The 361st Psychological Operations
Company in Iraq

Attention AIF

Where ever you fire your mortars from you are in range of our guns. Now you are subject to counter fire at our discretion.

M198 Howitzer – up to 30 kilometer range – 46.8 kilogram shell.

Your days of firing without retaliation are over.

If you have information about terrorist activities in your area call the number on the back. You do not have to give your name to receive a reward. Please, for your family's sake, call today.

IZB1eD33031 - Cash

This 6 1/8 x 2 1/2-inch leaflet depicts a U.S. $100 bill on one side with the text:

Rewards are being offered for useful information on terrorist activities. You don’t have to give your name to receive a reward. Call today or notify Iraqi security forces in your area.

The back of the leaflet depicts an Iraqi 25,000-dinar note and the text:

Help make Mosul safe and get the money your loving family so desperately needs. You don’t have to give your name to receive a reward. Call today or notify Iraqi security forces in your area.

The quality of this leaflet is very good because the Detachment had it privately printed in Dahuk. As a result, it is sharper and clearer than one printed by the Risograph. 

Leaflet 3045

Radio leaflet 3045 pictures a portable radio and the text:

YOUR VOICE

The new radio show that gives you the chance to give your opinion!
Monday – Wednesday – Saturday at 11:00 a.m.
A radio show where you can call and debate the major issues of the day.
Call in and have your voice heard.
Tune in to FM 88.7 for call in numbers. Show starts Thursday,
November 29th!
Al Iraqia Radio FM 88.7

Leaflet IZA3eG3-3062

Leaflet 3062 depicts destroyed buildings in the city of Mosul. The text is:

The terrorists did this to the citizens of Mosul.
They will continue to destroy unless you say “Enough is enough.”

Stand up to the terror to insure the survival of Iraq January 20, 2005.

Leaflet 3088 – Iraqi Security Forces

Leaflet 3088 depicts and American and an Iraqi Soldier on the front. The text is:

On January 30th the people of Iraq raised their voices against terror. Today, tomorrow, and always, the men and women of the Iraqi Security Forces raise their fists as well.

The back of the leaflet depicts four photographs of U.S. and Iraqi forces dealing with the public and terrorists. The text is:

Breaking up black-market fuel operations to keep your fuel prices down.

Seeking out and ridding your neighborhoods of deadly terrorist devices.

Using you called in tips to locate and capture terrorist leaders and minions.

Iraqi men and women placing their lives at risk to insure your family’s safety.

The leaflet ends with phone numbers and E-mail addresses in Mosul and Tall’Afar, which are blocked out here to protect against spam.

Leaflet IZA5eG3-3097

Leaflet 3097 is a large poster-leaflet that depicts Iraq police and Army at the top and happy Iraqi children at the bottom. The text is:

The Iraqi Security Forces and the people of Ninewah.
Partners in a new and better Iraq.
You stood against terror by voting, but it does not end there.
Help your Security Forces stand against criminals by continuing to provide tips and information.

Leaflet IZA5eG3-3098

Leaflet 3098 depicts Iraqi Security forces with a cache of terrorist explosives and weapons. The text is:

Your Iraqi Security Forces are working hard to protect you.
This cache was found with your assistance.
Now these weapons will never be used to harm innocent Iraqis like you and your children.
People like you called the Hotline to report illegal activities to their local security forces.
The Iraqi Security Forces are here to serve and protect.
They are willing to sacrifice their lives for you.

Leaflet IZB3eD3-3112

Leaflet 3112 depicts a destroyed automobile, an improvised explosive device, and a bombed building. The text is:

Improvised explosive devices kill innocent Iraqis!
Terrorists bring only death and destruction.
Don’t let evil men destroy this great country.
Don’t let them rob you of your future.
Report them!

Leaflet 3114 – Mosul Students

Leaflet 3114 depicts a group of happy Iraqi students at Mosul University and attempts to convince them to ignore the call of the insurgents who recruits for volunteers. The text is:

Don’t let terrorists rob you of your future. Call the hotline on the back with any information about terrorist activities.

Two photographs depict students at the university on the back. The text is:

The Youth of Iraq are its greatest treasure. Every day, more of Iraq’s youth become educated and learn the skills today to become great leaders tomorrow. Don’t let a group of murderous terrorists destroy their bright future.

Leaflet 3121 – Tip Line

Leaflet 3121 depicts a road block through night vision glasses. The text is:

Thanks to you Mosul, six terrorists were captured in this raid.

The tip line works.

Two of the captured are Abu Shealan and Hussien Ali Ahmid.

With a call to the tip line and verified by a jailed Muslim extremist, two active terrorists were captured on this street in the Eslah Zarai neighborhood of Mosul.

