Many of the 27,000 personnel involved with Department of Defense Public Affairs (Public Relations, journalism, and communications) are trained at the Defense Information School (DINFOS) at Fort Meade, Maryland.
Leaders (officers, Senior noncommissioned officers, and DOD civilians) attend the Public Affairs Qualification Course. The curriculum is outstanding and prepares graduates who are “capable of performing the basic duties of DOD military public affairs practitioners.”
Here is a quick run-down of things I’ve learned at DINFOS:
DOD Principle of Information: Maximum disclosure, minimum delay
The military uses AP style for internal journalism publications
If you are media seeking photos, videos, or military related news products go to the DVIDS page
Motto: Strength through Truth
On writing: “You know you’re finished [writing] not whey you don’t have more words to add, but when you have no more words to subtract.” -J. Hollewarth
The DOD is increasing engagement in Online and social media
Effective response=Bridge + Command message
The person who comes out with the information first gets to “characterize” it
AP Story: “Over the past two years, the number of public affairs officers trained by the Defense Information School has grown by 24 percent to almost 3,500.”
Recent stories about DOD communications efforts: here, here, and here
So after all my hype Maiysha did not win (the award went to Chrisette Michele). But she turned plenty of heads with this flashy outfit on the red carpet at the 51st Annual Grammy Awards.
Maiysha proving her fashion prowess at the Grammys
More Maiysha updates here, here, and here. The third “here” links to her diet.
President Obama and Vice President Biden greet servicemembers in the Pentagon
Proving he can balance more than one thing at a time, President Obama visited the Pentagon and met with Defense Department leadership on Jan. 28, 2009.
“I want to…thank all of the men and women in uniform who are represented here. They are the best that this country has to offer. One of my duties as president is going to be to make sure that you have what you need to accomplish your missions.” – President Barack Obama
NEOLOGY O’ THE DAY..e-spionage: the act of snooping on people by looking through Social Networking profiles or googling them.
This term was coined by John Hoellwarth a journalist and military public affairs instructor. It first appeared in an article he published on July 17, 2006 in the Marine Corps Times.
So I’ve received my assignment for Inauguration. I’m working at the Luncheon that follows the swearing-in, in the Capitol’s Statuary Hall. My role, along with about 20 other White House Social Aides, is to escort guest to their seats and distribute gifts to them. You can see the menu here. A map of the statues in Statuary Hall is available too.
Three lucky Social Aides will present flags to the POTUS and VPOTUS on behalf to Senator Feinstein. They will also present a framed photo of the swearing-in (it gets printed and framed in about 30 mins) at the luncheon. Approximately 150-200 guests will attend…the guest list is not releasable to the public.
“…Suffice to say, on this Jan. 20 while the big shots are munching seafood stew and duck and washing it down with apple cinnamon sponge cake, you won’t be able to buy pheasant on D.C.’s sidewalks.
While lovely music plays and stone statues statuesquely peer over diners’ shoulders, Congressional leaders will suck up to the president for possibly the last time by giving him some gifts. Don’t tell him, but they include an already-framed photo of his swearing-in, the Capitol flag that was flying at that moment and a one-of-a kind engraved crystal bowl to fill with popcorn in the White House theater…”
Majors — the Army’s future senior leaders — are exiting the service at increasing rates during a period of military growth. A recent article in The Washington Post indicated the Army is about 15 percent short of its goal of 15,700 majors. Lawrence Korb, former assistant secretary of defense and now a senior fellow at the Center for American Progress, said, “Retention of battle-tested majors should be the Army’s highest personnel priority. These are the future Pattons, Powells and Petraeuses who will lead soldiers into combat over the next two decades.”
Cost-effective solutions are available. These include financial incentives, leveraging Web 2.0 to enhance mentoring and the personnel assignment process, and uniform vouchers. All could be adopted almost immediately to shore up the ranks.
It generated limited discussion among officers. Some supported my ideas specifically, or at least the concept that something must be done. Others disagree with my solutions and assertions; I can only surmise that they don’t think shortage of majors as a problem worth addressing. Either way, talking about problems is the first step to solving them.
Do you think more money should be allocated towards retaining the future senior leaders of the Army? How does your corporation retain managers? What type of incentives have you seen that were successful to keep employees with talent? If your employer gave you a $500 bonus would you accept it? Would you make good use of the money?
Originally posted (10/22)…LONG POST (GRASSROOTS ORIENTED)…MYSTERIES OF MALE DATING BEHAVIOR REVEALED BELOW…You have to click the links to fully appreciate this posting (especially the “older people” one)
The Obama campaign is courting voters like a skillful man goes after the woman of his dreams. Up today on Ben Smith’s blog at the Politico.com are some interesting stories about Obama’s integration of Calling, Canvassing, and emailing. Back in Dec ’07 & Jan ’08, ten months ago, mainstream publications ran stories on the strength of Obama’s ground game (click links for articles): Obama’s Ground Game Advantage, Inside Obama’s Iowa Ground Game, Obama’s and Huckabee’s Ground Game . Numerous other publications and bloggers have discussed the mechanical advantages of David Plouffe’s campaigning strategies.
