The Center for Culture and Security Presents:
Why Psychological Operations (PSYOP) Constitutes an Indispensable Component of Strategic Communication
Colonel J. Matthew Venhaus
Office of the Undersecretary of Defense for Policy
Colonel Carl G. (Glenn) Ayers
Former Chief, Psychological Operations Division, Joint Staff
Mr. Michael L. Williams
Information Operations Policy Analyst, Office of the Undersecretary of Defense for Policy
Professor John Lenczowski (moderator)
President, Institute of World Politics
Monday, November 8, 2010
4:30 PM
The Institute of World Politics
1521 16th Street NW
Washington, D.C. 20036
Please RSVP to kbridges@iwp.edu.
Career U.S. Army officer Colonel J.M. “Matt” Venhaus has spent most of his 23 years in the Army in the field of foreign media influence operations. A 1987 graduate of the United States Military Academy at West Point, COL Venhaus has served in a variety of command and staff positions. He was the Chief of Radio and Television production and dissemination for NATO Stabilization Forces in Bosnia. Later, he was the Operations Officer for the Joint Psychological Operations Task Force during Operation ALLIED FORCE (the Kosovo Air Campaign). He served as the Information Operations Chief of Targeting and Assessment in Afghanistan during the early stages of Operation ENDURING FREEDOM. After returning from Afghanistan, he served as a Senior Human Factors Analyst with the Defense Intelligence Agency. During his most recent operational deployment, he was the Commander of the Joint Psychological Operations Task Force responsible for the conduct of PSYOP throughout the US Central Command’s Area of Responsibility with forces operating in over 11 countries.
Colonel (Retired) Carl G. (Glenn) Ayers served for 25 years in the United States Army. From 2003-2005, he was a military Assistant to the Secretary, and Deputy Secretary of Defense with responsibility for planning and executing vital aspects of sensitive, national level defense and diplomatic missions. As Chief of Psychological Operations Division of the Joint Staff from 2006-2009, he developed policy for Psychological operations and coordinated and helped executed multi-media informational campaigns during humanitarian assistance, deterrence, combat and post-conflict operations. From 2001-2003 as a Psychological Operations Battalion Commander, he deployed forces to peace enforcement and combat operations in Kosovo, Philippines, Afghanistan, and Iraq. In the mid 1990s, he has also developed, trained and executed, with numerous non-governmental organizations, a land mine awareness campaign in Cambodia. He has a M.S. degree from the National Defense University in National Security Strategy, a M.S. in International Relations from Troy State University, and a B.A. in Anthropology from Wake Forest University.
Mr. Michael L. Williams culminated his military career as a branch chief in Joint Staff J-3 on the Information Operations Staff responsible for strategic communication issues which included developing plans with the Dept of State, National Security Council, and the Combatant Commands as well as the United Kingdom on issues related to current military operations and the Global War on Terrorism. Prior to serving on the Joint Staff, Mr. Williams was the Field Support Division Chief at the 1st Information Operations Command (Land) at Fort Belvoir, Virginia and was responsible for training, deploying, and supervising teams in Iraq, Afghanistan, Haiti, and the Balkans. Prior to serving as the Division Chief, Mr. Williams was a team chief in the same division and led his team on deployments in support of contingency operations in Afghanistan and the Balkans. He has planned Information Operations at the Army Brigade, Division, Corps and Joint Task Force headquarters, and was a Military Intelligence officer with multiple overseas intelligence assignments in the Republic of Korea and Bosnia.