§398 Military Information Support Operations in Information Environment

Summary

The Secretary of Defense must notify the congressional defense committees within 48 hours whenever a combatant commander approves a new military information support operation plan (MISO plan) or changes the scope of an existing one. The notice must describe the MISO program the plan supports, the plan’s goals, the intended audience, the tactics and procedures to be used, the people involved, the money expected to be spent this and next fiscal year, the planned length and desired result, and any other details the Secretary thinks are important. If a covered covert operation is leaked, the Secretary must tell the committees as soon as possible; a spoken notice is allowed but a written notice must follow within 48 hours. A MISO plan is a military information support operation plan. A MISO program is the program the plan supports. Within 90 days after the end of any fiscal year in which MISO plans were carried out, the Secretary must send a report listing each MISO program and its combatant command and, for each plan, a description with objectives, the target audience and how messages were distributed, and the cost. No Defense Department money may be used for secret MISO operations that aim to influence U.S. political processes, the views of U.S. persons, U.S. policies, or media made by U.S. entities for U.S. persons.