TIADS AND TARGETING THE ADVERSARY'S WILL

About this episode

The episode discusses the Army's Theater Information Advantage Detachments and their role in modern warfare.

Editor’s Note: This is our 500th episode. Thank you for being part of this journey, we wouldn't be here without you. Your loyalty and engagement have turned a project into a community. Here’s to the next 500 episodes. Modern warfare transcends tactical victories; it targets the adversary's "will." Sean Heidgerken joins host Tom Spahr to discuss the Army’s newest capability: Theater Information Advantage Detachments, or TIADs. These specialized units integrate experts in cyber, intelligence, psychological operations, public affairs, electronic warfare, civil affairs, and information operations to influence foreign actors and protect friendly information systems. Heidgerken, the commander of the 1st TIAD in the Indo-Pacific, explains that these organizations break traditional military silos by organizing into cross-functional teams. Whether exposing corruption through media or leveraging emerging AI to sense the environment, the TIAD mission is to ensure the Joint Force maintains an advantage in the gray zone of competition. The operations, whether it be psychological operations, electronic warfare, or cyber, have been siloed in those sub-staff sections… which inherently builds a…

People in this episode

Host: Tom Spahr

Guest: Sean Heidgerken

Topics covered

• modern warfare
• Theater Information Advantage Detachments
• psychological operations
• cyber warfare
• information operations

Keywords

• TIADs
• adversary's will
• cross-functional teams
• electronic warfare
• information systems

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: U.S. Army

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