From paa.sdwg at gmail.com Sat Aug 9 10:48:58 2014 From: paa.sdwg at gmail.com (Bruce Kipp) Date: Sat, 9 Aug 2014 10:48:58 -0500 Subject: [PAO] New CAPP 201 - Public Affairs Officer Specialty Track Message-ID: I've just had a chance to go over the new specialty track pamphlet CAPP 201 - Public Affairs Officer. I am dismayed by the number of new roadblocks placed in our way. First, I think it is just flat wrong to force a PAO to become an ES PIO whether they want to or not in order to advance in the specialty track. IMHO that should be up to the individual to decide. Second, from my perspective the worst roadblock is the requirement to take FEMA Course E-388 (Advanced PIO) in order to obtain "Master" rating. The problem is that E-388 is classroom taught and is only taught at the ES Institute in Emmitsburg, PA. In addition, the prerequisite for E-388 is G-290 (PIO Basic). That classroom course is taught at state level. However, G-290 hasn't been taught in South Dakota for the past several years and their isn't another iteration scheduled until August 2015! The requirement for G-290 is for "Senior" level, something I already am. So the new CAPP 201 requires I go backwards in order to advance since you can't take E-388 unless you have had G-290. I am retired and live on a pension. The transportation, lodging and meal costs involved in traipsing across my state and across my nation in order to check off the boxes to rise in the specialty track levels is prohibitive. In addition, I have medial conditions which make such travel and a lengthy duration away from home difficult. Lest you think that I am just a whiner, I have been Wing PAO of the Year in two different wings twice in the past three years. I have also been Region PAO of the Year twice in two different regions in the past three years and nominated for the national Bud Payton public affairs award twice in three years. So, I'd say that I'm doing a pretty good job as a PAO. and yes, I am also a CAP ES PIO. What is especially galling is that I had completed all the requirements for "Master" level under the old CAPP 201 except for having two consecutive years in my position as PAO. I was within 4 months of meeting that goal. I moved from MTWG to SDWG in 2012 and there was a few months gap between my resigning as PAO in MTWG and becoming PAO in SDWG. I asked NHQ/PA about it and was told there is no grandfathering. They have changed the rules for the specialty track without grandfathering those of us who were already progressing in the track. IMHO, those of us already progressing in the PAO track should have been grandfathered and those just entering the specialty track would come under the new CAPP 201. I had anticipated achieving "Master" level in November and, at the same time, completing Level IV. Now, It looks like it will be years, if ever, before I will be able to advance in the PAO specialty track and in the professional development program. ^ *Bruce Kipp, Major, CAP* *Public Affairs Officer* *SD Wing Civil Air Patrol* *605-261-4507 * *Email: paa.sdwg at gmail.com * *Website: www.sdcap.us * *[image: Twitter]* *[image: facebook]* *[image: Flickr]* -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: image008.png Type: image/png Size: 2920 bytes Desc: not available URL: -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: image009.jpg Type: image/jpeg Size: 1053 bytes Desc: not available URL: -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: image007.png Type: image/png Size: 3194 bytes Desc: not available URL: From jcarlson at flwg.us Sat Aug 9 13:36:38 2014 From: jcarlson at flwg.us (Jeff Carlson, Grp 5 HQ) Date: Sat, 9 Aug 2014 14:36:38 -0400 Subject: [PAO] New CAPP 201 - Public Affairs Officer Specialty Track In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: <047201cfb400$db667b80$92337280$@flwg.us> Major Kipps, In those immortal words, “I feel your pain”. I don’t agree with all of your comments, but you bring up valid points. For several years CAPNHQ/PA has made its role to have the final decision in progression along the specialty track by having the candidate submit a portfolio of work. I don’t know how many PAOs actually completed this process to earn their rating or simply bypassed the process and cited the AFIDL course was no longer available and the rating was approved by the unit commander. The ‘tough luck’ attitude you describe does not reflect quality leadership. I hope CAPNHQ/PA reconsiders its position and is willing use the self-proclaimed subjective decision-making skills to take a closer look on a case by case basis. A quick review of the South Dakota Wing Internet presence shows an organized PA program. There is a strong social media presence, regular releases, and regulation compliance. I would have to say “the proof is in the pudding”. I don’t think the regulations specify that the time in duty has to be at the same unit. In addition, the fact that you have basically completed Level IV speaks volumes in an organization where a minority complete Level II and beyond. I am not a ribbon collector by nature and having a Master-rating does not enhance my self-image. I do have strong beliefs about continuing education. Every year, I take one or more workshops to freshen or further my knowledge and skills. This year, I completed a community education photography class, a public relations webinar, a Red Cross public relations workshop, and re-took a FEMA PIO course. I also attended/facilitated a CAP PA Academy. I don’t support the idea that you can mark a checkbox and never look back. You can learn much by re-visiting. I find that your comment of “go backwards” reveals a bit of a poor attitude, perhaps it is just your frustration about this matter. There has been a long-standing philosophical debate about CAP PAO versus PIO. It is a dual-hat role in most agencies; if for nothing else, to keep payroll expense down. I support enhancing requirements for CAP PIOs and agree that a member should be able to pursue one, the other, or both. We need to be more team oriented in public affairs. Care should be taken that we don’t hinder ourselves with labels. A PAO with a GES-rating can be a valuable mission staff resource for an assigned ES-rated PIO. I like that PIO training is required for the senior rating and think that a member needs to have a basic CAP PIO rating to earn a Master PAO rating. Historically, there have been limited seats available in the E-388 class with most made available to first-response personnel. I was fortunate. It was my affiliation with the Red Cross, not CAP, that got me the seat. While it looks good on paper, CAP may have to re-think that requirement. It may not be realistic. Then again…I would be curious to know on a national basis, what percentage of PAOs even have a P201 Technician rating. CAP needs a deeper pool of PA resources. In my opinion, 10% of the membership should be directly involved with achieving local unit PA goals. I like seeing the organization set high professional standards for members who elect to pursue a P201 professional rating. At the same time, a support mechanism needs to be established assist the personnel in completing the requirements. I don’t think the support is available for all of the new requirements. It is a work in progress. If we are to be understanding to the challenges faced by CAPNHQ/PA in fulfilling its leadership role, than CAPNHQ/PA needs to reciprocate. Thank you, Major, for your support of the CAP public affairs program; I hope you are able to reach a satisfactory conclusion with this matter. JEFFREY CARLSON, Maj, CAP Public Affairs Officer Group 5 HQ, Florida Wing Civil Air Patrol cap icon …Citizens serving communities email www facebook flickr youtube twitter From: cap-pao-bounces at lists.sempervigilans.org [mailto:cap-pao-bounces at lists.sempervigilans.org] On Behalf Of Bruce Kipp Sent: Saturday, August 09, 2014 11:49 AM To: CAP-PAO Subject: [PAO] New CAPP 201 - Public Affairs Officer Specialty Track I've just had a chance to go over the new specialty track pamphlet CAPP 201 - Public Affairs Officer. I am dismayed by the number of new roadblocks placed in our way. First, I think it is just flat wrong to force a PAO to become an ES PIO whether they want to or not in order to advance in the specialty track. IMHO that should be up to the individual to decide. Second, from my perspective the worst roadblock is the requirement to take FEMA Course E-388 (Advanced PIO) in order to obtain "Master" rating. The problem is that E-388 is classroom taught and is only taught at the ES Institute in Emmitsburg, PA. In addition, the prerequisite for E-388 is G-290 (PIO Basic). That classroom course is taught at state level. However, G-290 hasn't been taught in South Dakota for the past several years and their isn't another iteration scheduled until August 2015! The requirement for G-290 is for "Senior" level, something I already am. So the new CAPP 201 requires I go backwards in order to advance since you can't take E-388 unless you have had G-290. I am retired and live on a pension. The transportation, lodging and meal costs involved in traipsing across my state and across my nation in order to check off the boxes to rise in the specialty track levels is prohibitive. In addition, I have medial conditions which make such travel and a lengthy duration away from home difficult. Lest you think that I am just a whiner, I have been Wing PAO of the Year in two different wings twice in the past three years. I have also been Region PAO of the Year twice in two different regions in the past three years and nominated for the national Bud Payton public affairs award twice in three years. So, I'd say that I'm doing a pretty good job as a PAO. and yes, I am also a CAP ES PIO. What is especially galling is that I had completed all the requirements for "Master" level under the old CAPP 201 except for having two consecutive years in my position as PAO. I was within 4 months of meeting that goal. I moved from MTWG to SDWG in 2012 and there was a few months gap between my resigning as PAO in MTWG and becoming PAO in SDWG. I asked NHQ/PA about it and was told there is no grandfathering. They have changed the rules for the specialty track without grandfathering those of us who were already progressing in the track. IMHO, those of us already progressing in the PAO track should have been grandfathered and those just entering the specialty track would come under the new CAPP 201. I had anticipated achieving "Master" level in November and, at the same time, completing Level IV. Now, It looks like it will be years, if ever, before I will be able to advance in the PAO specialty track and in the professional development program. ^ Bruce Kipp, Major, CAP Public Affairs Officer SD Wing Civil Air Patrol 605-261-4507 Email: paa.sdwg at gmail.com Website: www.sdcap.us Twitter facebook Flickr -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: image001.png Type: image/png Size: 3194 bytes Desc: not available URL: -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: image002.png Type: image/png Size: 2920 bytes Desc: not available URL: -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: image003.jpg Type: image/jpeg Size: 1053 bytes Desc: not available URL: -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: image004.jpg Type: image/jpeg Size: 1370 bytes Desc: not available URL: -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: image006.jpg Type: image/jpeg Size: 886 bytes Desc: not available URL: -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: image008.jpg Type: image/jpeg Size: 987 bytes Desc: not available URL: -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: image010.png Type: image/png Size: 2049 bytes Desc: not available URL: -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: image012.png Type: image/png Size: 1906 bytes Desc: not available URL: -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: image014.png Type: image/png Size: 2229 bytes Desc: not available URL: -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: image016.png Type: image/png Size: 2008 bytes Desc: not available URL: From paul.cianciolo at natcapwg.cap.gov Sat Aug 9 13:46:10 2014 From: paul.cianciolo at natcapwg.cap.gov (Cianciolo, Lt Col, Paul) Date: Sat, 9 Aug 2014 14:46:10 -0400 Subject: [PAO] New CAPP 201 - Public Affairs Officer Specialty Track In-Reply-To: <047201cfb400$db667b80$92337280$@flwg.us> References: <047201cfb400$db667b80$92337280$@flwg.us> Message-ID: It would be different if one had to have a certain skill level rating in order to be placed in a specific duty position. It works for paid employees, but not sure the effectiveness with volunteers. What do other organizations do like Red Cross? Lt Col Paul Cianciolo Sent from my Droid DNA On Aug 9, 2014 2:39 PM, "Jeff Carlson, Grp 5 HQ" wrote: > Major Kipps, > > In those immortal words, “I feel your pain”. I don’t agree with all of > your comments, but you bring up valid points. > > > > For several years CAPNHQ/PA has made its role to have the final decision > in progression along the specialty track by having the candidate submit a > portfolio of work. I don’t know how many PAOs actually completed this > process to earn their rating or simply bypassed the process and cited the > AFIDL course was no longer available and the rating was approved by the > unit commander. The ‘tough luck’ attitude you describe does not reflect > quality leadership. I hope CAPNHQ/PA reconsiders its position and is > willing use the self-proclaimed subjective decision-making skills to take a > closer look on a case by case basis. > > > > A quick review of the South Dakota Wing Internet presence shows an > organized PA program. There is a strong social media presence, regular > releases, and regulation compliance. I would have to say “the proof is in > the pudding”. I don’t think the regulations specify that the time in duty > has to be at the same unit. In addition, the fact that you have basically > completed Level IV speaks volumes in an organization where a minority > complete Level II and beyond. > > > > I am not a ribbon collector by nature and having a Master-rating does not > enhance my self-image. I do have strong beliefs about continuing education. > Every year, I take one or more workshops to freshen or further my knowledge > and skills. This year, I completed a community education photography class, > a public relations webinar, a Red Cross public relations workshop, and > re-took a FEMA PIO course. I also attended/facilitated a CAP PA Academy. I > don’t support the idea that you can mark a checkbox and never look back. > You can learn much by re-visiting. I find that your comment of “go > backwards” reveals a bit of a poor attitude, perhaps it is just your > frustration about this matter. > > > > There has been a long-standing philosophical debate about CAP PAO versus > PIO. It is a dual-hat role in most agencies; if for nothing else, to keep > payroll expense down. I support enhancing requirements for CAP PIOs and > agree that a member should be able to pursue one, the other, or both. We > need to be more team oriented in public affairs. Care should be taken that > we don’t hinder ourselves with labels. A PAO with a GES-rating can be a > valuable mission staff resource for an assigned ES-rated PIO. I like that > PIO training is required for the senior rating and think that a member > needs to have a basic CAP PIO rating to earn a Master PAO rating. > > > > Historically, there have been limited seats available in the E-388 class > with most made available to first-response personnel. I was fortunate. It > was my affiliation with the Red Cross, not CAP, that got me the seat. > While it looks good on paper, CAP may have to re-think that requirement. It > may not be realistic. Then again…I would be curious to know on a national > basis, what percentage of PAOs even have a P201 Technician rating. > > > > CAP needs a deeper pool of PA resources. In my opinion, 10% of the > membership should be directly involved with achieving local unit PA goals. > I like seeing the organization set high professional standards for members > who elect to pursue a P201 professional rating. At the same time, a > support mechanism