ARRC JOURNAL
THE INCREASING IMPORTANCE
OF A STRATCOM MINDSET?
Wg Cdr Peter Clarke (GBR-AF)
StratCom is now an established military buzzword, one which many use but few
understand. To make matters worse, we are now expected to adopt a ‘StratCom mindset’;
difficult if you aren’t really sure what StratCom is in the first place. So, what is a StratCom
Mindset and why does it matter?
Military Committee Policy
The
recently
introduced
NATO
Military Committee Policy on Strategic
Communications (MC0628) goes some
way to bringing clarity to the issue. As
noted in COS SHAPE’s letter to NATO
Command Structure (NCS) & NATO
Force Structure (NFS) Commanders 1 ,
the Policy directs the introduction of a
separate pillar, grouping together all
communications disciplines and reporting
directly to the Commander, in order to
oversee and integrate information effects
‘during peace, crisis and conflict’. In
doing so, the policy recognises that the
information environment is already a
contested space, in which our potential
adversaries are already manoeuvring.
‘StratCom is not a stand-alone function,
but it ensures the coherence and
effectiveness of existing capabilities.
This model is most appropriate to the full
range of activities covering peacetime,
crisis and conflict in the modern security
environment’.
The cumulative effect of these two key
statements, reinforced throughout the
The Policy also redefines StratCom for
the NATO Military structure as:
‘the integration of communication
capabilities and the information staff
function with other military activities,
in order to understand and shape the
Information Environment (IE), in support
of NATO aims and objectives.’
Not only does this definition now focus
StratCom specifically towards the
strategic (NATO Aims and Objectives),
but it places equal emphasis on both the
activity and the outcomes.
The policy also goes on to say that:
1 SH/SAG STC/AM17-318278 dated 17 Aug 17.
12
ALLIED RAPID REACTION CORPS
The Operational Spectrum in the 21st Century
policy, is to place responsibility with
the Chief StratCom (in the case of HQ
ARRC, Ch JFIB) for understanding,
coordinating and synchronising all
activity (words and deeds) that may have
a strategic communications effect on our
audiences and stakeholders; and a focus
that should be maintained throughout
peace, crisis and conflict.