4th Psychological Operations Group (Airborne)

The 4th Psychological Operations Group (Airborne) is a US Army special operations unit under the command of U.S. Army Special Operations Command, (USASOC), which is itself under the command of United States Special Operations Command (USSOCOM).

4th Psychological Operations Group unit insignia.

4th Psychological Operations Group (Airborne) - Role

PSYOP units carry out a range of psychological operations designed to influence enemy forces or civilian populations. PYSOP units use the following techniques:

• printing and distributing leaflets
• broadcasting on loudspeakers
• broadcasting via radio / television

Psychological operations can be used to encourage an enemy force to surrender or to provoke a confrontation. They can also be employed to influence civilian populations, a role which sees them work closely with specialists from the 95th Civil Affairs Brigade.

4th Psychological Operations Group (Airborne) - Organization

4th POG currently consists of a Headquarters Company, four Regional PSYOP Battalions (or POBs), one Tactical PSYOP Battalion, and one PSYOP Dissemination Battalion. The four Regional PSYOP Battalions are regionally oriented and support the Regional Combatant Commands in the planning and production of PSYOP programs:

• 1st PSYOP Bn (A) - United States Southern Command (USSOUTHCOM)
• 3rd PSYOP Bn (A)
• 5th PSYOP Bn (A) - United States Pacific Command (USPACOM)
• 6th PSYOP Bn (A) - United States Africa Command (AFRICOM)
• 8th PSYOP Bn (A) - United States Central Command (CENTCOM)
• 9th PSYOP Bn (A) - United States European Command (EUCOM)

4th Psychological Operations Group - Operations

Elements from the 4th Psychological Operations Group have carried out operations in Iraq and Afghanistan. Soldiers from the the Psychological Operations Group supported the Ranger operations at Objective Rhino in the early stages of Operation Enduring Freedom.

A psychological operations specialist mans a M249 SAW machine gun mounted atop a HMMWV, fitted with a loud speaker system. Tactical PSYOP Teams (TPTs) typically consist of a PSYOP team chief, an assistant team chief and a psychological operations specialist who operates the HMMWV's loud speaker and machine gun. Tactical PSYOP Teams will often work with indigenous interpreters who can broadcast messages in the local language.

Photo by Spc. Jennifer J. Eidson, USASOC PAO

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