Phil Taylor's papers
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BACK TO : INFORMATION WARFARE (IW) & INFORMATION OPERATIONS (IO) - see also PSYOPS
Information operations by Paul R. Guevin 
Air & Space Power Journal, Summer 2004 Information operations Paul R. Guevin INFORMATION OPERATIONS (IO) doctrine has evolved from age-old concepts of influencing and shaping battles through deception and control of information to more recent methods based on advanced communications and electronic warfare (EW). Sun Tzu suggested the possibility of victory through bloodless battles by not fighting at all. IO could serve as a means to this end, presenting operational commanders capabilities to significantly affect an enemy's operations. Current and emerging doctrine has formalized and refined these IO concepts, with significant adjustments based on recent operational experience and analysis of our capabilities. Air Force Doctrine Document (AFDD) 1, Air Force Basic Doctrine, 17 November 2003, defines IO as the integrated employment of three operational elements--EW operations, network-warfare (NW) operations, and influence operations--to affect or defend decision makers and their decision-making process (p. 46). These three interdependent elements focus on military actions in the electromagnetic, digital, and cognitive target domains, respectively, to achieve integrated effects across the battlespace and throughout the spectrum of conflict. We orchestrate such capabilities to influence the adversary's observe-orient-decide-act (OODA) loop while simultaneously defending our own loop. EW operations employ electromagnetic and directed energy within the electromagnetic battlespace to support operational objectives. This battlespace includes the full range of the spectrum, from extremely low-frequency radio waves, through the infrared and visible bands, to gamma rays. Planning, execution, and assessment of EW operations enable electronic attack, electronic protection, and EW support activities. NW operations support operational objectives by affecting and defending systems that transmit or receive information. The digital or information domain is composed of hardware, software, data, and human components. Planning, execution, and assessment of NW operations enable network attack, network protection, and NW support activities. Influence operations support operational objectives by affecting behaviors, protecting operations, and projecting accurate information to achieve desired effects across the cognitive battlespace. Influence operations include the integrated military activities of counterpropaganda operations, psychological operations, military deception, operations security, counterintelligence operations, and public-affairs operations. In concert with diplomatic, economic, and other information activities, IO becomes an essential function of air and space power that can influence leaders and populations to resolve conflicts. IO should precede and subsequently integrate with offensive air, land, sea, and space operations to shape and prepare the battlespace for decisive combat operations. Furthermore, it can set the stage for follow-on diplomatic, economic, and military activities. The Air Force's senior leadership has crafted a refined vision for IO, affirmed through Corona South 2003 and published in our service's Concept of Operations for Information Operations. This document addresses the three operational elements described above and defines their capabilities in the context of integrated-control enablers, which harmonize air, space, and information operations to produce integrated effects for the joint fight. This IO concept of operations is the foundation for the forthcoming, completely revised version of AFDD 2-5, Information Operations. To Learn More ... Air Force Doctrine Document (AFDD) 2-5. Information Operations, 4 January 2002. .
Alberts, David S., John J. Garstka, Richard E. Hayes, and David A. Signori. Understanding Information Age Warfare. Washington, DC: Command and Control Research Program (CCRP) Publication Series, 2001. .
Arquilla, John, and David Ronfeldt, eds. In Athena's Camp: Preparing for Conflict in the Information Age. Santa Monica, CA: RAND, 1997. .
Hall, Wayne Michael. Stray Voltage: War in the Information Age. Annapolis: Naval Institute Press, 2003. Khalilzad, Zalmay M. and John P. White, eds. Strategic Appraisal: The Changing Role of Information in Warfare. Santa Monica, CA: RAND, 1999. .
Lord, Brig Gen William T. U.S. Air Force Concept of Operations for Information Operations, 6 February 2004. .
Rattray, Gregory J. Strategic Warfare in Cyberspace. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, 2001. COPYRIGHT 2004 U.S. Air Force COPYRIGHT 2004 Gale Group |