Specific questions re: RC PSYOP

[randyoni]

I want to start off by saying that I tried to find the answers to the questions before I asked them, but some of the answers are pretty hard to come by on the net.

I have been doing as much research as I can about PSYOP hoping to join as a reservist. I am married and have a degree in communications and currently work for a publishing company and would like to enlist at the end of this year or the beginning of 2007. I currently live in Portland, OR where we have a PSYOP CO located (the 320th PSYOP CO which is part of the 12th PSYOP BN in the 7th PSYOP Group).

As I said earlier, I am married and employed and am hoping to get as much information as possible to best prepare myself and both my wife and employer for my time with this unit.

So I have some questions that I hope the good people on this forum can help me with. If nobody here can help me, perhaps somebody could recommend a contact or source for further info. If people don't want to post replies publicly, please PM me or email me. Thanks!

(Oh... go easy on the acronyms and jargon. I've looked over some of the older posts and couldn't understand many of the abreviations. I guess I'll learn them eventually :D )




So... here are my questions:

1) What is the 320th PSYOP CO like? Is it a squared away unit? Is there anything unique to them? Do they have a specific area of responsibility? What types of units do they typically deploy with?
I read that this is a tactical unit. Do they produce any media themselves or do they just distribute it? Is it basically loudspeakers and pamphlets?
I guess I just want to know what a day in the life of a 320th PSYOP Specialist is like.

Also, do PSYOP reserve units let you drill with them before basic like some other units? Does the 320th have people who would be willing to directly answer my questions? What is the protocol for communicating with them?


2) What is the OP TEMPO like? I have read in a number of places that being in PSYOP Reserves is hardly a weekend warrior job, but nobody spells it all out. How many deployments can one expect a year and what are the average lengths of these deployments? I know we are currently neck deep in Iraq and Afghanistan, but what was the op tempo like before the war? What can I reasonably expect for the distant future? I suspect I would go to one of the mentioned countries. If so, is the standard length of deployment a full year? Any information on op tempo would be greatly appreciated.

I don't want to give the impression that I don't want to deploy, quite the contrary. I just want to honestly prepare my wife for this. I don't want to surprise her with anything and come home to an empty house and divorce papers. I figure that the better informed she is, the more we can tackle this as a team.


3) How does the unit deploy? Does the whole company deploy together or do individuals, squads, or platoons deploy as a unit? It seems like every thing I read regarding deployed PSYOP personnel says that they deploy in teams of three. Is that right? If it isn't the entire company that deploys, how are deployments selected? Is it an internal rotation?
I know nothing about how this all works.


4) As a reservist in a tactical PSYOP company, what are the opportunities for extra training and schools? I'm not talking about Ranger School, but the opportunity for languages or PSYOP related training. Although... I did always want to go airborne :)


5) If I have to relocate to another state, for whatever reason, is it difficult to transfer from one PSYOP unit to another, provided there is one near by?


6) I have read that the DoD plans to expand CA and PSYOP personnel by 3,700 soldiers. There is also talk of PSYOP leaving USASOC. What would this mean and how would it affect the unit and its abilities to procure resources for the PSYOP soldiers?


Well... That's all the questions I have for now. I'll probably ask some more as the answers come in.

Thank you for your time!

[magician]

There is absolutely no reason why you should not simply contact your local Army recruiter, and ask for a referral to someone at that unit.

Talk with them directly.

Good luck.

[TPD1280]

All of the questions you have asked are valid and well thought out.

But since you are asking specifically about the 320th, why not call and ask them directly.

You will not be treated as an interloper, they will entertain your questions.

I am not avoiding your questions, and I do have knowledge specific to the 320th, but I do not wish to supplant or circumvent the Chain of Command. Some of the questions such as how they deploy and Tactics, Techniques, and Procedures are best not discussed in an open forum.

They are in the phone book, give them a call and make an appointment to speak with someone.

They are a real world unit, with a real world mission, and I attended the funeral of one of their soldiers who was KIA in Afghanistan.

