THE MILITARY AND PUBLIC RELATIONS ? Issues, Strategies and Challenges


Book Description

Public Relations practice, its approaches and methods have become widely and deeply entrenched in business, government and in many other complex organizations especially in the developed nations of the world. In same manner, its relevance and utility as tool of institutional promotion have equally come to be appreciated in the Armed Forces. The text therefore, within context of the evolution, growth and development of the broad discipline of Public Relations appropriately situates its practice in the military. It articulates and highlights in-depth, the many aspects to public relations practice in the armed Forces drawing examples extensively from especially the experiences of the United States and UK Armed Services. Divided into Four Parts, the book examines the role of the Military in society and traces the evolution of modern public Relations and its development in the military. Under 'Public Relations Principles, Approaches and Practice", it analyses the role and function of public relations in the interface of military and society, and further highlight the purpose of military public relations, its targets, strategies and tactics. It examines Public Relations practice in the Nigerian Military including public perception and management. Current and topical Issues in Public Relations and Communication such as 'Technology, the Military and Public Relations', 'Social Media, Public Relations and the Military', 'Security Threats, Crisis Management and the Role of Communications', and 'Challenges to Military Public Relations Practice' were analyzed. The book finally concludes with 'The Importance of Military Public Relations in a Democratic Society'. Given the perpetual need to constantly `keep the military in the public eye', the book strongly posits that it is appropriate that public relations be properly positioned as the strategic machinery through which the military could seek to identify with the people and invariably, national interest in order for them to render accounts of their performances and seek informed public support as obtains in developed democracies. This book will be a useful source of reference to especially military public relations officers and indeed all military officers across the world. It further should bring forth better insight to the understanding by the civilian populace, communications professionals, and research scholars specializing in military public relations or public affairs operating in diverse regions of the world.




Strengthening the Military Family Readiness System for a Changing American Society


Book Description

The U.S. military has been continuously engaged in foreign conflicts for over two decades. The strains that these deployments, the associated increases in operational tempo, and the general challenges of military life affect not only service members but also the people who depend on them and who support them as they support the nation â€" their families. Family members provide support to service members while they serve or when they have difficulties; family problems can interfere with the ability of service members to deploy or remain in theater; and family members are central influences on whether members continue to serve. In addition, rising family diversity and complexity will likely increase the difficulty of creating military policies, programs and practices that adequately support families in the performance of military duties. Strengthening the Military Family Readiness System for a Changing American Society examines the challenges and opportunities facing military families and what is known about effective strategies for supporting and protecting military children and families, as well as lessons to be learned from these experiences. This report offers recommendations regarding what is needed to strengthen the support system for military families.




Strategies to Enhance Air Force Communication with Internal and External Audiences


Book Description

The U.S. Air Force (USAF) helps defend the United States and its interests by organizing, training, and equipping forces for operations in and through three distinct domains-air, space, and cyberspace. The Air Force concisely expresses its vision as "Global Vigilance, Global Reach, and Global Power for America." Operations within each of these domains are dynamic, take place over large distances, occur over different operational timelines, and cannot be routinely seen or recorded, making it difficult for Airmen, national decision makers, and the American People to visualize and comprehend the full scope of Air Force operations. As a result, the Air Force faces increasing difficulty in succinctly and effectively communicating the complexity, dynamic range, and strategic importance of its mission to Airmen and to the American people. To address this concern, the Chief of Staff of the USAF requested that the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine convene a workshop to explore options on how the Air Force can effectively communicate the strategic importance of the Service, its mission, and the role it plays in the defense of the United States. Participants worked to address the issues that a diverse workforce encompassing a myriad of backgrounds, education, and increasingly diverse current mission sets drives the requirement for a new communication strategy. The demographics of today's Air Force creates both a unique opportunity and a distinct challenge to Air Force leadership as it struggles to communicate its vision and strategy effectively across several micro-cultures within the organization and to the general public. This report summarizes the presentations and discussions from the workshop.




Women’s Work in Public Relations


Book Description

Reconceptualising human experience through a holistic feminist approach, this book takes us behind the scenes to connect with women navigating the problems and contradictions of everyday working life.




Media and Nigeria's Constitutional Democracy


Book Description

In this edited collection, contributors analyze how the media is navigating Nigeria and its mediated democracy. Scholars of journalism, political communication, and media studies will find this book of particular interest.




