New British army elite unit to hone social media and psychological warfare
RT.com
January 31, 2015
The British military is to form a new specialist force in “non-lethal” forms of psychological warfare using social media such as Twitter and Facebook to tackle the “asymmetric battlefields” of the 21st century.
The brigade will number 2,000 and will be made up of regular troops from all three services, as well as reservists and civilians, British media report.
It will attempt to draw the best talent from the regulars and reserves and will also allow civilians with specialist skills to operate alongside their military counterparts.
Senior officers have said that the army has to adapt to the changing nature of warfare, as conflicts from Iraq to Ukraine have demonstrated, and that the information war is as important as tanks and artillery.
As well as be able to shape “behavior through the use of dynamic narratives” the brigade will also specialize in reconstruction and development and humanitarian assistance in the battle to win hearts and minds.
“The brigade has been formed to respond to the ever changing character of modern conflict and to be able to compete with agile and complex adversaries,” said the Ministry of Defense (MoD).
The force will be formally unveiled in April and will be based at Hermitage near Newbury in Berkshire.
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