needs to be established assist the personnel in > completing the requirements. I don’t think the support is available for > all of the new requirements. It is a work in progress. If we are to be > understanding to the challenges faced by CAPNHQ/PA in fulfilling its > leadership role, than CAPNHQ/PA needs to reciprocate. > > > > Thank you, Major, for your support of the CAP public affairs program; I > hope you are able to reach a satisfactory conclusion with this matter. > > > > > > *JEFFREY CARLSON, Maj, CAP* > > Public Affairs Officer > > Group 5 HQ, Florida Wing > > Civil Air Patrol > > > > [image: cap icon] > > > > > *…Citizens serving communities* > > > > [image: email] [image: www] > [image: facebook] > [image: flickr] > [image: youtube] > [image: > twitter] > > > > > > > > *From:* cap-pao-bounces at lists.sempervigilans.org [mailto: > cap-pao-bounces at lists.sempervigilans.org] *On Behalf Of *Bruce Kipp > *Sent:* Saturday, August 09, 2014 11:49 AM > *To:* CAP-PAO > *Subject:* [PAO] New CAPP 201 - Public Affairs Officer Specialty Track > > > > I've just had a chance to go over the new specialty track pamphlet CAPP > 201 - Public Affairs Officer. I am dismayed by the number of new > roadblocks placed in our way. > > > > First, I think it is just flat wrong to force a PAO to become an ES PIO > whether they want to or not in order to advance in the specialty track. > IMHO that should be up to the individual to decide. > > > > Second, from my perspective the worst roadblock is the requirement to take > FEMA Course E-388 (Advanced PIO) in order to obtain "Master" rating. The > problem is that E-388 is classroom taught and is only taught at the ES > Institute in Emmitsburg, PA. In addition, the prerequisite for E-388 is > G-290 (PIO Basic). That classroom course is taught at state level. However, > G-290 hasn't been taught in South Dakota for the past several years and > their isn't another iteration scheduled until August 2015! The requirement > for G-290 is for "Senior" level, something I already am. So the new CAPP > 201 requires I go backwards in order to advance since you can't take E-388 > unless you have had G-290. > > > > I am retired and live on a pension. The transportation, lodging and meal > costs involved in traipsing across my state and across my nation in order > to check off the boxes to rise in the specialty track levels is > prohibitive. In addition, I have medial conditions which make such travel > and a lengthy duration away from home difficult. > > > > Lest you think that I am just a whiner, I have been Wing PAO of the Year > in two different wings twice in the past three years. I have also been > Region PAO of the Year twice in two different regions in the past three > years and nominated for the national Bud Payton public affairs award twice > in three years. So, I'd say that I'm doing a pretty good job as a PAO. and > yes, I am also a CAP ES PIO. > > > > What is especially galling is that I had completed all the requirements > for "Master" level under the old CAPP 201 except for having two consecutive > years in my position as PAO. I was within 4 months of meeting that goal. I > moved from MTWG to SDWG in 2012 and there was a few months gap between my > resigning as PAO in MTWG and becoming PAO in SDWG. I asked NHQ/PA about it > and was told there is no grandfathering. They have changed the rules for > the specialty track without grandfathering those of us who were already > progressing in the track. IMHO, those of us already progressing in the PAO > track should have been grandfathered and those just entering the specialty > track would come under the new CAPP 201. > > > > I had anticipated achieving "Master" level in November and, at the same > time, completing Level IV. Now, It looks like it will be years, if ever, > before I will be able to advance in the PAO specialty track and in the > professional development program. > > > > ^ > > *Bruce Kipp, Major, CAP* > > *Public Affairs Officer* > > *SD Wing Civil Air Patrol* > > *605-261-4507 <605-261-4507>* > > *Email: paa.sdwg at gmail.com * > > *Website: www.sdcap.us * > > *[image: Twitter]* *[image: facebook]* > *[image: Flickr]* > > > _______________________________________________ > Subscribed Email Address: pa at natcapwg.cap.gov > CAP-PAO mailing list > CAP-PAO at lists.sempervigilans.org > http://lists.sempervigilans.org/mailman/listinfo/cap-pao > > -- ------------------------------ Civil Air Patrol National Capital Wing *"Citizens Serving Communities: Above and Beyond"* CFC Charity #26757 www.NatCapWing.org -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: image002.png Type: image/png Size: 2920 bytes Desc: not available URL: -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: image016.png Type: image/png Size: 2008 bytes Desc: not available URL: -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: image008.jpg Type: image/jpeg Size: 987 bytes Desc: not available URL: -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: image014.png Type: image/png Size: 2229 bytes Desc: not available URL: -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: image010.png Type: image/png Size: 2049 bytes Desc: not available URL: -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: image003.jpg Type: image/jpeg Size: 1053 bytes Desc: not available URL: -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: image012.png Type: image/png Size: 1906 bytes Desc: not available URL: -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: image001.png Type: image/png Size: 3194 bytes Desc: not available URL: -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: image006.jpg Type: image/jpeg Size: 886 bytes Desc: not available URL: -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: image004.jpg Type: image/jpeg Size: 1370 bytes Desc: not available URL: From mahadocon at sbcglobal.net Sat Aug 9 13:47:36 2014 From: mahadocon at sbcglobal.net (mahadocon at sbcglobal.net) Date: Sat, 9 Aug 2014 11:47:36 -0700 Subject: [PAO] New CAPP 201 - Public Affairs Officer Specialty Track In-Reply-To: Message-ID: <1407610056.72182.YahooMailAndroidMobile@web185305.mail.gq1.yahoo.com> What the writers failed to see is the possibility the numbers of PAOs may decline in the future.  Would you become or remain a PAO if you could not advance pass the Tech Rating?  Afterall, not everyone wants to perform PIO duties, so why should a PAO seek PIO qualification requirements when he/she is happy doing PAO tasks & is great at it.  Start looking for unit PAO numbers to drop.  I'm looking to increase unit PAOs, but what do you think perspective PAOs not wanting to do PIO tasks do when they can't get beyond the Tech Rating in PA?  They'll seek another specialty track!  More dissatisfaction about the new CAPP 201 will come about.  Should have thought about the PA members instead of what would be nice to have.  Lt Col Fred Mahadocon, CAP PCR/DPA Sent from Yahoo Mail on Android -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: image007.png Type: image/png Size: 3194 bytes Desc: not available URL: -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: image008.png Type: image/png Size: 2920 bytes Desc: not available URL: -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: image009.jpg Type: image/jpeg Size: 1053 bytes Desc: not available URL: From terri at ncrichards.com Sat Aug 9 14:19:40 2014 From: terri at ncrichards.com (Terri Richards) Date: Sat, 9 Aug 2014 15:19:40 -0400 Subject: [PAO] New CAPP 201 - Public Affairs Officer Specialty Track In-Reply-To: References: <047201cfb400$db667b80$92337280$@flwg.us> Message-ID: Paul, Most other VOADs require the FEMA training for PIO/PAO or their own prep track. All: Some of the changes we are seeing could be related to the shift toward being more in line with the USAF; which in my opinion would benefit our organization in the long run. As PAOs we should make a comparison between USAF regs/expectations and ours. Keep in mind that the USAF is the only military division that has its Emergency Management in house. The other divisions have a civilian EM focus. With draw downs due to budget cuts CAP has a tremendous opportunity to take up an increasing role in USAF activities. Terri Richards > On Aug 9, 2014, at 14:45, "Cianciolo, Lt Col, Paul" wrote: > > It would be different if one had to have a certain skill level rating in order to be placed in a specific duty position. It works for paid employees, but not sure the effectiveness with volunteers. What do other organizations do like Red Cross? > > Lt Col Paul Cianciolo > Sent from my Droid DNA > >> On Aug 9, 2014 2:39 PM, "Jeff Carlson, Grp 5 HQ" wrote: >> Major Kipps, >> >> In those immortal words, “I feel your pain”. I don’t agree with all of your comments, but you bring up valid points. >> >> >> >> For several years CAPNHQ/PA has made its role to have the final decision in progression along the specialty track by having the candidate submit a portfolio of work. I don’t know how many PAOs actually completed this process to earn their rating or simply bypassed the process and cited the AFIDL course was no longer available and the rating was approved by the unit commander. The ‘tough luck’ attitude you describe does not reflect quality leadership. I hope CAPNHQ/PA reconsiders its position and is willing use the self-proclaimed subjective decision-making skills to take a closer look on a case by case basis. >> >> >> >> A quick review of the South Dakota Wing Internet presence shows an organized PA program. There is a strong social media presence, regular releases, and regulation compliance. I would have to say “the proof is in the pudding”. I don’t think the regulations specify that the time in duty has to be at the same unit. In addition, the fact that you have basically completed Level IV speaks volumes in an organization where a minority complete Level II and beyond. >> >> >> >> I am not a ribbon collector by nature and having a Master-rating does not enhance my self-image. I do have strong beliefs about continuing education. Every year, I take one or more workshops to freshen or further my knowledge and skills. This year, I completed a community education photography class, a public relations webinar, a Red Cross public relations workshop, and re-took a FEMA PIO course. I also attended/facilitated a CAP PA Academy. I don’t support the idea that you can mark a checkbox and never look back. You can learn much by re-visiting. I find that your comment of “go backwards” reveals a bit of a poor attitude, perhaps it is just your frustration about this matter. >> >> >> >> There has been a long-standing philosophical debate about CAP PAO versus PIO. It is a dual-hat role in most agencies; if for nothing else, to keep payroll expense down. I support enhancing requirements for CAP PIOs and agree that a member should be able to pursue one, the other, or both. We need to be more team oriented in public affairs. Care should be taken that we don’t hinder ourselves with labels. A PAO with a GES-rating can be a valuable mission staff resource for an assigned ES-rated PIO. I like that PIO training is required for the senior rating and think that a member needs to have a basic CAP PIO rating to earn a Master PAO rating. >> >> >> >> Historically, there have been limited seats available in the E-388 class with most made available to first-response personnel. I was fortunate. It was my affiliation with the Red Cross, not CAP, that got me the seat. While it looks good on paper, CAP may have to re-think that requirement. It may not be realistic. Then again…I would be curious to know on a national basis, what percentage of PAOs even have a P201 Technician rating. >> >> >> >> CAP needs a deeper pool of PA resources. In my opinion, 10% of the membership should be directly involved with achieving local unit PA goals. I like seeing the organization set high professional standards for members who elect to pursue a P201 professional rating. At the same time, a support mechanism needs to be established assist the personnel in completing the requirements. I don’t think the support is available for all of the new requirements. It is a work in progress. If we are to be understanding to the challenges faced by CAPNHQ/PA in fulfilling its leadership role, than CAPNHQ/PA needs to reciprocate. >> >> >> >> Thank you, Major, for your support of the CAP public affairs program; I hope you are able to reach a satisfactory conclusion with this matter. >> >> >> >> >> >> JEFFREY CARLSON, Maj, CAP >> >> Public Affairs Officer >> >> Group 5 HQ, Florida Wing >> >> Civil Air Patrol >> >> >> >> >> >> >> >> …Citizens serving communities >> >> >> >> >> >> >> >> >> >> >> >> From: cap-pao-bounces at lists.sempervigilans.org [mailto:cap-pao-bounces at lists.sempervigilans.org] On Behalf Of Bruce Kipp >> Sent: Saturday, August 09, 2014 11:49 AM >> To: CAP-PAO >> Subject: [PAO] New CAPP 201 - Public Affairs Officer Specialty Track >> >> >> >> I've just had a chance to go over the new specialty track pamphlet CAPP 201 - Public Affairs Officer. I am dismayed by the number of new roadblocks placed in our way. >> >> >> >> First, I think it is just flat wrong to force a PAO to become an ES PIO whether they want to or not in order to advance in the specialty track. IMHO that should be up to the individual to decide. >> >> >> >> Second, from my perspective the worst roadblock is the requirement to take FEMA Course E-388 (Advanced PIO) in order to obtain "Master" rating. The problem is that E-388 is classroom taught and is only taught at the ES Institute in Emmitsburg, PA. In addition, the prerequisite for E-388 is G-290 (PIO Basic). That classroom course is taught at state level. However, G-290 hasn't been taught in South Dakota for the past several years and their isn't another iteration scheduled until August 2015! The requirement for G-290 is for "Senior" level, something I already am. So the new CAPP 201 requires I go backwards in order to advance since you can't take E-388 unless you have had G-290. >> >> >> >> I am retired and live on a pension. The transportation, lodging and meal costs involved in traipsing across my state and across my nation in order to check off the boxes to rise in the specialty track levels is prohibitive. In addition, I have medial conditions which make such travel and a lengthy duration away from home difficult. >> >> >> >> Lest you think that I am just a whiner, I have been Wing PAO of the Year in two different wings twice in the past three years. I have also been Region PAO of the Year twice in two different regions in the past three years and nominated for the national Bud Payton public affairs award twice in three years. So, I'd say that I'm doing a pretty good job as a PAO. and yes, I am also a CAP ES PIO. >> >> >> >> What is especially galling is that I had completed all the requirements for "Master" level under the old CAPP 201 except for having two consecutive years in my position as PAO. I was within 4 months of meeting that goal. I moved from MTWG to SDWG in 2012 and there was a few months gap between my resigning as PAO in MTWG and becoming PAO in SDWG. I asked NHQ/PA about it and was told there is no grandfathering. They have changed the rules for the specialty track without grandfathering those of us who were already progressing in the track. IMHO, those of us already progressing in the PAO track should have been grandfathered and those just entering the specialty track would come under the new CAPP 201. >> >> >> >> I had anticipated achieving "Master" level in November and, at the same time, completing Level IV. Now, It looks like it will be years, if ever, before I will be able to advance in the PAO specialty track and in the professional development program. >> >> >> >> ^ >> >> Bruce Kipp, Major, CAP >> >> Public Affairs Officer >> SD Wing Civil Air Patrol >> 605-261-4507 >> Email: paa.sdwg at gmail.com >> Website: www.sdcap.us >> >> >> _______________________________________________ >> Subscribed Email Address: pa at natcapwg.cap.gov >> CAP-PAO mailing list >> CAP-PAO at lists.sempervigilans.org >> http://lists.sempervigilans.org/mailman/listinfo/cap-pao > > Civil Air Patrol National Capital Wing > "Citizens Serving Communities: Above and Beyond" > > CFC