NATO to "Merge" Public Affairs, Info Ops, Psy Ops Offices in AFG?

[Schmedlap]

"This will totally undermine the credibility of the information released to the press and the public," said the official, who declined to be named.

Completely disagree. When I was the IO guy for my unit, I had the PA guy sit right next to me. He only had a secret clearance and I tried to get him a TS so that he could understand the rationale for why I restricted him in the manner that I did. We didn't get the clearance or even an interim initiated, but he at least appreciated that I was not attempting to hide information from him or manipulate him. Interaction between PSYOP, PA, and the OPSEC manager are essential to controlling information. I was frequently telling my PA guy not to put certain information in press releases. That was non-negotiable because it was an OPSEC measure. However, I would also request that he put other information in, and that was his call. Just as a fire request may be denied because some other unit has a higher priority of fires, the PA guy had the discretion to deny my requests if it threatened the credibility of PA. I relied upon his judgment in that regard.

So long as the commander makes it clear that the PA guy is answerable directly to him, but that the IO folks coordinate directly with the PA guy, then there is no issue. There was significant risk of the PA guy assuming a subordinate role to me because he was not an officer or senior NCO and he administratively was "mine." But I treated him as a peer and reminded him often that he belonged to the commnader, not to me or the S-3. Putting PA subordinate to IO or PSYOP folks would be dangerous and would likely undermine their credibility. So long as PA is treated as a primary staff officer, then putting PA and PSYOP in the same cell, next to each other, can work very well. They need to coordinate directly and often. I'm surprised that it didn't happen sooner.