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Reminder - MG Robert A. McClure Medallion Nominations are due 31 July 2025
The United States Army John F. Kennedy Special Warfare Center and School (USAJFKSWCS) and the Psychological Operations Proponent are actively seeking FY25 Major General Robert A. McClure Medallion (Bronze, Silver and Gold) Nominations for consideration during the next Regimental Honors Panel in order to recognize those individuals who have provided significant and long-lasting positive contributions to the welfare and advancement of the PO Regiment and /or greater Military Information Support Operations (MISO) Community of Interest as an active or reserve component Soldier, Qualified Sister-Service or Partner nation Service Member, or as a Qualified Department of Army Civilian and/or civilian in a private capacity.
Nomination Packets must include:
- MG Robert A. McClure Nomination Form – Cover sheet (attached).
- Nomination letter: This is the opportunity to articulate to the panel a nominee’s significant contributions. The letter must meet the following criteria:
-- Must not exceed three (3) pages in length.
-- Must be clear and concise highlighting the nominees’ significant contributions that has had or will have a long-lasting positive impact on the PO Regiment, both in and out of service as applicable. Contributions should be described using an action (what did the nominee do), effect (what occurred because of the actions(s)), and impact (how did it contribute to the PO Regiment) format. Separate contributions should be broken into individual paragraphs.
-- Should not be a review of assignment histories, or evaluation and award bullets and narratives.
- Biography (no longer than two (2) pages): This is a separate document from the nomination letter, highlighting additional contributions to the PO Regiment, Military or Civilian career highlights, honors, awards / decorations, schools / education, and or any additional relevant information.
- Soldier Talent Profile (STP) / Soldier Record Brief (SRB) / Officer Record Brief (ORB), Civilian Career Brief or equivalent documents (service equivalent, Copy 4 of DD Form 214, Curriculum Vitae).
- Professional Photo: A color 8”x10” head and shoulder photo. DA or service equivalent photos are considered professional photos. Digital submissions will include a high-resolution photo in a graphic format (.jpg, .pdf, .png, or .gif).
Command Endorsement:
- All nominations for nominees who are currently serving must be submitted through the chain of command (COC) up to the required level of endorsement stated below, who may then submit the nomination packet for consideration.
--Gold and Silver medallion nominations must be endorsed by the first Colonel / O6 (Sister-Service / allied / partner equivalent) in the nominees COC.
-- Bronze medallion nominations must be endorsed by the first Lieutenant Colonel / O5 (Sister-Service / allied / partner equivalent) in the nominees COC.
- Retiree, veteran, or civilian nominations should be submitted directly to the PO Commandant’s Office, for processing and panel consideration.
-- Gold and Silver medallion nominations must be reviewed and endorsed by the PO Commandant prior to panel consideration.
-- Bronze medallion nominations must be reviewed and endorsed by the PO Proponent Director prior to panel consideration.
Nominations must be submitted no later than 31 July 2025
Please submit nominations or questions to Mr. Jeff Kennedy at jeffrey.l.kennedy.civ@socom.mil / jeffrey.l.kennedy.civ@army.mil or 910-396-4349
PO Proponent Policy 01-24 which provides guidance on nominations, MG Robert A. McClure Nomination Form, and example nomination letters can be found at the following link.
http://www.psyopregimentalassociation.org/regimental-honors-references.html
Introduction: Russian Media and the War in Ukraine
This collection of articles focuses on the Russian information war campaign that has accompanied and fueled the war in Ukraine. Of course, neither side has a monopoly on the use of propaganda and disinformation, and the latter are always present in any war.2 But we have chosen to focus here on the Russian state media machine, as a phenomenon that not only looms especially large over the events of the past year but is also bound to continue to play a majoor role in shaping future developments in the region and beyond.
https://ibidem-verlag.de/pdf/00-fedor.pdf
Some References on Ukraine
PSYOP NEWS - JUNE 2025
22 June 25 Operation Midnight Hammer damaged, but may not have destroyed Iran’s nuclear sites
A day after the United States military hit three nuclear facilities in Iran, American officials say that Iran’s nuclear enrichment facilities sustained “severe damage and destruction,” but it’s unclear if they were fully taken out of commission.
