Basic Public Affairs Specialist Course
Operational Public Affairs
Joint service operations
Military services operate and fight
as a team, not as individual services,
to support national security goals.
To communicate effectively with our
internal and external audiences, public
affairs specialists must understand the
organization of the U.S. armed forces and
why we do what we do.
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Joint Service Operations
Operational Public Affairs
The role of the commander in chief, service
secretaries and the Joint Chiefs of Staff
Commander in Chief
When we were in the
Military Entrance Processing
Station to join the military,
we all raised our right hand
to defend and support the
Constitution of the United
States against all enemies,
foreign and domestic. Our
commander in chief also
raised his right hand when he
took the Presidential Oath of
Office to protect and defend
the Constitution of the United
States. Obviously, he can’t do
this on his own. Therefore, he
has a number of people who
work in the Department of
Defense and on the National
Security Council to help and
advise him when it comes to
protecting our country and its
interests. Let’s start with the
Department of Defense.
Service secretaries
Our chain of command
starts at our service
secretaries and works its
way down, i.e. for a Marine
or sailor, it begins at the
secretary of the Navy. Service
secretaries are responsible for
servicemember support in an
administrative role only.
yy They do not wear that
service’s uniform.
yy They are not in the
operational chain of
command.
a. The Reorganization
Act of 1958 took away
operational authority.
The Reorganization Act
of 1958
The Department of
Defense Reorganization
Act of 1958 is a United
States federal law that was
created to provide for more
effective administration of
the Department of Defense.
Its goal was to streamline
channels of authority in
DOD and still maintain the
authority of the military
departments.
The Act moved decisionmaking authority from the
military departments service
secretaries to the Joint Chiefs
of Staff and the secretary of
defense. It also strengthened
the command channel of the
military over U.S. forces from
the president to the secretary
of defense.
The Joint Chiefs of Staff
The military service
chiefs -- the chief of staff of
the Air Force, the chief of
staff of the Army, the chief
of Naval Operations, the
commandant of the Marine
Corps and commandant of
the Coast Guard -- manage
their services for the service
secretaries and serve as
members of the Joint Chiefs of
Staff.
The Goldwater-Nichols
DOD Reorganization Act of
1986 allows the president to
direct that all communications
pass through the chairman
of the Joint Chiefs of Staff,
thereby including the senior
ranking member of the armed
forces in the communications
chain. The chairman of the
Joint Chiefs of Staff is the
president’s principal military
adviser and a statutory
adviser to the National
Security Council.
The National Security
Council is composed of the
president, the vice president,
the secretary of state, the
secretary of treasury, the
secretary of defense and the
assistant to the president for
National Security Affairs.
The National Security
Council is the president’s
principal forum for considering
national security and foreign
policy matters with his senior
national security advisers and
cabinet officials.
Service chief’s
administrative mission
yy Recruit personnel into
the service
yy Train and organize their
personnel to accomplish
the mission
yy Supply, equip and
maintain their personnel
yy Administer their forces to
serve national needs
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Unified command structure and
operational mission
Military personnel not assigned to
support a service’s administrative mission
will be assigned to unified combatant
commands to support the combat mission.
Now let’s take a look at the unified
command, its structure and its operational
mission to support U.S. national security
goals.
The effective use of the nation’s
armed forces requires a united effort in
operations, according to the “Overview
of National Security Structure.” The
National Security Act of 1947 unified the
services under a single department, the
National Military Establishment, under the
secretary of national defense, to achieve
this goal. The act was amended in 1949 to
make the National Military Establishment
an executive department, the Department
of Defense, headed by the secretary of
defense.
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Joint Service Operations
Operational Public Affairs
Unified command structure Since the Reorganization Act of 1958,
the operational mission of U.S. troops
is under the control of the unified
combatant commands.
1. A unified command is composed of
forces from two or more U.S. services
and has a broad and continuing
mission.
2. Operational control of U.S. combat
forces, in peacetime or wartime, is
assigned to the combatant commander
of each of the unified commands.
