Kevin Stratford-Wright
British Army lieutenant colonel (retired c.2012); information operations and media operations officer at the UK Ministry of Defence; leader of a Joint Media Operations Team at the Defence Media Operations Centre; involved in an MoD StratCom programme (2012–2015) described as the UK’s largest of its kind since the Cold War; linked to the creation of FCO tender documents for strategic communications and media operations support to the Syrian moderate armed opposition that were later awarded to InCoStrat
| Kevin Stratford-Wright | |
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| Nationality | British |
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| Occupation | Military officer (information operations / media operations) |
| Known for | IO Officer, Targeting and Information Operations (TIO), UK MoD; leader of a Joint Media Operations Team (JMOT) at the Defence Media Operations Centre (DMOC); involvement in MoD StratCom programme 2012–2015; connection to Syria MAO strategic communications tender documents later awarded to InCoStrat |
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Kevin Stratford-Wright (also rendered Keven Stratford-Wright) is a former British Army lieutenant colonel who served as an information operations and media operations officer at the UK Ministry of Defence. He was a leader of one of the MoD’s Joint Media Operations Teams (JMOTs) working out of the Defence Media Operations Centre (DMOC). He has been linked to an MoD strategic communications programme (2012–2015) described as “the UK’s largest of its kind since the Cold War” and to the preparation of Foreign and Commonwealth Office tender documents for strategic communications and media operations support to the Syrian “moderate armed opposition,” which were later awarded to Innovative Communications & Strategies (InCoStrat).[1]
Military career
Stratford-Wright served as an IO Officer in Targeting and Information Operations (TIO) at the UK MoD. He was listed as a speaker at the Information Operations Global 2012 conference (Charing Cross Hotel, London, 26–29 June 2012) in that capacity.[2]
He led one of the MoD’s Joint Media Operations Teams working out of the Defence Media Operations Centre. Contemporary descriptions of JMOTs note their role in supporting journalists in operational environments and integrating media operations with wider information activity. The DMOC itself was established as the tri-service hub for media operations training, education and operational capability, reporting to the Director General Media and Communications.[3]
According to analysis published by the Working Group on Syria, Propaganda and Media, Stratford-Wright (described as a Lt-Colonel until 2012) stated that he was involved in an MoD StratCom programme (2012–2015) that was “the UK’s largest of its kind since the Cold War.” The same analysis states that tender documents issued by the FCO for opposition media operations—eventually awarded to Paul Tilley’s InCoStrat—were created by Stratford-Wright.[1]
Connection to Syria MAO contracts
The FCO’s Invitation to Tender for “Strategic Communications and Media Operations Support to the Syrian Moderate Armed Opposition” (statement of requirements dated around November 2014) sought a contractor to deliver StratCom and media operations capacity-building to the MAO, building on existing HMG-enabled activities between October 2013 and December 2014. The work was to be based in Istanbul and focused on training, mentoring, and the maintenance of media elements at operational level (Northern, Eastern and Southern Fronts). The contract was briefly held by Regester Larkin before being taken over by InCoStrat from November 2014. Contemporary reporting described the overall effort as effectively running a press office for opposition fighters, with close supervision by FCO and MoD handlers.[4][1]
Broader MoD-run elements of the Syria programmes (codenamed Operation Volute in some accounts) were managed in part by the unit Military Strategic Effects. Stratford-Wright’s documented roles in TIO, Defence Media Operations Centre/JMOT and the 2012–2015 StratCom programme place him in the MoD side of this contracting and oversight architecture.[5]
See also
- Defence Media Operations Centre
- Military Strategic Effects
- InCoStrat / Innovative Communications & Strategies
- Paul Tilley
- Regester Larkin
- 77th Brigade
- Joint Information Activities Group
External links
- Working Group on Syria, Propaganda and Media – “Democracies and War Propaganda in the 21st Century”
- The Guardian, 3 May 2016
- Middle East Eye reporting on Operation Volute
- Information Operations Global 2012 speakers list (archived IQPC event materials)
Notes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Working Group on Syria, Propaganda and Media, “Democracies and War Propaganda in the 21st Century”, citing McKeigue, Miller, Mason and Robinson (2019).
- ↑ Information Operations Global 2012 speakers list, drawn from archived IQPC event materials (see Information Operations Global 2012 page for the source listing).
- ↑ Notes on the Defence Media Operations Centre role and JMOT function (contemporary MoD and secondary descriptions of the unit).
- ↑ Ian Cobain et al., “How Britain funds the ‘propaganda war’ against Isis in Syria”, The Guardian, 3 May 2016.
- ↑ Ian Cobain and Alice Ross, reporting on Operation Volute documents, Middle East Eye, February–May 2020.