The Purpose of Psychological Operation (Psyops)

The Purpose of Psychological Operation (Psyops)

Introduction

Winning the War is something that only not using the military power also can be organized by using the other ways. Since World War I and II, there are many cases or situation that shown war can be won without using a fully strength or military power. In deeps, by winning the war, that makes some power of country that involved more proud with their ways to achieve the mission. Successfully with bring the enemy collapse, is one main objective that could or should have in a plan to winning a war. By making the enemy through to our words, it is the big impact to shown that every ways that use to bringing them to under power can make more easily how to attract them even in every condition. On the other sides, winning the war also that can be classified as winning all about enemy, includes making their physiology and psychology and their morale transformed to the demoralized until there are not power to fight back. The super power of war is already plan with their objectives that all enemy are not tough and surely there cannot be reacting however the situation are, because the ways that using by super power in a war is ways that bring the hard condition to enemy to fighting by other ways.

Psychological operation is another way that use by super power to winning the war. Depend on the situation, each war have own perspective. By making the enemy lack with their role in war, it is also a big main strategy that can be used by super power in war to influence the enemy. Try to defeat them from physiology and psychological, can make the war more easily to denied. Psychological operation has a lot of meaning especially to describe the criteria of a war. How the successfully a super power using psychological ops in war, is depend how there trying to defeat the enemy with the simple ways. Psychological operation may be defined broadly as the planned how to communicate especially to influence human like attitudes and behavior aspect. Other than that psychological operation also is create to attract in target groups behavior, emotions and attitudes that support to achieve national objectives. The form of communicate to create influence can be defined as simple as spreading information whether by using a word of mouth or through any means of multimedia.

To make it more clearance, psychological operation is a bridge to relate the broad range of country political, military and ideological activities used by government of a country to secure national objectives. In addition, psychological operations also support national security objectives even during peacetime, contingencies and also using at war. In psychological operation, there already divided to three parts and provides as commanders a critical, force multiplying that also can be apply as tactical and the last one is operational and strategic level that using in operation of a psychological. When psychological operation been applied in a war, it is actually a part of military strategy throughout history. Between the histories, psychological operation is already utilized by World War II, the Cold War, and Vietnam and also has been applied at Gulf War.

The psychological operation only is the main subject when a conflict or situation that maybe cannot be settling with using diplomatic between the host of nation or the enemy. Every war that could happen before or even in this new era globalization, PSYOPS still is a part of ways to reduce the critical situation. If in colonization period time, PSYOPS is be distributed by using old mass media, especially to influence the populace or the citizen. Radio, television, newspaper or even by using the healer to win heart and mind of a important group, is a method that are taken and also the method to make sure a host nation can win a war without need to wasting anything resource. But in new era globalization, the method to influence heart and mind of a populace was being transformed and suitable for that period.

The Purpose

Psychological operation is used to promote of the host nation to defend itself. All parts that involved include how to against internal and external insurgencies and the terrorism activity, which means trying to related any mission illegal activity to used military forces and also try to encourage a empathy between host nation of armed force and the powering of populace.

Because of that, there are a few purpose that can classified when a host nation using the psychological operation to influence that illegal activity, especially to make it them to surrender. Firstly is about avoiding the employment of additional combat forces. By using the psychological operation that includes the smooth way to influence the other people, a percentage to avoid more other employment to join others combat forces can be reduce as low as we can. That means the employment using only when there try to influence the populace especially not to relate to another illegal activity like terrorism or anything else. In the same time, by using PSYOPS in a war, there can least the number of dead especially military person or even the civilian who are maybe involved the surrounding of a war.

PSYOPS also can reduce the impact of the internal problem a host nation especially when that involved the host nation economy. When properly employed, PSYOP can save lives of friendly and adversary forces by reducing adversaries’ will to fight. By lowering adversary morale and reducing their efficiency, PSYOP can also discourage aggressive actions and create dissidence and disaffection within their ranks, ultimately inducing surrender.

Secondly, psychological operation also cans the purpose to reduce the period of a confrontation. By using the ways, winning ‘heart and mind’, a critical situation like confrontation or insurgencies period can be more shortly less period of time. The populace can be determining the true nation with their true mission to win the critical situation. Psychological operation with hard effort from host nation exactly can bring the win-win situation especially to the leaders and to the civilian. Psychological operation also can be having the purpose when it’s related to the characterized. The mainly of this ways, are delivered as information for effect, whether using during peacetime and conflict, in terms to inform and influence the populace.

Another means purpose of psychological operations (PSYOP) is to influence foreign audience perceptions and subsequent behavior as part of approved programs in support of host nation policy and military objectives. Psychological operation also can be determined an aspects that was establish to develop focused, culturally, and environmentally attuned messages and actions. A prospect to getting through the meaning of influence is by to employ sophisticated media delivery means and produces observable, measurable behavioral responses.

The situation that can influence the emotions, motives, objective reasoning, and ultimately the behavior of foreign governments, organizations, groups, and individuals are the mainly aspects that included in purpose of using psychological operation in a critical situation. It is also an operation with planned to convey selected information and also can be the indicators that be practice by foreign audiences. As the exactly example, US has been use the psychological operation as the vital part to related the main view like diplomatic relations, informational, military and also to make it their economic activity improved as good as well.