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3. The unified command structure or chain
of command is the president and the
secretary of defense. Together, these
two make up the National Command
Authority. These two people are the
only two who have the constitutional
authority to direct inter-theater
movement of troops and to authorize
the execution of military actions. The
chain of command then proceeds to the
commander of the unified combatant
command. The next step in the chain
of command is the individual service
component commanders assigned to
that unified command.
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Our country has three broad national
security goals and two strategic concepts.
Security Goals
yy We will enhance our security by
maintaining a strong defense capability
and employing effective diplomacy to
promote cooperative security measures.
NATO is an example of this.
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To be able to communicate effectively
with our internal and external audiences,
we must understand what the United States
government hopes to achieve when it
participates in the international arena.
Can you think of any power
projection platforms?
yy We will bolster America’s economic
revitalization by working to open foreign
markets and spur global economic growth.
yy Our third goal is to promote democracy
abroad, as evidenced by the number of
foreign countries trying to move toward
democracy.
Strategic Concepts
The two strategic concepts are overseas
presence and power projection.
yy
yy
Overseas presence -- Maintaining an
overseas presence helps promote stability
and prevent conflict by having trained
and ready forces near potential hot spots.
It also allows the United States to show
its commitment to defend its interests
throughout the world. Power projection -- Through power
projection, the United States can quickly
reinforce its overseas units. Having
adequate transportation, such as airplanes
and cargo ships, available for military use
is a key element of the concept.
How about an Aircraft Carrier?
One U.S. aircraft carrier alone has
more fire power than all but seven
countries in the world.
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Joint Service Operations
Operational Public Affairs
Unified command structure and
operational mission
The three components of the two strategic
concepts.
1. Peacetime engagement -- Under
this component, the U.S. military participates
in military-to-military contact programs,
aids other countries in strengthening law
and order, provides training and equipment
to allies and friendly countries, provides
humanitarian and disaster relief, helps in the
fight against drug trafficking and terrorism,
and supports peacekeeping efforts.
2. Deterrence and conflict
prevention -- The military supports this
component by having a nuclear deterrence
capability, developing regional alliances,
responding to crises, participating in arms
control efforts, practicing openness in its
activities whenever possible, evacuating
American citizens from danger areas,
enforcing sanctions against other countries
and enforcing peace in areas on the brink of
full scale war.
this?
3. Fight and Win -- how do we do
yy
yy
yy
yy
Clear objectives
Decisive actions
Using wartime power projection
Joint and combined forces
This is the reason the United States has
a military force. When it is necessary for the
military to fight we must have clear objectives
and decisively send in a force sufficient to
win. We will do this by using wartime power
projection and using joint and combined
forces to win and sustain peace.
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Unified commands locations
and missions
1.U.S. Central Command
The unified combatant commands
exist so the Department of Defense
and the armed services can help
carry out our national security goals.
There are 10 unified commands.
There are six commands organized
around geographical areas and four
commands around function. They are:
Headquartered at MacDill Air Force Base,
Fla. This command is responsible for
Afghanistan, Bahrain, Djibouti, Egypt,
Ethiopia, Jordan, Iran, Iraq, Kenya,
Kuwait, Oman, Pakistan, Qatar, Saudi
Arabia, Somalia, Sudan, United Arab
Emirates, and the Republic of Yemen. It
also includes the Red Sea and the Persian
Gulf.
GEOGRAPHICAL
•
•
•
•
•
•
U.S.
U.S.
U.S.
U.S.
U.S.
U.S.
Central Command
European Command
Pacific Command
Southern Command
Northern Command
Africa Command
FUNCTION
•
•
•
•
U.S.
U.S.
U.S.
U.S.
Joint Forces Command
Special Operations Command
Strategic Command
Transportation Command
A unique feature of USCENTCOM is
that its headquarters and military forces
are not located within the theater, but at
MacDill AFB in Florida, and there are no
forward land-based forces. In effect, this
is an “over the horizon” power projection
and contingency concept. This means
that forces supplied by the other unified
commands arrive only after being invited
and depart as soon as possible after the
mission is achieved. The command’s
missions are to protect oil reserves and
establish political stability.
