This ain't patty cake, kids.
The Big Frack Gas boys are deploying some serious COIN Psyops heat to suppress opposition to hydraulic fracking in the Marcellus Shale region on Pennsylvania.
Drillers using counterinsurgency experts
Marcellus Shale gas drilling spokesmen at an industry conference in Houston said their companies are employing former military counterinsurgency officers and recommended using military-style psychological operations strategies, or psyops, to deal with media inquiries and citizen opposition to drilling in Pennsylvania communities.Sounds like the Green team better team up with some military veterans who are sympathetic to their cause. BRD has seen significant demographic polling data that may suggest that there is some strong environmental awareness from the young troopers returning from Iraq and Afghanistan. The Big Frack Gas boys like, Chesapeake Energy, may be surprised by the heat some young vets can bring back their way. It isn't always about , show me the money.
Matt Pitzarella, a Range Resources spokesman speaking to other oil and gas industry spokespeople at the conference last week, said the company hires former military psyops specialists who use those skills in Pennsylvania.
Mr. Pitzarella's statements and related comments made by a spokesman for Anadarko Petroleum were recorded by a member of an environmental group who provided them to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
"We have several former psyops folks that work for us at Range because they're very comfortable in dealing with localized issues and local governments," Mr. Pitzarella said during the last half of a 23-minute presentation in a conference session. The session was titled "Designing a Media Relations Strategy to Overcome Concerns Surrounding Hydraulic Fracturing."
Folks in PA still remember the the environmental damage done by stripping mining and acid mine drainage.
This new battle has only just begun.
