Personal Call to Action!
Jack,Originally Posted by Jack
Thanks much for posting this as the SWJ and Council are part of the 'new media' - even us old farts around here.
Council Members,
Please review and comment as part of the Small Wars Journal / Council community of interest. OSD had gone to great lengths to adapt - and Jack's office in particular had been very supportive of the efforts of mil bloggers and other members of the new media.
It's a new world out there...
Dave
First, Page 3 chart on "strategic to tactical", JP 3-13 defines several of those elements within the Information Operations sphere (specifically, psyop, deception).
Second, Page 5, DIME venn made me laugh as I have that exact construct in a web posting I did and briefing on the topic. In the same colors. Why is it funny? I got hammered for not using MID-LIFE for the same discussion.
I really like the content, connectivity, cognition. Would be nice to see a venn of that linked to the physical, data, cognition constructs that exist. No I don't know how to do that.
Interesting support and counter point is Blog Wars by Perlmutter.
On first blush I like it. Now mulling.
Sam Liles
Selil Blog
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Feedback - do not start from this?
The paper is rather dense reading on a VDU and the layout needs to be improved.
I dislike the emphasis on the DoD being at the centre of strategic communications etc. Yes, relevant in combat zones like Afghanistan, not in Sub-Saharan Africa for example. What the USA has to communicate must come from clearly identifiable civilian sources, not the military.
The focus appears to be on the developed world, with it's electronic media access and variety of sources. In the less developed world internet access is the exception; radio plays a far more important role - cue the BBC World Service.
After 7/7 in London the Metropolitan Police (MPS) explained at a seminar that although they had excellent contacts with the mainstream media (of all types) they had next to no contact with two hundred plus non-English speaking radio outlets broadcasting in London. Reaching them would take time and a willingness to accept what MPS wanted to communicate. Curiously the multi-lingual press were not covered and in the UK their reporting / editorials appear rarely to reach outside their readership.
What media do non-American audiences use? I cannot recall seeing a mention of that, although it could have been in the footnotes.
IMHO designing a communication strategy without clearly stating that is doomed to fail.
Accepting a strategy is selected how will non-government US-based / US-owned media react? There will be no common "song sheet", rather I suspect the reverse - except in times of crisis.
What is the message the strategy seeks to deliver? That the USA is a good neighbour / friend and the worst enemy you can ever wish for once awakened?
In summary, I would not start this uphill fight based on this document.
I wholeheartedly agree with David
on my first reading; very bad format, over long, redundancy, developed world centric, inadequate attention to AM radio, etc. etc. DoD should only be involved at the operational and tactical level and then only lightly. It does not really address interface or dealing with a potentially hostile US media presence who will challenge anything done by the government just so they can say they did...
That said, however, like Sam, I'm still mulling.
As a matter of fact
Long enough that I decided to wait till next week to really dig into it.
That said I think this right towards the beginning is somewhat indicative of the problem your both pointing out.
Not so sure that it sure ever be approached as DOD strengthening a position IN National public diplomacy. The two need to be definitively different in both their approaches and who's pushing them. Somewhat of a slippery slope there which pols might pull mil in whence they do not belong. That said the second part; NOT acting alone and making sure there is a common strategy and path forward is where DOD belongs as it is one of the largest stakeholders in that strategies success or failure; seems on the right track.DoD has the opportunity, if it so chooses, to strengthen its participation in national public diplomacy
and public affaires engagements. At the conclusion of the paper, we present recommendations in support of DoD public
diplomacy and public affairs transformation
DoD must not act alone: The interagency community and affected
stakeholders must craft a strategic path forward under the auspices of a common national communication strategy.
Any man can destroy that which is around him, The rare man is he who can find beauty even in the darkest hours
Cogitationis poenam nemo patitur
I'd really like to see that venn diagram in 3D rather than on a plane. We work in spheres of information, influence, action, etc. and on a plane the diagram can't get at the actual dynamics and connectivity of the cognitive factors sharing the content. I think I just gave myself a headache ...
Currently reading Perlmutter and 9th Edition of Effective Public Relations. Good stuff in both.
I've downloaded and hoping to read it at work today while all the suits are in their management meeting.
Brant
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THanx Dave.
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