Operation Midnight Hammer, as Saturday’s military strike was called, was a massive undertaking involving U.S. Air Force B-2 Spirit stealth bombers and several dozen fighter jets, plus a Navy submarine. According to Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Dan Caine, 14 GBU-57 bunker buster bombs were used on two sites — the underground uranium enrichment facility at Fordow and the enrichment installation at Natanz — while the Navy fired Tomahawk Land Attack Missiles at the research and conversion site in Isfahan. All American aircraft and personnel safely returned from Iranian airspace, President Donald Trump and defense officials said.
The sudden and massive strike on Iranian nuclear sites Saturday night featured the use of some of the most powerful non-nuclear munitions in the American arsenal. Despite initial claims by Trump that the locations were “completely and totally obliterated,” initial assessment by American and Israeli officials who spoke to the New York Times said that the sites appeared damaged but not destroyed. They added that it appeared nuclear material at Fordow had been moved in advance of the attack. Satellite imagery taken of the locations shows craters and major burn damage from the munitions. Iran’s government said it is still assessing the damage.
https://taskandpurpose.com/news/operation-midnight-hammer-assessment-iran/
And: https://sof.news/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/OperationMidnightHammer.jpg
And: https://breakingdefense.com/2025/06/operation-midnight-hammer-how-the-us-conducted-surprise-strikes-on-iran/?utm_campaign=BD Daily&utm_medium=email&_hsenc=p2ANqtz--ZVD2CAzhUgMtetuXC-KiGS2JPYbjaD0rhah7xC4mJzMSrMsSE5H8ZILf_JNtNYxpQyHiHU2zMkGLXwe1u7O9AuX3czw&_hsmi=368033754&utm_content=368033754&utm_source=hs_email
20 June 25 Not content with waging war inside Ukraine, Russia has now taken into the virtual world
The beginning of the Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts' occupation in 2014, the battle for Mariupol in 2022, and the capture of Avdiivka in 2024 are no longer just episodes of Russian aggression against Ukraine. They are now missions in the new Russian video game Squad 22: ZOV.
Nearly a year after the Russian studio SPN announced in July 2024 that it had started working on the game in cooperation with Russia's Defense Ministry, Squad 22: ZOV became available for free in Russian, English, and Chinese on Steam, an international distribution platform with over 30 million active users daily.
Before the game begins, players choose from characters from Ukraine’s partially Russian-occupied Donetsk Oblast, where Moscow launched its 2014 invasion under the false pretext of protecting Russian speakers from persecution, a baseless claim widely debunked as Kremlin propaganda.
https://kyivindependent.com/russia-has-transferred-the-war-in-ukraine-online-what-is-known-about-the-new-propaganda-game-squad-22-zov/
19 June 25 “This We’ll Defend”: The Endur Role of FM 1 in the Army Profession
In May 2025, the U.S. Army released a new edition of Field Manual 1: The Army – A Primer to Our Profession of Arms. General Randy George, Chief of Staff of the Army, notes in the foreword that FM 1 “is written for our Army” and it explains the Army as a profession, its purpose, and what it means to be an American soldier. FM 1 reflects the Army’s enduring ethos—rooted in trust, character, and constitutional duty. This is not doctrine in the traditional sense but a narrative declaration of who we are as soldiers and why our service matters.
