The Army's 1st Special Forces Command is scheduled to promote 300 psychological operations sergeants at a record-breaking promotion ceremony May 31 at Fort Bragg, North Carolina.
"It will be the largest single promotion ceremony ever conducted for an Army Special Operations military occupational specialty," according to a recent news release from 1st Special Forces Command.
Maj. Gen. John Deedrick, commander of 1st Special Forces Command (Airborne), will preside over the ceremony, which will result in a redesign in the rank structure for PSYOP units within the command, the release states.
A recent review found that the current PSYOP rank authorizations were inadequate to account for soldiers with extensive training and education in influence theory, human dynamics, psychology, sociology, language, culture and politics, according to the release.
PSYOP noncommissioned officers are expected to operate successfully in austere environments and have a primary mission to persuade local populations to support U.S. military forces. They are expected to interact with U.S. ambassadors, senior country team members, and host-nation officials on a daily basis, the release states.
"That extensive investment in PSYOP soldiers, combined with the operating environments in which these soldiers perform and the importance and sensitivity of their missions, warranted an increase in rank," it adds.
-- Matthew Cox can be reached at matthew.cox@military.com.