Charity #26757 > www.NatCapWing.org > > _______________________________________________ > Subscribed Email Address: terri at ncrichards.com > CAP-PAO mailing list > CAP-PAO at lists.sempervigilans.org > http://lists.sempervigilans.org/mailman/listinfo/cap-pao -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From kim.miller.cap at gmail.com Sat Aug 9 14:39:43 2014 From: kim.miller.cap at gmail.com (Kim Miller) Date: Sat, 09 Aug 2014 14:39:43 -0500 Subject: [PAO] New CAPP 201 - Public Affairs Officer Specialty Track In-Reply-To: <1407610056.72182.YahooMailAndroidMobile@web185305.mail.gq1.yahoo.com> References: <1407610056.72182.YahooMailAndroidMobile@web185305.mail.gq1.yahoo.com> Message-ID: <53E678FF.9070709@gmail.com> I have monitored this list for quite some time have received some good information here. Today I will for the first time share my thoughts. First let me say that I think the PAO specialty track takes determination to get through. It isn't necessarily the easiest one that CAP has; however I find it very rewarding. I saw the question about being 'grandfathered.' I too have been working on my Master rating and when I saw the new guidance come out, my eyes nearly popped out of my head. After working all day at my regular job (just like everyone else) and then coming home to do my CAP job; I am 'tired.' Seeing this new PAO update, I feel like it is requiring me to start over and personally I don't know if I have it in me. I think that there should be a PAO and a separate PIO specialty track; which I would definitely enroll in. For those of us that were nearly to the finish line....wow -- Kim Miller, Maj. Public Affairs Officer, Redstone Composite Squadron Civil Air Patrol United States Air Force Auxiliary https://twitter.com/RedstoneCAP https://plus.google.com/u/0/114218004378301685058/posts http://redstone119.alwg.cap.gov/ On 8/9/2014 1:47 PM, mahadocon at sbcglobal.net wrote: > > What the writers failed to see is the possibility the numbers of PAOs > may decline in the future. Would you become or remain a PAO if you > could not advance pass the Tech Rating? Afterall, not everyone wants > to perform PIO duties, so why should a PAO seek PIO qualification > requirements when he/she is happy doing PAO tasks & is great at it. > Start looking for unit PAO numbers to drop. I'm looking to increase > unit PAOs, but what do you think perspective PAOs not wanting to do > PIO tasks do when they can't get beyond the Tech Rating in PA? They'll > seek another specialty track! More dissatisfaction about the new CAPP > 201 will come about. Should have thought about the PA members instead > of what would be nice to have. > > Lt Col Fred Mahadocon, CAP > PCR/DPA > > Sent from Yahoo Mail on Android > > > > ------------------------------------------------------------------------ > *From: * Bruce Kipp ; > *To: * CAP-PAO ; > *Subject: * [PAO] New CAPP 201 - Public Affairs Officer Specialty Track > *Sent: * Sat, Aug 9, 2014 3:48:58 PM > > I've just had a chance to go over the new specialty track pamphlet > CAPP 201 - Public Affairs Officer. I am dismayed by the number of new > roadblocks placed in our way. > > First, I think it is just flat wrong to force a PAO to become an ES > PIO whether they want to or not in order to advance in the specialty > track. IMHO that should be up to the individual to decide. > > Second, from my perspective the worst roadblock is the requirement to > take FEMA Course E-388 (Advanced PIO) in order to obtain "Master" > rating. The problem is that E-388 is classroom taught and is only > taught at the ES Institute in Emmitsburg, PA. In addition, the > prerequisite for E-388 is G-290 (PIO Basic). That classroom course is > taught at state level. However, G-290 hasn't been taught in South > Dakota for the past several years and their isn't another iteration > scheduled until August 2015! The requirement for G-290 is for "Senior" > level, something I already am. So the new CAPP 201 requires I go > backwards in order to advance since you can't take E-388 unless you > have had G-290. > > I am retired and live on a pension. The transportation, lodging and > meal costs involved in traipsing across my state and across my nation > in order to check off the boxes to rise in the specialty track levels > is prohibitive. In addition, I have medial conditions which make such > travel and a lengthy duration away from home difficult. > > Lest you think that I am just a whiner, I have been Wing PAO of the > Year in two different wings twice in the past three years. I have also > been Region PAO of the Year twice in two different regions in the past > three years and nominated for the national Bud Payton public affairs > award twice in three years. So, I'd say that I'm doing a pretty good > job as a PAO. and yes, I am also a CAP ES PIO. > > What is especially galling is that I had completed all the > requirements for "Master" level under the old CAPP 201 except for > having two consecutive years in my position as PAO. I was within 4 > months of meeting that goal. I moved from MTWG to SDWG in 2012 and > there was a few months gap between my resigning as PAO in MTWG and > becoming PAO in SDWG. I asked NHQ/PA about it and was told there is > no grandfathering. They have changed the rules for the specialty track > without grandfathering those of us who were already progressing in the > track. IMHO, those of us already progressing in the PAO track should > have been grandfathered and those just entering the specialty track > would come under the new CAPP 201. > > I had anticipated achieving "Master" level in November and, at the > same time, completing Level IV. Now, It looks like it will be years, > if ever, before I will be able to advance in the PAO specialty track > and in the professional development program. > > ^ > *Bruce Kipp, Major, CAP* > > *Public Affairs Officer* > > *SD Wing Civil Air Patrol* > > *_605-261-4507_ * > > *Email: paa.sdwg at gmail.com * > > *Website: www.sdcap.us * > > *Twitter* *facebook* > *Flickr* > > > > > _______________________________________________ > Subscribed Email Address: kim.miller.cap at gmail.com > CAP-PAO mailing list > CAP-PAO at lists.sempervigilans.org > http://lists.sempervigilans.org/mailman/listinfo/cap-pao -- Kim Miller, Maj. Public Affairs Officer, Redstone Composite Squadron Civil Air Patrol United States Air Force Auxiliary -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: not available Type: image/png Size: 3194 bytes Desc: not available URL: -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: not available Type: image/png Size: 2920 bytes Desc: not available URL: -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: not available Type: image/jpeg Size: 1053 bytes Desc: not available URL: From jcarlson at flwg.us Sat Aug 9 14:52:28 2014 From: jcarlson at flwg.us (Jeff Carlson, Grp 5 HQ) Date: Sat, 9 Aug 2014 15:52:28 -0400 Subject: [PAO] New CAPP 201 - Public Affairs Officer Specialty Track In-Reply-To: References: <047201cfb400$db667b80$92337280$@flwg.us> Message-ID: <049c01cfb40b$734e6070$59eb2150$@flwg.us> Red Cross uses a skill-level rating; Associate, Supervisor, Manager. Additional training and additional field experience is required to move up. Field promotions can become common during a long response effort in order to keep positions filled. In my opinion, PIO duties are a slice of the overall CAP Public Affairs program and a Master-rated member should have a working understanding of all parts of the CAP PA program. I don’t think we should set the bar low so that everyone can rise to the top. I returned to school as an adult to earned my BA (’03) and MBA (’06) and found that “grade inflation” is a problem for schools. The goal should be a successful PA program, not an individual’s rating. Maybe the wrong incentive is being employed for CAP personnel in this matter. I think we would all be surprised to know how many CAP PAOs do not have a specialty track rating. While I encourage all PAOs in my group to become PIOs…I would consider it a successful program if they were all P201 tech-rated and completed annual training. Are the majority of CAP PAOs adequately engaged in their duty position? CAP can benefit by embracing higher standards, we need to make certain personnel have access to the resources necessary to meet the standards that are set. Jeff From: Terri Richards [mailto:terri at ncrichards.com] Sent: Saturday, August 09, 2014 3:20 PM To: CAP Public Affairs Officers Cc: jcarlson at flwg.us Subject: Re: [PAO] New CAPP 201 - Public Affairs Officer Specialty Track Paul, Most other VOADs require the FEMA training for PIO/PAO or their own prep track. All: Some of the changes we are seeing could be related to the shift toward being more in line with the USAF; which in my opinion would benefit our organization in the long run. As PAOs we should make a comparison between USAF regs/expectations and ours. Keep in mind that the USAF is the only military division that has its Emergency Management in house. The other divisions have a civilian EM focus. With draw downs due to budget cuts CAP has a tremendous opportunity to take up an increasing role in USAF activities. Terri Richards On Aug 9, 2014, at 14:45, "Cianciolo, Lt Col, Paul" wrote: It would be different if one had to have a certain skill level rating in order to be placed in a specific duty position. It works for paid employees, but not sure the effectiveness with volunteers. What do other organizations do like Red Cross? Lt Col Paul Cianciolo Sent from my Droid DNA On Aug 9, 2014 2:39 PM, "Jeff Carlson, Grp 5 HQ" wrote: Major Kipps, In those immortal words, “I feel your pain”. I don’t agree with all of your comments, but you bring up valid points. For several years CAPNHQ/PA has made its role to have the final decision in progression along the specialty track by having the candidate submit a portfolio of work. I don’t know how many PAOs actually completed this process to earn their rating or simply bypassed the process and cited the AFIDL course was no longer available and the rating was approved by the unit commander. The ‘tough luck’ attitude you describe does not reflect quality leadership. I hope CAPNHQ/PA reconsiders its position and is willing use the self-proclaimed subjective decision-making skills to take a closer look on a case by case basis. A quick review of the South Dakota Wing Internet presence shows an organized PA program. There is a strong social media presence, regular releases, and regulation compliance. I would have to say “the proof is in the pudding”. I don’t think the regulations specify that the time in duty has to be at the same unit. In addition, the fact that you have basically completed Level IV speaks volumes in an organization where a minority complete Level II and beyond. I am not a ribbon collector by nature and having a Master-rating does not enhance my self-image. I do have strong beliefs about continuing education. Every year, I take one or more workshops to freshen or further my knowledge and skills. This year, I completed a community education photography class, a public relations webinar, a Red Cross public relations workshop, and re-took a FEMA PIO course. I also attended/facilitated a CAP PA Academy. I don’t support the idea that you can mark a checkbox and never look back. You can learn much by re-visiting. I find that your comment of “go backwards” reveals a bit of a poor attitude, perhaps it is just your frustration about this matter. There has been a long-standing philosophical debate about CAP PAO versus PIO. It is a dual-hat role in most agencies; if for nothing else, to keep payroll expense down. I support enhancing requirements for CAP PIOs and agree that a member should be able to pursue one, the other, or both. We need to be more team oriented in public affairs. Care should be taken that we don’t hinder ourselves with labels. A PAO with a GES-rating can be a valuable mission staff resource for an assigned ES-rated PIO. I like that PIO training is required for the senior rating and think that a member needs to have a basic CAP PIO rating to earn a Master PAO rating. Historically, there have been limited seats available in the E-388 class with most made available to first-response personnel. I was fortunate. It was my affiliation with the Red Cross, not CAP, that got me the seat. While it looks good on paper, CAP may have to re-think that requirement. It may not be realistic. Then again…I would be curious to know on a national basis, what percentage of PAOs even have a P201 Technician rating. CAP needs a deeper pool of PA resources. In my opinion, 10% of the membership should be directly involved with achieving local unit PA goals. I like seeing the organization set high professional standards for members who elect to pursue a P201 professional rating. At the same time, a support mechanism needs to be established assist the personnel in completing the requirements. I don’t think the support is available for all of the new requirements. It is a work in progress. If we are to be understanding to the challenges faced by CAPNHQ/PA in fulfilling its leadership role, than CAPNHQ/PA needs to reciprocate. Thank you, Major, for your support of the CAP public affairs program; I hope you are able to reach a satisfactory conclusion with this matter. JEFFREY CARLSON, Maj, CAP Public Affairs Officer Group 5 HQ, Florida Wing Civil Air Patrol …Citizens serving communities From: cap-pao-bounces at lists.sempervigilans.org [mailto:cap-pao-bounces at lists.sempervigilans.org] On Behalf Of Bruce Kipp Sent: Saturday, August 09, 2014 11:49 AM To: CAP-PAO Subject: [PAO] New CAPP 201 - Public Affairs Officer Specialty Track I've just had a chance to go over the new specialty track pamphlet CAPP 201 - Public Affairs Officer. I am dismayed by the number of new roadblocks placed in our way. First, I think it is just flat wrong to force a PAO to become an ES PIO whether they want to or not in order to advance in the specialty track. IMHO that should be up to the individual to decide. Second, from my perspective the worst roadblock is the requirement to take FEMA Course E-388 (Advanced PIO) in order to obtain "Master" rating. The problem is that E-388 is classroom taught and is only taught at the ES Institute in Emmitsburg, PA. In addition, the prerequisite for E-388 is G-290 (PIO Basic). That classroom course is taught at state level. However, G-290 hasn't been taught in South Dakota for the past several years and their isn't another iteration scheduled until August 2015! The requirement for G-290 is for "Senior" level, something I already am. So the new CAPP 201 requires I go backwards in order to advance since you can't take E-388 unless you have had G-290. I am retired and live on a pension. The transportation, lodging and meal costs involved in traipsing across my state and across my nation in order to check off the boxes to rise in the specialty track levels is prohibitive. In addition, I have medial conditions which make such travel and a lengthy duration away from home difficult. Lest you think that I am just a whiner, I have been Wing PAO of the Year in two different wings twice in the past three years. I have also been Region PAO of the Year twice in two different regions in the past three years and nominated for the national Bud Payton public affairs award twice in three years. So, I'd say that I'm doing a pretty good job as a PAO. and yes, I am also a CAP ES PIO. What is especially galling is that I had completed all the requirements for "Master" level under the old CAPP 201 except for having two consecutive years in my position as PAO. I was within 4 months of meeting that goal. I moved from MTWG to SDWG in 2012 and there was a few months gap between my resigning as PAO in MTWG and becoming PAO in SDWG. I asked NHQ/PA about it and was told there is no grandfathering. They have changed the rules for the specialty track without grandfathering those of us who were already progressing in the track. IMHO, those of us already progressing in the PAO track should have been grandfathered and those just entering the specialty track would come under the new CAPP 201. I had anticipated achieving "Master" level in November and, at the same