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TOPIC: Media Coverage and the Information War.

DISCUSSION: Reporters and PAOs agree that the media should not be used for propaganda or deceiving the enemy. But, whether we like it or not, media reports will serve propaganda and, perhaps, disinformation purposes. Blame it on technology, which allows enemy and friendly forces and publics access to the same information simultaneously. It's naive to think the media coverage can't or won't be used for propaganda purposes.

You don't ever tell a soldier not to tell the truth. What you try to do is get the soldier to consider the full outcome of [his] statements on the folks back home, not to mention the impact that it might have when the enemy gets a hold of it. At higher levels, that was something that was really emphasized in the division.
Battalion Commander

My battalion could strike 24 hours a day, and I had all of my aircraft available. Yes, there were small problems, but we could strike. In the situation we were in, that's the message that needed to be portrayed to the media, because even though the media's target audience was the American public, others were listening, too. I used that with my soldiers. I said, "I am going to give the media free rein, but I want you to be very careful about what you talk about. I want to portray this battalion and this division as one mean son-of-a-gun. And that message will get to Saddam and play with his mind."
Battalion Commander

If [the media] weren't positive, we wanted to make them positive by showing them all the good things our soldiers were doing. I would just say, "Hey guys, we have the best soldiers in the world. Come talk to these kids and you'll be amazed." The average civilian's perception of about who is in the Army is that he is some bum who couldn't get a job at Burger King.
Battalion Commander

LESSON(S): War is part of the political process and public opinion is a major battlefield. Information battles on that battlefield can influence or even determine the political consequences of war. While taking care not to manipulate or mislead the media, commanders should keep in mind that allowing access can aid the war effort. All soldiers must deal as openly with the media as OPSEC permits. Honesty remains the best policy.

TOPIC: Impact of Civilian Media on Soldiers.

DISCUSSION: Although media coverage helped bolster morale, problems arose. Examples include the development of rumors and distrust of leaders when CI did not agree with media reports, and downturns in unit morale when some units were perceived as monopolizing the news.

I feel when a soldier is well informed, he is more prepared for the next mission.
Staff Sergeant

Morale being adversely impacted back here had an impact on my soldiers' morale over there. They felt like the family members were down in the dumps, then they got down in the dumps.
Battalion Commander

We didn't have any restrictions on who could talk and who couldn't talk. We knew that the more media that showed up, the higher the morale of the soldiers. The soldiers understood that if the media was there then they had a chance to touch someone back in the states.
Battalion Commander

The civilian media was superb. The military needs to take notice of the free press. Miliary newspapers were too censored and altered.
Specialist

How did the lack of information hurt? Start getting a little sullenness among everybody, to include myself. No fights or anything like that, but you could tell -- you could just feel it.
Battalion Commander

LESSON(S): Educate subordinate leaders about the effects of media coverage during contingencies and the need for public affairs planning. Commanders should also consider allowing media access during deployments for training.

TOPIC: Effects of Civilian Media Coverage at Home Station.

DISCUSSION: Family members and nondeployed soldiers were greatly affected by news coverage, often creating problems for rear commanders and detracting from their credibility. Because the media's communications equipment exceeds the Army's in capability and because of perceived OPSEC and procedural difficulties, CI efforts at home stations were often undermined. The perception was that the commands did not keep their people informed either because they did not care, they were inept in their communication efforts or they were hiding something. Family members at home stations also complained that the national news media did not give them enough detail about their units and soldiers.

Family members started blowing off the guys at home station and just watched CNN. My wife told me she learned more about where we were and what we were doing from CNN than she did through official channels.
Brigade Commander

The information gap caused the old rumor mill to get cranked up. There was a variety of rumors that continually went through the family support groups.
Company Commander

The lack of information was unbelievable. The rear detachment always said they knew how we felt. I didn't believe that was true.
Family Member

The Army -- even its PA community -- still does not grasp that public opinion in fact is the battlefield. It is public opinion that determines who wins or loses the all-important political disputes which are what war is all about.
Army Reserve PAO

We had never given much thought to how we would get the word out to everyone on a long-term basis. Several individuals organized telephone trees, which was great, but we seemed to have several trees going in opposite directions, often spreading rumors as opposed to facts from a central source.
First Sergeant

The truth is that we find out more through the media. We've been given the impression that the Army cares about us as family members and will treat us as such, but then they don't.
Family Member

LESSON(S):

• Educate soldiers and family members about the unique role and effects of the media during contingencies.
• Coordinate for media coverage of the unit, especially by local, home-station media when possible.
• Use the family support center forum to correct perceptions about military censorship, overconcern for OPSEC, etc.
• Unit leaders and family support group leaders -- especially in the Reserve Components -- need to have a workable, tested internal communications plan that can reach everyone, no matter how widely dispersed the family members are.

Table of Contents
Section II, Part 2
Section III - Community Relations