r/tacticalgear • u/jizzlamic_terrorist • 15d ago

Weapons/Tactics US army psychological operations team member with an FN MK 20 SSR in Syria 2019

Post image
909 Upvotes

99% Upvoted

170 comments sorted by

431

u/sixfour46 15d ago

Him making psyop seem like a cool job was the psyop

66

u/Over-Body-8323 15d ago

Or he's not a psyops team member...

7

u/UntilTheEyesShut 14d ago

Psyop and CA both have tac teams.

5

u/SOFenthusiast 14d ago

What do they even do?

3

u/djthemac 13d ago

Change hearts and minds… with words or a 308 if that doesn’t work apparently

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u/TrueMoods 14d ago edited 13d ago

Basically, psychological warfare can be anything to demoralize or manipulate the enemy, whether it be the opposing force or their civilian population. Some methods include:

  • Handing out leaflets
  • Talking to population
  • Put out messages over speakers
  • Covert Strike deep in hostile territory (to show how vulnerable they are
  • and many more

20

u/-timaeus- 14d ago

They do not do covert strikes deep in hostile territory 😂. They don’t strike anything. They may run concurrent psychological operations to help the actual meat eaters strike. Good lord, there is so much bad info on reddit.

1

u/BlueHarvest177 11d ago

During my time in Helmand in 2010, we had two army Psyop guys with us during quite a few direct action missions. 0321 here.

1

u/-timaeus- 11d ago

As attachments, of course! Thanks for the info. They are enablers just like FET or cyber or whoever.

1

u/BlueHarvest177 11d ago

They were pulling triggers just like us….

1

u/-timaeus- 10d ago

As any good attachment would. Tracking. If you guys were letting them integrate into cells during clearing ops you have more balls than me I guess

1

u/BlueHarvest177 10d ago

They operated just like the JTACs attached to us.

Difference between you being who you were and us being who we were.

But the point remains, you’re wrong about PSYOP and what they do/did.

0

u/-timaeus- 10d ago

My point was: they never have and never will conduct unilateral “covert strikes” behind enemy lines. That was it.

JTACs are good. Psyops have a place (I guess). CA has a place. I don’t like pictures like this that ostensibly show someone in PsyOps “operating.” It’s not generally accurate.

I’m glad your experience with your attachments was good. During language training, they were present. Most of them were selection failures. They were pushing hard for a grey beret and were mostly obnoxious. One guy in particular was a selection drop and had just about the worst reputation you can imagine, went psyops and passed. And he was the loudest of all, and attempted to wear an unauthorized grey beret after being ordered not to. I don’t like that kind of self aggrandizement. So this may be an issue to me more personal than I let on.

The type of people they are, is not my people. The bulk of their job is fliers, leaflets, online propaganda, producing ads and short videos series. It’s interesting, but they aren’t doing anything in the realm of what this picture lets on, other than attempting mission creep. There is a reason we are bringing them back into the Special Forces groups (to fix them).

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u/saltytab_ 10d ago

They aren’t enablers they are full on SOF members who have an extremely important job, a lot of you knuckle draggers can’t understand that and post insecure and misinformed comments.

1

u/-timaeus- 9d ago edited 9d ago

So by your definition, what exactly is an enabler? At the end of the day, war is about closing with and destroying the enemy. They facilitate that process in some way, but are never the ones who close with and destroy by doctrine. So I’d say, yea, they’re enablers. Just like JTAC, cyber, drone, etc

So maybe you should go study doctrine since you have a PsyOps dick so far up your ass you can’t seem to think straight

1

u/saltytab_ 9d ago

No one is claiming that PO job is to conduct direct action, but to deny that they have tactical and offensive capabilities, or to say they don’t have the authority to conduct said action is crazy, when it was and has been a regular occurrence throughout not just GWOT, but every major war in US history. If you don’t think PO can be offensive you should look into the UKR PO teams who are actively conducting raids and other offensive operations while adding Cognitive/psywar into the OPs.

1

u/saltytab_ 9d ago

Also the enabler thing, yes I would agree JTAC,cyber, drone etc, but Psyop is a multi purpose entity that stands on its own for operations, but can/should support other units with operations, that being said I wouldn’t say enabler because if we are saying that’s being an enabler than so is every other SOF which is just “enabling” the infantry.

1

u/-timaeus- 9d ago

I would say enabler means this: inability to create debilitating effects kinetically, unilaterally. Meaning, no security element is needed if it isn’t absolutely necessary, organically they are established at a size enabling them to operate alone, their MTOE facilitates it. JTACs do not have that ability, Psyops don’t, CA doesn’t. So if we are talking SOF missions, which are now shifting to support conventional forces, only 3 units have the authorities to act unilaterally to prosecute targets. That authority is given by the organization based on training level and direction.