Ideas as Weapons


Book Description

Because the nexus of information conflict is most easily viewed in the world's contemporary violent confrontations, this anthology is heavily weighted toward military personnel who have managed these difficult issues."--BOOK JACKET.




NATO 2030


Book Description

The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) is the world’s largest, most powerful military alliance. The Alliance has navigated and survived the Cold War, the collapse of the Soviet Union, and the post-9/11 era. Since the release of the 2010 Strategic Concept, NATO’s strategic environment has again undergone significant change. The need to adapt is clear. An opportunity to assess the Alliance’s achievements and future goals has now emerged with the Secretary General’s drive to create a new Strategic Concept for the next decade—an initiative dubbed NATO 2030. A necessary step for formulating a new strategic outlook will thus be understanding the future that faces NATO. To remain relevant and adjust to new circumstances, the Alliance must identify its main challenges and opportunities in the next ten years and beyond. This book contributes to critical conversations on NATO’s future vitality by examining the Alliance’s most salient issues and by offering recommendations to ensure its effectiveness moving forward. Written by a diverse, multigenerational group of policymakers and academics from across Europe and the United States, this book provides new insights about NATO’s changing threat landscape, its shifting internal dynamics, and the evolution of warfare. The volume’s authors tackle a wide range of issues, including the challenges of Russia and China, democratic backsliding, burden sharing, the extension of warfare to space and cyberspace, partnerships, and public opinion. With rigorous assessments of NATO’s challenges and opportunities, each chapter provides concrete recommendations for the Alliance to chart a path for the future. As such, this book is an indispensable resource for NATO’s strategic planners and security and defense experts more broadly.




Stars and Stripes


Book Description

Pursuant to a legislative requirement, GAO investigated allegations of censorship, news management, and command influence at the Stars and Stripes newspapers. GAO found that: (1) institutional and cultural differences between the military and media made it difficult for the papers to simultaneously accomplish their missions to provide accurate, uncensored news and their military mission to provide mission-oriented material; (2) although the Department of Defense (DOD) revised its publications policy in 1984 in order to help prevent censorship, the revision actually permitted greater military influence by establishing an advisory board for each paper to be chaired by the appropriate unified command's public affairs officer, and by prohibiting investigative reporting; (3) according to a panel formed by the Society of Professional Journalists, evidence of censorship and inappropriate news management was conclusive at the Pacific Stars and Stripes, but inconclusive at the European Stars and Stripes; (4) allegations at the Pacific paper concerned attempts by military officials to influence reporting on subjects sensitive to host countries, attempts to influence Stars and Stripes personnel actions, and military unresponsiveness to reporters' inquiries; (5) most of the allegations in Europe involved external influence by commanders and their public affairs officers, who caused stories to be withheld or delayed, or were unresponsive; and (6) although 47 percent of the wire services' stories on DOD were negative, only 35 percent of the wire services' DOD stories published in the European paper were negative, and only 27 percent were negative in the Pacific paper.




American Civil-Military Relations


Book Description

American Civil-Military Relations offers the first comprehensive assessment of the subject since the publication of Samuel P. Huntington’s The Soldier and the State. Using this seminal work as a point of departure, experts in the fields of political science, history, and sociology ask what has been learned and what more needs to be investigated in the relationship between civilian and military sectors in the 21st century. Leading scholars—such as Richard Betts, Risa Brooks, James Burk, Michael Desch, Peter Feaver, Richard Kohn, Williamson Murray, and David Segal—discuss key issues, including: • changes in officer education since the end of the Cold War • shifting conceptions of military expertise in response to evolving operational and strategic requirements • increased military involvement in high-level politics • the domestic and international contexts of U.S. civil-military relations. The first section of the book provides contrasting perspectives of American civil-military relations within the last five decades. The next section addresses Huntington’s conception of societal and functional imperatives and their influence on the civil-military relationship. Following sections examine relationships between military and civilian leaders and describe the norms and practices that should guide those interactions. What is clear from the essays in this volume is that the line between civil and military expertise and responsibility is not that sharply drawn, and perhaps given the increasing complexity of international security issues, it should not be. When forming national security policy, the editors conclude, civilian and military leaders need to maintain a respectful and engaged dialogue. Essential reading for those interested in civil-military relations, U.S. politics, and national security policy.