Abu Shealan was a Jeish Ansar al-Sunna weapons dealer.

Hussien Ali Ahmid confessed to beheading Iraqis who worked for the Coalition.

Enough is enough. You don’t have to live in fear any longer

Leaflet IZB1eDe-3143 – Poor Gunnery

Leaflet 3143 depicts and Iraqi mother and child. The text is:

MORTARS kill innocent Iraqis, including many women and children

Terrorists shoot mortars at ISF and Multi-National Forces, but have little success. Those that are hurt by these cowardly attacks are innocent Iraqis. Report them before they can hurt even more innocent Iraqis.

Leaflet IZB1eD3-3146

A very imaginative scene is depicted on leaflet 3146. A horde of locusts is seen eating holes in a map of Iraq. The text is:

Foreign fighters are like locusts, eating away the prosperity of Iraq. Good Iraqis will not allow foreign terrorism to destroy Iraq’s bright future.

Do not let foreign killers threaten your community’s safety! Provide information about these criminals to your heroic Iraqi Security Forces.

 

Leaflet 4000 - Convicted

Leaflet 4000 depicts a convicted criminal. Curiously, this leaflet was not as popular as might be expected because many Iraqis felt that the sentence was too light. Most law-abiding Iraqis want terrorists punished harshly, and although 10 years in an Iraqi prison seems strong from an American viewpoint, some Iraqis demand the immediate execution of captured terrorists. Old customs die hard. The text is:

Meet Abdullah

Guilty

I would like to introduce to you, Abdullah Adiya Abdullah al Jabouri, and he is from Hamman al Alil.On the 6th of April 2005 he was sentenced to 10 years in prison by an Iraqi court for Terrorism activities.

PSYOP Loudspeaker Operations

SGT Joe Diraddo uses the unmounted manpack loudspeaker in the
al Sarai neighborhood in Tall'Afar, Nineveh Province, Iraq.
The message is in regard to cooperation with the new national
govenment and a warning to stay off the streets during a
large-area cordon and search by Iraqi Intervention Forces,

The 2090th does limited loudspeaker operations. The Battalion prefers that they do mostly face-to-face contact, the method that every study has shown to be the most effective way to communicate. They do occasionally broadcast messages, but generally use the "manpack." The detachment has done several very successful loudspeaker operations with members of the 82nd Airborne Division at traffic control points and during cordon searches and raids. 

SSG Jack Lewis broadcasts using the Long Range Acoustical
Device from Tall'Afar Castle out over the al Sarai neighborhood.
One of the unit members was shot in the hand at this site.

The Long Range Acoustical Device (LRAD) was originally built for the U.S. Navy, intended to warn boaters out of the 500-meter exclusion zone around their warships. There was a rumor that it could kill a person standing directly in front of it. Not true. It might make you sick, and you will definitely wish you hadn’t, but according to the manufacturer, this is a non-lethal acoustical effects system. It’s a big, black disc, maybe three feet across and about six inches thick, and it will reach out and touch someone at over 1,000 meters. It is ideal for PSYOP applications. The LRAD becomes increasingly directional as distances to targets increase. It forms a “tight beam” of sound that is exceptionally clear – if somewhat unpleasant – to an individual or group that is acquired, literally, in its sights.The LRAD has a sighting system.It’s an “iron sight,” and people sit up and take notice a full kilometer away.

Tests proved that a broadcast could be heard clearly by a dismounted unit in a cemetery over 1,400 meters distant from the LRAD’s position. The LRAD runs on A.C. power but is adaptable. During distance tests at 100 meters, the sound was painful to listeners, even with hands held over the ears and ear plugs in. At 300 meters, they could understand every word, still with his hands over plugged ears. At 800 meters, they could hear every syllable through ear plugs. The LRAD was deployed atop Tall’Afar Castle, overlooking the al Sarai neighborhood. The first time it was used Iraqis walking the streets stopped and stared. Impact indicators went through the roof and Iraqis were seen writing down the counter-terrorism tip-line number at over 600 meters range. The LRAD has proven useful for clearing streets and rooftops during cordon and search, for disseminating command information, and for drawing out enemy snipers who are subsequently destroyed by our own snipers.

On 5 November 2005 the LRAD made headlines when a group of armed pirates attempted to board the 10,000-ton cruise ship Seabourn Spirit 100 miles off the coast of Somalia. The ship retaliated with the earsplitting noise of a directed sound beam and escaped. The devices have been deployed on commercial and naval vessels worldwide since summer 2003.