time, completing Level IV. Now, It looks like it will be years, if ever, before I will be able to advance in the PAO specialty track and in the professional development program. ^ Bruce Kipp, Major, CAP Public Affairs Officer SD Wing Civil Air Patrol 605-261-4507 Email: paa.sdwg at gmail.com Website: www.sdcap.us _______________________________________________ Subscribed Email Address: pa at natcapwg.cap.gov CAP-PAO mailing list CAP-PAO at lists.sempervigilans.org http://lists.sempervigilans.org/mailman/listinfo/cap-pao _____ Civil Air Patrol National Capital Wing "Citizens Serving Communities: Above and Beyond" CFC Charity #26757 www.NatCapWing.org _______________________________________________ Subscribed Email Address: terri at ncrichards.com CAP-PAO mailing list CAP-PAO at lists.sempervigilans.org http://lists.sempervigilans.org/mailman/listinfo/cap-pao -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From alice at mansell.com Sat Aug 9 15:20:48 2014 From: alice at mansell.com (Alice Mansell) Date: Sat, 9 Aug 2014 13:20:48 -0700 Subject: [PAO] New CAPP 201 - Public Affairs Officer Specialty Track In-Reply-To: References: <047201cfb400$db667b80$92337280$@flwg.us> Message-ID: Who wrote it? Who gets the thanks and credit! If "we" think it can be better, what better time to pool our collective wisdom than for Vegas next week where all the real decision makers should be. What do other similar organizations do? I have been more active with the Red Cross in recent years. All their public affairs training is free for their ES volunteers (aka "disaster services"). If deployed away from home -such as to Hawaii for a minimum 3 weeks as a call-out request went out to me this week - all travel, room and board is covered. Coast Guard Auxiliary. Legally, it's essentially a voluntary reserve CG unit with all training paid for by the regular CG.. These auxiliarists can serve aboard CG ships and stations right beside regular CG personnel with all training and duty time paid by federal funds. CAP still insists on its "corporate" freedom to avoid USAF personnel scrutinizing our budget from member dues and corporate for-profit sponsors, holding our personnel files, reviewing our FAA medicals or providing us "free" medicals from military flight surgeons, inspecting our aircraft as "public aircraft" as USCGAux has for its member-provided aircraft, enforced weight standards for uniforms, and such... but in return for that "freedom " our organization makes the rank and file members dig and dig into our own pockets for uniforms, training and duty assignments as well as the many costs needed to keep a squadron open. The irony is CAP, Inc. was chartered by Congress as a self-funded organization when budgets were extremely tight after WWII with a primary purpose of helping lobby Congress to create USAF... which the CAP, Inc. first leaders did very enthusiastically and well with their wing members in every state. But, when USAF years later finally had the funds to incorporate CAP as a civilian aux, CAP leaders hunkered down wanting their "freedom" at the expense of members' pockets. So! While CAP chaplains can serve on military facilties, CAP IGs and Safety Officers can at least train there, too, our PAOs and PIOs are allowing themselves to be personna non gratis there. I ask myself why.... and know many answers can be found in current military support of civilian emergencies' laws and regulations. Alice Alice Mansell, LtCol, CAP Former CAWG PAO CAWG IG Legal Advisor On Saturday, August 9, 2014, Terri Richards wrote: > Paul, > Most other VOADs require the FEMA training for PIO/PAO or their own prep track. > All: > Some of the changes we are seeing could be related to the shift toward being more in line with the USAF; which in my opinion would benefit our organization in the long run. As PAOs we should make a comparison between USAF regs/expectations and ours. Keep in mind that the USAF is the only military division that has its Emergency Management in house. The other divisions have a civilian EM focus. With draw downs due to budget cuts CAP has a tremendous opportunity to take up an increasing role in USAF activities. > > Terri Richards > On Aug 9, 2014, at 14:45, "Cianciolo, Lt Col, Paul" < paul.cianciolo at natcapwg.cap.gov> wrote: > > It would be different if one had to have a certain skill level rating in order to be placed in a specific duty position. It works for paid employees, but not sure the effectiveness with volunteers. What do other organizations do like Red Cross? > > Lt Col Paul Cianciolo > Sent from my Droid DNA -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From bsasse at sbcglobal.net Sat Aug 9 16:36:29 2014 From: bsasse at sbcglobal.net (Blake Sasse) Date: Sat, 09 Aug 2014 16:36:29 -0500 Subject: [PAO] New CAPP 201 - Public Affairs Officer Specialty Track In-Reply-To: References: <047201cfb400$db667b80$92337280$@flwg.us> Message-ID: <53E6945D.8070301@sbcglobal.net> I don't think I agree with the merging of PIO/PAO quals as this essentially does. With effort you can find people willing to do normal CAP PAO work, but I have had a very tough time finding those interested in the more high pressure, time-sensitive PIO job. What I think we are risking is that more and more unqualified people will be put in the PAO slot because it is a required position, but that they will choose another specialty to progress through because of the very high new and existing barriers within the PAO track. Those that are actually interested will probably still get Technician, for which the requirements are basically to do the squadron PAO job the way it is supposed to be done. But, I think that we will see a major decrease in the number going to Senior and Master because of the PIO requirements. I counted 5 in-residence training courses to get Master -- any one of which is likely to be an insurmountable barrier to a majority of PAOs, especially those that work and can't afford to give up that many weeks of pay for CAP (since most of these courses are taught during the work-week for the paid emergency response community). I have always been supportive of the idea of increasing the requirements for PIO, which are awfully weak, but putting this much into the specialty track just doesn't make a lot of sense to me. How much is it going to benefit CAP to make it this difficult for someone that is only interested in doing PAO to advance in grade? Incidentally, has anyone pointed out that the "become a PIO" requirement is in both the Senior and Master requirements? I think it would be "Become a PIO" for Senior and "Maintain PIO" for Master (assuming we want Master level to be a PIO at the time they get the rating). Blake Sasse From jaimielhenson at fuse.net Sat Aug 9 21:35:28 2014 From: jaimielhenson at fuse.net (jaimielhenson at fuse.net) Date: Sat, 9 Aug 2014 22:35:28 -0400 (EDT) Subject: [PAO] New CAPP 201 - Public Affairs Officer Specialty Track In-Reply-To: <53E6945D.8070301@sbcglobal.net> Message-ID: <1451007569.16130480.1407638128868.JavaMail.root@md10.cincibell.synacor.com> I have real problems requiring PAOs to become PIOs. The positions are very different and require very different skill sets. One can be an effective, even an outstanding PAO, "behind the scenes". That is, writing news and community interest stories, posting/sending photographs, maintaining facebook pages, twitter accounts, websites, etc. It is a non-stress, non-time limit position. It does not necessarily require one to be attractive or well-spoken or to look good in the uniform. PIO requires all of those things and then some. IF PIO is going to be required, the training needs to be taken seriously. I had the honor of being in the first NESA PIO class several years ago. There was a member of the class who had absolutely no business ever dealing with the public or press. This member was an complete embarrassment to the uniform and CAP. The member was awarded PIO credentials just because the course was completed. There was no provision for "failing" someone who clearly wasn't qualified. Anything can be put on a piece of paper. If CAP PAOs and PIOs want to be seen and treated as professional equals in the "real" world, then we have to be trained and held accountable to the same level. Not all PAOs can or should be qualified as PIOs. To force this upon someone is either going to reduce the number of personnel willing to train beyond the Technician Rating or is going to end with many unqualified PIOs in the field simply because they completed a course. Neither of those scenarios is a positive outcome for CAP Public Relations. Jaimie Henson, Maj. Public Affairs Officer Public Information Officer Kentucky Wing ----- Original Message ----- From: "Blake Sasse" To: "CAP Public Affairs Officers" Sent: Saturday, August 9, 2014 5:36:29 PM Subject: Re: [PAO] New CAPP 201 - Public Affairs Officer Specialty Track I don't think I agree with the merging of PIO/PAO quals as this essentially does. With effort you can find people willing to do normal CAP PAO work, but I have had a very tough time finding those interested in the more high pressure, time-sensitive PIO job. What I think we are risking is that more and more unqualified people will be put in the PAO slot because it is a required position, but that they will choose another specialty to progress through because of the very high new and existing barriers within the PAO track. Those that are actually interested will probably still get Technician, for which the requirements are basically to do the squadron PAO job the way it is supposed to be done. But, I think that we will see a major decrease in the number going to Senior and Master because of the PIO requirements. I counted 5 in-residence training courses to get Master -- any one of which is likely to be an insurmountable barrier to a majority of PAOs, especially those that work and can't afford to give up that many weeks of pay for CAP (since most of these courses are taught during the work-week for the paid emergency response community). I have always been supportive of the idea of increasing the requirements for PIO, which are awfully weak, but putting this much into the specialty track just doesn't make a lot of sense to me. How much is it going to benefit CAP to make it this difficult for someone that is only interested in doing PAO to advance in grade? Incidentally, has anyone pointed out that the "become a PIO" requirement is in both the Senior and Master requirements? I think it would be "Become a PIO" for Senior and "Maintain PIO" for Master (assuming we want Master level to be a PIO at the time they get the rating). Blake Sasse _______________________________________________ Subscribed Email Address: JaimieLHenson at fuse.net CAP-PAO mailing list CAP-PAO at lists.sempervigilans.org http://lists.sempervigilans.org/mailman/listinfo/cap-pao -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From alice at mansell.com Sat Aug 9 22:10:40 2014 From: alice at mansell.com (Alice Mansell) Date: Sat, 9 Aug 2014 20:10:40 -0700 Subject: [PAO] New CAPP 201 - Public Affairs Officer Specialty Track In-Reply-To: <1451007569.16130480.1407638128868.JavaMail.root@md10.cincibell.synacor.com> References: <53E6945D.8070301@sbcglobal.net> <1451007569.16130480.1407638128868.JavaMail.root@md10.cincibell.synacor.com> Message-ID: Well said, Jaimie! Alice On Saturday, August 9, 2014, wrote: > I have real problems requiring PAOs to become PIOs. The positions are very different and require very different skill sets. > > One can be an effective, even an outstanding PAO, "behind the scenes". That is, writing news and community interest stories, posting/sending photographs, maintaining facebook pages, twitter accounts, websites, etc. It is a non-stress, non-time limit position. It does not necessarily require one to be attractive or well-spoken or to look good in the uniform. > > PIO requires all of those things and then some. > > IF PIO is going to be required, the training needs to be taken seriously. I had the honor of being in the first NESA PIO class several years ago. There was a member of the class who had absolutely no business ever dealing with the public or press. This member was an complete embarrassment to the uniform and CAP. The member was awarded PIO credentials just because the course was completed. There was no provision for "failing" someone who clearly wasn't qualified. > > Anything can be put on a piece of paper. If CAP PAOs and PIOs want to be seen and treated as professional equals in the "real" world, then we have to be trained and held accountable to the same level. > > Not all PAOs can or should be qualified as PIOs. To force this upon someone is either going to reduce the number of personnel willing to train beyond the Technician Rating or is going to end with many unqualified PIOs in the field simply because they completed a course. Neither of those scenarios is a positive outcome for CAP Public Relations. > > Jaimie Henson, Maj. > Public Affairs Officer > Public Information Officer > Kentucky Wing > -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From jcarlson at flwg.us Sun Aug 10 11:30:41 2014 From: jcarlson at flwg.us (Jeff Carlson, Grp 5 HQ) Date: Sun, 10 Aug 2014 12:30:41 -0400 Subject: [PAO] New CAPP 201 - Public Affairs Officer Specialty Track In-Reply-To: <1451007569.16130480.1407638128868.JavaMail.root@md10.cincibell.synacor.com> References: <53E6945D.8070301@sbcglobal.net> <1451007569.16130480.1407638128868.JavaMail.root@md10.cincibell.synacor.com> Message-ID: <04f601cfb4b8$6d2e80a0$478b81e0$@flwg.us> I disagree that PIOs and PAOs have different skill sets. I also disagree that a PIO has to be all things and I am saddened every time I come across this “army-of-one” attitude. We need to become more team oriented in our public affairs/mission information efforts. When you fully understand the scope of public information needs, you quickly realize the job is bigger than any one person. The job of the public information officer includes all those things Maj. Hensen listed under the “behind-the-scene” PAO duties. For example, social media has become a major part any of public information plan of action. In addition, both PAOs and PIOs need to develop media relation skills. It is very important for a PIO to have skills for working in conjunction with PIOs from other agencies. The reality is that CAP is virtually never the lead agency in a mission. We are invited to the party, it is not our party. Even a small REDCAP, the local sheriff’s office is the lead agency and the sheriff’s office PIO is the lead PIO for the mission. There are political influences at work on a county level and a CAP PIO needs to maintain situational awareness. Circumventing the lead PIO is unprofessional. A CAP PIO needs to know how to develop a relationship and support the lead PIO while working to ensure the CAP part of the story is included in the public message. When working as part of a major multi-agency response effort, the CAP PIO is going to be the CAP liaison to the incident’s Joint Information System (JIS). Each agency has their representative. A CAP PIO becomes responsible for submitting CAP “facts” into the JIS and working with other agency’s PIOs on projects aimed at reaching the lead PIOs information goals. I don’t believe the CAP PIO training is stressing this reality. We need to be training our PIOs to work as a part of a larger system, a.k.a…teamwork. The Emergency Management Institute’s E-388 Advanced PIO course teaches PIOs to act more as liaisons for their respective agencies rather than the focal point of media attention. In my opinion, the CAP nomenclature is misleading by stating the PIO is the spokesperson rather than an information conduit. The media needs the PIO as a point of contact, they don’t necessarily want to interview the PIO. The media wants to interview the persons in charge, or somebody who has been “in the field”. This is who the media’s audience wants to hear from. The professional PIO prepares these interviewees and acts as wingman to cover their six by monitoring the interview, providing support during the interview and being prepared to inject if the interview starts going south. There is an old adage, “the