UK army setting up new unit for psychological operations and cyber warfare
31 Jan 2015
The UK army is setting up a new unit that would use psychological operations and social media to help fight wars "in the information age", BBC reported.
According to the head of the army, general Nick Carter, the move was about trying to operate ''smarter.''
The 77th Brigade, comprising reservists and regular troops would be based in Hermitage, Berkshire, after it is created in April.
It had been inspired by the Chindits who fought in Burma in World War Two.
According to an army spokesman, the unit would "play a key part in enabling the UK to fight in the information age" and that it "consists of more than just traditional capabilities".
He said 77 Brigade was being created to draw together a host of existing and developing capabilities essential to meet the challenges of modern conflict and warfare.
It recongised the actions of others in a modern battle field could be affected in ways that were not necessarily violent and it drew heavily on important lessons from UK's commitments to operations in Afghanistan amongst others.
Recruitment for the brigade, 42 per cent of whose personnel would be reservists, would get underway early this year.
The members of the brigade would be drawn from the Royal Navy, the RAF as well as from the army.
The army hoped the brigade would impact the traditional battlefield using non-lethal techniques including social media to reflect the digital age, Sky News reported.
The 77 Brigade has its origin in Maj Gen Orde Wingate's famous Chindits - a group of trained airborne troops unleashed behind enemy lines to conduct guerrilla warfare aginst the Japanese during the Burma Campaign in World War II.
The Chindits were officially called the 77th Indian Infantry Brigade.
It would also display the same emblem - a golden Burmese dragon, worn on the arm and its members would support mainstream military tactics.
