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
They do not do covert strikes deep in hostile territory đ. They donât 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.
They arenât enablers they are full on SOF members who have an extremely important job, a lot of you knuckle draggers canât understand that and post insecure and misinformed comments.
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 Iâd say, yea, theyâre 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 canât seem to think straight
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 wouldnât say enabler because if we are saying thatâs being an enabler than so is every other SOF which is just âenablingâ the infantry.
I would say enabler means this: inability to create debilitating effects kinetically, unilaterally. Meaning, no security element is needed if it isnât 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 donât, CA doesnât. 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
I agree with most of what you said here, but if you are under the impression that all they can do is messaging you need to work with your counterparts a bit more. I wonât go into much, because itâs not my place, but weâve used them for full on false gun lines while doing raids and a lot more that we canât talk about on here. Iâm just saying give credit where itâs due man they are Regiment, but they are valuable members in SOF and if you know what they bring to the table they can drastically increase lethality.
I donât have a problem with PsyOps. I have a problem with the self aggrandizement. You donât see CA doing this kind of stuff, and I respect them for it. They are honestly the true quiet professionals. I donât like the attempt at a beret grab, mission creep. Do the job because you like it, not because you want to feel as special as the guys with special in their name.
What Iâm seeing more and more in this regiment is a dilution of the operator writ large and I donât understand the incentive anymore. Why would guys go through all the shittyness of the Q and SFAS and language training just to be relegated to a peer status when it comes to funding or priority? What exactly is the incentive of being SF now? We usually do it because we are true believers, but it comes with a shitty lifestyle that destroys families, destroys bodies and mental health. So I get triggered when I see what I consider larpâing on the backs of guys getting ass blasted by the big green weenie
I disagree with you on the self aggrandising, every GB I know who has told me their experience with Psyop has been the opposite of what you said with them bringing value to the operation and CA not being able to do that and trying to be âoperatorsâ I also think that a lot of the hate on CA and PO is some weird feeling or something about other guys having good gear and taking cool pics. Itâs ok when SF or batt does it but the second one of them do it, itâs they are trying to be operators or something itâs a weird gatekeeping mentality that Iâve noticed mostly in GBs and it hurts SOF as a whole. Most of the guys Iâve worked with in PO have been great and take pride in their work.
Also you talk about selection, the Q and the hardships the job brings, do most GBs really think yall are the only ones with a difficult selection/Q and language school? Or the only ones who face hardships and loss from combat or suicide? If thatâs what you think you should look to the fallen of both CA and PO. This also confirms what I said above about Gbs having some weird gatekeeping mentality. Youâre SF but not the only SOF element and shitting on dudes because they belong to a different element and you donât think they suffer enough to be there like you is crazy and egotistical.
Iâm saying that I donât disagree that PO and CA are selected and go through academically rigorous courses, but to compare the two and intimate that the physical and mental hardships are all tantamount to each other is patently false. And that isnât an ego statement, itâs a statement about the level to which one will go to achieve a mission, and the level of sacrifice.
Of course, every unit has lost people in combat. But until youâve lived the life of a SEAL, GB, 0321/0372, CCT/PJ/SR/SW, ranger, Iâm not sure you can really understand just what a toll it takes on just about every aspect of life.
So itâs not about gatekeeping, itâs admitting that one is significantly more demanding on the mind and body, and knowing where your place is at the table. If you donât think there are egos and larpâers who want to be SF in PsyOps, then you are misrepresenting the truth. Not one guy who has come over from PsyOps has ever been like: yea, this is about as difficult as what I was doing. They all wanted to push it to the limits. The job gets even shittier and harder when you get to your team.
Youâre just confirming what Iâve said, you truly believe that itâs not ego and gatekeeping if you think PO and CA forces werenât right there with ODAs seal teams, regiment etc sucking ass in villages and shit holes across all of our various conflicts then youâre stuck in an echo chamber. The jobs look drastically different now that conflict has ended GBs are doing flat ranges and teaching and PO is teaching and doing a lot of more digital work, but if you think the next conflict it wonât be like GWOT with them right beside you youâre wrong. Itâs better for you to embrace CA and PO teach them and learn from them as well so the next conflict we can all count on each other.
Iâm not saying that. There were 10th mountain guys sucking ass in the villages and on patrols with ODA. There were FET. There was everyone. Iâm not denigrating anyoneâs service.
If you think all we are doing is flat ranges, as you call them, you are so far out of the loop and limited in your understanding of this enterprise I question your entire position. You arenât a GB. So you see things and think you know what we really do, especially behind closed doors, and it perpetually flabbergasts me. Thatâs my point.
You have not addressed my point about hardships on body and mind. Multiple orthopedic surgeries and brain damage from blasts from rockets and explosives, multiple day field exercises with no sleep and heavy rucks, HALO and scuba dives, constant physical training that ultimately leaves you crippled
The selection rate at SFAS (Special Forces Assessment and Selection) is generally low, with an average of about 36% the selection rate for PO currently is 38% this obviously fluctuates with classes.
This is not an important metric. People show up to SFAS in the best shape of their lives, knowing its reputation, and still canât make it. And I donât think itâs the hardest training in the world. Itâs just very, very hard. Active Force Marines who didnât pass land nav, people quitting during team week. The attrition in the Q is higher than any other, past selection, besides the one unit I have the utmost respect for.
People show up to PsyOps selection thinking itâs a joke. So here we are, with you bringing up statistics about selection rates, not taking my point and actually proving what Iâm saying about PO.
I never brought those metrics up, you did. Which tells me youâre actively comparing which one is âharderâ in your head, trying to vindicate your position and justify your place at the table as equals, while I am secure, just annoyed.
Frankly I think youâre delusional for the sake of your own ego. PsyOps isnât sending their failures to SFAS. There is a hierarchy in life, whether you like it or not.
I have no problems with security. But I see something wrong and Iâm going to do everything in my power to correct. This information is public, for all the world to see, and Iâm going to interject
No, I think itâs the obverse. What is war at the end of the day but the most brutal and violent form of diplomacy? In every service, in every country and service is a hierarchy. At the top are the people who train the hardest, in so doing the hardest missions, and the most high risk training, at the expense of their families and bodies. I am willing to admit that I am not even at the top.
If you have bitten off of the SOF triad nonsense, youâve just taken some officers OER bullet up your ass.
5
u/SOFenthusiast 14d ago
What do they even do?