As a career soldier approaching 30 years of service, this version of FM 1 resonated with me in a fundamental way. Looking back on my career, I found myself reflecting on the role this publication might play at different stages of a soldier’s career: from understanding the Army’s ethos and culture, to inspiring one to build and lead teams capable of working with a range of partners, to reminding them of the Army’s and their obligations to their fellow citizens and the Nation. Ultimately, FM 1 is not merely a publication—it is an embodiment of the Army’s professional conscience in print and an inspiration to live up to the example of those who have gone before.
https://warroom.armywarcollege.edu/articles/fm-1/
11 June 25 Hong Kong police accuse mobile game of promoting ‘armed revolution’
Hong Kong police on Tuesday warned people against downloading and using a gaming app that it says advocates "armed revolution" and the overthrow of the "fundamental system" of Mainland China.
Anyone who downloads or uses the app, or makes in-app purchases in it, would be violating the city's controversial national security law, the police said in a statement on Tuesday.
The crackdown on the gaming app and its users is just the latest in what democracy and human rights advocates say is an erosion of Hong Kong's civil rights and freedoms since Beijing implemented a sweeping national security law on the city in 2020. Hong Kong beefed up the law last year, passing legislation that toughened punishment for dissent, including life in prison for acts considered insurrectionist.
https://www.npr.org/2025/06/11/nx-s1-5430295/hong-kong-police-video-game-sedition-china
12 June 25 The Wagner Group Is Leaving Mali. But Russian Mercenaries Aren’t Going Anywhere
The June 6 announcement by the infamous Wagner Group private military company that it will end its three-and-a-half-year-long deployment in Mali is an important development in Russia's evolving mercenary landscape. Even as one Russian mercenary group is leaving, the country's presence in Africa is not going anywhere.
The Kremlin seized control of Wagner's operations, most notably in Africa, following the dramatic events of 2023. After its short-lived rebellion against Russian President Vladimir Putin, whose Kremlin was probably responsible for Yevgeny Prigozhin's death in a private plane crash, something had to be done about the organization that remained.
Wagner was essentially restructured into a new entity called the Africa Corps. So, despite Wagner's announced departure from Mali, it is unclear whether any Russian mercenaries will actually leave the country. There is a chance they will sign new contracts with the Africa Corps instead.
The Africa Corps sits under the direct control of the Russian Defense Ministry. This reduces the risk that the mercenaries might buck Moscow's interests, but it also creates new vulnerabilities. Moscow is now directly and publicly responsible for the Africa Corps' actions, including its human rights abuses, failures, and destabilizing client countries. By bringing its functions inside the house, Russia has lost the plausible deniability that the Wagner Group gave it.
https://www.rand.org/pubs/commentary/2025/06/the-wagner-group-is-leaving-mali-but-russian-mercenaries.html
3 June 25 Unveiling the Russian infrastructure supporting the Moldova24TV Channel
The newly created Moldova24 (MD24) online broadcaster, presented as an independent Moldovan outlet, is directly tied to Russian state-aligned media infrastructure. Hosted in Russia and connected to Kremlin-funded entities like RT and TV Novosti, MD24 operates a network of at least sixteen mirror domains and coordinated social media accounts to evade oversight and promote pro-Kremlin narratives.
Moldova’s information space has become a key battleground for both domestic and foreign actors as the country’s fragile democracy and critical elections make it fertile ground for targeted attacks. Among the most vocal voices challenging the pro-European government of President Maia Sandu is the Kremlin-aligned network of fugitive oligarch Ilan Shor, which has consistently accused the administration of authoritarianism and censorship and argued against the shutdown of several TV channels associated with Shor. Moldovan authorities said the banned channels were spreading disinformation and pro-war propaganda, posing a threat to national security.
https://dfrlab.org/2025/06/03/unveiling-the-russian-infrastructure-supporting-the-moldova24-tv-channel/
3 June 2025 Zelenskyy’s drone card: How Operation Spiderweb impacts Russia capabilities going forward
SINGAPORE — On Saturday, Ukraine’s Deputy Defense Minister Oleksandr Rozenko appeared on a panel at the annual Shangri-la Dialogue, where he made comments about how the Ukraine war is changing the manner in which nations conduct their acquisition — and how it has forced nations to rethink and streamline their R&D practices.
