Unit Public Affairs Unit Public Affairs RepresentativeRepresentativeTraining CourseTraining Course

Presented by GSDF Headquarters Public Affairs Office

Objective

To train and prepare individuals in each GSDF unit in the areas of release of public information, community relations, to improve communications between GSDF brigade commanders and the communities in which they exist, and to improve internal communications between brigades and units within the GSDF itself.

“You must remember that whether you wear one stripe or six, one bar or silver eagles you automatically become an ‘Army spokesman’ when you are approached by the press.”

- U.S. Continental Army Command memo to advisers in Vietnam.

The Military and the Media, William M. Hammond, 1988

Course Outline

UPAR Duties Media Relations Unit Publicity Photography Reporting & Writing Internal Communications Community Relations Q & A

UPAR Duties

• Event Coverage– Field Exercises– Change of Command– Community Missions

• Notify HDQ PAO of upcoming exercises & missions

• Collaborate with PA entities at Guard & other organizations

• Establish ROE with the OIC when covering events

Media Relations

• Try to coordinate event coverage with local media

• Be direct, polite, & accurate

• Maintain situational & informational security

• “No comment”

• Avoid political statements

Unit Publicity

• Compile list of local media contacts• Create & send news releases in

advance of an event or exercise• Coordinate news releases with your

commander & mission OIC• Copy HDQ PAO on local news

coverage• Share write-ups & photos with HDQ

PAO

Photography

• Take MANY Photos • Hold Camera Still • Don't Stand Too Far Away • Avoid Shooting into the Sun • Watch Your Foreground and

Background • “Safety check” subjects • Fill the Frame• Illustrate the story you are telling

Reporting & Writing

• Article Basics– Who?– What?– When?– Where?

• Quotes from non-GSDF mission participants (Guard, police, GEMA)

• K.I.S.S.

Internal Communications

• UPARs should be copied on:– Warning Orders– AARs– Other unit activities

• UPARs to copy HDQ PAO on all of the above

• Keep an up-to-date contact list of brigade & unit leaders and HDQ PAO staff

• Create a simple newsletter for your own brigade/unit, share with family & friends

Community Relations

• Organize a Speaker’s Bureau• Open House events • Compile contact lists for local

school, church, government, and charitable organizations

• Coordinate activities with these civic organizations whenever feasible

• Coordinate with GSDF Recruiting

Questions and (possibly) Answers

“Public relations specialists make flower arrangements of the facts, placing them so that the wilted and less attractive petals are hidden by sturdy blooms.”

- Alan Harrington, advertising executive

Life in the Crystal Palace, 1959