Public Affairs

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Public Affairs
Information or assistance Capt Frank
Geraty Director of Public Affairs and
Marketing California Wing, Civil Air
Patrol United States Air Force Auxiliary frank.ge
raty_at_cawg.cap.gov 818 531-8134 (cell)
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CAWG Conference 2006 Public Affairs Seminar

• PA overview
• Open Deputy positions
• Press release efforts and challenges
• Chris Storey, PA of the year
• Chriss templates and projects
• Questions Comments Suggestions

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With public sentiment nothing can fail without
it, nothing can succeed. He who molds public
opinion goes deeper than he who enacts statutes
or pronounces decisions. - Abraham
Lincoln
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Public Affairs
1Lt Frank Geraty Director of Public Affairs and
Marketing California Wing, Civil Air
Patrol United States Air Force Auxiliary
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What is Public Affairs and What Do They Do?
For Civil Air Patrol to survive and grow, it must
rely on the good will and understanding of the
public. Public affairs officers tell the CAP
story to both the public and CAP members. They
must understand how CAP fits into the local
community. Public affairs could very well be
explained as covering tomorrows history today.
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Public Affairs

• Every CAP member is charged with personal
  responsibility to be a public affairs
  representative
• Appointed public affairs officers carry
  additional responsibility as the official
  spokesperson for the unit and the commander

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C cubed (Command, Control, Communicate)
By tasking Public Affairs Officer to handle the
communication role in your squadron, the
commander will be freed up to focus more energy
and time on the remaining Cs Command and
Control. When communication is good,
cooperation, teamwork, and consensus enables
successful outcomes.
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Public Affairs

• Advisor to squadron commander regarding all
  public affairs matters
• Advisor on CAP and USAF protocols concerning
  dignitaries, flag presentation, music selection,
  ceremonies, and other official gathering customs
  and traditions
• Responsible for effective program of publicity on
  squadron activities and acknowledgements
• Internal and external squadron communication and
  acknowledgement of member achievement is vital to
  good leadership and morale
• Encouraging the PA to get the word out ensures
  command initiatives get communicated

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Public Affairs

• Delegate A Pat On The Back
• Ensures your program gets done
• Takes the load off of your plate
• Where follow-up would normally take place anyway
• Generate a process that takes only review
  instead of time consuming action on your part.
• Old News is No News At All
• Delegate as much communication to the PA as
  possible
• Give PA the responsibility to broadcast your
  information to the rest of the squadron
• Getting the word out your way, before it is too
  late, is the way to go

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Public Affairs

• The Telephone Game
• If you limit your spokespersons to a very few,
  your message will more often than not be clear
  and accurate.
• The Trap
• A good working relationship with your PA, who
  does an excellent job of communicating for you,
  can be a trap
• Squadron members need one-on-one contact from
  their commander, too
• Make sure you only delegate broad messages and
  those that are best served by a spokesperson

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The Many Uses and Titlesof Public Affairs
Officers

• Advisor
• Assistant
• Liaison
• Representative
• Official spokesperson
• Presenter
• Master of Ceremonies
• Publicist
• Newsletter and/or Website editor
• Communicator
• Responder
• Champion

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Attributes

• Responsible
• Intelligent
• Trustworthy
• Experienced
• Knowledgeable
• Self-starter
• Self-finisher
• Committed

• At ease speaking in front of groups
• Well groomed
• Personable
• Outgoing
• Computer literate
• Good writing skills
• Good communicator

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Summary
The Squadron PA Officer offers the Commander

• Spokesperson who communicates to squadron members
  and outside entities.
• Advisor on communication avenues of opportunity
• Advisor on CAP standards, customs and courtesies
• Champion of the commanders initiatives and
  programs
• Assistant to the commander for event planning

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With public sentiment nothing can fail without
it, nothing can succeed. He who molds public
opinion goes deeper than he who enacts statutes
or pronounces decisions. - Abraham
Lincoln