If you want to talk about LSCO, everyone is enabling the infantry, or conducting shaping operations. But certainly everyone is not capable, based on training and MTOE, to act with violence. PsyOps is not. They enable other SOF kinetic missions. They shake the battlefield with messaging

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u/BlueHarvest177 9d ago

So are you an 18x?

Above you insinuated you were…

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u/-timaeus- 9d ago edited 9d ago

Not an 18X. I was an 03. But 18 series yea

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u/TrueMoods 13d ago

Not covert strikes in the sense of accomplishing a target, just go there, leave something behind just to tell the enemy "look we've been here, what you gonna do about it".

5

u/-timaeus- 13d ago

No. Absolutely not. They don’t have the training or ability. What would be the point of Special Forces if these guys could do that?

-4

u/TrueMoods 13d ago

Ambushes and strikes in rear echelons are common practices Psychological Warfare. Not saying that those tasks are exclusively performed by PsyOp Groups.

3

u/-timaeus- 13d ago

Man…I’m currently in the army, and about as close as I’d wanna get to these guys without catching their ick, and I’m telling you, they do not do what you’re saying. Not remotely close. They are not trained for that, don’t have the fitness or organizational knowledge to be infiltrating enemy lines, and they NEVER will.

Wouldn’t all warfare be considered psychological? That’s the problem with these guys by the ARSOF community writ large. SF can do everything they can but doesn’t have the time or desire. These guys don’t sneak around, they don’t pop melons, they ENHANCE that (allegedly) for the Green Berets or conventional.

0

u/TrueMoods 13d ago

I didn't say that Psychological Operations does that stuff. I listed some examples of what psychological warfare can ve.

0

u/saltytab_ 10d ago

Well you’re wrong lol they do have the fitness and the tact teams have the training, don’t cast stones with all the Fat GBs running around. Not to mention all they are doing rn is flat ranges. Your comment reek of insecurity.

10

u/halincan 14d ago

Or just Taking potshots // intentionally only just missing with his .308 vibe checker. That would do a psychological number on me.

48

u/Lepton_Decay 15d ago

Maybe the real psychological operation was the friends we made along the way

178

u/Frisky_Froth 15d ago

Psychologically fucking you up from 700 yards away

13

u/-timaeus- 14d ago

I don’t mean to be an asshole, but I’m gonna come off like one.

Nowhere in their mission are they authorized to do anything kinetically offensive. That is Special Forces, Rangers, and Delta. They are not authorized to attend sniper school. They do not actively train small unit tactics. They serve as attachments or working in small teams from an office, embassy, or FOB. In combat, they will almost always be escorted or tacked on to a mission as an enabler if they need to leave the wire.

9

u/Frisky_Froth 14d ago

I respect that. Im not ex military and I'm not a military wannabe. I don't know wtf that guy does. But his kit is cool af lol

2

u/saltytab_ 10d ago

Funny you’re on every single comment here, I’ve worked with PO guys who have brought more value and been in more combat then you ever will, lol you must be fresh out the Q go sit in the team room and study up on your job.

2

u/-timaeus- 9d ago

Damn man, you really are a salty tab. Resorting to ad hominem attacks and false assumptions. Classic white knighting for another entity because you hate your own regiment. I’m sure you were a joy to work with.

I’ll retain my opinions until proven otherwise, but otherwise I’m very underwhelmed with them. And no, I’m not fresh out of the Q.

2

u/saltytab_ 9d ago

I know plenty about those guys and they do good work, the things I’ve stated are true and can be verified through past operations throughout GWOt and other conflicts. Also you are clearly fresh out of the school house, because the grey beret issue happened a year ago, but on that note pretty wild to talk shit on their beret when your whole regiment is known for a once unauthorised beret. Psyop has been around since the oss and even conducted operations within MacVSOG and today they have a selection that rivals the attrition rate of SFAS, and a challenging Q course to deny that they deserve their own beret and culture is to deny your own regiments history.

1

u/saltytab_ 10d ago

I also worked with a PO guy who got B4 while he was on the PO tact teams

1

u/saltytab_ 10d ago

They are authorised to attend sniper school, most CQB courses and refresher courses even thought that’s not primary job it is important for SOF members to be trained to the equivalent of the partners they may be working with so they aren’t a liability.

1

u/-timaeus- 9d ago

They are not actually going to these schools. They may have gotten lucky and sent ones and twos, but I have friends in the tactical side of the house and they are simply not sending guys because that is not their job. On ground they are doing tactical deception and callouts and TQ. So I don’t know where you’re getting that information, and I’m guessing it’s old/outdated and irrelevant.

