Photo By Jason Ragucci | Reservists, Airmen and Allied forces hold their graduation certificates from the...... read more read more
CAMP MACKALL, N.C. - Checkmating the king in a strategic game of chess may be fun and games but for future Psychological Operations or PSYOP Soldiers, it is more than just a game. It is about gaining strategic advantages and achieving U.S. national objectives through the unique characteristics of a chess knight, an emblematic symbol of the PSYOP Regiment.
Seasoned Soldiers, enlisted and officers, have the opportunity to change their military occupation specialty or MOS to become a 37 series (Psychological Operations). The Psychological Operations Qualification Course (POQC) and the Psychological Operations Sergeants Course or POSC consist of various distinguished phases after specific selections of qualified Soldiers are made.
An eligible PSYOP Soldier must pass the army physical fitness test, psychiatric evaluation and situational training before moving on to the phases. Introductory courses, language, MOS specific courses, and culmination exercise are the phases before a Soldier can become a professional PSYOP Soldier.
The culmination exercise is called Black Knight, which provided a capstone to the current POQC and POSC students' platform training and practical exercises. "The name is understood from the fact that the knight chess piece is our regimental symbol," said 5th Battalion, 1st Special Warfare Training Group (Airborne) Senior Instructor, Sgt. 1st Class Michael Dean.
Before Black Knight, situation and scenarios were centered on counterinsurgency (COIN). Now, the exercise is an unconventional warfare (UW) scenario.
"I personally think the new scenario benefits the students because of the exposure to concepts that have rarely been experienced," said Dean. "Now the students have increased situational awareness which will enable them to support more missions across the full spectrum of military operations."
Black Knight simulated a six to nine month deployment operation in less than two weeks. Students in the POSC had to meet goals set by the officers in the POQC and to work as a team. Students conducted a night airborne insertion in support of a Special Operations Task Force UW mission at the start of the culmination exercise. Then, they had to identify and reach their appointed contact using challenge and password techniques before their allotted time expired through the rest of the cold dark night.
After the contact is met, village assessment took priority. Students in the POSC traveled tactically outside Forward Operating Base, (FOB) Freedom to one of the three separate villages. Each village specializes in a different language and culture. Students were to identify any vulnerabilities and media outlets than could be used to disseminate command messages throughout the Republic of Pineland.
Video teleconferencing was crucial when transferring information to their assigned Officers in the POQC. Officers who are put in command of a team do not deploy in the same location as the Sergeants but still need to communicate digitally using the latest technology. Teams were scattered around the FOB to discuss their recent discoveries to their appointed Officer over simulated satellite video teleconferences. Students from the POQC had the opportunity to openly discuss their next plan of action and offer support for the Sergeants by a sense of face-to-face interaction using the digital video platform.
The Senior Instructor expressed the challenges he saw during this iteration of Black Knight. “Every new generation of students seems to experience more disconnection, because of the advancement of technology.” Dean recognized a hurdle among the students with the face-to-face engagement during the last iteration. He believes the cause of the struggle is that students are more accepting to texts and social media than having a sit down conversation when attempting to resolve issues or discuss new ones.
“Presently, students in the POSC are better prepared learning with high operating tempo,” said the Senior Instructor. “They have a solid foundation.”
A successful PSYOP Soldier can demonstrate power by influence or the changing of one’s behavior. Black Knight challenges the students in both the POQC and POSC by understanding and using the seven phases of psychological operations to help influence certain behaviors in foreign key leaders.
Near the end of Black Knight, Officers in the POQC had to brief key leaders on the assessments made by the sergeants and summarize the objectives met during the time of the simulated deployment. Constructive criticism was given to help enhance the briefing technique by special guests who are currently involved in the PSYOP process.
Reservists, other U.S. military branches and foreign allies attended their graduation ceremony immediately following Black Knight. These 25 students in the POQC successfully graduated and will return to their respectful units and countries bringing with them the knowledge of the PSYOP process. Battalion Commander, Lt. Col. Daniel Castro and Battalion Command Sergeant Major, Command Sgt. Maj. Jody Hall helped commemorate the ceremony.
The remaining active duty components in the United States Army will continue their training through the POQC and POSC by understanding their regional areas of study before they, too will successfully graduate as a PSYOP Soldier.
Many people will agree that the Queen piece on a chess board is the most powerful and can mimic the moves of the other pieces throughout the game. But, the Knight Chess piece is the only one that the Queen cannot mimic and that can change the behavior of the Queen by its lateral and oblique moves on the board, ultimately shaping the battlefield to the Knight's advantages.
| Date Taken: | 10.23.2015 |
| Date Posted: | 11.09.2015 19:38 |
| Story ID: | 181505 |
| Location: | FORT BRAGG, NORTH CAROLINA, US |
| Hometown: | FAYETTEVILLE, NORTH CAROLINA, US |
| Web Views: | 321 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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