b. TOPIC. Public Affairs Support for Operation United Assistance ( 2321 )
Observation.
"Combined" media interviews (held with State Department, USAID, and DoD
representatives), deployed military Public Affairs "enablers," and focused rear
detachment support were the key elements of Public Affairs success during
Operation United Assistance (OUA) – the U.S. Africa Command (USAFRICOM)
response to the Ebola epidemic in West Africa, in support of the U.S. Agency for
International Development (USAID) (Sep 2014 - Mar 2015).
Discussion.
"Combined" Media Interviews. During the first several days of operations,
Joint Forces Command-Operation United Assistance (JFC-OUA) had only four
Public Affairs personnel [from U.S. Army Africa (USARAF)] on the ground in
Liberia: one planner, one Public Affairs officer, one photo-journalist, and one
combat camera specialist. Initially flooded with media requests for interviews,
these few JFC-OUA personnel found a way to manage media activities through
conducting close coordination with the Public Affairs offices of the U.S. Embassy
(Monrovia), USAID, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and U.S. Public
Health Service. An early decision was made that the three primary US Government agencies (DoD/JFC-OUA, State Department/U.S. Embassy, and USAID)
would all conduct media interviews together. This decision proved to be a
powerful tool that enabled the "team" to field questions according to areas of
expertise and portray a "whole-of- government" approach to the audiences.
Furthermore, it allowed the relatively small number of available Public Affairs
personnel to leverage one another's capabilities and develop a manageable
short-term planning & execution timeline of media events.
Deployed Public Affairs "Enablers”. Two weeks into the operation, a Joint
Public Affairs Support Element (JPASE) deployed to Liberia to support JFCOUA. The JPASE worked for the JFC, but also aided the State Department/U.S.
Embassy and USAID in developing a long-range schedule of Public Affairs
events, which added predictability to key leaders' calendars, and impacted the
narrative to reflect a "whole-of-government" approach into media reporting. The
JPASE was a key contributor for attaining successful media relations in Liberia.
Its arrival marked a positive shift in the communication environment, overcoming
early negative local media reports that were often based on suspicions and
rumors. The JPASE accomplished this by scheduling a series of key leader
interviews that were open to local and international press – with messages that
calmed unfounded fears and educated the public about Ebola. Besides this
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