Actions Speak Louder Than Words

The Department of Defense (DOD) recently issued a directive that increases the emphasis on stability operations in military operations. The very first policy statement in the directive states "Stability operations are a core U.S. military mission that the DOD shall be prepared to conduct and support. They shall be given priority comparable to combat operations"1 The DOD has also increased emphasis on information operations (IO) across the spectrum of warfare. Transformation is rampant within the DOD organization, culture and doctrine. Consequently, many of these changes can lead to confusion, redundancy, or even disagreement regarding military operations, capabilities, and employment methods. The utility of IO, for example is commonly misunderstood to mean just psychological operations (PSYOPS) and deception. In reality it includes many more capabilities that are underutilized.