A few months ago, I mentioned to a classmate that Obama is registering masses of voters in Virginia. The naysayers scoff and say “new voters don’t vote…young voters don’t go to polls…they’re to lazy…”
Another groups of naysayers and pundits have asserted that the “Bradley Effect” (the idea the white voters lie to pollsters about who they are supporting and will balk at pulling the lever for a black man when inside voting booth) will kick in on election day. Turns out the pollster for the 1982 California Governors election said his polls were old. The winning candidates pollster said the election ended up how he predicted it in last minute polling. The Bradley Effect has been debunked here and here too. It doesn’t exist!
And finally there are people who say “Black people are only voting for Obama because he’s black.” In 2004, Blacks went for Kerry 88%; In 2000, Blacks went for Gore by 90%. Could it be that black people overwhelmingly vote Democrat? Does the fact Obama is leading in some of the “whitests” states in America (ME, IA, VT, NH, MN, WI) and losing some of the “blackest” (MS, AL, LA, SC) mean anything? A vote is a vote…bottomline
Back to my opening paragraph. When a skillful guy really wants a girl he will call her; he will check in periodically to say “I’m thinking about you”; he will invite her to events she likes; he will ask her questions to get to know her better; he will have his friends and family say positive things about him as third-party endorsers; he will wear his best clothes in her presence; he will show he’s good dancer, brave & athletic; he will demonstrate his smarts; he will send her emails; he will impress her by name dropping his rich & powerful friends; he’ll show he cares by helping older people and inspiring younger people; he will demonstrate he’s a man of faith, and he will always say “baby it’s all about you“…most importantly he will repeat all of these actions until he closes the deal. Meanwhile…the angry dude and his hatin’ friends will try to discredit the guy with scurrilous accusations, school-yard gossip, and name calling. But the angry dude can’t get his message through because the skillful guy has sent an overwhelming amount of positive messages and has cultivated a relationship with the dream gal. Sometimes, even in politics, nice guys finish first.
More stories on grassroots campaigning: here, here, and here
Greetings readers. Hope your Winter is going well. Please take some time to visit family and friends this season. Reflect on 2008 and look positively towards 2009.
Should ever feel down take an opportunity to help someone out–I guarantee you will feel better.
My time at Georgetown is complete and I’ll be involved in more mainstream Army duties in the weeks ahead. Pray for our troops.
Should you ever want to see more military news check out the Defense Video and Imagery Distribution System (DVIDS). And a good source of daily Army news is at Stand-To.
Thanks for taking this blog from Zero to 11,000+ readers (total) in just six months.
C-SPAN is showing White House Week (14-20 Dec). Tonight there is an interview with Alan Merten, a former White House Military Social Aide during the Johnson Administration (’65-’66).
“White House Military Social Aides serve as an extension of the President and Mrs. Bush in their roles as official host and hostess of the United States. They help to ensure guests have an enjoyable experience at the White House by assisting with introductions to the President and Mrs. Bush during receiving lines, the guests’ seating, and the overall flow of events. The program averages 40 Social Aides from all five military services.”
President Obama and Michelle Obama enter the East Room as White House Social Aides form a cordon.
Here are a few articles about White House Social Aides. Here, Here and Here. Photos here and here.
And one former aide wrote a book about his experiences.
This fall I was afforded a great opportunity to co-author (views expressed were my own and not DoD…see disclaimer in the “About Me” section) a report on Building the Military for the 21st Century: New Realities, New Priorities. I learned a lot in this process and have a better understanding of how Think Tanks are able to influence public discussion and policy action.
The public release of the report included remarks by Rep. John Murtha and Rep. Joe Sestak (both retired military officers); and a panel featuring lead author Lawrence Korb, Senior Fellow at CAP; LTG Stephen Speakes, Army G-8 (Programs Director); and Lt. Gen. (Ret.) Michael Dunn, Air Force Association.
(L-R) Lt. Gen. Speakes, Lt. Gen. (Ret.) Dunn, Lawrence J. Korb after panel discussion
There are numerous stories and blogs that are discussing the report and it’s recommendations. You can find blog posts here, here, and here (last link is about our interactive).
“It’s said that a nation’s budget reflects its values and its priorities.”
President-elect Barack Obama
“Given that resources are not unlimited, the dynamic of exchanging numbers for capability is perhaps reaching a point of diminishing returns. A given ship or aircraft, no matter how capable or well-equipped, can be in only one place at one time.”
Secretary of Defense Robert M. Gates
Good news! Maiysha, who I blogged about several months ago–before her album was released–was just nominated for a Grammy in the “Best Urban/Alternative Performance” category.
Her song “Wanna Be”: is really great. I highly recommend her album “This Much is True”…and you should know that Majorman seldom recommends entire albums. The only others that come to mind are, Petersburg, Virginia native, Trey Songz “I gotta make it” and anything by the U.S. Army Band.
As a Social Media junkie, I suspect Maiysha’s album sales would be higher if she actually followed the people, like me, who follow her on Twitter (As of 4 Dec there are only 63 followers). Maybe she doesn’t want our feedback? Maybe she just needs a PR person who understands that in order to be successful on Web 2.0 you need to have a two-way conversation with your audience. More Twitter strategies here. Hmmmm…time will tell.
UPDATE: Not sure if she’s read my blog…but as of this afternoon she follows all of her followers on Twitter! *pats self on back*
UPDATE2: She Direct Messaged me to acknowledge the Twittering tip. Cool!
Posted by majorman 
For my supporter, reporter, and blogger friends…here are the primary links to the Army’s presence online.
majorman
