September 6, 2011: The U.S. Army has undertaken a major reorganization of its PSYOP (Psychological Operations) units to improve their effectiveness at conducting PsyWar (psychological warfare). All units will fall under the newly-formed Military Information Support (MIS) Operations Command at Fort Bragg, North Carolina. The former headquarters unit, the 4th Psychological Operations Group, remains and has been renamed the 4th MIS Group.
The Army also activated the 8th MIS Group. The two groups have split the battalions that previously fell under the 4th. The battalions cover different regions or functions. The 8th will command the 1st (Latin America), 5th (Asia), and 9th Battalion(s), which is responsible for tactical operations globally. The 4th retains the 6th (Europe), 7th (Africa), and 8th (Middle East) Battalions. The 3rd Battalion is responsible for media production and dissemination and will support both groups.
The Command’s mission is to influence opinion through print and broadcast media. This may be on the battlefields of Afghanistan or in disaster relief such as Haiti. The Command consists of 2,400 soldiers, civilian linguists, and analysts. It falls under the command of Special Operations Command. These active duty units make up only about 25 percent of the MIS units. Two reserve units, the 2nd and 7th Groups, make up the bulk. --Hans Johnson
