The History of US Army Psychological Operations Extended Cut from @TheTrunkTales

Welcome back to The Trunk Tales.

This is the full length, uncut version of our conversation with SGM (R) Kenneth Ramos, better known as TheIOGuy, for Part 1 of our series on the history of U.S. Army Psychological Operations.

The edited version gets to the main subject faster. This extended cut keeps the whole conversation intact: the technical issues, the setup, the side quests, the AI slop, the internet rabbit holes, the military tangents, the jokes, the tinfoil hat tutorial, and the full discussion that led into the history of Psychological Operations.

Drew and Ken start with the modern information environment: fake viral images, AI generated military content, social media manipulation, misinformation, platform behavior, foreign perceptions of America, online translation, and how easily people can be pulled into believing something that is obviously wrong.

From there, the episode moves into what U.S. Army Psychological Operations actually are. Ken explains why Psychological Operations are not just “make a leaflet” or some spooky internet buzzword. Real Psychological Operations require planning, target audience analysis, series development, production, approval, translation, cultural review, and a clear understanding of the behavior a message is intended to influence.

Ken also walks through the historical roots of American influence operations, including Revolutionary War era messaging, the Hessians, leaflets, radio messaging, surrender appeals, credibility, and the danger of making promises you cannot keep. The conversation also touches on unconventional warfare, Special Operations, audience trust, second and third order effects, battlefield messaging, Fort Bragg, military museums, the Ghost Army, the OSS, and the importance of preserving this history before it is lost.

This is Part 1. More to come.

Viewer Discretion:
This episode contains strong language and discussions of war, propaganda, information warfare, misinformation, military operations, and battlefield messaging.

Chapters
00:00:00 – Cold Open: Psychological Operations
00:00:36 – Recording Reset, Tech Setup, and Camera Talk
00:04:30 – Podcasting, Interviews, and Letting Conversations Breathe
00:08:45 – Content Creation, Audience Chasing, and Platform Changes
00:12:20 – Top Gun, Recruiting, and Military Influence Through Media
00:15:00 – Recruiters, Military Jobs, and Drew’s Early Army Experience
00:16:25 – .Gov Domains, Internet Rabbit Holes, and Online Sleuthing
00:20:30 – Aliens, Conspiracies, and What People Want to Believe
00:26:20 – Foreign Views of America, X Translation, and Culture
00:30:30 – Reputation, Messaging, and Cultural Influence
00:34:30 – China, Communism, Infrastructure, and Social Control
00:37:00 – Ukraine, Iran, and How We Judge Military Success
00:42:00 – Recovery, Confidence, and What It Signals to Service Members
00:45:00 – Early GWOT Media, Old Cameras, and Training Stories
00:49:30 – Combat Footage, Drones, ISR, and Real-Time War Media
00:55:30 – AI Slop, Fake Military Images, and Media Literacy
01:02:30 – Tinfoil, AI, and the Modern Information Environment
01:05:00 – What Psychological Operations Actually Means
01:06:50 – American Revolutionary Roots of Influence Operations
01:07:50 – Hessians, Leaflets, Radio, and Credibility
01:11:50 – Storytelling, Hollywood, Threats, and Message Fatigue
01:17:30 – Objectives, Planning, and Measures of Effectiveness
01:21:00 – Radicalization, Networks, and Second Order Effects
01:24:30 – Unconventional Warfare, Joint Planning, and Series Development
01:26:00 – Target Audience Analysis and Why It Is Not “Just Make a Leaflet”
01:30:30 – Smart Devices, Signals, OPSEC, and Complacency
01:35:10 – Approval Chains, Translation, and Cultural Review
01:39:30 – Surrender Messaging, Targeting, and Battlefield Credibility
01:45:50 – Fort Bragg, Museums, and Preserving PSYOP History
01:49:00 – Building the Psychological Operations History Series
01:50:25 – Tinfoil Hat Tutorial and Conspiracy Jokes
01:54:30 – Ghost Army, OSS, Hollywood, and Practical Effects
01:58:30 – New Intro/Outro Feedback and Closing