More than 200 soldiers from 14 countries were involved in psychological operations (Psyops) until March 21 as part of the “Active Volcano“ exercise. The exercise took place in Germany. In addition to the soldiers of the Bundeswehr experts from eleven other NATOcountries and Singapore were represented at the twelve-day exercise. Also on site were experts from the Austrian Armed Forces. “Active Volcano“ is one of the largest exercises of its kind in Europe.
Psyops in the military sector are all about deception. On the one hand, these are intended to disrupt the opponent’s fighting power and thus improve one’s own situation. Various aspects were practiced at “Activ Volcano“. These included conversation techniques, loudspeaker operations, reacting to messages in social media and fake news, as well as new methods such as artificial intelligence and big data analysis. The “Active Volcano“ scenario is based on geopolitical developments. In order to make the training as realistic as possible, professional actors also took part.
Exercise leader Lieutenant Colonel Jan Schwabe explained: “In any modern conflict, we have to assume that our opponent will also use intelligence means. That’s why ‘Active Volcano’ is not just about offensive measures, but also about methods to counter enemy disinformation and fake news.“
In addition to the Bundeswehr, the Dutch armed forces were also strongly represented with 1 CMI Commando from Apeldoorn. This command was on site as the ‘battlefield’ was Mayen in the Eifel region. The sister unit of the 1 CMI Command, the Bundeswehr Operational Communications Center (BwOCC), is located there. This specializes in psychological and informational operations.
“We have built up a close relationship. This was confirmed in February with the signing of a letter of intent. It states that we will continue our cooperation in the field of information and psychological operations in the coming years. We will do this through knowledge sharing, joint exercises and the exchange of officers,“ says the commander of 1 CMI Command, Lieutenant Colonel Steffie Groothedde.
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