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Joint Service Operations
2.U.S. European Command
Headquartered in
Stuttgart, Germany. This
command is responsible
for most of Europe,
Israel, Lebanon, and
Syria. The command’s
missions are:
a. Promote stability in the region.
b. Maintain ready forces to conduct the full spectrum of military operations.
c. Enhance trans-Atlantic security through support of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization.
Operational Public Affairs
The USSOUTHCOM area of responsibility
includes the land mass of Latin America
south of Mexico. The waters adjacent to
Central and South America. The Caribbean
Sea, its 13 island nations, European
and U.S. territories. It includes the Gulf
of Mexico and a portion of the Atlantic
Ocean. It encompasses 32 countries (19
in Central and South America and 13 in
the Caribbean) and covers about 15.6
million square miles.
The command’s missions:
3.U.S. Pacific Command
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Headquartered in Honolulu. This command
is responsible for the Pacific and Indian
oceans from the West Coast of the U.S.
to the east coast of Africa, from the Arctic
to Antarctica. It also includes Hawaii,
Alaska, Japan, Australia, Korea and China.
This command covers more than 100
million square miles, which is more than
half the world’s surface. The command’s
missions are to promote peace and deter
aggression through support of allies.
4.U.S. Southern Command
Headquartered in Miami, Fla. Much of
SOUTHCOM’s coordination is done through
military groups, which are small teams
of service members who operate out of
U.S. embassies throughout the region.
a. Defend the Panama Canal and sea lines of communication.
b. Help regional militaries combat insurgency, terrorism and narco-
trafficking.
c. Support search and rescue and disaster relief missions.
5.U.S. Northern Command
Headquartered at Peterson Air Force Base,
Colo., the command is unique in that it
will obtain the military assets required by
other federal agencies during domestic
emergencies. In most cases federal,
state and local civil authorities will be in
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charge of the emergency
situations the Northern
Command will be asked
to support. Here ahe
command’s missions:
a. Defend the United
States homeland, its states, territories,
trusts and commonwealths.
b. Area of responsibility includes all
air, land and sea approaches into this
country. It encompasses the continental
United States, Alaska, Canada, Mexico
and the surrounding water out to
approximately 500 nautical miles,
including Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin
Islands.
c.It is staffed by all five branches of
the military and each service’s reserve
component.
d. Assignments and tasks will be
generated from the lead agency in
charge, not from the military command.
6.U.S. Africa Command,
Headquartered at Stuttgart, Germany until
headquarters are built in Africa
Its missions are to conduct sustained
security engagement through militaryto-military programs, military-sponsored
activities, and other military operations
as directed to promote a
stable and secure African
environment in support of
U.S. foreign policy.
Operational Public Affairs
7.U.S. Joint Forces Command,
headquartered in Norfolk, Va. The
command’s missions are to:
a. Conduct joint training
and ensure readiness of
response forces.
b. Discover promising
alternatives through joint
concept development and experimentation.
c. Define enhancements
to joint war fighting requirements.
d. Deliver joint forces and capabilities
to war fighting commanders.
8.U.S. Special Operations
Command Headquartered at MacDill Air Force
Base, Fla. Responsible for all Special
Forces, Rangers, SEALs, Air Commandos
and similar forces. It provides central
coordination of training and organization
of the special purpose forces and, on
direction of the President, conducts special
operations anywhere in the world. Here
are the command’s missions:
a. Prepare forces for special operations,
psychological operations and civil affairs
missions.
This is the newest
command in the Unified
Command Plan. Its AOR
includes 53 African countries including
portion of Indian Ocean. Works with U.S.
Central Command in dealing with Egypt.
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b. Administer special operations through service component commands and Joint Special Operations Command
at Pope Air Force Base, N.C.
c. Standardizes all special operations for the U.S. military.
9.U.S. Strategic Command
Headquartered at Offut Air Force Base,
Neb. USSTRATCOM is the command and
control center for U.S. strategic forces
and controls military space operations,
computer network operations, information
operations, and strategic warning and
intelligence assessments, as well as global
strategic planning. Here is the command’s
mission:
Operational Public Affairs
10. U.S. Transportation
Command
headquartered at Scott Air Force
Base, Ill. TRANSCOM is responsible for
land, sea and air transportation. The
command’s mission is:
a. Provide air, sea and land transportation to the DOD in peace and
war.
