In today’s complex operational environment, messaging isn’t just about informing—it’s about influencing behavior. Military Information Support Operations (MISO), formerly known as PSYOP, are designed to do just that. Central to their effectiveness are five core tasks: advise, plan, develop, deliver, and assess. These tasks structure the influence process, guiding foreign target audiences (TAs) from awareness to action in ways that support U.S. military and interagency objectives.
Whether shaping local perception during counterinsurgency or eroding enemy will during major combat operations, MISO campaigns are grounded in psychological expertise, regional insight, and deliberate message design. Each of the five core tasks builds upon the next, ensuring messages are heard and acted upon.
Advising the Commander: Mapping the Psychological Terrain
Before any message is sent, MISO professionals serve as strategic advisors. They help commanders understand how populations might interpret military actions, public diplomacy, or civil-military operations. This advisory role ensures messages are aligned with psychological realities and helps avoid unintended consequences.
During Operation Enduring Freedom, MISO teams helped commanders identify key communicators—tribal elders, radio personalities, religious leaders—who could shape local perceptions. By analyzing cultural norms and social trust networks, MISO advisors ensured that messages came through voices the population already respected, increasing the likelihood of acceptance.
Planning for Precision Influence
Planning isn’t just logistical—it’s behavioral. MISO planners synchronize messaging with the commander’s operational timeline and understand what emotional and cognitive levers to pull. One Gulf War case study illustrates this perfectly. In 1991, leaflets were dropped across Iraqi military zones outlining surrender procedures and assuring humane treatment. These leaflets weren’t improvised but integrated into the campaign plan, informed by psychological analysis.
The result? Nearly 100,000 Iraqi soldiers surrendered, often with those very leaflets in hand. This wasn’t just messaging—it was the intentional shaping of behavior through planned communication aligned with the commander’s maneuver and firepower.
Developing Messages with Psychological Precision
Once objectives and audiences are defined, MISO specialists craft targeted messages that appeal to logic, emotion, or identity. This stage draws heavily on cultural anthropology, behavioral science, and social marketing. The goal is to design messages that prompt reflection and ultimately action.
For example, in the fight against ISIS, U.S. MISO teams developed radio broadcasts and social media content that portrayed ISIS leaders as corrupt outsiders. This narrative tapped into local resentment, pushing fighters and civilians to question allegiance. One defector stated in an interview that “the things I heard on the radio made me realize they were lying to us,” showing the impact of psychologically tuned messaging.
Delivering the Message: From Airwaves to Ground Teams
Delivery methods depend on what media the audience consumes and trusts. This may include loudspeaker operations, SMS messaging, leaflets, or local-language radio. As FM 3-53 explains, the delivery platform must fit the environment—what works in Helmand may fail in Manila.
In the Philippines, MISO supported counterterror efforts by using local radio stations to broadcast in native dialects. One campaign used trusted announcers to share stories of former insurgents who reintegrated into society. Listeners heard authentic voices telling real stories, a method far more persuasive than foreign-produced messaging.
Assessing the Outcome: Did It Work?
Effective campaigns don’t just end with delivery—they’re continuously monitored and adjusted. Assessment helps determine whether messages drive the desired change, whether that’s increased cooperation, reduced violence, or shifts in opinion. As emphasized in FM 3-53, assessment is built into planning and is essential for mission refinement.
In southern Afghanistan, MISO teams assessed message effectiveness by tracking behaviors like increased reporting of Taliban activity and attendance at coalition-sponsored events. When surrender rates rose in areas where leaflets and radio messaging intensified, commanders could directly link influence efforts to measurable results and allocate resources accordingly.
Strategic Influence Built on Expertise
MISO forces are more than just communicators—they are influence strategists. They blend cultural fluency, behavioral science, and operational timing to design campaigns that guide audiences toward specific actions. Their work supports both battlefield outcomes and long-term strategic goals—building partnerships, reinforcing host-nation legitimacy, and degrading adversary influence.
As FM 3-53 clarifies, this process doesn’t happen by accident. It occurs through a deliberate chain of tasks that turn communication into change, and messages into outcomes that matter.