Information Operations is a category of direct and indirect support operations for the United States Military. By definition in Joint Publication 3-13, "IO are described as the integrated employment of electronic warfare (EW), computer network operations (CNO), psychological operations (PSYOP), military deception (MILDEC), and operations security (OPSEC), in concert with specified supporting and related capabilities, to Information Operations (IO) are actions taken to affect adversary information and information systems while defending one's own information and information systems."
History of Information Operations in the U.S. Military The modern U.S. military can trace its use of information operations back to World War 2 when the Army activated the 23rd Headquarters Special Troops, known as the "Ghost Army", on January 20, 1944. This secretive unit was responsible for executing 22 large-scale military deceptions in Europe using techniques such as inflatable vehicles, false radio transmissions, loud-speaker sound effects, and phony generals. Specific operations the 23rd was noted for having success was D-Day and Operation Viersen. Today the 23rd, has been attributed as saving the lives of 15,000 to 30,000 American service members. In the Pacific, the Navy successfully conducted its first electronic warfare activities later in the war when TBM Avenger aircraft were fitted with receivers and rudimentary jammers to locate and jam Japanese air search radars.
Despite the success of the 23rd, deception was never used in a significant way in Korean War, however psychological warfare was routinely conducted by the Eighth Army, predominantly in the form of airborne leaflets, including a weekly "news" leaflet dropped on communist forces, but also included radio and loudspeaker broadcasts. During the war forces under United Nations Command used electronic jamming, much like the Navy at the end of World War 2, against radar on radar-directed anti-aircraft guns, particularly during Operation Strangle. Though these examples fall within the capabilities associated with information operations, they were applied in specific circumstances for particular missions and not de-conflicted or synchronized for maximum effect. Because of their discrete applications, information operations was not fully exercised during the war as it is known today.
Much the same as in the Korean War, deception was also disregarded as a practice during the Vietnam War.
In the mid-1990s, the U.S. Department of Defense began characterizing doctrine known as Command and Control Warfare (C2W) which was described as a strategy to attack the decision-making, or command and control (C2) capabilities of an adversary while protecting the decision-making capabilities of friendly forces. It focused on a robust targeting system and defined five core capabilities, called pillars, it leverages: operations security, military deception, psychological operations, electronic warfare, and physical destruction.
On December 9, 1996, the Deputy Secretary of Defense, John P. White approved the Department of Defense release of a then Secret Directive S-3600.1 that codified the concept of Information Operations. This directive mandated the U.S. Armed Services to develop their own doctrine, training, and equipment, to execute information operations.
Shortly after the release of DODD S-3600.1, the U.S. Army stood up the Land Information Warfare Activity/Information Dominance Center (LIWA/IDC), which would eventually transition into the 1st Information Operations Command (Land), and established the Information Operations functional area in April 1999 to specially train and assign commissioned officers to plan and conduct IO.
During this time, the Army National Guard began to engage in developing their own information operations capabilities, establishing ad hoc information operations field support teams (FSTs), and vulnerability assessments teams (VATs), coordinated with the LIWA/IDC. National Guard units from Washington, Iowa, Vermont, and Texas were part of this early development.
Information Operations (IO)
Information Operations is considered an umbrella term to describe the coordination activities required to plan, synchronize, and assess operations, activities, and investments typically related to the non-lethal capabilities of psychological operations, cyberspace operations, civil-military operations, public affairs, operations security, and military deception. Operational U.S. military units at the flag-officer level typically have an Information Operations directorate known as the G-39 (for Army or Marine headquarters) or J-39 (for joint headquarters), for example, following the ConStaff system. These directorates typically have an array of personnel from information operations generalists, intelligence analysts, psychological operations specialists, and cyber and electronic warfare officers. Different headquarters have included civil affairs, space and cyberspace operations within the directorate while others have organized them under separate directorates within the staff.
In recent years, the U.S. military has stood up unique task forces solely focused on information operations, such as the U.S. Pacific Fleet's Fleet Information Warfare Command Pacific.
U.S. Military Information Operations
U.S. Department of Defense Information Operations The Joint Information Operations Warfare Center (JIOWC) was created by the U.S. Strategic Command (USSTRATCOM) sometime around 2004 or 2005 at Lackland Air Force Base, Texas, with the intent of coordinating and executing U.S. information operations at the strategic level. On September 12, 2011, by executive order, the JIOWC was chartered as a Chairman's Controlled Activity aligned under the Joint Staff. The JIOWC falls within the Joint Staff Operations Directorate (J3), through the Deputy Director Global Operations, J39 (DDGO).