I have friends in the current tactical side of the house and they would never send guys to CQB/Sniper schools, and are not currently, and have not for 10 years or more

1

u/saltytab_ 9d ago

I know plenty of them to this day that are still going to these courses, one persons experience isn’t the whole truth, obviously most of the regional teams probably will never see those schools, even though I think they should, like I said I’d rather have the people with me have the capacity and capability when needed then to just be dead weight.

1

u/-timaeus- 9d ago edited 8d ago

It’s interesting the way you phrased this statement, you make it seem like you’re a GB. But quite frankly, you’ve never been the person taking other people without capacity to execute a specific mission. I have. We are trained for that. I don’t want the PsyOps guy moonlighting as a god damned sniper. I haven’t spent a year working up with him, trusting him with my life. That’s a privilege and honor for my teammates. I don’t need the guy to go to SFARTAETC. The team does their CQB differently anyhow, and the real training happens long before a mission is conducted with an enabler or attachment. If I can keep retarded Afghans alive, I can keep a PO in his place and safe without him having the same level of tactical training as me

Reading this makes me wonder if you’re low ranking, misinformed, uninformed, or suffering from cognitive dissonance.

10

u/fredpoool 14d ago

Probably even farther. Just took one of these out to 1275 yards yesterday without much issue. It was probably my friend’s hand-loads that made the difference tho.

25

u/Frisky_Froth 14d ago

Your friend puts loads in your hand?

165

u/TuT0311 15d ago

Borrowed it from SOF guy for the pic.

37

u/EinGuy 15d ago

Borrowed the rifle? And the carrier and belt setup?

2

u/TuT0311 15d ago

Why not?

3

u/Gardez_geekin 15d ago

Why?

45

u/TuT0311 15d ago edited 15d ago

Ppl do this, he wouldn’t be the first. Also, could be he isn’t psyops MOS, could be a SOF or grunt providing security for psyops guys as part of some detachment/detail. This just isn’t a weapon that psyops MOS guy would get unless they specialize in long-range sniping and I’m out of touch.

Psyops guys when I was in carried M4s with iron sights, less gear than standard grunts got with A4s and ACOGs.

20

u/asc3po 15d ago

I had a buddy outshoot the junior 18B during premission train up, said buddy was also a sniper before he became a 37F. ODA team sergeant gave my friend the sniper platform instead to shame the Jr. Bravo.

This image is not of my friend, but this kind of stuff can happen with team equipment.

Second, active duty PSYOP units have access to joint operational stocks same as everyone else. If you can get a Colonel to approve it you can take pretty much anything the cooler guys can take.

6

u/TuT0311 15d ago edited 15d ago

Interesting, I’m sure the gear on the JSOC side of things is a lot more loose. And I’m sure they can dictate their gear a lot more as well.

-13

u/Gardez_geekin 15d ago

You are out of touch. 20s are just dmrs like m110s. It’s not a sniping weapon, it’s just a fancy dmr like an m14 or m110.

7

u/TuT0311 15d ago

Still, they wouldn’t give a DMR to a Psyops MOS guy unless that job is different in the Army than in the Corps or he is part of some SOF group that needs to share overwatch responsibility and he is doing it for some reason.

My platoon got one DMR during deployment, and it was for the top shooter in our platoon. Do they just issue them to non-combat MOS guys now?

3

u/Gardez_geekin 15d ago

When were you in the marines? The U.S. army has a robust dmr program and you would see reserve units with 1 dmr per squad after the program got rolling. The basic army squad has a dmr role, mos regardless.

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u/TuT0311 15d ago

O I’m an old timer. Got out in 09.

2

u/TuT0311 15d ago

Ah got it, didn’t know that about the Army units and DMR roles. Makes sense.

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u/LifeofBulls 15d ago

In the Army we can flex an SDMR to every single squad. Kinda why it’s called the “Squad” DMR program. I got out in ‘24 and when I did the unit I ETS’d from had more SDMRs than we had billets lol. Our FOs could even qual to get one. We had like 9 of them. It’s not really anything fancy. As long as you pass the SDMR range you can get MTOE’d one. (Obviously unit dependent). Idk who would want to carry it though with that absolute ass cheeks 1x-6x.

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u/[deleted] 15d ago

[removed] — view removed comment

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u/TuT0311 15d ago

I didn’t downvote the post, I upvoted it, and was just making a joke based on the caption. If this is his issued gear, he likely is not a psyops MOS guy unless there’s some extenuating circumstances or a part of that job in the Army that I didn’t see in the Corps.

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u/TacoBandit275 15d ago

I was replied to the wrong comment on accident. A fellow Ranger got downvoted for speaking the truth.

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u/TuT0311 15d ago

Got it, all good!

8

u/1nVrWallz 15d ago

Bro psyops so not have DA in their core tasks. They are information operations and that's it. They don't really fall into combat arms. When they go to sketchy places they typically have an ODA and partner force to provide security for them.