“This is a war of technology,” he said in reference to Ukraine’s war with Russia. “Whoever has the most and fastest scaling solutions will win.”
Little did the world know just how revealing that statement would turn out to be 24 hours later, when an orchestrated special operation 18 months in the making would lead to one of Ukraine’s greatest victories in the three-year-old conflict.
https://breakingdefense.com/2025/06/zelenskyys-drone-card-how-operation-spiderweb-impacts-russias-capabilities-going-forward/?utm_campaign=BD Daily&utm_medium=email&_hsenc=p2ANqtz---acG29bhXjbUn_ViJcMdBWsnMga60WCK7FhnRgzg2pw7dV7cC7fZBRUkmcHEuK8WTcaa82FYrzLDiTq8jsgKl0PXZCQ&_hsmi=364714620&utm_content=364714620&utm_source=hs_email
And
Pentagon chiefs eye Ukraine’s surprise drone strike with anxiety - and envy
https://breakingdefense.com/2025/06/pentagon-chiefs-eye-ukraines-surprise-drone-strike-with-anxiety-and-envy/?utm_campaign=Breaking Defense Land&utm_medium=email&_hsenc=p2ANqtz--0TlIVCcV5VVGBy2EbQVFrF200Infp3lNZuFk-cChsfvgjr3UMx7B2Pl5kipm8e-XyCbq9DCgHpd4cFnczdF3Sx-AvBA&_hsmi=364846114&utm_content=364846114&utm_source=hs_email
2 June 2025 Army shuts down its sole active-duty information operations command
The U.S. Army’s 1st Information Operations Command is no more. The active-duty unit shut down in May, after 23 years of operations, citing changing needs in the wider force.
The initial closure was announced last year, as part of the Army Force Structure Transformation plan. 1st Information Operations Command, a part of U.S. Army Cyber Command, focused on cyber warfare and psychological operations. In practice, it worked to help protect other units from information attacks from enemy forces, and served as “red teams” in cyber attack simulations.
“For more than two decades, the soldiers and leaders of 1st IO have been at the forefront of information warfare, adapting to every challenge and shaping the Army’s cyber capabilities,” ” said Lt. Gen. Barrett, the commanding general of U.S. Army Cyber Command, in a May 8 Army news release.”Their contributions have been instrumental in securing our nation’s interests in an ever-changing battlefield.”
The Army has said that the closure of the command is not an abandonment of information warfare, but comes out of a need to integrate it into other forces and joint commands. Since that was announced, the Department of Defense has leaned further into the consolidation of the service and restructuring. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth issued a memo in late April calling for major restructuring of the force. “Army Transformation and Acquisition Reform” directed several changes, including wider usage of drones and a focus on integrating electronic warfare into maneuver units. 1st IO had previously accumulated many of those similar tasks.
https://taskandpurpose.com/news/army-deactivates-1st-information-operations-command/
29 May 25 Fake Emails, Real Threats: Russian Tactics in Poland’s Presidential Election
On March 12, employees of Ukrainian House (Ukrainski Dom), the main NGO representing Ukrainians in Poland, received a bizarre email. The municipality of Bydgoszcz, in northern Poland, was writing back about Ukrainian House’s “formal request” to organise an election rally in favour of Rafal Trzaskowski, the presidential candidate of the liberal camp, on March 22.
Except that Ukrainian House never sent such a request.
“We are very political in the broad sense of the term when it comes to the rights of the Ukrainian community here or of migrants in general,” Oleksandr Pestrykov from Ukrainian House told BIRN in an interview. “But we never get involved in the fight for power in Poland. We never take part in electoral events or publicly express a preference in elections in Poland. That’s why we were extremely surprised [by the email].”
https://balkaninsight.com/2025/05/29/fake-emails-real-threats-russian-tactics-in-polands-presidential-election/
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