The fiscal year 2027 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) process has highlighted a growing congressional focus on the organization, authorities, and resourcing of military information operations (IO). Legislative actions in the House Armed Services Committee (HASC), specifically within H.R. 8800, demonstrate an effort to restructure Army IO and explore the delegation of tactical IO command authorities (U.S. House of Representatives, 2026a).
These developments were analyzed by Todd C. Helmus, founder of the Meridian Influence Group and former senior behavioral scientist at the RAND Corporation, in a LinkedIn post noting that the House markup addresses long-standing bureaucratic and operational challenges within the IO community (Helmus, 2026). Helmus holds a Ph.D. in clinical psychology from Wayne State University and spent 22 years at RAND, where he specialized in irregular warfare, terrorism, and information operations before departing in May 2026 to found Meridian Influence Group (RAND Corporation, n.d.).
Todd C. Helmus: Background and Online Presence
Todd C. Helmus is a nationally recognized expert on irregular warfare, terrorism, and information operations. He served as a Senior Behavioral Scientist at the RAND Corporation for 22 years, departing on May 1, 2026 (Helmus, 2026b). He currently serves as Founder of Meridian Influence Group, an AI threat defense and influence operations advisory firm. He is also an adjunct faculty member at Johns Hopkins University Advanced Academic Programs and an adjunct behavioral scientist at RAND (RAND Corporation, n.d.).
Helmus testified before the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence in August 2018 on foreign influence operations and their use of social media (GovInfo, 2018). His research portfolio spans Russian social media influence, deepfakes and disinformation, Chinese maritime gray zone operations, and countering violent extremism.
Online presence:
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/todd-c-helmus-1724a65
- X (Twitter): @Helmus
- RAND Profile: https://www.rand.org/about/people/h/helmus_todd_c.html
- Google Scholar: https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=C28iiosAAAAJ
H.R. 8800: Legislative Status
H.R. 8800, the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2027, was introduced on May 13, 2026 by Rep. Mike Rogers (R-AL-3) and co-sponsored by Rep. Adam Smith (D-WA). The House Armed Services Committee passed the bill 44-12 on June 4–5, 2026, and it was reported to the full House on June 15, 2026 with Committee Report H. Rept. 119-698 (U.S. House of Representatives, 2026a). As of the date of this article, the bill has passed committee but has not been voted on by the full House, and it requires reconciliation with the Senate’s version of the FY2027 NDAA (Helmus, 2026).
Section 1054: Army Information Operations Center of Excellence
Section 1054 of H.R. 8800 establishes an Army Information Operations Center of Excellence (CoE) by amending Chapter 703 of title 10, United States Code, to add a new section 7025 (U.S. House of Representatives, 2026b).
The congressional findings in Section 1054 state that components of Army IO—including military information support operations (MISO), electronic warfare (EW), public affairs ¶, and cyberspace operations—“remain organizationally fragmented, hindering the translation of national-level strategy into synchronized operational and tactical action” (U.S. House of Representatives, 2026b). The findings also note that following the inactivation of the 1st Information Operations Command of the Army, the Department of the Army is undertaking a significant reorganization of its IO enterprise, including the establishment of Theater Information Advantage Detachments aligned with Multi-Domain Task Forces (U.S. House of Representatives, 2026b).
The Secretary of the Army would be required to operate the CoE as the lead organization for the integration, synchronization, and advancement of IO across the operational and tactical levels. The Center’s statutory functions include coordinating and synchronizing Army IO across geographic commands, integrating IO doctrine and training, assessing IO impact, advocating for IO funding, and integrating capability requirements across IO disciplines (U.S. House of Representatives, 2026b). The Secretary of the Army would be required to submit an implementation plan to Congress within 180 days of enactment (U.S. House of Representatives, 2026b).
Helmus noted that this consolidation follows the Army’s prior move to consolidate Psychological Operations (CMF 37) and Information Operations (FA30) into a single branch under the Special Operations Center of Excellence (SOCoE), and that the CoE could resolve the problem of competing institutions separately managing doctrine, material requirements, and funding advocacy (Helmus, 2026).
Section 1089C: Feasibility Study on Tactical IO Command Authority
Section 1089C of H.R. 8800 directs the Secretary of Defense to submit a report within 180 days of enactment on the feasibility of revising Department of Defense Directive 3600.01 to delegate authority to approve and execute tactical information operations to commanders below the level of the combatant commander (U.S. House of Representatives, 2026b).
The congressional findings in Section 1089C state that DoD Directive 3600.01 currently designates Combatant Commanders at the four-star and flag officer level as the principal authorities for integrating, synchronizing, employing, and adapting information-related capabilities. The findings further state that this concentration of approval authority “creates operational bottlenecks, as those officers bear responsibility for the full range of joint force activities and may be unable to respond to tactical information operations requirements with the speed demanded by the information environment” (U.S. House of Representatives, 2026b).
The mandated report must include an evaluation of delegating authority to commanders at the O-6 (colonel or Navy captain) level or other appropriate levels, and for each option must assess: potential benefits including improvements in operational speed; potential risks including escalation, foreign policy implications, and legal compliance; mechanisms to ensure tactical IO remains consistent with strategic narratives; training and personnel requirements; required legal authorities; and oversight mechanisms (U.S. House of Representatives, 2026b). The report must be submitted in unclassified form, though it may include a classified annex (U.S. House of Representatives, 2026b).
