The Air Force Public Affairs Program: A View from the Commander.

Abstract

This thesis examined the relationship between an AF Public Affairs (PA) Officer and an AF Commander. Respondents were randomly selected AF Commanders from Air Base Groups and Air Base wings. These individuals answered a 227-item Likert scale semantic differential questionnaire designed to elicit their responses on a variety of questions dealing with their relationships with PA Officers. Factor analysis of the replies showed there were two groupings of commanders within the group sampled. The first group was extremely positive in their relationship with Public Affairs and were identified by their thinking that Internal Information is the most important function of Public Affairs. The second group generally had a positive relationship with Public Affairs but were categorized by their thinking that Community Relations is the most important function of Public Affairs. Through a cross-tabulation, it was found that there was no support to the contention that a junior-ranking PA Officer was perceived as less competent by a Commander, or that Commanders with no previous command experience were less supportive of Public Affairs, or that a PA Officer has less promotion potential than an officer with an operational background.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Jan 01, 1984
Accession Number
ADA148256

Entities

People

  • D. K. Cannon

Organizations

  • Air Force Institute of Technology

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • C4I

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Air Force
  • Communities
  • Community Relations
  • Data Analysis
  • Data Science
  • Factor Analysis
  • Geographic Regions
  • Information Science
  • Mass Media
  • New York
  • Oklahoma
  • Public Relations
  • Social Sciences
  • Statistical Analysis
  • Students
  • Surveys
  • United States

Readers

  • International Journalism and Media Studies.
  • Military Leadership and Professional Education.
  • Organizational Psychology.