MULTICAM ACU GULF WAR ODS PSYOP TASK FORCE TROY PATCH

TASK FORCE TROY One of the most distinctive uses of loudspeakers and taped broadcasts during the Gulf War occurred during a little know deception operation that was carried by a military organization clandestinely known as Task Force Troy.
Now for those of you who are history buffs you will recognize Troy from the city of the same name that was the recipient of the Greek Trojan Horse. For this operation, a 460 man "ghost" unit was created made up of only 5 tanks, several wheeled vehicles and elements from the US Marines, British Army and the 4th Psychological Operations Group (Airborne).
Task Force Troy was given cover responsibility for an area of the Kuwaiti front which would normally have been covered by a full division. In order to deceive the enemy to believe that Task Force Troy was a much larger unit, the unit relied on the use of deceptive decoys, such as armored vehicles, artillery pieces and helicopters, as well as a series of loudspeakers and dummy emplacements to complete the illusion.
The unit carried out its deception by playing several varieties of PSYOP broadcast tapes, ranging from the sounds of tanks, trucks to helicopters landing and taking off. Playing these deceptive tapes confused forward Iraqi listening posts as to the actual size and location of the force they faced. Those members of the Iraqi listening posts foolish enough to investigate were promptly engaged by awaiting Apache gunships or by A-10 Thunderbolt II aircraft that were on standby to support the deception. It wasn't long before the Iraqis lost interest in investigating the sounds and just took for granted that they were faced with a military force of at least division strength.
This successful deception allowed a needed division to be relocated elsewhere in preparation of the Desert Storm Ground War assault.