House Report 119-698: Human Domain Awareness (USASOC Briefing)
House Report 119-698, which accompanies H.R. 8800, includes directive language on human domain awareness capabilities (U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Armed Services, 2026). The committee states that Civil Affairs, Psychological Operations, Special Operations Forces, and combatant command planners require “timely, hyper-local data on population sentiment, influence networks, and adversary narratives to compete below the threshold of armed conflict” and that current human terrain analysis tools are “fragmented, slow, and too coarse for operational use” (U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Armed Services, 2026).
The committee directs the Commander of USSOCOM, in coordination with the Secretary of the Army, to brief the House Armed Services Committee no later than January 15, 2027 on human domain awareness capabilities. The briefing must include: an identification of unmet combatant command requirements for hyper-local population sentiment, influence-network, and narrative environment data; an assessment of the operational utility of AI/ML-enabled human domain mapping platforms; and the feasibility of accelerating fielding of such capabilities to Civil Affairs brigades, Theater Special Operations Commands, and combatant command planning cells (U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Armed Services, 2026).
House Report 119-698: Information Environment Training and Simulation (SOCOM Briefing)
The same committee report directs the Commander of USSOCOM, in coordination with the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Special Operations and Low-Intensity Conflict (ASD[SO/LIC]) and the Director of Joint Force Development (J-7), to brief the committee no later than March 1, 2027 on the Department’s ability to support a “realistic, persistent information environment across training, exercises, and mission rehearsal” (U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Armed Services, 2026).
The committee notes that “existing training environments fail to fully integrate the information environment or provide consistent metrics to measure non-kinetic effectiveness” and that IO “cannot be effectively trained or assessed in isolation” (U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Armed Services, 2026). The required briefing must include an assessment of commercially available capabilities through the Software Acquisition Pathway, an analysis of the extent to which current training environments provide persistent and realistic information environment representation, and an evaluation of the ability to synchronize effects across relevant domains (U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Armed Services, 2026).
Irregular Warfare Center and Section 1201
Section 1201 of H.R. 8800 amends section 127d(a) of title 10, United States Code, to increase the authorized amount for Support of Special Operations for Irregular Warfare from $20,000,000 to $50,000,000 (U.S. House of Representatives, 2026b).
House Report 119-698 also directs the Director of the Irregular Warfare Center (IWC), in coordination with the ASD(SO/LIC), to brief the committee no later than March 1, 2027 on the operations and strategic trajectory of the IWC. The briefing must include a comprehensive summary of IWC activities conducted during FY2026, an update on the Irregular Warfare Exercise Laboratory, an assessment of how IWC research is informing Department-wide force design, and an assessment of any identified capability gaps or statutory authorities that would enable the IWC to more effectively fulfill its mission (U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Armed Services, 2026).
Senate Counterpart
The Senate Armed Services Committee completed its markup of the FY2027 NDAA on June 11, 2026 (U.S. Senate Committee on Armed Services, 2026a). The Senate version includes provisions defining “cognitive warfare” and designating an owner for that mission area, as well as directing a report on the implications of emerging technologies for cognitive warfare (U.S. Senate Committee on Armed Services, 2026b). The House and Senate versions must be reconciled before a final bill can be sent to the President.
References
U.S. House of Representatives. (2026a). H.R. 8800 - National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2027 (119th Congress). https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/house-bill/8800
U.S. House of Representatives. (2026b). Text of H.R. 8800, National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2027, as reported in House. https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/house-bill/8800/text
U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Armed Services. (2026). H. Rept. 119-698 - National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2027. https://www.congress.gov/committee-report/119th-congress/house-report/698/1
U.S. Senate Committee on Armed Services. (2026a). SASC completes markup of National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2027 [Press release]. SASC Completes Markup of National Defens... | U.S. Senate Committee on Armed Services
U.S. Senate Committee on Armed Services. (2026b). FY 2027 National Defense Authorization Act executive summary. https://www.armed-services.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/fy2027_ndaa_exsum.pdf
Helmus, T. C. (2026). Text - H.R.8800 - 119th Congress (2025-2026): National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2027 [LinkedIn post]. LinkedIn. Text - H.R.8800 - 119th Congress (2025-2026): National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2027 | Todd C. Helmus
Helmus, T. C. (2026b). Personal news. After 22 years, Friday, May 1 was my last day at RAND [LinkedIn post]. LinkedIn. Personal news. After 22 years, Friday, May 1 was my last day at RAND. It has been quite a journey. I've had the opportunity to work on some of the most significant national security threats facing… | Todd C. Helmus | 134 comments
GovInfo. (2018). Open hearing on foreign influence operations’ use of social media (CHRG-115shrg30959). U.S. Government Publishing Office. - OPEN HEARING ON FOREIGN INFLUENCE OPERATIONS' USE OF SOCIAL MEDIA PLATFORMS (THIRD PARTY EXPERT WITNESSES)
RAND Corporation. (n.d.). Todd C. Helmus. https://www.rand.org/about/people/h/helmus_todd_c.html
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