Vehicle-mounted sonic weapons have been used by the Israeli military in the Gaza and Lebanon. The sound is described “as being hit by a wall of air that is painful on the ears, sometimes causing nosebleeds and 'leaving you shaking inside.”

The U.S. Navy has about 60 of the devices in Iraq and other regions. Several U.S. law enforcement agencies also use the device.

The belief among some of the Detachment members is that the LRAD isn’t perfect for all tactical environments, but is a valuable PSYOP tool.  One should be issued to each deploying tactical PSYOP detachment, to be utilized by the team that can make the best case for requiring it. Reproduction quality on the LRAD amplifies hisses and pops to an uncomfortable degree.The key to minimizing this phenomenon is careful attention to making good connections, not moving cables during broadcast, and keeping connectors clean and dry. One man can carry the LRAD, but not much else.It weighs about 45 lbs., and you need an extension cord, your input device, and other equipment. The LRAD is a bullet magnet. It is not easily concealed. Area security considerations are therefore very important. The drawbacks are weight and the fact that it does not  authentically reproduce sound. Instead, it reproduces sound in a manner intended to carry great distances to point targets and convey messages with authority. The LRAD is most suitable for fixed site broadcast but leaves the user open to enemy fire. It is also fragile. Its large, open-faced speaker membrane is subject to damage from elbows, rifle muzzles or enemy fire.

Notice the statement that the LRAD will draw fire. This can be attested to by SP4 Joshua Yuse who came under sniper fire while broadcasting on the roof of Tall’Afar Castle just prior to the Iraqi elections. He immediately picked up his rifle and took up a security position along the battlements. The sniper hit him in his forward hand; the slug bounced off his rifle and dug into his armored vest. A fragment of the bullet jacket flew up and cut his chin to the bone. His sergeant told me proudly:

While waiting to be evacuated Yuse trained up a communications sergeant on how to run the LRAD and kept the mission on track. He secured, or caused to be secured, all of his sensitive items and PSYOP equipment. He told everybody not to worry about him, and reminded them to keep their heads down. He was treated by fellow soldiers on the spot and then evacuated to the 67th Combat Support Hospital by a UH60 Blackhawk helicopter. He had surgery at the 67th, and then was loaded unto a C130 for transport to Landstuhl. As they loaded him onto the C130, he was fretting about letting down the detachment by flying out to Germany. Corporal Yuse is currently undergoing occupational therapy in the United States.

Guest columnist Sergeant Jack Lewis wrote about Specialist Yuse in an article in the Seattle Post-Intelligencer of March 6, 2005. At the same time Yuse was broadcasting, Lewis was scheduled to be in one of the military’s Stryker armored vehicles, broadcasting pro-election messages, pre-recorded in Arabic, from a man-pack loudspeaker system. Yuse was shot before Lewis began his portion of the mission. He tells about hearing of the fire-fight:

But I never went out on my mission today. After I put together a briefing memo for the squadron commander, I ran straight into the battle captain.

He said, "It's good you're here. Yuse's your guy, right? We got a report he was shot in the neck..."

"WHAT?"

"…but apparently he was wounded in the hand. A fragment hit him in the chin, and it bled all over, and they thought he had a neck wound."

As the medics worked on him, Yuse said:

I'll tell you one thing. These elections better work. They better get democracy, and freedom, and their rights, and hot chicks in tight jeans. I hope I didn't take this bullet for nothing.

SGT Lewis made sure that Yuse kept his interceptor body armor with the souvenir slug in one pocket. His weapon, which caught the bullet as it exited through the meat of Yuse's left thumb was "non-mission capable" and irreparable.

SGT Yuse has since been was awarded the Army Commendation medal with “V” for valor device for his actions on the day he was wounded. By September of 2005 his hand had healed enough for him to attend and graduate the United States Army Air Assault Course.

Since returning home, Jack Lewis, a University of Southern California writing major participated in the 2008 Oscar-nominated documentary Operation Homecoming: Writing the Wartime Experience. One of the chapters in the documentary was Lewis’ story Road Work, about an elderly Iraqi who loses his will to live after his son is killed. Lewis appears and is interviewed in the film and is currently working on a memoir of his nine-year experience with the military entitled The Soldier Next Door.

In 2011, Lewis wrote his book entitled: Nothing in Reserve, True Stories, not War Stories, Kindle Edition. This time he identified the wounded soldier as Specialist Will Mandeville. He said about the wounded soldier (and this is a compliment if you think about it):

Mandeville was a near-total dingbat with no sense of planning who still managed to get things done; a lazy sloth who worked like a sled dog. He was a good kid with bad manners; a high school tennis champion constantly tripping over his own size twelves. This was the overgrown boy I had to kick out of the rack every morning, remind him to check the oil, bring his gloves on mission, and shower periodically.