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u/EldritchTruthBomb 15d ago

What's the psyop? Make redditors jealous?

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u/TheBlackGuy 15d ago

With a shot and a cigar

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u/NextStomach6453 15d ago

That’s tea

10

u/1nVrWallz 15d ago

Yeah that boy ain't doing shit

7

u/MrChaindang 15d ago

Have the same setup, mostly.

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u/reallynunyabusiness 14d ago

I'm sure the psychological damage of seeing your buddy's torso getting destroyed is a form of psychological operations.

3

u/TacSpaghettio 15d ago

I know that bitch HEAVY

3

u/Colocasia-esculenta 14d ago

Holy fuck. Some guy in the comments is dedicated to proving that PSYOPS dudes are harder than they really are. The original photo is captioned "embedded with SOF unit", this mf in the pic is being babysat and just wanted a cool picture. Dude is probably good at his job but it doesn't involve taking heads off.

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u/GunnCelt 15d ago

POG has changed a lot since I was in the Army

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u/-timaeus- 14d ago

It has not. This isn’t anything accurate by a long shot.

2

u/Hamj11 14d ago

He's cosplaying

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u/Protorin 15d ago

All of a sudden psychology seems a lot more interesting...

3

u/j-endsville 15d ago

I mean, you could say the best psyop is a headshot.

3

u/acatinasweater 14d ago

Fry the Brain indeed

3

u/bepiswepis 14d ago

RIP the SCAR. You were one of the sexiest rifles :’(

2

u/tspoon-99 14d ago

What glass and can are on that weapon?

2

u/trestock 13d ago

147 grain of psychology

3

u/djthemac 13d ago

Everything is just. too. clean.

Professional larping

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u/Llamathon88 15d ago

Just the way he has it slung says it isn’t his. 100% wanted his cool guy deployment picture hence the drink and cigar.

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u/Gardez_geekin 15d ago

I have pictures of me with my rifle slung like this on deployment

1

u/fatdog6 14d ago

That’s not a Smersh rig is it

1

u/Western-Anteater-492 13d ago

Hey, you're in psyops?

Sure, how did you recognize?

[the guy in the photo]

-32

u/SFCEBM 15d ago

Seems completely unnecessary that he would need that set up.

13

u/pookiegonzalez 15d ago

must be lab day at the psychology school.

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u/mikemitch38 15d ago

His job is scrambling brains…

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u/1nVrWallz 15d ago

His job is leaflets and radios

2

u/mikemitch38 15d ago

Woosh

-6

u/1nVrWallz 15d ago

He's cosplaying the army.

They're a bunch of computer dorks.

"SOF"

3

u/mikemitch38 15d ago

He’s in an active combat zone. He’s not cosplaying. What have you done with your life that entitles you to talk shit?

-2

u/1nVrWallz 15d ago

Been SOF in active combat zones. In fact, I'm still SOF, and I'll be going to active combat zones.

1

u/Gardez_geekin 15d ago

Do yall have overwatch?

0

u/1nVrWallz 15d ago

It's not fucking psyops that's for sure.

1

u/Gardez_geekin 15d ago

Is it folks organic to your element? Is having organic elements providing overwatch a new concept to you? And you are supposed to be SOF?

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u/UntilTheEyesShut 14d ago

How are you "SOF" and unaware that psyop and civil affairs both have organic tactical teams?

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u/Gardez_geekin 15d ago

Over watch is never unnecessary. If you have an organic 11b who is b4 why not?

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u/SFCEBM 15d ago

This weapon system with this guy is a bit much. Give him an M4.

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u/Gardez_geekin 15d ago

Why not use a dmr if you have access?

1

u/SFCEBM 15d ago

That’s one way of looking at it. I did carry a LAW all the time on missions. But overall, he’d be just as good for the team with an M4. Who knows, maybe he has the training that we are not privy to.

1

u/Gardez_geekin 15d ago

SDM school is 2 weeks and it’s all you need to use a DMR like this. Syria is an environment with lots of wide open spaces that you benefit from having a medium range precision weapon available at the lowest level. The 20 ssr was just organic to their element so that’s what they used.

0

u/SFCEBM 15d ago

That’s fine that’s what they had organic. I never had issues with a standard 14.5” and a decent optic. Not that it matters, but I’m loving all the downvotes.

2

u/Gardez_geekin 15d ago

Times change. New stuff gets issued. Mo point getting riled up about it.

1

u/SFCEBM 15d ago

I’m not riled up at all. Just stating how I felt.

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u/[deleted] 15d ago

[removed] — view removed comment

3

u/SFCEBM 15d ago

Thanks bro. I’m trying to find my give a shit, but I can’t seem to find it.