medium is the message”. A statement from a pilot who overflew the damage is a different message than a PIO giving a narrative of the pilot’s experience. Having the Incident Commander, or Wing Commander say “CAP volunteers are working tirelessly to support the relief effort” is different than the PIO saying the same words. The PIO should only do the interview if they can’t come up with a better alternative. Not just PIO training, all CAP training needs to be taken seriously, from aircrew to aerospace education. How we mentor our members has a big effect on whether we are creating a team of ribbon-collectors or a resource pool of professional volunteers. Each member needs to be groomed to understand that continuing education is part of the responsibility. Most professional licenses require continuing education. I don’t care if 70% of PAOs remain tech-rated as long as they undergo annual training. Those that chose to reach for the next level rating should be willing to stretch beyond their comfort zone. The role of the public information officer is important to Civil Air Patrol. A CAP PIO will stand shoulder to shoulder with military, government and non-government professional PIOs. Members need to be encouraged to embark on the journey to meet professional standards and the CAP organization needs to provide support for the members to meet these standards. In my opinion, CAP is a perfect vehicle to develop human capital among ordinary citizens. Regardless of age, each member must be challenged and not allowed to soften and stagnate in a comfort zone. Many people complain when asked to extend effort, but everyone enjoys a sense of purpose, a sense of accomplishment, the recognition of personal growth. This is not our personal hobby farm. We are momentary guardians of this organization and have the responsibility to deliver a robust and pertinent entity into the hands of the next generation. Change can be difficult. The release of the new CAPP201 has been a good wake-up call. Both sides of the equation still require some adjustment. I look forward to seeing if leadership has vision and CAP personnel have the mettle to rise to the challenge. Jeff Carlson PAO/PIO Civil Air Patrol From: cap-pao-bounces at lists.sempervigilans.org [mailto:cap-pao-bounces at lists.sempervigilans.org] On Behalf Of jaimielhenson at fuse.net Sent: Saturday, August 09, 2014 10:35 PM To: CAP Public Affairs Officers Subject: Re: [PAO] New CAPP 201 - Public Affairs Officer Specialty Track I have real problems requiring PAOs to become PIOs. The positions are very different and require very different skill sets. One can be an effective, even an outstanding PAO, "behind the scenes". That is, writing news and community interest stories, posting/sending photographs, maintaining facebook pages, twitter accounts, websites, etc. It is a non-stress, non-time limit position. It does not necessarily require one to be attractive or well-spoken or to look good in the uniform. PIO requires all of those things and then some. IF PIO is going to be required, the training needs to be taken seriously. I had the honor of being in the first NESA PIO class several years ago. There was a member of the class who had absolutely no business ever dealing with the public or press. This member was an complete embarrassment to the uniform and CAP. The member was awarded PIO credentials just because the course was completed. There was no provision for "failing" someone who clearly wasn't qualified. Anything can be put on a piece of paper. If CAP PAOs and PIOs want to be seen and treated as professional equals in the "real" world, then we have to be trained and held accountable to the same level. Not all PAOs can or should be qualified as PIOs. To force this upon someone is either going to reduce the number of personnel willing to train beyond the Technician Rating or is going to end with many unqualified PIOs in the field simply because they completed a course. Neither of those scenarios is a positive outcome for CAP Public Relations. Jaimie Henson, Maj. Public Affairs Officer Public Information Officer Kentucky Wing _____ From: "Blake Sasse" To: "CAP Public Affairs Officers" Sent: Saturday, August 9, 2014 5:36:29 PM Subject: Re: [PAO] New CAPP 201 - Public Affairs Officer Specialty Track I don't think I agree with the merging of PIO/PAO quals as this essentially does. With effort you can find people willing to do normal CAP PAO work, but I have had a very tough time finding those interested in the more high pressure, time-sensitive PIO job. What I think we are risking is that more and more unqualified people will be put in the PAO slot because it is a required position, but that they will choose another specialty to progress through because of the very high new and existing barriers within the PAO track. Those that are actually interested will probably still get Technician, for which the requirements are basically to do the squadron PAO job the way it is supposed to be done. But, I think that we will see a major decrease in the number going to Senior and Master because of the PIO requirements. I counted 5 in-residence training courses to get Master -- any one of which is likely to be an insurmountable barrier to a majority of PAOs, especially those that work and can't afford to give up that many weeks of pay for CAP (since most of these courses are taught during the work-week for the paid emergency response community). I have always been supportive of the idea of increasing the requirements for PIO, which are awfully weak, but putting this much into the specialty track just doesn't make a lot of sense to me. How much is it going to benefit CAP to make it this difficult for someone that is only interested in doing PAO to advance in grade? Incidentally, has anyone pointed out that the "become a PIO" requirement is in both the Senior and Master requirements? I think it would be "Become a PIO" for Senior and "Maintain PIO" for Master (assuming we want Master level to be a PIO at the time they get the rating). Blake Sasse _______________________________________________ Subscribed Email Address: JaimieLHenson at fuse.net CAP-PAO mailing list CAP-PAO at lists.sempervigilans.org http://lists.sempervigilans.org/mailman/listinfo/cap-pao -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From paul.cianciolo at natcapwg.cap.gov Sun Aug 10 12:33:14 2014 From: paul.cianciolo at natcapwg.cap.gov (Cianciolo, Lt Col, Paul) Date: Sun, 10 Aug 2014 13:33:14 -0400 Subject: [PAO] New CAPP 201 - Public Affairs Officer Specialty Track In-Reply-To: <04f601cfb4b8$6d2e80a0$478b81e0$@flwg.us> References: <53E6945D.8070301@sbcglobal.net> <1451007569.16130480.1407638128868.JavaMail.root@md10.cincibell.synacor.com> <04f601cfb4b8$6d2e80a0$478b81e0$@flwg.us> Message-ID: I agree with your disagreement Jeff. We are one CAP and need to speak to the media that way if on a mission or not. You can't take the mission out of CAP and still have the same organization. I think what is needed is to ensure that mission PIOs are plugged into the PA system and not separate. Lt Col Paul Cianciolo Sent from my Droid DNA On Aug 10, 2014 12:31 PM, "Jeff Carlson, Grp 5 HQ" wrote: > I disagree that PIOs and PAOs have different skill sets. I also disagree > that a PIO has to be all things and I am saddened every time I come across > this “army-of-one” attitude. We need to become more team oriented in our > public affairs/mission information efforts. When you fully understand the > scope of public information needs, you quickly realize the job is bigger > than any one person. The job of the public information officer includes > all those things Maj. Hensen listed under the “behind-the-scene” PAO > duties. For example, social media has become a major part any of public > information plan of action. In addition, both PAOs and PIOs need to develop > media relation skills. > > > > It is very important for a PIO to have skills for working in conjunction > with PIOs from other agencies. The reality is that CAP is virtually never > the lead agency in a mission. *We are invited to the party, it is not our > party.* Even a small REDCAP, the local sheriff’s office is the lead > agency and the sheriff’s office PIO is the lead PIO for the mission. There > are political influences at work on a county level and a CAP PIO needs to > maintain situational awareness. Circumventing the lead PIO is > unprofessional. A CAP PIO needs to know how to develop a relationship and > support the lead PIO while working to ensure the CAP part of the story is > included in the public message. > > > > When working as part of a major multi-agency response effort, the CAP PIO > is going to be the CAP liaison to the incident’s Joint Information System > (JIS). Each agency has their representative. A CAP PIO becomes responsible > for submitting CAP “facts” into the JIS and working with other agency’s > PIOs on projects aimed at reaching the lead PIOs information goals. I don’t > believe the CAP PIO training is stressing this reality. We need to be > training our PIOs to work as a part of a larger system, a.k.a…teamwork. > > > > The Emergency Management Institute’s E-388 Advanced PIO course teaches > PIOs to act more as liaisons for their respective agencies rather than the > focal point of media attention. In my opinion, the CAP nomenclature is > misleading by stating the PIO is the spokesperson rather than an > information conduit. The media needs the PIO as a point of contact, they > don’t necessarily want to interview the PIO. The media wants to interview > the persons in charge, or somebody who has been “in the field”. This is > who the media’s audience wants to hear from. The *professional* PIO > prepares these interviewees and acts as wingman to cover their six by > monitoring the interview, providing support during the interview and being > prepared to inject if the interview starts going south. > > > > There is an old adage, “the medium is the message”. A statement from a > pilot who overflew the damage is a different message than a PIO giving a > narrative of the pilot’s experience. Having the Incident Commander, or > Wing Commander say “CAP volunteers are working tirelessly to support the > relief effort” is different than the PIO saying the same words. The PIO > should only do the interview if they can’t come up with a better > alternative. > > > > Not just PIO training, *all* CAP training needs to be taken seriously, > from aircrew to aerospace education. How we mentor our members has a big > effect on whether we are creating a team of ribbon-collectors or a resource > pool of professional volunteers. Each member needs to be groomed to > understand that continuing education is part of the responsibility. Most > professional licenses require continuing education. I don’t care if 70% of > PAOs remain tech-rated as long as they undergo annual training. Those that > chose to reach for the next level rating should be willing to stretch > beyond their comfort zone. > > > > The role of the public information officer is important to Civil Air > Patrol. A CAP PIO will stand shoulder to shoulder with military, > government and non-government professional PIOs. Members need to be > encouraged to embark on the journey to meet professional standards and the > CAP organization needs to provide support for the members to meet these > standards. > > > > In my opinion, CAP is a perfect vehicle to develop human capital among > ordinary citizens. Regardless of age, each member must be challenged and > not allowed to soften and stagnate in a comfort zone. Many people complain > when asked to extend effort, but everyone enjoys a sense of purpose, a > sense of accomplishment, the recognition of personal growth. This is not > our personal hobby farm. We are momentary guardians of this organization > and have the responsibility to deliver a robust and pertinent entity into > the hands of the next generation. > > > > Change can be difficult. The release of the new CAPP201 has been a good > wake-up call. Both sides of the equation still require some adjustment. I > look forward to seeing if leadership has vision and CAP personnel have the > mettle to rise to the challenge. > > > > Jeff Carlson > > PAO/PIO > > Civil Air Patrol > > > > > > *From:* cap-pao-bounces at lists.sempervigilans.org [mailto: > cap-pao-bounces at lists.sempervigilans.org] *On Behalf Of * > jaimielhenson at fuse.net > *Sent:* Saturday, August 09, 2014 10:35 PM > *To:* CAP Public Affairs Officers > *Subject:* Re: [PAO] New CAPP 201 - Public Affairs Officer Specialty Track > > > > I have real problems requiring PAOs to become PIOs. The positions are very > different and require very different skill sets. > > One can be an effective, even an outstanding PAO, "behind the scenes". > That is, writing news and community interest stories, posting/sending > photographs, maintaining facebook pages, twitter accounts, websites, etc. > It is a non-stress, non-time limit position. It does not necessarily > require one to be attractive or well-spoken or to look good in the uniform. > > PIO requires all of those things and then some. > > IF PIO is going to be required, the training needs to be taken seriously. > I had the honor of being in the first NESA PIO class several years ago. > There was a member of the class who had absolutely no business ever dealing > with the public or press. This member was an complete embarrassment to the > uniform and CAP. The member was awarded PIO credentials just because the > course was completed. There was no provision for "failing" someone who > clearly wasn't qualified. > > Anything can be put on a piece of paper. If CAP PAOs and PIOs want to be > seen and treated as professional equals in the "real" world, then we have > to be trained and held accountable to the same level. > > Not all PAOs can or should be qualified as PIOs. To force this upon > someone is either going to reduce the number of personnel willing to train > beyond the Technician Rating or is going to end with many unqualified PIOs > in the field simply because they completed a course. Neither of those > scenarios is a positive outcome for CAP Public Relations. > > Jaimie Henson, Maj. > Public Affairs Officer > Public Information Officer > Kentucky Wing > ------------------------------ > > *From: *"Blake Sasse" > *To: *"CAP Public Affairs Officers" > *Sent: *Saturday, August 9, 2014 5:36:29 PM > *Subject: *Re: [PAO] New CAPP 201 - Public Affairs Officer Specialty Track > > I don't think I agree with the merging of PIO/PAO quals as this > essentially does. With effort you can find people willing to do normal > CAP PAO work, but I have had a very tough time finding those interested > in the more high pressure, time-sensitive PIO job. > > What I think we are risking is that more and more unqualified people > will be put in the PAO slot because it is a required position, but that > they will choose another specialty to progress through because of the > very high new and existing barriers within the PAO track. > > Those that are actually interested will probably still get Technician, > for which the requirements are basically to do the squadron PAO job the > way it is supposed to be done. But, I think that we will see a major > decrease in the number going to Senior and Master because of the PIO > requirements. I counted 5 in-residence training courses to get Master > -- any one of which is likely to be an insurmountable barrier to a > majority of PAOs, especially those that work and can't afford to give up > that many weeks of pay for CAP (since most of these courses are taught > during the work-week for the paid emergency response community). > > I have always been supportive of the idea of increasing the requirements > for PIO, which are awfully weak, but putting this much into the > specialty track just doesn't make a lot of sense to me. How much is it > going to benefit CAP to make it this difficult for someone that is only > interested in doing PAO to advance in grade? > > Incidentally, has anyone pointed out that the "become a PIO" requirement > is in both the Senior and Master requirements? I think it would be > "Become a PIO" for Senior and "Maintain PIO" for Master (assuming we > want Master