U.S. Army Information Operations U.S. Army Combined Army Center includes the U.S. Army Information Operations Proponent (USAIOP) whose mission is to executes Total Army Force Modernization responsibilities across the DOTMLPF-P to meet the Army's requirement for Information Operations.
In the United States Army, units division-sized or larger have an IO staff directorate, known as the G-39, responsible for the integration of information operations capabilities. These directorates are often augmented by IO Field Support Teams from the following Army IO units:
1st Information Operations Command at Fort Belvoir, Maryland (Deactivated) 56th Theater Information Operations Group (ARNG) at Joint Base Lewis–McChord, Washington 71st Theater Information Operations Group (ARNG) at Camp Mabry, Texas 151st Theater Information Operations Group (USAR) at Fort Totten (Queens), New York 152nd Theater Information Operations Group (USAR) at Camp Parks, California (Deactivated)
Information Operations Qualification In the Army, only commissioned officers are formally qualified in the Information Operations functional area, known as FA30. Officers can qualified through one of two courses: IO Qualification Course (IOQC) - a 12-week, 480-hour resident course taught at the Combined Army Center, Fort Leavenworth, KS. IO Qualification Course - Reserve Component (IOQC-RC) - a two-phase course taught by the National Guard Information Operations School, 3-124th Information Operations (IO) Battalion, Vermont Army National Guard. Phase one consists of 415 hours of study consisting of 20 four-hour synchronous class periods held weekly. Phase 2 is a 15-day resident exercise held at the Regional Readiness Training Center collocated with Norwich University in Northfield, Vermont.
Most Army commissioned officers, warrant officers, and noncomissioned officers have the option of earning the P4 Information Operations Additional Skill Identifier (ASI) by attending one of two 10-day courses:
Tactical Information Operations Planners Course (TIOPC) Army Information Operations Planners Course (AIOPC)
U.S. Navy & Marine Corps Information Operations
In the United States Navy, information operations are often supervised by a Navy Information Operations Command (NIOC), for example in the United States Tenth Fleet which has several NIOCs.
In the United States Marine Corps, the proponent for information operations is the Marine Corps Information Operations Center (MCIOC) at Marine Corps Base Quantico, Virginia.
U.S. Air Force Information Operations The United States Air Force bases its Information Operations doctrine from Air Force Doctrinal Publication (AFDP) 3–13, Information in Air Force Operations.
Air Force officers can serve as Information Operations Officers, Air Force Specialty Code (AFSC) 14FX, after completing the Information Operations Professional Course (IOPC).
U.S. Air Force Information Operations Units: 39th Information Operations Squadron at Hurlburt Field, Florida.
Many U.S. Air Force units have redesignated between Information Operations, Cyberspace Operations, and Intelligence. For example, the 39th IO Sqdn's official website identifies itself as a subordinate organization of the 688th Information Operations Wing, however the Wing's official website identifies itself as a Cyberspace Operations unit.
Information Related Capabilities Electronic Warfare (EW)
Electronic warfare (EW) refers to any action involving the use of the electromagnetic spectrum or directed energy to control the spectrum, attack an enemy, or impede enemy assaults via the spectrum. The purpose of electronic warfare is to deny the opponent the advantage of, and ensure friendly unimpeded access to, the EM spectrum. EW can be applied from air, sea, land, and space by manned and unmanned systems, and can target communication, radar, or other services. EW includes three major subdivisions: Electronic Attack (EA) Electronic Protection (EP) Electronic warfare Support (ES) EW supports information operations by using offensive and defensive tactics and techniques in a variety of combinations to shape, disrupt, and exploit adversarial use of the electromagnetic spectrum (EMS) while protecting friendly freedom of action in that spectrum. Expanding reliance on the EMS for informational purposes increases both the potential and the challenges of EW in IO. The increasing prevalence of wireless telephone and computer usage extends both the utility and threat of EW, offering opportunities to exploit an adversary's electronic vulnerabilities and a requirement to identify and protect our own from similar exploitation. As the use of the EMS has become universal in military operations, so has EW become involved in IO. All of the core, supporting, and related IO capabilities can either directly use EW or indirectly benefit from EW. In order to coordinate and deconflict EW, and more broadly all military usage of the EMS, an Electronic Warfare Coordination Cell (EWCC) may be established to reside with the component commander most appropriate to the operation. In addition, all joint operations require a joint restricted frequency list (JRFL). This list specifies protected, guarded, and taboo frequencies that should not normally be disrupted without prior coordination and planning, either because of friendly use or friendly exploitation. This is maintained and promulgated by the communications system directorate of a joint staff (J-6) in coordination with J-3 and the joint commander's electronic warfare staff (or EWCC, if delegated).