TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — The US Army established the 1st Theater Information Advantage Detachment on Friday to combat enemy disinformation aimed at the US and its Indo-Pacific partners.
Headquartered at Fort Shafter in Hawaii, the detachment is the first of three planned units to be formed before 2026, according to Stars and Stripes.
Colonel Sean Heidgerken, the unit commander, said the 65-member detachment is committed to “promoting transparency, countering malign influence and ensuring our friends and partners to rely on the truth.” The unit is made up of five teams focusing on cyber intelligence, psychological operations, public affairs, electronic warfare, civil affairs, and information operations, Heidgerken said.
The TIAD would allow the US Army Pacific to bolster cooperation with regional allies, he added. “We want to make sure that we’re providing accurate things, truthful things, coordinated with partners, building resiliency and resistance to either malign activity or manipulative activity from an adversary.”
Command Sergeant Major Avery Bennett cited China’s gray zone tactics and coercion in the South China Sea as an example of harmful activities. With this new unit, the US would help allies “inoculate” enemy disinformation or activities that undermine their sovereignty, including “state-sponsored activities or any other state-sponsored corporations or agencies,” Bennett said.
The second TIAD will be established this spring at the US Army Cyber Command in Georgia, while the third will be formed next fall at US Army Europe and Africa headquarters in Wiesbaden, Germany, per Stars and Stripes.
This development comes as Taiwan, a long-term US ally, strives to counter Chinese disinformation and cognitive warfare and gray zone tactics. During last week’s Cyber Security Nordic forum, Freddy Lim (林昶佐), Taiwan’s representative to Finland, said that China aims to undermine the foundations of democratic nations and reshape the international order in a way that serves to consolidate the interests of autocratic powers.
Lim pointed out that many Taiwanese civic organizations have emerged with different focuses to address cognitive warfare. Through collaboration, they have strengthened Taiwan’s societal resilience, he said. However, he warned that authoritarian regimes continue to advance their use of technology to sustain their malicious activities.