[randyoni]

I want to start off by thanking you for responding. I took your advice a few months ago and spoke with a local PSYOP reservist. I asked a ton of questions and he answered them as candidlly (perhaps more so) as he could. It was a very eye-opening conversation and I came away from the meeting very impressed and more enthusiastic than ever.

I still plan on enlisting at the end of this year, but I now have a few new questions about the future of RC PSYOP.

Here is an excerpt from an article that was posted on another thread (http://www.socnetcentral.com/vb/showthread.php?p=703356#post703356):


Jane's Defence Weekly
March 22, 2006

Civil Affairs, Psyops Shift Away From SOCOM

By Joshua Kucera, JDW Staff Reporter, Washington, DC

The majority of US civil affairs and psychological operations (psyops) forces are to be shifted from US Special Operations Command (SOCOM) to the conventional US Army, senior military officials have said.

The move was ordered by Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld. Officials from the army and SOCOM must present a plan for implementation to Rumsfeld by mid-April, said Lieutenant General Robert Wagner, commander of US Army Special Operations Command.

The move has been under discussion for more than a year, led by defence officials who believe that the civil affairs and psyops forces need to be more closely integrated into fighting units.

Under the new structure, civil affairs and psyops units will be associated with active-duty brigade combat teams, with which they will train and deploy consistently.

"It's an important change ... the conventional forces need a habitual relationship with civil affairs and psychological operations forces," Gen Wagner said.

The above linked article raises some new questions that I hope you can answer:

One of the things I was most interested in is the fact that the local unit seems to allow for many deployments, to many places, with many different types of unit. The idea of deploying to support SF units on one rotation and then a convention unit like an Armored Cavalry Regiment.

The above article makes it sound like RC PSYOP units will be married to individual brigade combat teams. Does this mean that the variety of deployments is going down and that once onboard, I can expect to just deploy with a standard consistent BCT?

What are your opinions on this? Will this increase or decrease deployments? How will this affect training? Any comments would be welcome.



I am also curious about AIT for RC PSYOP. With the split from SOCOM, will AIT for RC and Active Duty soldiers also be split? Will reservists still train and learn side-by-side with active duty personnel at Ft. Bragg?

Will reserve units still get the same equipment and training that is available now? I can't help but worry that many of the perks associated with SOCOM that heard about from the 320th (training, equipment, deployment oppurtunities, etc) might not be there for long.


I am really interested in any speculation regarding the future of RC PSYOP.

Thank you for your time. I look forward to hearing back from the knowledgable people on this forum.

[ilots]

I am really interested in any speculation regarding the future of RC PSYOP.

While I will not speculate on the future of PSYOP, at this point and in the immediate future, the same diversity remains among who RC units support. Also keep in mind that many units are augmented (C2 speak for grabbng any/all qualififed people from anywhere), so you may again break from your "wartrace." That said I would not join PSYOP based on who you may specifically end up supporting, you will have no choice in the matter. That said PSYOP will give you the opportunity to work with various US and allied/fer'n units.

And SWC retains proponency on the MOS. I do not know if career management will remain unchanged, I could only speculate based upon previous sentence.

[TPD1280]

SWC Proponency is MILSPEAK for the AIT and NCO schooling will still be handled by the JFK Special Warfare Center and School at Ft. Bragg, N.C.

ilots speaks the painful truth about wartrace and available bodies. When it comes down to putting together a battle roster, particularly for things like Bosnia or Kosovo, people who have already been are generally out of bounds, so a unit will have to pull bodies from other units to fill their manpower requirements.

So, while your particular unit may be primarily assigned to support one particular unit, individuals will find themselves crossed over to other units for the greater good. This is the way it has always been and will remain so for the forseeable future.

As for my opinions on wartracing, on its face it is a good idea. It is very difficult to meet up with a unit at a forward staging base and integrate with them on the run.

It is much nicer, and more efficient, to be able to train with a unit and know it's key leaders and Tactics, Techniques and Proceedures BEFORE bullets start flying. Do your learning in a training environment.

Best of luck to you, and I commend you on your conduct here with your quest for knowledge. I wish more followed your example.