Psychological operations (United States)

United States Psychological Operations
Country	United States
Role	Special Operations Forces
Part of	Special Operations Command: Army: 4th PSYOP Group and 8th PSYOP Group Air Force: 193d Special Operations Wing Marine Corps: Marine Corps Information Operations Center Army Reserve: United States Army Civil Affairs and Psychological Operations Command Navy Reserve: Naval Reserve Atlantic Fleet PSYOP Audiovisual Unit
Garrison/HQ	Army: Fort Liberty, NC Marine: Quantico, VA Air Force: Middletown, PA Navy: Norfolk, VA
Patron	Saint Gabriel (Army)
Motto(s)	"Persuade, Change, Influence" (Army) "Never Seen, Always Heard" (Air Force)
Colors	Army Bottle-green piped with silver gray.
Insignia
Identification symbol	Army ♞ Knight (chess)

Psychological operations (PSYOP) are operations to convey selected information and indicators to audiences to influence their motives and objective reasoning, and ultimately the behavior of governments, organizations, groups, and large foreign powers.

The purpose of United States psychological operations is to induce or reinforce behavior perceived to be favorable to U.S. objectives. They are an important part of the range of diplomatic, informational, military and economic activities available to the U.S.^{[citation needed]} They can be utilized during both peacetime and conflict.^{[citation needed]} There are three main types: strategic, operational, and tactical. Strategic PSYOP includes informational activities conducted by the U.S. government agencies outside of the military arena, though many utilize Department of Defense (DOD) assets.^{[citation needed]} Operational PSYOP are conducted across the range of military operations, including during peacetime, in a defined operational area to promote the effectiveness of the joint force commander's (JFC) campaigns and strategies. Tactical PSYOP are conducted in the area assigned to a tactical commander across the range of military operations to support the tactical mission against opposing forces.^{[citation needed]}

PSYOP can encourage popular discontent with the opposition's leadership, and by combining persuasion with a credible threat, degrade an adversary's ability to conduct or sustain military operations. They can also disrupt, confuse, and protract the adversary's decision-making process, undermining command and control.^[1] When properly employed, PSYOP have the potential to save the lives of friendly or enemy forces by reducing the adversary's will to fight. By lowering the adversary's morale and then its efficiency, PSYOP can also discourage aggressive actions by creating indifference within their ranks, ultimately leading to surrender.

The integrated employment of the core capabilities of electronic warfare, computer network operations, psychological operations, military deception, and operations security, in concert with specified supporting and related capabilities, to influence, disrupt, corrupt or usurp adversarial human and automated decision making while protecting our own.^[2]

Between 2010 and 2014, PSYOP was renamed Military Information Support Operations (MISO), then briefly renamed PSYOP in August 2014, only to return to MISO shortly thereafter in 2015.^[3][4] The term was again renamed back to PSYOP in October 2017.^[5]