U.S. Army
Psychological Operations
The branch that fights the war between the ears. From billions of leaflets dropped on Nazi Germany to 200,000 Viet Cong defections under Chieu Hoi to counter-narrative operations against ISIS, PSYOP influences foreign populations and undermines enemy morale without firing a shot. The cheapest weapon in the inventory. Often the most effective.
Cold War & Vietnam
1950 – 1991
KOREA
COLD WAR INFO WAR
Korea
Loudspeaker Battles
Radio
Free Europe · Liberty
2.5B
Leaflets Dropped Korea
Soviet
COUNTER-PROPAGANDA
In Korea, PSYOP units dropped 2.5 billion leaflets and operated loudspeaker teams along the front lines calling on Chinese and North Korean soldiers to surrender. During the Cold War, Army PSYOP supported Radio Free Europe and Voice of America — broadcasting into the Soviet bloc. PSYOP became a permanent part of the Army's force structure because the information war against communism never stopped. The loudspeakers on the DMZ are still there.
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VIETNAM
CHIEU HOI PROGRAM
Chieu Hoi
"Open Arms" Defection
200K+
VC/NVA Defected
Wandering
Soul · Ghost Tapes
Aerial
LOUDSPEAKER · C-47
The Chieu Hoi ("Open Arms") program was PSYOP's greatest success — over 200,000 Viet Cong and NVA fighters defected under the program. PSYOP teams played "Wandering Soul" recordings in the jungle — eerie ghost voices exploiting Vietnamese beliefs about unburied dead to terrify superstitious VC fighters. C-47 aircraft with massive loudspeakers broadcast over enemy positions. Vietnam was the most extensive PSYOP campaign since WWII — and proved that information operations could produce strategic results.
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Modern PSYOP — MISO
2001 – Present
MISO
OIF · OEF · INFLUENCE
TPT
Tactical PSYOP Teams
Counter
Narrative · ISIS · AQ
Social
Media Influence Ops
Every
BCT HAD PSYOP
In Iraq and Afghanistan, Tactical PSYOP Teams were attached to every brigade combat team — conducting face-to-face engagement, distributing handbills, operating FM radio stations, and producing messaging to counter insurgent propaganda. PSYOP soldiers engaged village elders, produced counter-narrative content against ISIS and al-Qaeda recruiting, and operated in the information environment alongside kinetic operations. Modern MISO operates across social media, broadcast, print, and face-to-face engagement simultaneously. The information battlefield has no front lines.
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UNITS
FORT LIBERTY, NC
4th POG
Active Duty · Airborne
2nd, 7th
8th POG · USAR
USACAPOC
Reserve Command
SOF
UNDER SOCOM
Active-duty PSYOP is centered on the 4th Psychological Operations Group (Airborne) at Fort Liberty — the only active-duty PSYOP group, operating under USASOC. The Army Reserve holds three additional PSYOP Groups under USACAPOC. Like Civil Affairs, PSYOP maintains a significant reserve component because the skills needed — media production, cultural expertise, language ability, marketing — are often found in civilian careers. PSYOP soldiers attend the PSYOP Qualification Course at the JFK Special Warfare Center alongside Special Forces and Civil Affairs.
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72
Years of Service
200K+
Chieu Hoi Defections
SOF
Special Operations
Persuade
Change · Influence