Shaping Today's Battlefield: Public Affairs as an Operational Function

Abstract

Public affairs (PA) is more relevant to operational success than ever before and should be considered an operational function. Three developments support this contention. First, the mass media's ability to impact operations is getting stronger. Secondly, the often-ambiguous aims sought in most operations today require greater communication of military goals and objectives, as well as public support. Third, there has been an increasing reliance on PA support by personnel working in information operations (IO). Effecting this change will require at least the following: a major cultural shift in how PA is regarded; stronger reliance on PA within command structures; new measures of PA effectiveness; network centric thinking in PA execution; and more emphasis on PA's operational implications in joint doctrine.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Feb 08, 2000
Accession Number
ADA378545

Entities

People

  • John F. Kirby

Organizations

  • Naval War College

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Biomedical
  • Energy and Power Technologies
  • Materials and Manufacturing Processes
  • Space

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Air Force
  • Command And Control
  • Doctrine
  • Electronic Mail
  • Information Operations
  • Interagency Coordination
  • International Organizations
  • Law
  • Lessons Learned
  • Military Operations
  • Military Science
  • National Security
  • Psychological Operations
  • Students
  • War Colleges
  • Warfare
  • Websites

Readers

  • Facility/Structural Engineering.
  • Joint Military Operations and Doctrine.
  • Strategic Security Studies