Maj. Ally Raposa
FORT BELVOIR, Va. — The story of the 1st Information Operations Command is a testament to how innovation in warfare often starts quietly – drawn out on butcher boards in briefing rooms and SCIFs (Sensitive Compartmented Information Facility) – by people who see what others don’t yet recognize.
From the sands of Iraq to the digital battlefields of today, its members helped pioneer Army Information Advantage.
The idea began as an INSCOM (U.S. Army Intelligence and Security Command) concept; an intangible form of warfare that could determine a battle’s outcome. From that vision emerged the Army’s only active-duty information operations unit: the 1st Information Operations Command (Land), or 1st IO. Headquartered at Fort Belvoir, Virginia, the unit spent three decades deploying teams, providing reach-back support, conducting red team cyber threat assessments, and delivering IO training.
Tracing its lineage to the Land Information Warfare Activity (LIWA), activated May 8, 1995, 1st IO was formally established on October 28, 2002.
This story goes beyond organizational charts and force structure realignment. It’s about the people who made it matter and a legacy that informs and empowers the next generation of information warriors.
Thirty years—to the day—after LIWA’s founding, 1st IO Command cased its colors on May 8, 2025. Its legacy set to be carried forward by Army information advantage forces and nascent Theater Information Advantage Detachments (TIADs). 1st IO deployed worldwide, embedded in joint and Army commands, training thousands and enabling commands to achieve an information advantage.
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