Army 37F MOS Overview: Psychological Operations Specialist

In today’s post, I’m going to discuss the Army 37F MOS, the Psychological Operations Specialist.

When most people think of war, their primary thoughts are of tanks firing projectiles, mortars, and infantry charging into battle. But there is so much more!

Psychology is a huge part of winning a war. Making the enemy think you are better, bigger, and stronger when you may be just the opposite. Giving the enemy the impression you will attack in one place when you are attacking in another.

Psychology is an important war tactic. Armed forces leaders from days of old have used psychology as a weapon. The United States Army knows that they must integrate psychological systems into their strategy and that is where the Army 37F MOS comes in. This is known as Psychological Operations.

According to Wikipedia:

Psychological operations (PSYOP) are operations to convey selected information and indicators to audiences to influence their emotions, motives, and objective reasoning, and ultimately the behavior of governments, organizations, groups, and individuals.

In the paragraphs below, I am going to give you an overview of the Army 37F, Psychological Operations Specialist. This is an Army job that most generally, Soldiers already in the Army are chosen for. But it is possible to enter the Army with this MOS if you have the requirements met.

Army 37F Basic Job Descriptions

The Army 37F is primarily responsible for analyzing intelligence, developing psychological offensive or defensive measures, and distributing that information to the proper channels for maximum effect.

Here’s a job description I found online:

Tactical MISO Team Leader 37F3P
Team Leader of a Tactical Military Information Support Operations Team (TMIST) in a CENTCOM oriented, Airborne, Tactical, Military Information Support Operations Company (MISO); responsible for the health, welfare, safety, discipline, and professional development of a three Soldier MISO Team; responsible for the accountability, serviceability, and maintenance of equipment valued in excess of .5 million; ensures his team is trained to conduct MISO in support of conventional and Special Operations Forces up to battalion level; ensures Soldiers are prepared to operate in the CENTCOM AOR and maintain the ability to deploy worldwide with little to no notice. ~ Army Writer

Duties & Responsibilities

The responsibilities and duties of the Psychological Operations Specialist are numerous. Let’s discuss some of those duties below:

Collect and report on psychological information.
Prepare and retrieve information on psyops-related intelligence, products, and campaigns.
Determine the psychological vulnerabilities of potential psyops targets.
Evaluate and determine what types of intelligence will persuade or influence an enemy.
Research and analyze methods of influencing foreign citizens and governments from a variety of information sources.
Gather intelligence and conduct studies to determine psyops targets.
Operates PSYOP dissemination equipment and assist in the delivery of PSYOP products.
Safeguards classified and sensitive material.
Travel to overseas locations in peace, crisis and conflict to assist U.S. and foreign governments, and civilian populations.
Maintains journals, status boards, operations maps, and overlays.
Developing a variety of marketing and media products.
Operating and maintain PSYOP equipment, such as vehicles, loudspeaker systems, computers, and digital recording and playback devices.
Disseminating and broadcasting important information via television, radio, Internet, and newspaper media.
And much more.

Keep in mind, as you progress through the ranks, your duties and responsibilities will evolve and change.

Requirements To Become an Army 37F

As mentioned earlier, usually members of the service are enticed to reclassify to this MOS but sometimes the Army does accept entry level 37F’s.

The requirements are stringent. Most people will not qualify for one or more reasons.

Must be a United States citizen
The ability to attain a Secret security clearance
PULHES of 111221
Pass a background check, and criminal records check (drug charges could disqualify you)
Very heavy physical demands rating
Speak English with very little trace of an accent
ASVAB score of 101 in Skilled Technical (ST)
A qualifying score on the Defense Language Aptitude Battery
Never a member of the U.S. Peace Corps
No court martial convictions or civil convictions (some waivers are possible)

Army 37F AIT Training

After you complete your Basic Training, you must attend your Advanced Individual Training (and Jump School) at Fort Bragg, North Carolina. Here’s what I found online about the 37F MOS AIT.

Job training for a psychological operations specialist requires 10 weeks of Basic Combat Training and 14 weeks of Advanced Individual Training, where you’ll learn the skills of a psychological operations specialist. For active duty Soldiers, graduation from Advanced Individual Training will be followed by three weeks of airborne training and then four to six months of language training. For Reserve psychological operations specialists, airborne and language training are not required for qualification. ~ National Guard.com

Reasons to Serve as a 37F MOS

I had a website visitor ask me to put together a list of the most common reasons to pick this MOS. Here’s what I came up with.

# 1: Upward Mobility

This MOS offers great upward career mobility if you attend your required courses, stay in shape, take the tough jobs, and excel at what you do. The sky is the limit!

