Psychological Operations in Combat and on the Joint Staff

In this episode, Colonel Chaveso “Chevy” Cook sits down with MWI's Charlie Faint to recount a career that took him from a South Carolina JROTC classroom to West Point and then on to combat deployments, the psychological operations career field, academia, and ultimately the Joint Staff, where he advised senior national security leaders on nonkinetic effects. Chevy reflects on how early mentors, wartime service, and unconventional assignments taught him to see military problems from increasingly broader perspectives, describing his philosophy that luck is really the combination of preparation and opportunity. He discusses the distinctive role of psychological operations, where influence and communication can accomplish national-level missions without relying on lethal force, as well as his work integrating capabilities such as cyber, space, deception, and information operations to provide strategic options for national leaders. The conversation also explores his commitment to education, professional writing, character development, and mentorship, including his belief that leaders must be capable communicators and continually level up as their responsibilities grow. Chevy closes by encouraging young leaders to understand who they authentically are without allowing their present identity to limit who they can become, emphasizing a career-long theme of preparation, intellectual growth, service, and investment in others.

Chapters

(00:00:02) - The Story of the Profession of Arms
(00:00:39) - Marine Recruitment at West Point
(00:08:39) - West Point Cadets: Preparing to Deploy
(00:10:44) - Chevy on His Path to Psyop
(00:14:34) - Advanced Special Operations Officer Training
(00:20:34) - Having a Navy Chief as a Lieutenant in the Army
(00:24:39) - How to Become a PSYOP Officer
(00:31:50) - On the Defense Language Aptitude Battery
(00:33:32) - Post-Pipeline Career Opportunities
(00:38:30) - Bradley Fellow at West Point
(00:41:57) - Tac Officer at West Point Explained
(00:44:40) - Honorary Instructor at West Point
(00:52:40) - Training at West Point with Andy Farina
(00:55:51) - Non-Kinetic Effects on the Joint Staff
(01:03:09) - Former Joint Staff Chief Chevy on His Last Week on the Job
(01:09:10) - Mama J Prepared Me for That
(01:13:14) - Chevy On Writing
(01:18:21) - The Dubik Fellowship and the Harding Fellowship
(01:22:14) - The Role of Mentorship in the Military
(01:27:58) - Colonel Pat Sullivan on Young Leaders
(01:32:06) - The Spear

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