US Army Psychological Operations and the Reserves.

United States Army Psychological Operations PSYOP units are the only units of their kind in the military establishment. Of the four PSYOP Groups, twelve battalions and twenty-two separate companies in the Armys inventory, however, only one group headquarters and three battalions are in the active component the remainder are all reserve units. Since the inception of the CAPSTONE program in 1980, these reserve component units have been the focus of much concern and attention, but they continue to suffer from problems which degrade their effectiveness and limit their potential. These problems were identified and isolated primarily through interviews with all PSYOP Group commanders and their staffs, numerous subordinate commanders in the reserve, members of the First Special Operations Command SOCOM staff and members of the Department of the Army Staff with responsibility for PSYOP and related efforts. The study concludes that all of the problems are soluble, and that their solution will involve a combination of systemic changes and better self-discipline on the part of the PSYOP community.