level to be a PIO at the time they get the rating). > > Blake Sasse > > > > > _______________________________________________ > Subscribed Email Address: JaimieLHenson at fuse.net > CAP-PAO mailing list > CAP-PAO at lists.sempervigilans.org > http://lists.sempervigilans.org/mailman/listinfo/cap-pao > > > > _______________________________________________ > Subscribed Email Address: pa at natcapwg.cap.gov > CAP-PAO mailing list > CAP-PAO at lists.sempervigilans.org > http://lists.sempervigilans.org/mailman/listinfo/cap-pao > > -- ------------------------------ Civil Air Patrol National Capital Wing *"Citizens Serving Communities: Above and Beyond"* CFC Charity #26757 www.NatCapWing.org -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From awoodgate at austin.rr.com Sun Aug 10 13:01:25 2014 From: awoodgate at austin.rr.com (Arthur Woodgate) Date: Sun, 10 Aug 2014 13:01:25 -0500 Subject: [PAO] New CAPP 201 - Public Affairs Officer Specialty Track In-Reply-To: References: <53E6945D.8070301@sbcglobal.net> <1451007569.16130480.1407638128868.JavaMail.root@md10.cincibell.synacor.com> <04f601cfb4b8$6d2e80a0$478b81e0$@flwg.us> Message-ID: <005001cfb4c5$1a22f7d0$4e68e770$@austin.rr.com> I agree, Paul. Having a PIO that lacks PA skills is probably worse than having no PIO at all. Although NHQ/ES recognized long ago that PIOs had much in common with Liaison Officers (and in the SQTR the LO rating is only one task away from those required of a PIO), the “MIO” fiction that it was OK to be a PIO with a bare minimum of PA preparation has now come under scrutiny – thanks to our MOU with FEMA and the need for all ES ratings to require the same training as that of any other NIMS-ready specialty. If CAP declines to demand this from their PIOs, CAP PIOs may not be allowed to sign onto FEMA missions. Regards, Arthur ~ __________________________________ ARTHUR E. WOODGATE, Lt. Col., CAP Director of Public Affairs & Director of Organizational Excellence Southwest Region Civil Air Patrol - "Citizens Serving Communities" 512.432.0231 512.547.6997 <<< VoIP (secondary) 512.567.1935 (cell - not always on) awoodgate at austin.rr.com LtColWoodgate at gmail.com From: cap-pao-bounces at lists.sempervigilans.org [mailto:cap-pao-bounces at lists.sempervigilans.org] On Behalf Of Cianciolo, Lt Col, Paul Sent: Sunday, August 10, 2014 12:33 PM To: CAP PAO Listserv; jcarlson at flwg.us Subject: Re: [PAO] New CAPP 201 - Public Affairs Officer Specialty Track I agree with your disagreement Jeff. We are one CAP and need to speak to the media that way if on a mission or not. You can't take the mission out of CAP and still have the same organization. I think what is needed is to ensure that mission PIOs are plugged into the PA system and not separate. Lt Col Paul Cianciolo Sent from my Droid DNA On Aug 10, 2014 12:31 PM, "Jeff Carlson, Grp 5 HQ" wrote: I disagree that PIOs and PAOs have different skill sets. I also disagree that a PIO has to be all things and I am saddened every time I come across this “army-of-one” attitude. We need to become more team oriented in our public affairs/mission information efforts. When you fully understand the scope of public information needs, you quickly realize the job is bigger than any one person. The job of the public information officer includes all those things Maj. Hensen listed under the “behind-the-scene” PAO duties. For example, social media has become a major part any of public information plan of action. In addition, both PAOs and PIOs need to develop media relation skills. It is very important for a PIO to have skills for working in conjunction with PIOs from other agencies. The reality is that CAP is virtually never the lead agency in a mission. We are invited to the party, it is not our party. Even a small REDCAP, the local sheriff’s office is the lead agency and the sheriff’s office PIO is the lead PIO for the mission. There are political influences at work on a county level and a CAP PIO needs to maintain situational awareness. Circumventing the lead PIO is unprofessional. A CAP PIO needs to know how to develop a relationship and support the lead PIO while working to ensure the CAP part of the story is included in the public message. When working as part of a major multi-agency response effort, the CAP PIO is going to be the CAP liaison to the incident’s Joint Information System (JIS). Each agency has their representative. A CAP PIO becomes responsible for submitting CAP “facts” into the JIS and working with other agency’s PIOs on projects aimed at reaching the lead PIOs information goals. I don’t believe the CAP PIO training is stressing this reality. We need to be training our PIOs to work as a part of a larger system, a.k.a…teamwork. The Emergency Management Institute’s E-388 Advanced PIO course teaches PIOs to act more as liaisons for their respective agencies rather than the focal point of media attention. In my opinion, the CAP nomenclature is misleading by stating the PIO is the spokesperson rather than an information conduit. The media needs the PIO as a point of contact, they don’t necessarily want to interview the PIO. The media wants to interview the persons in charge, or somebody who has been “in the field”. This is who the media’s audience wants to hear from. The professional PIO prepares these interviewees and acts as wingman to cover their six by monitoring the interview, providing support during the interview and being prepared to inject if the interview starts going south. There is an old adage, “the medium is the message”. A statement from a pilot who overflew the damage is a different message than a PIO giving a narrative of the pilot’s experience. Having the Incident Commander, or Wing Commander say “CAP volunteers are working tirelessly to support the relief effort” is different than the PIO saying the same words. The PIO should only do the interview if they can’t come up with a better alternative. Not just PIO training, all CAP training needs to be taken seriously, from aircrew to aerospace education. How we mentor our members has a big effect on whether we are creating a team of ribbon-collectors or a resource pool of professional volunteers. Each member needs to be groomed to understand that continuing education is part of the responsibility. Most professional licenses require continuing education. I don’t care if 70% of PAOs remain tech-rated as long as they undergo annual training. Those that chose to reach for the next level rating should be willing to stretch beyond their comfort zone. The role of the public information officer is important to Civil Air Patrol. A CAP PIO will stand shoulder to shoulder with military, government and non-government professional PIOs. Members need to be encouraged to embark on the journey to meet professional standards and the CAP organization needs to provide support for the members to meet these standards. In my opinion, CAP is a perfect vehicle to develop human capital among ordinary citizens. Regardless of age, each member must be challenged and not allowed to soften and stagnate in a comfort zone. Many people complain when asked to extend effort, but everyone enjoys a sense of purpose, a sense of accomplishment, the recognition of personal growth. This is not our personal hobby farm. We are momentary guardians of this organization and have the responsibility to deliver a robust and pertinent entity into the hands of the next generation. Change can be difficult. The release of the new CAPP201 has been a good wake-up call. Both sides of the equation still require some adjustment. I look forward to seeing if leadership has vision and CAP personnel have the mettle to rise to the challenge. Jeff Carlson PAO/PIO Civil Air Patrol From: cap-pao-bounces at lists.sempervigilans.org [mailto:cap-pao-bounces at lists.sempervigilans.org] On Behalf Of jaimielhenson at fuse.net Sent: Saturday, August 09, 2014 10:35 PM To: CAP Public Affairs Officers Subject: Re: [PAO] New CAPP 201 - Public Affairs Officer Specialty Track I have real problems requiring PAOs to become PIOs. The positions are very different and require very different skill sets. One can be an effective, even an outstanding PAO, "behind the scenes". That is, writing news and community interest stories, posting/sending photographs, maintaining facebook pages, twitter accounts, websites, etc. It is a non-stress, non-time limit position. It does not necessarily require one to be attractive or well-spoken or to look good in the uniform. PIO requires all of those things and then some. IF PIO is going to be required, the training needs to be taken seriously. I had the honor of being in the first NESA PIO class several years ago. There was a member of the class who had absolutely no business ever dealing with the public or press. This member was an complete embarrassment to the uniform and CAP. The member was awarded PIO credentials just because the course was completed. There was no provision for "failing" someone who clearly wasn't qualified. Anything can be put on a piece of paper. If CAP PAOs and PIOs want to be seen and treated as professional equals in the "real" world, then we have to be trained and held accountable to the same level. Not all PAOs can or should be qualified as PIOs. To force this upon someone is either going to reduce the number of personnel willing to train beyond the Technician Rating or is going to end with many unqualified PIOs in the field simply because they completed a course. Neither of those scenarios is a positive outcome for CAP Public Relations. Jaimie Henson, Maj. Public Affairs Officer Public Information Officer Kentucky Wing _____ From: "Blake Sasse" To: "CAP Public Affairs Officers" Sent: Saturday, August 9, 2014 5:36:29 PM Subject: Re: [PAO] New CAPP 201 - Public Affairs Officer Specialty Track I don't think I agree with the merging of PIO/PAO quals as this essentially does. With effort you can find people willing to do normal CAP PAO work, but I have had a very tough time finding those interested in the more high pressure, time-sensitive PIO job. What I think we are risking is that more and more unqualified people will be put in the PAO slot because it is a required position, but that they will choose another specialty to progress through because of the very high new and existing barriers within the PAO track. Those that are actually interested will probably still get Technician, for which the requirements are basically to do the squadron PAO job the way it is supposed to be done. But, I think that we will see a major decrease in the number going to Senior and Master because of the PIO requirements. I counted 5 in-residence training courses to get Master -- any one of which is likely to be an insurmountable barrier to a majority of PAOs, especially those that work and can't afford to give up that many weeks of pay for CAP (since most of these courses are taught during the work-week for the paid emergency response community). I have always been supportive of the idea of increasing the requirements for PIO, which are awfully weak, but putting this much into the specialty track just doesn't make a lot of sense to me. How much is it going to benefit CAP to make it this difficult for someone that is only interested in doing PAO to advance in grade? Incidentally, has anyone pointed out that the "become a PIO" requirement is in both the Senior and Master requirements? I think it would be "Become a PIO" for Senior and "Maintain PIO" for Master (assuming we want Master level to be a PIO at the time they get the rating). Blake Sasse _______________________________________________ Subscribed Email Address: JaimieLHenson at fuse.net CAP-PAO mailing list CAP-PAO at lists.sempervigilans.org http://lists.sempervigilans.org/mailman/listinfo/cap-pao _______________________________________________ Subscribed Email Address: pa at natcapwg.cap.gov CAP-PAO mailing list CAP-PAO at lists.sempervigilans.org http://lists.sempervigilans.org/mailman/listinfo/cap-pao _____ Civil Air Patrol National Capital Wing "Citizens Serving Communities: Above and Beyond" CFC Charity #26757 www.NatCapWing.org -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From pao at pawg.cap.gov Sun Aug 10 13:17:14 2014 From: pao at pawg.cap.gov (Lt Col Annette Carlson) Date: Sun, 10 Aug 2014 14:17:14 -0400 Subject: [PAO] CAP-PAO Digest, Vol 68, Issue 3 In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: Does anyone know where the "online CAPP 201 test" is to be found ? Thank YOU for all YOU do in CAP! Annette Carlson, Lt Col, CAP Wing Public Affairs & Information Officer (PAO/PIO) Civil Air Patrol Pennsylvania Wing E: pao at pawg.cap.gov www.pawg.cap.gov www.GoCivilAirPatrol.com *CIVIL AIR PATROL Pennsylvania -- Mission 4: Excellence in the Spirit of Service! * -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From kd4ios at embarqmail.com Sun Aug 10 13:42:54 2014 From: kd4ios at embarqmail.com (DAVID MOSELEY) Date: Sun, 10 Aug 2014 14:42:54 -0400 (EDT) Subject: [PAO] New CAPP 201 - Public Affairs Officer Specialty Track In-Reply-To: Message-ID: <1485175036.42595970.1407696174794.JavaMail.root@embarqmail.com> I am in agreement with most of what Paul  is saying.  One area of terms needs to be changed.  We are NOT "Professional Volunteers.  We are Volunteer Professionals.      The latter term reflects the hoped for way our PA function is received, not as a person who volunteers to get their face on TV.  One should always be aware of what is behind them when setting up an interview site.  It sure looks better to have a huge CAP sign in the background rather than a stack of pallets.  While I have professional writing experience, I am a volunteer like the rest of us.  One thing I took away from my fire service experience was the disdain paid firefighters have for volunteers.  When we responded together, they learned very quickly that my guys were volunteer professionals that the paid guys could bet their life on.  They sometimes really had to depend on the volunteers. Usually when they did, their attitudes changed.  Better that we learn more than we need in our job as you never know when it will save you from looking amateurish. Try contacting the news desk or the assignment desk of a media outlet without being prepared.  If you can't have what you want them to know about why they should be interested in what CAP  is doing, you'll find them totally ignoring you.  Sometimes they will be polite.  Sometimes.   I teach a PAO class on how to take photos that get published, and have collected a series of HORRIBLE things going on in the background that are too gross to put in this email.  The most bland one was of a cadet receiving an award and exchanging salutes with the squadron commander.  In the  background, right between the two was a HUGE yellow Ditch Witch machine. The best course I ever took was a FEMA PAO Class.  The instructors were of the BTDTGTTSWH*'s kinds of folks and gave the students some introductions that we will remember forever.  *BTDTGTTSWH's =Been There Done That Got The T-Shirt With Holes. The Ambush Interview still  makes my hands sweat. The class had prepared their news releases, only to have someone with a microphone walk up and say something like, "I understand your boss was arrested for possession of Child Porn! What is your response?" They were being videotaped and we all saw the DITH's** look, and heard the gags, wheezes, and the sweat dripping down their faces as they tried to cope with the unexpected and still stay on message.  **Deer In The Headlights One of the best ways I have found to develop a good relationship with law enforcement and other govt agencies was to be on the staff of the local Emergency Management agency.  Seeing all of the folks on a regular basis, and serving with them on ICS teams let them see what CAP is all about, and how a competent volunteer professional deals with the strange things that occur when an event, training or real occurs. Being able to go to an event and shoot pics that are sent to the EM, allows them to see almost in real time, what is happening in the field.  That gives you opportunities to show your professional abilities. I'm reminded of taking pics of the largest mass casualty drill we have had to date in our county.  