| 
  • If you are citizen of an European Union member nation, you may not use this service unless you are at least 16 years old.

  • You already know Dokkio is an AI-powered assistant to organize & manage your digital files & messages. Very soon, Dokkio will support Outlook as well as One Drive. Check it out today!

View
 

CANADA

This version was saved 4 years, 7 months ago View current version     Page history
Saved by Drew Chaney
on August 11, 2019 at 6:33:18 pm
 

CANADA    

 

PSYOPS / OPSPSY

 

Canadian operational commitments in Afghanistan have resulted in Land Forces West A (LFWA) creating a dedicated PSYOPS unit.

LFWA PSYOPS HQ based in Edmonton will take 5 years to build.  The company will stand up in March 2008 as a sub-unit of 6 Int Coy. The organizational structure consists of a company HQ in Edmonton, with detachments in Victoria, Vancouver, Edmonston, Saskatoon /Regina, Winnipeg and Thunder Bay. The unit will provide 2 operational Tactical PSYOPS Teams to Afghanistan and PSYOPS Support Elements (PSE) or Tactical PSYOPS Detachments (TPD).

 

In 2012 Canadian PSYOPS forces attached to Regional Command South ISAF wore the patches detailed below.

Canadian element of the ISAF Regional Command South Afghanistan 

 

Furthermore, Canadian PSYOPS Forces appears to have been grouped in to an Influence Activity Task Force (IATF).  Below is the logo for this unit.

         

The Canadians have created a Peace Support Training Centre: PSTC

                              

The Peace Support Training Centre stood-up in July 1996 and was formally established as a unit in December 2000. The original role of PSTC was to deliver pre-deployment training for CF personnel and others selected for Peace Support Operations and to provide Peace Support Operations training assistance to Canadian and foreign organizations.

 

PSTC is a a lead Joint, Inter-Agency, Multinational training centre.   PSTC delivers individual readiness training and campaign-winning enablers that include: Individual Pre-Deployment Training (IPT), Hazardous Environment Training (HET), Military Observer (MilOb), Information Operations (IO), Psychological Operations (PSYOPS) and Civil-Military Cooperation (CIMIC) Courses.

 

In 2004, PSTC was assigned the Centre of Excellence and Individual training responsibilities for the Influence Activities to include:

 

Information Operations; 

Psychological Operations;

and, Civil-Military Cooperation.

 

As of 2016, The Canadian Military has had a resurgence in its military role overseas and experience and the IATF has seen numerous IA Companies (comprising CIMIC + PSYOPS Functionaries):

notably the:  

  • 41 Influence Activities Company
  • 34 Influence Activities Company

Others exist, and we wait to learn of their designations

 

Influence Activities

 

Activities that are planned and conducted to have behavioural and psychological effects in support of the Commander’s intent or mission.

The key enablers of IA are: Psychological Operations (PSYOPS) and Civil-Military Cooperation (CIMIC).

A combination of psychological operations (PSYOPS) and civil-military cooperation (CIMIC), an IA team supports or ‘enables’ the success of a military mission through the fostering of goodwill and cooperation with local populations by communicating across cultures and providing assistance where needed during the mission.

 

   
   

 

The Canadian army’s attitude to PSYOPS probably softened in the 1990s as some commanders recognized the need for such methods during their peacekeeping experience in Bosnia, where reducing tensions among different racial groups was a big part of the challenge.

 

After Bosnia, Rwanda and Kosovo, younger leaders understood that the Canadian Forces were ill-equipped for post-Cold War conflicts. Senior officer recognized that characteristics of conflicts were changing during the latter part of the 20th century, so the Canadian Forces commissioned a study of what would be required by the Canadian military to meet future threats in this new environment.

 

As a result of the recommendations, in November 2003, Lieutenant-General Rick Hillier ordered the Army to develop a PSYOPS capability. The initial group was formed in January 2004; it had an authorized strength of 24 reservists from the Montreal area but so great was the response that, within a few weeks, over 60 personnel were accepted for training.

 

A UK PSYOPS course was given in the summer of 2004 by experienced British PSYOPS personnel, supplemented with contracted courses dealing with technical subjects such as information technology, radio and photography.

 

After a six-month’s probation period, the PSYOPS unit pared itself down to its authorized strength as those candidates that did not meet the PSYOPS standards were returned to their home units.

 

The first PSYOPS section was deployed to Kandahar with the Canadian Multi-National Brigade in Operation Athena Phase 2 in 2006.

 

 

 CANADIAN ARMED FORCES PUBLIC AFFAIRS

 

 
     
     
     
     
     

 

Comments (0)

You don't have permission to comment on this page.