Defense Update, the International Online Defense Magazine added that the LRAD can issue a verbal challenge with instructions in excess of 500 meters and has the capability of following up with a warning tone to influence behavior or determine intent.

Medium Range Acoustic Device (MRAD)

I had a discussion with Robert "Ryk" Williams, the Land-Based LRAD Project Manager from American Technology Corporation about the perceived problems with the weight and the delicacy of the system. He pointed out that they were currently in service with the 3rd Infantry Division, the 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment, the 44th Engineer Battalion, and others in Iraq. He said that the PSYOP community had been slow to embrace this latest acoustic spiral development technology although he believed that the LRAD was a quantum leap forward in sound technology. He was aware that there had been comments about the weight of the system. He added:

As a side note, we recently fielded a Medium Range Acoustic Device (MRAD) that is lighter and more portable than the LRAD while delivering the same level of clarity and intelligibility at extended ranges. In other words, we heard the requirement for smaller and lighter and we have delivered.

The Detachment Radio Station at dusk

PSYOP Radio

Tactical PSYOP Team (TPT) 1291 was tasked with constructing and commissioning a fully functioning FM radio station at Forward Operating Base (FOB) Sykes, in the vicinity of Tall’Afar, Nineveh Province, Iraq.  None of the team members had operated a radio station before or attempted building one, but the mission was accepted and accomplished. The team consisted of Team Leader Staff Sergeant Jack Lewis, Assistant Team Leader Sergeant Christopher Shone, Corporal Yuse, (a PSYOP specialist who was wounded and evacuated before the radio station operation began), and Sergeant Joe DiRaddo (not actually part of the team but an NCO who was always ready to help out when and where he was needed).

Working with Iraqi nationals employed by Iraqi Media Network, and with capable assistance from Brigade Information Operations officer Major Mark Smith and several key employees of Kellogg, Brown and Root (KBR) at Forward Operating Base Sykes near Tall’Afar, the radio station was commissioned in April, 2005.It broadcasts at 1,000 watts through an antenna atop a 90-foot tower; sufficient power to reach every resident of Tall’Afar to the north and several surrounding villages and farmsteads.The tower and two semi-trailers are grounded via 12-foot copper rods, courtesy of KBR who also fabricated a light for the top of the tower to avert clearance issues with the frequent helicopter traffic at FOB Sykes.  Its satellite dish accepts a coded Iraqi Media Network (IMN) feed from the Arab Satellite Communications Network (ARABSAT) 24 hours a day. ARABSAT was established 14 April 1976 by the member states of the Arab League with the goal of serving the needs of Telecommunication, Information, Culture and Education sectors in accordance with International Standards.

The Detachment Radio Production office with mixing board, CD and audio tape inputs

The station itself is contained within one semi-articulated trailer, and includes a 1 kilowatt transmitter, FM exciter, power entry, production office with mixer and various inputs, and sound-insulated studio with dual microphones.It has the capability of accepting live telephone calls for live talk radio programming. A second trailer contains a 400-kilowatt Cummins generator and sufficient diesel storage capacity to power the station for several days between re-fueling.

The station is a powerful PSYOP tool, functioning as a platform for a variety of information operations content including re-broadcasting the state-run al Iraqia (IMN) programming.This provides an opportunity for area citizens to receive political reporting, social commentary and news stories from all over the nation of Iraq.  IMN programming is periodically interrupted to provide locally produced talk shows with Iraqi Army generals, PSYOP team-produced public service announcements, counter-terror messages, and command information from the U.S. forces commander.

TPT 1291 also devised a useful tactics, techniques and procedures (TTP) of re-broadcasting the radio station over loudspeakers in town by performing battlefield circulation while playing the output of its MP3/DVR/FM receiver through its vehicle-mounted loudspeakers system.

The military booklet: BUILDING BRIDGES: Commander’s Guide to Face to Face Communication explains the importance of radio to PSYOP. It says in part: 

The invention of the battery-powered transistor has brought radio broadcasts into most households of developing countries. There are now over 600 million radio sets in the developing world, and the number continues to grow as technology becomes less expensive.

Radio is one of the most effective forms of communication, particularly in developing countries. In Africa for example, people listen to the radio while farming, cooking, or shopping…In addition to local and international radio stations, the U.S. military or coalition forces may have portable stations broadcasting in your local area. Well thought-out and prepared statements can reach distant targets. It is an excellent medium to convey a message to a target audience. Radio is very inexpensive to buy, operate and maintain and is ideal for illiterate audiences. One radio can be listened to by large numbers of people. 