# 2: Travel the World

You could argue that any job in the military could offer you this opportunity. That is true. But I would argue this MOS might give you the opportunity to travel many places the “typical” Soldier might not get to experience.

# 3: Develop Unique Skills

If you plan on making a career out of any of the jobs listed below (about life after the military) this MOS will be very beneficial. For example, if you know you want a career in sales and marketing, serving in this MOS for a few years would be a wise move. Basically, you get paid while you get your initial experience and learn the required skills.

# 4: Learn a New Language

This is one of my favorite reasons to pick the 37F MOS in the Army. In most cases, you will have an opportunity to learn and master a new skill by completing an Army Language School.

# 5: Get Your College Paid for

Let’s say your objective is to be a psychiatrist one day. Rather then go straight to college out of high school, you could pick this MOS, go to college at night while you are in the military, and earn your two year degree within your initial enlistment. Plus, you could utilize the Tuition Assistance Program while you are in the military and essentially earn your degree for free, while gaining valuable experience at the same time. Upon leaving the military you could use your GI Bill and finish your education.

# 6: Interact with Civilian Agencies

Most Soldiers in the Army don’t get to interact with other agencies or countries. In this MOS, you could potentially work with key leaders from other countries, diplomats, politicians, and many high ranking military members.

# 7: Mentally Challenging

Most jobs in the military are physically challenging, but not necessarily mentally challenging. Serving in this MOS, you get paid to think and strategize. If you are naturally a “thinker” or “planner” you would probably thrive in this MOS.

# 8: Security Clearance

Not all jobs in the military require a Security Clearance. If you are thinking about life after the military, and you know the job you want will require a Security Clearance, you can serve in this MOS and get your Security Clearance ahead of time.

What did I forget? What are some other good reasons to choose this MOS? Make sure you comment at the end of this post to let me know. Thanks.

Transitioning to the Civilian World

If you decide to leave the military after completing your service obligation an Army 37F MOS, here are some jobs you could do:

Civilian career areas include:

Psychologist

Of course, you would need some additional, formal college training and certification to become a psychologist or psychiatrist, but this might be right up your alley, if you love the aspects of your job.

Marketing, Sales & Advertising

This might be the most lucrative career opportunity for people serving in this MOS, after the military. If you want to make the big money, marketing and advertising is where it’s at, if you are good at what you do. You can use your psychological training to understand human buying behavior and help companies cash in on it.

Public Relations

Thinking about a career in Public Relations? You experience as a 37F MOS Soldier will fit the bill!

Public relations specialists fit the 37F MOS civilian position in the sense that they also focus on the development and dissemination of information. Professionals in this field are known to create a positive image for an organization or business through speeches, social media, press releases, and other forms of communication. They typically work in an office, but sometimes the demands of the job require them to travel. A workday may include analyzing public opinion of a client, increasing favorable reviews, responding to media interviews or requests, and crafting supportive broadcast material. For the most part, these professionals help companies or individuals maintain a good standing among consumers, followers, and the community through the use of media. ~ Accredited Colleges

Market Research Analyst

When you combine an analytical thought process and an understanding of human behavior and psychology, becoming a market analyst might be the perfect job for you after the military.

A market research analyst is alert to the conditions, changes, and potential trends in the business market. They study what the public wants and needs then help companies decide what products to sell, the demographic to sell those products to, and the price point that would lend the most profit. ~ Your Free Career Test

Politics

While serving in this MOS won’t make you a politician, the training you receive would be very beneficial if you ever decided to enter the political spectrum. You would have a thorough understanding of human behavior and influence.

Interpreter

If you attended a language school, you could put that training to good use and serve as an interpreter for a government agency or in the private sector.

The skills you’ll learn as a Psychological Operations Specialist may help prepare you for a future with the Department of Defense, State, other federal government agencies or related fields in the commercial industry. The training you receive in researching, analyzing, documenting, developing and distributing information may prepare you for other fields, such as public relations, sales, marketing and advertising. Because of the time you will spend studying foreign cultures and social systems, you might be interested in a future career in the diplomatic service or as an
anthropologist, journalist, social scientist, statistician, market analyst, advertising consultant, or sales manager. ~ NCO Support

Final Thoughts

In conclusion, the Army 37F MOS is an important job in the U.S. Army. It will be stressful, but satisfying. It is a prime component of warfare. Actually, psychological operations are used in many ways. Even politicians in our own government use psychological tactics.

If you’ve ever served in the Army 37F MOS, please tell us more. Just leave a comment below to share your thoughts. I look forward to hearing from you. Hooah!