Included in the scenario was an overturned bus, which just so happened to be filled with CAP Cadets and others who had been made up for the occasion, which is a great story for another time.**** I was shooting over the shoulder of a firefighter who was looking thu the front windshield when he turned to me and asked, "Do you have permission to be taking these pictures?" "No." See the firefighter squirm, wheeze, and try to think of what to think of next.   Reminded me of a comment made by an AF Fighter Pilot who said, "Never let your aircraft get  anywhere that you haven't been  there 5 minutes before." I let the young man sweat for a few minutes before I told him that I was the personal representative of the Fire Academy Director and was taking the pictures for him.  Sometimes you want to be careful about asking questions as the answers may take you in places where you don't want to go.  That is also a topic for discussion at another time. **** It helps if you know how to simulate wounds and get recognized by everyone involved in helping with the preparation of the injured.   Like a good PAO, that includes getting the names, units of assignment, phone numbers, etc., so a certificate can be prepared for the participants to show their family  and friends. FWIW David Moseley, Lt Colonel, CAP Division Chief North, (Ret) Lake County Fire Dept ----- Original Message ----- From: "Lt Col Cianciolo, Paul" To: "CAP PAO Listserv" , jcarlson at flwg.us Sent: Sunday, August 10, 2014 1:33:14 PM Subject: Re: [PAO] New CAPP 201 - Public Affairs Officer Specialty Track I agree with your disagreement Jeff. We are one CAP and need to speak to the media that way if on a mission or not. You can't take the mission out of CAP and still have the same organization. I think what is needed is to ensure that mission PIOs are plugged into the PA system and not separate. Lt Col Paul Cianciolo Sent from my Droid DNA On Aug 10, 2014 12:31 PM, "Jeff Carlson, Grp 5 HQ" < jcarlson at flwg.us > wrote: I disagree that PIOs and PAOs have different skill sets. I also disagree that a PIO has to be all things and I am saddened every time I come across this “army-of-one” attitude.  We need to become more team oriented in our public affairs/mission information efforts.  When you fully understand the scope of public information needs, you quickly realize the job is bigger than any one person.  The job of the public information officer includes all those things Maj. Hensen listed under the “behind-the-scene” PAO duties. For example, social media has become a major part any of public information plan of action. In addition, both PAOs and PIOs need to develop media relation skills.     It is very important for a PIO to have skills for working in conjunction with PIOs from other agencies. The reality is that CAP is virtually never the lead agency in a mission. We are invited to the party, it is not our party.   Even a small REDCAP, the local sheriff’s office is the lead agency and the sheriff’s office PIO is the lead PIO for the mission. There are political influences at work on a county level and a CAP PIO needs to maintain situational awareness. Circumventing the lead PIO is unprofessional. A CAP PIO needs to know how to develop a relationship and support the lead PIO while working to ensure the CAP part of the story is included in the public message.    When working as part of a major multi-agency response effort, the CAP PIO is going to be the CAP liaison to the incident’s Joint Information System (JIS). Each agency has their representative. A CAP PIO becomes responsible for submitting CAP “facts” into the JIS and working with other agency’s PIOs on projects aimed at reaching the lead PIOs information goals. I don’t believe the CAP PIO training is stressing this reality. We need to be training our PIOs to work as a part of a larger system, a.k.a…teamwork.   The Emergency Management Institute’s E-388 Advanced PIO course teaches PIOs to act more as liaisons for their respective agencies rather than the focal point of media attention. In my opinion, the CAP nomenclature is misleading by stating the PIO is the spokesperson rather than an information conduit. The media needs the PIO as a point of contact, they don’t necessarily want to interview the PIO. The media wants to interview the persons in charge, or somebody who has been “in the field”.  This is who the media’s audience wants to hear from. The professional PIO prepares these interviewees and acts as wingman to cover their six by monitoring the interview, providing support during the interview and being prepared to inject if the interview starts going south.   There is an old adage, “the medium is the message”. A statement from a pilot who overflew the damage is a different message than a PIO giving a narrative of the pilot’s experience.  Having the Incident Commander, or Wing Commander say “CAP volunteers are working tirelessly to support the relief effort” is different than the PIO saying the same words.  The PIO should only do the interview if they can’t come up with a better alternative.   Not just PIO training, all CAP training needs to be taken seriously, from aircrew to aerospace education.  How we mentor our members has a big effect on whether we are creating a team of ribbon-collectors or a resource pool of professional volunteers.  Each member needs to be groomed to understand that continuing education is part of the responsibility. Most professional licenses require continuing education. I don’t care if 70% of PAOs remain tech-rated as long as they undergo annual training.  Those that chose to reach for the next level rating should be willing to stretch beyond their comfort zone.   The role of the public information officer is important to Civil Air Patrol.   A CAP PIO will stand shoulder to shoulder with military, government and non-government professional PIOs.  Members need to be encouraged to embark on the journey to meet professional standards and the CAP organization needs to provide support for the members to meet these standards.   In my opinion, CAP is a perfect vehicle to develop human capital among ordinary citizens.  Regardless of age, each member must be challenged and not allowed to soften and stagnate in a comfort zone.  Many people complain when asked to extend effort, but everyone enjoys a sense of purpose, a sense of accomplishment, the recognition of personal growth. This is not our personal hobby farm. We are momentary guardians of this organization and have the responsibility to deliver a robust and pertinent entity into the hands of the next generation.      Change can be difficult. The release of the new CAPP201 has been a good wake-up call. Both sides of the equation still require some adjustment. I look forward to seeing if leadership has vision and CAP personnel have the mettle to rise to the challenge.   Jeff Carlson PAO/PIO Civil Air Patrol     From: cap-pao-bounces at lists.sempervigilans.org [mailto: cap-pao-bounces at lists.sempervigilans.org ] On Behalf Of jaimielhenson at fuse.net Sent: Saturday, August 09, 2014 10:35 PM To: CAP Public Affairs Officers Subject: Re: [PAO] New CAPP 201 - Public Affairs Officer Specialty Track   I have real problems requiring PAOs to become PIOs. The positions are very different and require very different skill sets. One can be an effective, even an outstanding PAO, "behind the scenes". That is, writing news and community interest stories, posting/sending photographs, maintaining facebook pages, twitter accounts, websites, etc. It is a non-stress, non-time limit position. It does not necessarily require one to be attractive or well-spoken or to look good in the uniform. PIO requires all of those things and then some. IF PIO is going to be required, the training needs to be taken seriously. I had the honor of being in the first NESA PIO class several years ago. There was a member of the class who had absolutely no business ever dealing with the public or press. This member was an complete embarrassment to the uniform and CAP. The member was awarded PIO credentials just because the course was completed. There was no provision for "failing" someone who clearly wasn't qualified. Anything can be put on a piece of paper. If CAP PAOs and PIOs want to be seen and treated as professional equals in the "real" world, then we have to be trained and held accountable to the same level. Not all PAOs can or should be qualified as PIOs. To force this upon someone is either going to reduce the number of personnel willing to train beyond the Technician Rating or is going to end with many unqualified PIOs in the field simply because they completed a course. Neither of those scenarios is a positive outcome for CAP Public Relations. Jaimie Henson, Maj. Public Affairs Officer Public Information Officer Kentucky Wing From: "Blake Sasse" < bsasse at sbcglobal.net > To: "CAP Public Affairs Officers" < cap-pao at lists.sempervigilans.org > Sent: Saturday, August 9, 2014 5:36:29 PM Subject: Re: [PAO] New CAPP 201 - Public Affairs Officer Specialty Track   I don't think I agree with the merging of PIO/PAO quals as this essentially does.  With effort you can find people willing to do normal CAP PAO work, but I have had a very tough time finding those interested in the more high pressure, time-sensitive PIO job. What I think we are risking is that more and more unqualified people will be put in the PAO slot because it is a required position, but that they will choose another specialty to progress through because of the very high new and existing barriers within the PAO track. Those that are actually interested will probably still get Technician, for which the requirements are basically to do the squadron PAO job the way it is supposed to be done.  But, I think that we will see a major decrease in the number going to Senior and Master because of the PIO requirements.  I counted 5 in-residence training courses to get Master -- any one of which is likely to be an insurmountable barrier to a majority of PAOs, especially those that work and can't afford to give up that many weeks of pay for CAP (since most of these courses are taught during the work-week for the paid emergency response community). I have always been supportive of the idea of increasing the requirements for PIO, which are awfully weak, but putting this much into the specialty track just doesn't make a lot of sense to me. How much is it going to benefit CAP to make it this difficult for someone that is only interested in doing PAO to advance in grade? Incidentally, has anyone pointed out that the "become a PIO" requirement is in both the Senior and Master requirements?  I think it would be "Become a PIO" for Senior and "Maintain PIO" for Master (assuming we want Master level to be a PIO at the time they get the rating). Blake Sasse _______________________________________________ Subscribed Email Address: JaimieLHenson at fuse.net CAP-PAO mailing list CAP-PAO at lists.sempervigilans.org http://lists.sempervigilans.org/mailman/listinfo/cap-pao   _______________________________________________ Subscribed Email Address: pa at natcapwg.cap.gov CAP-PAO mailing list CAP-PAO at lists.sempervigilans.org http://lists.sempervigilans.org/mailman/listinfo/cap-pao Civil Air Patrol National Capital Wing "Citizens Serving Communities: Above and Beyond" CFC Charity #26757 www.NatCapWing.org _______________________________________________ Subscribed Email Address: kd4ios at embarqmail.com CAP-PAO mailing list CAP-PAO at lists.sempervigilans.org http://lists.sempervigilans.org/mailman/listinfo/cap-pao -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From jcarlson at flwg.us Sun Aug 10 13:57:13 2014 From: jcarlson at flwg.us (Jeff Carlson, Grp 5 HQ) Date: Sun, 10 Aug 2014 14:57:13 -0400 Subject: [PAO] FW: New CAPP 201 - Public Affairs Officer Specialty Track References: <53E6945D.8070301@sbcglobal.net> <1451007569.16130480.1407638128868.JavaMail.root@md10.cincibell.synacor.com> <04f601cfb4b8$6d2e80a0$478b81e0$@flwg.us> Message-ID: <053801cfb4cc$e5ef5870$b1ce0950$@flwg.us> There are many who argue that PAO and PIO should be rolled under the same umbrella. I don’t think that is necessary though I envision the required areas of training would be almost duplicate. It is a volunteer organization and the members should be allowed some choice in their primary mission area. Having PIOs and PAOs participate in the same training activities could help eliminate the silo effect between operations and support that many have complained about. Public information is a tactical (specific mission) application of public relations. Public affairs focuses more on a strategic (long term) application of public relations. An active mission does not preclude consideration of CAP’s strategic public relation goals. Public Affairs should not be shut down because of an active mission. I do agree we can vastly improve the cross-functional integration between the two areas. An entry-level PAO needs to understand the lane markings in regards to an active mission; it doesn’t hurt to have a senior level PAO gain a better understanding of the CAP ES mission by earning a GES-rating and working with a rated-PIO to exercise skills; mission information is a slice of the overall CAP public affairs pie so a Master-rated CAP PAO should have a working understanding of PIO responsibilities. The National Incident Management System (NIMS) does require incident resources, including human, to meet a set standard. We have an obligation to meet these requirements. Very few individuals possess all of the writing, photo/video-graphy, information technology, media relations skills and a square-jaw that looks good on camera. In my opinion, we need to change course and emphasize team-building. The ability to work as part of a team is more important than any single PR skill. Even the best writer will wisely have a second pair of eyes look over the prose. Just like we train aircrews so that we can take members from different units and put them together for a sortie, we need to train our information personnel to “form, storm, norm, perform” and maximize individual strengths. In my opinion, a good lead PIO doesn’t have to be able to write, take a photo without the thumb over the lens, or even have a Twitter account. A good lead PIO knows how to set effective information goals, organize and utilize available resources, and work within the existing political landscape. Can you show me where these skills are addressed in CAP PIO training? Are we developing effective leadership among our public relations personnel? Maybe this is a source of the ongoing dysfunction. Jeff From: Cianciolo, Lt Col, Paul [mailto:paul.cianciolo at natcapwg.cap.gov] Sent: Sunday, August 10, 2014 1:33 PM To: CAP PAO Listserv; jcarlson at flwg.us Subject: Re: [PAO] New CAPP 201 - Public Affairs Officer Specialty Track I agree with your disagreement Jeff. We are one CAP and need to speak to the media that way if on a mission or not. You can't take the mission out of CAP and still have the same organization. I think what is needed is to ensure that mission PIOs are plugged into the PA system and not separate. Lt Col Paul Cianciolo Sent from my Droid DNA On Aug 10, 2014 12:31 PM, "Jeff Carlson, Grp 5 HQ" wrote: I disagree that PIOs and PAOs have different skill sets. I also disagree that a PIO has to be all things and I am saddened every time I come across this “army-of-one” attitude. We need to become more team oriented in our public affairs/mission information efforts. When you fully understand the scope of public information needs, you quickly realize the job is bigger than any one person. The job of the public information officer includes all those things Maj. Hensen listed under the “behind-the-scene” PAO duties. For example, social media has become a major part any of public information plan of action. In addition, both PAOs and PIOs need to develop media relation skills. It is very important for a PIO to have skills for working in conjunction with PIOs from other agencies. The reality is that CAP is virtually never the lead agency in a mission. We are invited to the party, it is not our party. Even a small REDCAP, the local sheriff’s office is the lead agency