Communication is everything. The best ideas in the world mean nothing if they aren’t understood or if they don’t reach the intended audience. The U.S. Army offers a truly intriguing career option as a Psychological Operations Specialist. This career trains you to identify the informational needs of various populations and creates an effective message and delivery method to ensure that the right message is received and understood by the right audience.

Similar to a marketing, advertising or communications expert in the civilian world, the Psychological Operations Specialist analyzes, develops and distributes information and evaluates the psychological effects of those communications.

It’s Not Just What You Say, It’s How You Say It

As any coach, supervisor, teacher or public relations expert knows, it is as much the way something is said as what is said that makes a difference in how that information is received and used. As a Psychological Operations Specialist, you can be at the cutting edge of collecting, analyzing, creating and distributing psychologically effective communications. You will be on the inside track to intelligence analysis as you conduct studies and build effective psychological operations within the military community.

Psychological operations allow governments and military forces to influence a target audience’s emotions, reasoning, beliefs and behavior. It is a powerful tool that must be used cautiously and with great forethought due to its ripple effect on a society or population. The use of psychological techniques to persuade large numbers of people to believe in a certain way is very useful in interrogations and to reinforce beliefs that are favorable to military objectives.

Intellect And High Moral Standards Are Mandatory

Due to the sensitive nature of psychological operations, applicants must demonstrate integrity and intelligence. Individuals interested in this fascinating career must be U.S. citizens and score 105 or higher on the Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery (ASVAB) in area C and 100 or higher on the Defense Language Aptitude Battery (DLAB). They must also never have served in the Peace Corps or have a criminal record. The physical fitness (PT) requirements are also quite high. The average Psychological Operations Specialist student has a PT score of 270, with a score of 70 in each event.

The Advanced Individual Training (AIT) for this career consists of a little more than 12 weeks at Fort Bragg, NC, followed by 3 weeks of airborne training and 4-6 months of language training. As a member of the U.S. Army, trainees receive all of their education at no cost to themselves as they earn a paycheck and all of the standard military benefits.

Smarter Than The Average Bear

As a Psychological Operations Specialist, you will participate in the creation of campaigns directed at subduing enemies, redirecting their less than desirable military actions and acting upon identified psychological vulnerabilities. This is powerful stuff and not for the faint of heart or the immoral. Your job as a Psychological Operations Specialist will require many difficult decisions and in-depth analysis on your part. Your efforts will affect the lives of millions around the globe.

In addition to the mental and physical challenges of this powerful career choice, you will be able to enjoy all of benefits normally associated with a career in the military: base housing and utilities, full medical benefits, military shopping privileges and a substantial retirement package. If you want your finger on the pulse of the world, a new career as a Psychological Operations Specialist may be exactly what you have been looking for. You can find out more about what the Army has to offer by clicking HERE.

Photo courtesy of Army.mil