IO in SOSO at the tactical level: converting brigade IO objectives into battalion IO tasks

FA Journal, July-August, 2004 by Gary J. Schreckengost, Gary A. Smith

"Focused IO--when synchronized with effective information management and
intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance--enables commanders to
gain information superiority."
FM 3-13 Information Operations: Doctrine and TTP
November 2003

Information operations (IO) is what drives the mission in stability operations and support operations (SOSO) and, as such, comprises an all-encompassing concept. The key to IO, similar to artillery, then, is to identify and articulate "targets" and calculate how to move them in the direction or assume the attitude desired. IO is all about gaining and retaining the initiative and in focusing the maneuver element's efforts in achieving the desired end state.

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Information or shaping operations is a command function at all levels. At the battalion level. IO assets include the commander all the way down to the squad leaders.

As the new IO coordinator (IOCOORD) S7 section for a battalion task force in Bosnia, we had no clue what information operations was, especially how it manifested itself at the battalion/task force level in SOSO. We read FM 100-6 Information Operations and FM 3-13. And although they gave some good general information, "hands-on" training products were lacking.

This article is intended to help battalion-level FA officers better facilitate IO at their level. We describe the S7 IO staff section's organization and responsibilities; how the battalion's IO plan nests within its mission and the brigade's plan; and the process by which IO is planned, coordinated and executed.

Battalion S7 Section. With today's geometric proliferation of assets, lethal and nonlethal, the Field Artilleryman is an effects manager or planner. He is critical to IO throughout the commander's scheme of maneuver.

IO at the battalion level manifests itself in many different ways. In short, IO in SOSO is planning and executing interactions with the indigenous population to achieve the stated mission or reach an end state by synchronizing multiple nonlethal assets.

Therefore, our S7 staff not only provided talking points or TV and radio scripts to Soldiers, but also calculated the effects of a patrol's force protection posture as it delivered a specific message. What Soldiers or squad leaders said while on patrol sent certain messages to the civilian population, and the effects of those messages had to be calculated in advance.

The battalion IO section helps the commander facilitate information or shaping operations within his area of responsibility (AOR) with nonlethal assets and acts as a conduit with higher headquarters. In our task force, the IO was a distinct entity, the S7 that was connected with the S2 and S3. At the least, the IO should be organized as a subset of the S3.

It was the S7's task to train the commander's staff in implementing IO and diffusing it throughout the command. The S7 also developed a task force nonlethal targeting system and plan to convert brigade-level IO objectives into battalion-level IO tasks (IOTs) with measures of effectiveness (MOE). (See Figure 1 for the S7's key IO responsibilities.)

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The S7 section had one artillery captain and one senior fire support NCO (13F), both experienced fire supporters. The closely related public affairs officer (PAO) was a lieutenant and had a junior NCO. One artillery lieutenant and one mid-level fire support NCO implemented the IOTs in each maneuver company. Company commanders often were overwhelmed in planning and implementing IO tasks, as we had no dedicated support staff at those levels.

As in fire planning, IO revolves around top-down planning and bottom-up refinement. At the battalion level, the S7 is given IO focus areas or objectives from higher headquarters that, ultimately, are tied to strategic or operational goals, or end states. Our IO goals were developed at the joint level and drove the IO missions down through the chain, ultimately determining the battalion's mission statement.

An example of a battalion mission statement, especially in the later-phases of SOSO, is the one in Figure 2. Each word is chosen to focus the battalion's effects. For example, "contributes" denotes a partnership with the host country and that the battalion is not solely responsible for the host country's safety and security. And the last statement, "eliminating the need for peacekeepers," is included in every mission statement as all effects are calculated to achieve that ultimate goal established by higher headquarters.

At the weekly brigade- or division-level IO working group (IOWG) meeting, the S7 received revisions to the IO plan. The S7 nested operations at the battalion level with higher by converting the brigade IO objectives into more specific IOTs for the battalion--a process similar to the way the FA converts essential fires and effects tasks (EFETs) into essential FA tasks (EFATs) for FA battalion operations.

For example, based on the sample battalion's mission statement in Figure 2, higher headquarters could give the battalion the focus areas or IO objectives as outlined in Figure 3.