The 4th Psychological Operations Group - getting out the "news" in Iraq

this isn't "new" news... for 10 months of my tour in vietnam, i belonged to the 4th psychological operations group... for four more months, i was assigned to the psychological operations directorate of the military assistance command, vietnam... in my collection of souvenirs are leaflets printed by my company for distribution in the central highlands of vietnam... below is the front and back of a leaflet that was air-dropped on viet cong forces with directions on how to defect...





















the leaflet below was prepared by the north vietnamese for distribution to u.s. forces...!













our company, besides designing, printing and distributing leaflets, also operated a radio station and conducted civic affairs missions (personal health and safety) among the montagnard tribes of the central highlands...

In state of the art studios, producers prepare the daily mix of music and news for the group's radio stations or spots for friendly television outlets. Writers putting out newspapers and magazines in Baghdad and Kabul converse via teleconferences. Mobile trailers with high-tech gear are parked outside, ready for the next crisis.

The center is not part of a news organization, but a military operation, and those writers and producers are soldiers. The 1,200-strong psychological operations unit based at Fort Bragg turns out what its officers call "truthful messages" to support the United States government's objectives, though its commander acknowledges that those stories are one-sided and their American sponsorship is hidden.

"We call our stuff information and the enemy's propaganda," said Col. Jack N. Summe, then the commander of the Fourth Psychological Operations Group, during a tour in June.

i've written a memoir of my time in psychological operations and in vietnam that is posted on my other blog...

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