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The Army’s newest psychological operations unit will be focused on Africa, as the United States shifts away from direct combat against militants on the continent.
On Wednesday, July 15, the 1st Special Forces Command (Airborne) officially activated Delta Company, 7th Psychological Operations Battalion. The new company will assist the battalion in its psychological operations mission under U.S. Africa Command. According to the Army, Delta Company, or “Drongo Company,” as it is already nicknamed, will work on psychological operations “across contested environments” and support contingency operations on the continent.
The new company was set up as part of a transformation effort inside the Army’s special operations forces, itself part of a wider change underway within the service.
Army Capt. Richard Koch, the company’s first commander, said at the activation ceremony at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, that “starting today, we begin the hard work of building this company from the ground up, building a team that will be ready to operate and win in any environment. The legacy begins today.”
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Delta Company’s nickname, “Drongo,” comes from a tiny bird in Africa. Despite its size, it is a predator, and according to the Army, owes its success to its ability to mimic other animals and drive competition away. It’s the kind of subversion that Army PSYOP units like to do.
The 7th Psychological Operations Battalion, based out of Fort Bragg, was activated in 2011. It’s part of the 4th Psychological Operations Group (Airborne), known publicly for its ominous and trippy recruitment and sizzle reel videos. As with other PSYOP units, its mission is less directly violent and aimed more at shaping and influencing people in contested or occupied spaces.
The Army has been overhauling its information and psychological warfare doctrine in recent years, deactivating older information commands and establishing smaller units focused on countering enemy psychological and disinformation campaigns. But the 4th Psychological Operations Group has been expanding, with this new company becoming the latest addition to it.
The company’s creation comes amid a shift in U.S. military strategy in Africa. Although the United States has stepped up its air war in Somalia against the Islamic State and al-Shabab, it has pulled back several combat units from other countries, including closing drone bases in Niger. After starting combat missions in Nigeria in late 2025, U.S. Africa Command withdrew combat troops earlier this month. The head of Africa Command, Gen. Dagvin Anderson, noted that the American strategy is focused on boosting partner nations’ capabilities in counterterrorism fights. Efforts for that include joint training missions and the establishment of a new drone academy in Morocco.
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