Another point contended in this post hits kinda close to home...

I'm not an elegant writer so I'm not going to use euphemism and literary tools like "rolled sleeves", "burned by brass" and their like, but I will try to convey my experiences and opinions as concisely as possible.

First off let me say, I'm a grunt... 11B, and a Marine 0331 before that. I will always be a grunt, regardless if my paperwork says 35F, or not.

When it comes down to the effectiveness of the "Tactical Corporal" being the end user of PsyOp Product or the deliverer of the message to the mass populace, he's just as good as the next guy. When it comes down to it 90% of an average low income Iraqi's image of the USA is that American soldier. He doesn't have MTV, he doesn't know enough English to understand what 2Pac is saying on that CD, even though he likes the beat. What he knows is the guys in ACU's who drives around his village once a week.

That being said, PsyOps is way more effective in handling situations that the "Tactical Corporal" can not, or should not be involved with. For example, dealing with local black marketers or gun/drug runners without shooting or arresting them. For you commanders out there... PLEASE use us like this!
There are thousands of ways that PsyOps can be utilized, and we only get used in 1% of our many facets. This is usually due to a bad CAPEs breif, but sometimes by the supported unit's commander's choice.


Another facet of the Grunt Vs. PsyOp, etc... argument is the mental capacity that is required for each task... and something about fight vs. flight adrenaline... reaction determined by training... blah, blah, etc.. etc...

OK, first off... from my personal experience, which is actually next to nil (only had rounds go my direction once), I can say training doesn't determine your actions. Training makes you instinctively ask questions, i.e. where are the shots coming from, All sorts of situation awareness questions like where am I situated amongst my comrades, are there any adjacent units, the list can go on, but I believe someone posted up a pretty good list of things earlier on in the thread. All this happens in a split second, I think only one question get asked after you start firing back... "What where those dang ROE's?"