The Brigade's official aim is “to challenge the difficulties of modern warfare using non-lethal engagement and legitimate non-military levers as a means to adapt behaviours of the opposing forces and adversaries”.
The British Army's shadowy psyops unit 77th Brigade — which engages in online information operations, among other dubious clandestine activities — continues to fall far short of recruiting targets despite Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt boasting of the UK's growing offensive cyberwarfare capabilities.
The unit was founded in 2014, but has consistently struggled to attract both permanent and part-time recruits — new figures released to The Register under the Freedom of Information Act reveal in 2018 the unit reached 340 in strength, 29 percent (or 134 personnel) under target.
The Brigade was meant to employ 203 full-time and 271 part-time staff by the close of 2018, but at the end of the year it only employed 190 full-timers and 150 reservists.
Still, it's a small improvement over the Brigade's 2017 size, when the shortfall was 40 percent, and a mere 125 soldiers were recruited or posted to the unit, although civilians seemingly remain unwilling to join.
World of Allusion
Formerly known as the Security Assistance Group, the unit was reformed and rebranded as the 77th Brigade in 2015. Leaked files reveal its revamping was supported by the Institute…
