The Silent Fight
Dagger's Edge Magazine: Vol 1, Issue 25
Capt George Morrison
November 12, 2007
Pictures Include:
- US Army Soldiers from A co, 2-32 FA and Iraqi Army Soldiers deliver educational supplies and Dental Hygiene products to a school in Hateen, Iraq on Oct 29th.
- Staff Sgt Mullen speaks with residents about their security and essential service concerns in their neighborhoods.
- Iraqi Police distribute Handbills created by the 2-32 FA Battalion IO Officer about a rocket attack in AO Patriot.
Task Force Patriot fights with a steady presence in Hateen and Yarmouk to stop the terrorism that infects these neighborhoods. We do it through combat patrols in the area, capturing terrorists and removing caches. We also wage a campaign to persuade the people to reconcile their sectarian differences and help put an end to the violence. The myriad of ways in which we influence the people is part of our information operations campaign. Outward effects on the people are only a portion of the overall campaign.
The information operations campaign also includes our efforts to understand the people, specifically what their feelings and opinions are about various aspects of their day to day lives. An example of this is the popular opinion of the progress of the Iraqi Army and Iraqi Police developing into legitimate professional forces. Every neighborhood, every block, even every house can have a different opinion about this issue and many other issues like it. Our information operation campaign looks at all of the different feelings and opinions from throughout all of these different areas; this information is then consolidated to show commanders and staff what people are saying and how they feel based on the demographics of the area. These feelings and opinions aid the staff in the planning process and the Commanders in their decision making and daily engagements.
TF 2-32 influences the people of Yarmouk and Hateen through several different methods. The most common form is through face-to-face engagements with the populace. During these engagements, Soldiers, first line leaders and commanders discuss themes and messages that the battalion information operations officer recommends based on the Battalion Commander’s mission intent. These themes and messages focus the discussion on topics that will communicate our ideas to the populace and influence them to think in a certain way. An example of this is the idea that the Iraqi Security Forces need the support and help of the Iraqi people in order to defeat terrorism, and that the Iraqi Security Forces are the ultimate solution to stopping terrorism in Iraq.
The populace is persuaded not only through spoken means, but printed and broadcast means as well. Handbills are an effective and common method used by Task Force Patriot. Handbills are simply flyers that communicate a message, much like you might find under the windshield wiper of your car. Sometimes the handbills are created and printed with the help of the Tactical Psychological Operations Team (TPT) that is attached to our unit, but also sometimes by the Battalion S7. Posters, newsletters, and newspapers are other print methods that can be produced by the TPT, billboards are another print product but on a much larger scale that requires coordination with other units responsible for their contracting. The TPT, led by Staff Sgt. William Mullen, consists of three specialized Soldiers that go on patrols with each battery and our Civil-Military Operations Platoon. These Soldiers talk to the populace to gather atmospherics about the opinions and feelings of the people in each neighborhood, convey focused messages in their discussions, advise the S7 on the planning of his information operations campaign and act as a liaison between the Battalion and other Psychological Operations units in utilizing different print and broadcast products.
Broadcast methods are the most effective ways to influence the local population, but also are the hardest asset to obtain. Broadcast forms of communication include radio and television advertisements and announcements. These mediums influence a wide range of people, exceptionally larger than our area of operations. In order for our Task Force to communicate a particular theme or message through broadcast means the message must affect the majority of the listening area, such as a Baghdad-wide curfew change or the institution of a new law. Broadcast methods are rarely used at the Task Force level because of these requirements.
The information operations campaign compares closely to the marketing campaign of a corporation. The scheme of the campaign centers on understanding our customers’ (the Iraqi people) wants and needs (security, governance, economic and essential services concerns) and then convincing them to buy our product (believe in the Iraqi Security Forces, support their local government, revive their local markets, put trash in its place, be active in their community). The campaign encompasses aspects from research and development to publication and advertising.
Task Force Patriot’s Information Campaign is strong and effective and an important part of the fight. Much like man cannot live on bread alone; our fight cannot be won only through combat actions. It takes a fine-tuned, culturally aware, mission ready Soldier to accomplish today’s mission. This means our Soldiers are trained to fight the enemy when necessary and talk to the people to help them with their problems. Our Soldiers are more than just war fighters in a combat zone; they are ambassadors in a foreign country and they are making progress every day.
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