Info Adv Influen in Mil Ops

3 Credits · Level: Graduate

Information Advantage in Military Operations examines how military forces and national-security organizations use information to create, protect, and exploit operational advantage across competition, crisis, and conflict. Moving beyond a narrow focus on disinformation, the course treats information operations as a distinct but cross-cutting military activity used to shape perceptions, influence behavior, deceive adversaries, disrupt adversary command and control, counter hostile influence, and support strategic and operational objectives. Students explore information as a military resource, a joint function, and a component of operational art, with attention to intelligence support and situational understanding, the influence targeting cycle, deception, psychological effects, public communication, interagency instruments of influence, and cyber and electromagnetic activity as enablers. The course examines U.S., allied, adversary, and non-state approaches to operations in the information environment, including Russia, China, Iran, Ukraine, ISIS, and contemporary great-power competition. Students will learn to analyze information effects, integrate information with physical operations, counter adversary information activity, and assess the opportunities, limits, and risks of military activity in the information environment.