Admiral Mullen, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, addressed strategic communications in a recent article that was published in the Joint Forces Quarterly. "From the Chairman, Strategic Communications: Getting Back to Basics." http://www.ndu.edu/inss/Press/jfq_pages/edition/i55/1.pdf
The Chairman talks about several points on Strategic Communications in his article. I believe there are two points that are being applied at the Command and General Staff College, (CGSC) located at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas.
Admiral Mullen states, "we have allowed strategic communications to become a thing instead of a process..." At a microlevel, the Command and General Staff College requires students to engage in four different types of outreach engagements. These "practicle exercises" allow field grade officers to understand the powerful impacts these engagements can have before going back to the deploying force. It is essential in today's information domain to consider incorporating strategic communications as part of our planning processes. Engaging with the public, in any domain, as a military should be considered an operation and treated as such, deliberate planning with a clear endstate.
Admiral Mullen also states, "... But more important than any particular tool, we must know the context within which our actions will be received and understood. We hurt ourselves and the message we try to send when it appears we are doing something merely for the credit." The Chairman's point is clearly to back our message up with our actions; but I believe he also brings up another point, it should never be about "I". As we work to fullfill the requirements here at CGSC, we are focused on making it about those we serve. Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen and Marines represent half of one percent of the U.S. population. Their stories are the ones that need to be shared. The American public should know the sacrifices that these heroes and their family members are making for our nation each and everyday.
Our Army is providing an opportunity in a learning environment to become more active in a Culture of Engagement. We definitely don't have it completely right and we are not the best at it, but our Army is taking the right steps toward training and educating Leaders so that we embrace it.
MAJ Phil Kiniery
IN, US Army
CGSC SG19A
http://usacac.army.mil/cac2/
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