44:58 - Daily Habits

Quotes"

• “At the end of the day, it's about providing influence and deception’s word of commanders, to provide them tim