Psychological operation have been create to be purpose to secure any misunderstanding situation between two host nation especially that involved in critical situation. As make it a big impact to a host nation, psychological operation almost should be taken part as the ways to reduce any hard situation to resolve in terms the military conflict making inevitable. It is also should immediately begin play the characteristic especially to influence the human heart and mind. For an example, the host nation must tell to their populace to calm when there depend on the critical situation like a war. In 1954, an operation named as Hawk and Apollo that was be done at Pahang that time, the combination of aggression and leafleting was credited until 60 percent (%) from all members of communist, including the leaders that have been a long time services in this parties.

Furthermore, psychological operation also related to the media as the main bridge especially to influence whether the populace or the enemy as the purpose to winning any critical situation. The media includes the pamphlet, radio, television or even newspaper, and this entire media is trying to attract ‘heart and mind’, then can be influence human to believe any news that was distributed, true or just an propaganda. As example, between July 1948 until July 1960, there are 5000 different leaflets were dropped based on the coding. The main theme of the leaflets is always that communist who surrender will be treated well, receive medical treatment, food and their safety is guaranteed. A successfully PSYOPS depend on the media. By producing a medium to make it PSYOPS more relevant, a production is the transformation any PSYOPS approved involved product prototypes to various media forms which is the major way to foreign population will be roughly easy to receiving an information. In the same time, the production of PSYOPS also not even be contracted in private industry or sector requirements, but may be under responsibility by forces which is attached to produce it into two under control units, the tactical control (TACON) or under operational control (OPCON).

The purpose of psychological operation is to inform any enhance elements of national power, political, military, and economic. When a host nation was depend on the critical situation like war or confrontation, PSYOPS is the best ways to take it all believed of populace to always stand behind a host nation government. The North Vietnamese also realized credibility and its relationship to the truth is important, during the Vietnam War. Because of that, they take it the way to accurately reported the devastation, that caused by air strike, which try to damage civilian targets, which that involved domestic resolve and evoked international sympathy.

In military psychological operation, there are basic concepts that can be related to make weaken of enemy or try to lowering the morale the enemy. Every enemy that trying to involved in something ways that meaning to make the symptom of the war, can be classified as the treat to a host nation, and because of that, a military forces is the way how to fight back the enemy. However, the power military is only can be identified when there using the psychological operation, including the tricks to face the enemy and bringing them to a situation until them make it surrender. By influence a part of the benefit is the enemy surrender, is the bench marks to make it the war be settle without using the weapon. Since 1963, history already views about how an enemy can attract to psychological operation impact like the pamphlet which is contain the reward to Communist Parties Malaya members to surrenders when there are already know, there cannot defeat the safety at Malaya that times.

In addition, the ways to winning a war is not easy. Without support from the others individuals or parties, is surely hard to achieve a winning goal. Psychological operation comes with the purpose, and all kind of war only can be transformed to the impact to a host nation, if the psychological operation can gain the support and cooperation without any distribution from the enemy. During the emergencies at Malaya, British get the support from all populace to getting involved to not cooperate with communist while the effort to settle all problems was create by communist.

Psychological operation purpose including the distribute PSYOP products. Distribution is the one of process of movement to completed products from the production source to the point where disseminators are located. This function may include the temporary storage of PSYOP products at an intermediate location. Depending on the type of product, this can be done either physically or electronically. A few aspects should be main point before a PSYOP does play their role. The aspects including commercial assets, getting the resources of other services which for facilitate when during the distribution process and the lastly is forces must take opportunity to use of organic equipment. During the psychological operation to, each PSYOP planners should attempt to simplify distribution and ensure alternative and contingency techniques whenever possible.

CONCLUSION

Psychological operation is basic item in warfare. A method or ways that used by the host nation to winning a war, will become the extraneous impact especially to be a super power of war. Because of that, the psychological operation or PSYOPS has already transformed the media that usually used by host nation to influence heart and mind a group like the populace. Depend on the research to the PSYOPS nowadays, every media that include in this operation are been changed suitable to military power or force or for the citizen. For example, the television and radio have been multiple his characteristic, including the new design one, the Terrestrial television and also for a radio. Other than that, new method of future PSYOPS include, Cable TV, High-Definition Television (HDTV), Digital Audio Broadcasting (DAB), Satellite TV and Radio, Media Trends in Telephony. Internet will be become more relevant future of PSYOPS, and because of that a transformation of this method are already been changed to two types, first the Internet with New Forms of Wireless Internet Access and the Coming Impact of Fiber Optics of internet.

In future times, all PSYOPS already be the attention and be related to military power. This because the boundaries have been an important thing that maybe include to satisfied a host nation. So, PSYOPS can bring the intelligent to use by military especially to influence the populace. A government should play their role to describe the populace as their main support, whether during peace time, a war or even in critical situation.

REFERRENCES

1. Arquilla, J. & Borer, A. Douglas, (EDS). (2007). Information Strategy and Warfare: A guide to theory and practice. New York: Routledge.
2. Psychological Warfare Research: its role in the Cold War
3. www.psywarrior.com/psyop.html‎
4. www.examiner.com/.../psychological-warfare-psyops-its-role-during-war.

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