PSYOP Sergeant Christopher Shone on duty at the mixing board

Who listens to “al Iraqia,” the name that the staff calls their radio station? SSG Jack Lewis told me:

To be sure that local people of influence could hear the message the local Corps PSYOP Support Element sent the Detachment 600 radios for distribution to Iraqi nationals. These radios, manufactured in China by Grundig, are AM/FM and will run on either batteries or by a hand-cranked dynamo. They can be dropped by air.

We passed them out to target audiences of influential muktars, school teachers, etc.  Each radio was marked with the frequency and network name of our broadcast (FM 89.5 al Iraqia!), and prepacked in its little case with several PSYOP products including counter-terror tip line telephone numbers and "reward for info" offers printed on cash-like backgrounds.

Every show opened with an Islamic invocation in Arabic. As far as original programming, we did an extensive interview with the local Iraqi Army commanding general. The general came prepared with a speech that was approved by the 2nd Squadron of the 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment Commander. We wrote some scripts and question and answer sheets with local squadron commander approval. All the messages were read by Iraqi interpreters.

Another regular feature we put on was a morning show that gave the weather, major local and regional happenings, and a quick interpretation of national events in regional terms. For instance, we might tell the listeners, “The successes of the Kurdish National Party in January's elections may affect Sinjar by...” or “Regrettably, terrorists have destroyed another...” The messages were read by a female interpreter. We also broadcast appeals to turn over terrorists (with tip line given), plus command information on the way operations may affect commerce, proper pricing for gasoline, how to respond to traffic control points, cordon & search operations, etc.  When we weren't producing local content, the station played the IMN feed day and night. 

No one was ever assigned to the radio station. It was just assumed that we were the closest thing they had to experts, so we did our best. Tactical PSYOP Team 1291 -- all both of us -- served as general contractors, producers, directors, technicians, constructors, electricians, refuelers and janitors.

Author’s note: I mention the Grundig radio in my article “Strange Gifts from Above.” In regard to Afghanistan, there was a recommendation to use the Grundig FR220 radio. It worked well in the mountainous terrain and was battery and dynamo powered. The 10th Mountain Division psychological operations officer headed the purchase of 100,000 FR200 Grundig Emergency Radios for Coalition Joint Task Force (CJTF) 180 to be delivered to Bagram, Afghanistan. Over 30,000 Grundig radios had been distributed by the time he left Afghanistan in April 2004.

The FOB Sykes radio station was Formerly known as “Rattlesnake Radio” in honor of the 2-14 Cavalry “Rattlesnake” Reconnaissance, Surveillance and Target Acquisition Squadron, it is now informally referred to as “Sabre Radio.” Although presently run by PSYOP personnel, the station is a wholly-owned asset of the Iraq elected government.

The operation of the radio station at FOB Sykes has now passed into the hands of Tactical PSYOP Detachment (TPD) 1680, and will soon pass on to TPD 1720, who will operate it under the auspices of the 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment. Due to the substantial size of the area of responsibility (nearly 17,000 square kilometers stretching from the city of Mosul to the Syrian border), TPT 1291 – a two-man team at the end of its tour – was replaced by a full detachment consisting of three teams and a production cell.

Captain Corbin England, the Commander of Tactical PSYOP Detachment 2090 summed it up for me:

I have been blessed to have the caliber of soldiers in my command.  The successes of the detachment, and there are many, rest squarely upon their shoulders.  Their professionalism made my job all that much easier.

Second I would like to take a moment to acknowledge the successes were due inlarge part to the 1st BDE (SBCT) of the 25th Infantry Division Brigade Commander Colonel Robert Brown. From day one he made utilizing non-lethal assets such as PSYOP a priority.  This priority in turn was instilled into his Battalion Commanders.  That made doing our job that much easier.  TPD 1290 was very fortunate to integrate with the Brigade so early.  We had opportunities to demonstrate what PSYOP can contribute to the mission during training exercises at the National Training Center and Joint Readiness Training Center. This was crucial in introducing those staff officers that have never before worked with PSYOP to its implementation in an operational environment.  This long training period was absolutely key to our success.   Additionally the Brigade has seen the potential positive impacts so much that they were willing to spend operational money to secure a Risograph and an industrial paper cutter in order to assist us in our mission.

The third basis for our success was our resourcing.  Tactical PSYOP Detachment 1290 is in a unique position in the fact that we have printing capabilities that are not normally given at the detachment level.  Because of greater than normal capability we have been much more responsive to the maneuver commander’s expectations than most TPDs in the past. Clearly TPD 1290 exemplifies that if soldiers are properly resourced; we will rise up and meet any and all challenges.