STRATCOM is charged with deterring
and defending against nuclear attack
on the United States and its allies or, if
deterrence fails, conducting a strategic
nuclear attack by means of sea-launched
ballistic missiles, intercontinental ballistic
missiles and bomber-delivered weapons.
Photo courtesy of Defense Imagery
Photo courtesy of Defense Imagery
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Joint
information
bureau
Now that we’ve covered what a
unified command is, its mission and how
it supports U.S. national security goals,
let’s look at how a joint information
bureau (JIB) supports a unified command
in a real-world mission/operation. JIB
personnel will function as the area of
operation public affairs headquarters.
1. JIBs support the information and
logistical requirements of large numbers
of news media representatives.
yy This includes things normally
provided for reporters, such as
answers to queries, interview and
photo opportunities, press briefings
or escorting media to field units.
yy But it also includes acquiring
equipment such as gas masks, flak
vests and rain gear or arranging
medical care for a reporter’s injury,
access to dining facilities and a
place for reporters to sleep and
work.
yy JIBs provide media accreditation.
2. JIBs develop appropriate public affairs
“messages” or “themes” that support
operational goals. These can address
the mission, operational milestones,
statistics and trends, accident details,
leadership concerns, etc. This ensures all
spokespersons are singing from the same
sheet of music.
Operational Public Affairs
yy Message development is a
deliberate process and should
involve close coordination with
approved DOD public affairs
guidance, the Joint Force
commander, the nations involved
and the American Embassy.
Never let your messages develop
haphazardly. Staff all responses
through primary and personal staff
members.
yy Your troops can also be used as
force multipliers for disseminating
your messages. This will mean
providing media training to service
members as they deploy.
3. JIBs develop and provide in theater PA
guidance to the field, such as ground rules,
security review, theater airlift approval and
logistical support policies.
4. JIBs provide a link between the assistant
secretary of defense for public affairs and
public affairs staffs throughout the area of
operations.
JIBs are organized in a hub and
spoke fashion. The main JIB makes
communications policies and decisions.
It should be organized in a rear, easily
accessible area near the operations hub.
This location allows for the easiest access to
needed information and commanders, and
ensures communications capability.
• Sub JIBs gather information, escort
media and arrange transportation. These
elements are established as needed at
forward operating bases and locations of
intense activity. Sub JIBs ideally consist
of about five people, and PA cells may
have as few as one individual.
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Joint Service Operations
Operational Public Affairs
Joint operational and public
affairs terms
Annex F
Combined
The annex to an
operation plan
or order that
describes the
public affairs
aspects of the
operation.
A command,
staff or exercise
involving the
military forces of
more than one
nation. (Note:
Having foreign
national employees
does not make
your organization
a combined
organization.)
Joint task force
(JTF)
Joint information
bureau (JIB)
Public affairs
guidance
Sub-unified
A temporary
subordinate
command,
normally given a
specific operational
mission.
This is the
temporary public
affairs element
assigned to a JTF
or set up for a
joint operation or
exercise.
A package of
information to
support the public
discussion of
defense issues
and operations.
It may include
news releases
and responses
to anticipated
questions.
A subordinate joint
command that
has a continuing
mission for a
geographically
smaller area
within a unified
command’s area of
operations.
Component
commanders
Service
commanders in a
unified command.
Joint
Operations
or commands
involving more
than one U.S.
service.
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Basic Public Affairs Specialist Course
Operational Public Affairs
Conclusion
Due to the nature of today’s military
operations, it is necessary to understand
why we fight as a joint service team
and each service’s role as a member
of the team. By understanding this,
we can contribute to the realization of
our country’s national security goals by
facilitating the media’s needs in a joint
atmosphere.
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Joint Service Operations
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References
(2005) Joint publication 3-61: Public affairs.
http://www.dtic.mil/doctrine/jel/new_pubs/jp3_61.pdf
Retrieved May 04, 2009
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