What’s in a name? For new Army PSYOP unit with Africa mission, the answer may vary

A new Army psychological operations unit takes its nickname from a small African bird known to psych out other predators to steal their meals.

The activation of the new unit, dubbed Drongo Company, at a ceremony last week at Fort Bragg, N.C., comes as the Army seeks to modernize in the face of adversaries with serious capabilities for swaying foreign audiences.

Officially known as Delta Company, the unit is part of the 7th Psychological Operations Battalion within 3rd Special Forces Group (Airborne), part of the Army’s 1st Special Forces Command (Airborne).

“The drongo bird pays tribute to the mission of psychological operations: influence the objective reasoning, motives and behaviors of key audiences,” the Army said in a statement.

But the term carries a less favorable meaning among some other American partners, tracing back to an early 20th century Australian racehorse and perennial loser that was named for the only species of the bird found on that continent.

Among Australians, “drongo” means a slow-witted or stupid person, according to the Macquarie Dictionary.

The latest addition to the Africa-focused 7th PSYOP Battalion comes amid a shift in the security cooperation paradigm to one in which African partner forces take the lead in battling Islamic State and other extremist groups, while the U.S. provides intelligence sharing and other support.

The continent has seen a rise in terrorist activity and intensifying efforts by Russia and China to grow their influence, while U.S. forces in Africa have faced challenges of reduced access and basing.

Psychological operations includes missions that distribute information meant to influence foreign audiences and governments, as well as military deception missions to mislead enemies in combat.

Soldiers supporting these missions are “experts in human connection” who leverage intelligence, cultural sensitivity and foreign language skills, according to the Army’s recruiting website.

An Army statement touted Drongo Company’s activation as part of a transformational effort to keep the special operations regiment ready to operate in areas where strategic rivals will try to interfere with U.S. missions.

“When we talk about transformation, I often think about the process of forging steel,” battalion commander Lt. Col. Justin Schiltz said during the ceremony. “It’s a disruptive and sometimes uncomfortable process, but it is the only way to align the elements to create a blade strong enough to withstand the rigors of battle.”

The move fits into a broader effort. After decades of focus on combating insurgents and terrorists, the Army is adapting for fights against “near-peer” adversaries with strong information and influence capabilities, extensive military forces and the ability to fight across multiple domains.

That broader shift is also behind an announcement earlier this year that 3rd Group’s legacy military intelligence company would become a multidomain operations company, drawing lessons from 1980s doctrine and analysis of current events.

Calling the activation of Drongo Company “a momentous occasion,” company commander Capt. Richard Koch said soldiers will now begin “the hard work of building this company from the ground up, building a team that will be ready to win in any environment.”

The nickname received mixed reviews among members of the Army community on Reddit, some of whom poked fun at it in response to a post that shared news of the company activation and asked why PSYOP is bad at naming things.

One user likened it to the slow-witted character Mongo in the 1974 comedy film “Blazing Saddles,” while others suggested it was an improvement on tired unit nicknames like Cobra, Warrior or Spartan.

A user going by the handle Tee__bee said the term sounded silly at first but made sense after it was explained.

“I suppose at least it’s not the millionth Demon or Dawg company,” the user wrote.