and the sheriff’s office PIO is the lead PIO for the mission. There are political influences at work on a county level and a CAP PIO needs to maintain situational awareness. Circumventing the lead PIO is unprofessional. A CAP PIO needs to know how to develop a relationship and support the lead PIO while working to ensure the CAP part of the story is included in the public message. When working as part of a major multi-agency response effort, the CAP PIO is going to be the CAP liaison to the incident’s Joint Information System (JIS). Each agency has their representative. A CAP PIO becomes responsible for submitting CAP “facts” into the JIS and working with other agency’s PIOs on projects aimed at reaching the lead PIOs information goals. I don’t believe the CAP PIO training is stressing this reality. We need to be training our PIOs to work as a part of a larger system, a.k.a…teamwork. The Emergency Management Institute’s E-388 Advanced PIO course teaches PIOs to act more as liaisons for their respective agencies rather than the focal point of media attention. In my opinion, the CAP nomenclature is misleading by stating the PIO is the spokesperson rather than an information conduit. The media needs the PIO as a point of contact, they don’t necessarily want to interview the PIO. The media wants to interview the persons in charge, or somebody who has been “in the field”. This is who the media’s audience wants to hear from. The professional PIO prepares these interviewees and acts as wingman to cover their six by monitoring the interview, providing support during the interview and being prepared to inject if the interview starts going south. There is an old adage, “the medium is the message”. A statement from a pilot who overflew the damage is a different message than a PIO giving a narrative of the pilot’s experience. Having the Incident Commander, or Wing Commander say “CAP volunteers are working tirelessly to support the relief effort” is different than the PIO saying the same words. The PIO should only do the interview if they can’t come up with a better alternative. Not just PIO training, all CAP training needs to be taken seriously, from aircrew to aerospace education. How we mentor our members has a big effect on whether we are creating a team of ribbon-collectors or a resource pool of professional volunteers. Each member needs to be groomed to understand that continuing education is part of the responsibility. Most professional licenses require continuing education. I don’t care if 70% of PAOs remain tech-rated as long as they undergo annual training. Those that chose to reach for the next level rating should be willing to stretch beyond their comfort zone. The role of the public information officer is important to Civil Air Patrol. A CAP PIO will stand shoulder to shoulder with military, government and non-government professional PIOs. Members need to be encouraged to embark on the journey to meet professional standards and the CAP organization needs to provide support for the members to meet these standards. In my opinion, CAP is a perfect vehicle to develop human capital among ordinary citizens. Regardless of age, each member must be challenged and not allowed to soften and stagnate in a comfort zone. Many people complain when asked to extend effort, but everyone enjoys a sense of purpose, a sense of accomplishment, the recognition of personal growth. This is not our personal hobby farm. We are momentary guardians of this organization and have the responsibility to deliver a robust and pertinent entity into the hands of the next generation. Change can be difficult. The release of the new CAPP201 has been a good wake-up call. Both sides of the equation still require some adjustment. I look forward to seeing if leadership has vision and CAP personnel have the mettle to rise to the challenge. Jeff Carlson PAO/PIO Civil Air Patrol From: cap-pao-bounces at lists.sempervigilans.org [mailto:cap-pao-bounces at lists.sempervigilans.org] On Behalf Of jaimielhenson at fuse.net Sent: Saturday, August 09, 2014 10:35 PM To: CAP Public Affairs Officers Subject: Re: [PAO] New CAPP 201 - Public Affairs Officer Specialty Track I have real problems requiring PAOs to become PIOs. The positions are very different and require very different skill sets. One can be an effective, even an outstanding PAO, "behind the scenes". That is, writing news and community interest stories, posting/sending photographs, maintaining facebook pages, twitter accounts, websites, etc. It is a non-stress, non-time limit position. It does not necessarily require one to be attractive or well-spoken or to look good in the uniform. PIO requires all of those things and then some. IF PIO is going to be required, the training needs to be taken seriously. I had the honor of being in the first NESA PIO class several years ago. There was a member of the class who had absolutely no business ever dealing with the public or press. This member was an complete embarrassment to the uniform and CAP. The member was awarded PIO credentials just because the course was completed. There was no provision for "failing" someone who clearly wasn't qualified. Anything can be put on a piece of paper. If CAP PAOs and PIOs want to be seen and treated as professional equals in the "real" world, then we have to be trained and held accountable to the same level. Not all PAOs can or should be qualified as PIOs. To force this upon someone is either going to reduce the number of personnel willing to train beyond the Technician Rating or is going to end with many unqualified PIOs in the field simply because they completed a course. Neither of those scenarios is a positive outcome for CAP Public Relations. Jaimie Henson, Maj. Public Affairs Officer Public Information Officer Kentucky Wing _____ From: "Blake Sasse" To: "CAP Public Affairs Officers" Sent: Saturday, August 9, 2014 5:36:29 PM Subject: Re: [PAO] New CAPP 201 - Public Affairs Officer Specialty Track I don't think I agree with the merging of PIO/PAO quals as this essentially does. With effort you can find people willing to do normal CAP PAO work, but I have had a very tough time finding those interested in the more high pressure, time-sensitive PIO job. What I think we are risking is that more and more unqualified people will be put in the PAO slot because it is a required position, but that they will choose another specialty to progress through because of the very high new and existing barriers within the PAO track. Those that are actually interested will probably still get Technician, for which the requirements are basically to do the squadron PAO job the way it is supposed to be done. But, I think that we will see a major decrease in the number going to Senior and Master because of the PIO requirements. I counted 5 in-residence training courses to get Master -- any one of which is likely to be an insurmountable barrier to a majority of PAOs, especially those that work and can't afford to give up that many weeks of pay for CAP (since most of these courses are taught during the work-week for the paid emergency response community). I have always been supportive of the idea of increasing the requirements for PIO, which are awfully weak, but putting this much into the specialty track just doesn't make a lot of sense to me. How much is it going to benefit CAP to make it this difficult for someone that is only interested in doing PAO to advance in grade? Incidentally, has anyone pointed out that the "become a PIO" requirement is in both the Senior and Master requirements? I think it would be "Become a PIO" for Senior and "Maintain PIO" for Master (assuming we want Master level to be a PIO at the time they get the rating). Blake Sasse _______________________________________________ Subscribed Email Address: JaimieLHenson at fuse.net CAP-PAO mailing list CAP-PAO at lists.sempervigilans.org http://lists.sempervigilans.org/mailman/listinfo/cap-pao _______________________________________________ Subscribed Email Address: pa at natcapwg.cap.gov CAP-PAO mailing list CAP-PAO at lists.sempervigilans.org http://lists.sempervigilans.org/mailman/listinfo/cap-pao _____ Civil Air Patrol National Capital Wing "Citizens Serving Communities: Above and Beyond" CFC Charity #26757 www.NatCapWing.org -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From kd4ios at embarqmail.com Sun Aug 10 14:29:23 2014 From: kd4ios at embarqmail.com (DAVID MOSELEY) Date: Sun, 10 Aug 2014 15:29:23 -0400 (EDT) Subject: [PAO] FW: New CAPP 201 - Public Affairs Officer Specialty Track In-Reply-To: <053801cfb4cc$e5ef5870$b1ce0950$@flwg.us> Message-ID: <1324147735.42618207.1407698963333.JavaMail.root@embarqmail.com> Good questions, Jeff.  Given the fact that folks have regular day jobs to deal with and folks seem to know when to do something which will be inc onvenient, like on a Monday morning, most mission coordinators know the angst of not having enough staff to fill all of the desired positions.  The sol ution may be to get as many of our folks trained as much as possible, regardless of the title you hang on them.  It can't hurt. Like one of our sages in times past said, "Never miss an opportunity to shut up." Someone once said, "Part of being smart is knowing what you are dumb at." Having competent staff members in the PA section can go a long  way in checking uniforms.....e.g. is the spokesman in a complete uniform?   Do their earrings show?  What's in the background?  Have they conferred with the folks who are working the mission with us? etc. More eyes on the target can help us not miss important issues that will make us look bad.. David Moseley, Lt Colonel, CAP ----- Original Message ----- From: "Jeff Carlson, Grp 5 HQ" To: "CAP Public Affairs Officers" Sent: Sunday, August 10, 2014 2:57:13 PM Subject: [PAO] FW:  New CAPP 201 - Public Affairs Officer Specialty Track There are many who argue that PAO and PIO should be rolled under the same umbrella.  I don’t think that is necessary though I envision the required areas of training would be almost duplicate. It is a volunteer organization and the members should be allowed some choice in their primary mission area. Having PIOs and PAOs participate in the same training activities could help eliminate the silo effect between operations and support that many have complained about.   Public information is a tactical (specific mission) application of public relations.  Public affairs focuses more on a strategic (long term) application of public relations. An active mission does not preclude consideration of CAP’s strategic public relation goals. Public Affairs should not be shut down because of an active mission.  I do agree we can vastly improve the cross-functional integration between the two areas.   An entry-level PAO needs to understand the lane markings in regards to an active mission; it doesn’t hurt to have a senior level PAO gain a better understanding of the CAP ES mission by earning a GES-rating and working with a rated-PIO to exercise skills; mission information is a slice of the overall CAP public affairs pie so a Master-rated CAP PAO should have a working understanding of PIO responsibilities.      The National Incident Management System (NIMS) does require incident resources, including human, to meet a set standard.  We have an obligation to meet these requirements.   Very few individuals possess all of the writing, photo/video-graphy, information technology, media relations skills and a square-jaw that looks good on camera.  In my opinion, we need to change course and emphasize team-building. The ability to work as part of a team is more important than any single PR skill.  Even the best writer will wisely have a second pair of eyes look over the prose.  Just like we train aircrews so that we can take members from different units and put them together for a sortie, we need to train our information personnel to “form, storm, norm, perform” and maximize individual strengths.   In my opinion, a good lead PIO doesn’t have to be able to write, take a photo without the thumb over the lens, or even have a Twitter account.  A good lead PIO knows how to set effective information goals, organize and utilize available resources, and work within the existing political landscape. Can you show me where these skills are addressed in CAP PIO training? Are we developing effective leadership among our public relations personnel? Maybe this is a source of the ongoing dysfunction.    Jeff       From: Cianciolo, Lt Col, Paul [ mailto:paul.cianciolo at natcapwg.cap.gov ] Sent: Sunday, August 10, 2014 1:33 PM To: CAP PAO Listserv; jcarlson at flwg.us Subject: Re: [PAO] New CAPP 201 - Public Affairs Officer Specialty Track   I agree with your disagreement Jeff. We are one CAP and need to speak to the media that way if on a mission or not. You can't take the mission out of CAP and still have the same organization. I think what is needed is to ensure that mission PIOs are plugged into the PA system and not separate. Lt Col Paul Cianciolo Sent from my Droid DNA On Aug 10, 2014 12:31 PM, "Jeff Carlson, Grp 5 HQ" < jcarlson at flwg.us > wrote: I disagree that PIOs and PAOs have different skill sets. I also disagree that a PIO has to be all things and I am saddened every time I come across this “army-of-one” attitude.  We need to become more team oriented in our public affairs/mission information efforts.  When you fully understand the scope of public information needs, you quickly realize the job is bigger than any one person.  The job of the public information officer includes all those things Maj. Hensen listed under the “behind-the-scene” PAO duties. For example, social media has become a major part any of public information plan of action. In addition, both PAOs and PIOs need to develop media relation skills.     It is very important for a PIO to have skills for working in conjunction with PIOs from other agencies. The reality is that CAP is virtually never the lead agency in a mission. We are invited to the party, it is not our party.   Even a small REDCAP, the local sheriff’s office is the lead agency and the sheriff’s office PIO is the lead PIO for the mission. There are political influences at work on a county level and a CAP PIO needs to maintain situational awareness. Circumventing the lead PIO is unprofessional. A CAP PIO needs to know how to develop a relationship and support the lead PIO while working to ensure the CAP part of the story is included in the public message.    When working as part of a major multi-agency response effort, the CAP PIO is going to be the CAP liaison to the incident’s Joint Information System (JIS). Each agency has their representative. A CAP PIO becomes responsible for submitting CAP “facts” into the JIS and working with other agency’s PIOs on projects aimed at reaching the lead PIOs information goals. I don’t believe the CAP PIO training is stressing this reality. We need to be training our PIOs to work as a part of a larger system, a.k.a…teamwork.   The Emergency Management Institute’s E-388 Advanced PIO course teaches PIOs to act more as liaisons for their respective agencies rather than the focal point of media attention. In my opinion, the CAP nomenclature is misleading by stating the PIO is the spokesperson rather than an information conduit. The media needs the PIO as a point of contact, they don’t necessarily want to interview the PIO. The media wants to interview the persons in charge, or somebody who has been “in the field”.  This is who the media’s audience wants to hear from. The professional PIO prepares these interviewees and acts as wingman to cover their six by monitoring the interview, providing support during the interview and being prepared to inject if the interview starts going south.   There is an old adage, “the medium is the message”. A statement from a pilot who overflew the damage is a different message than a PIO giving a narrative of the pilot’s experience.  Having the Incident Commander, or Wing Commander say “CAP volunteers are working tirelessly to support the relief effort” is different than the PIO saying the same words.  The PIO should only do the interview if they can’t come up with a better alternative.   Not just PIO training, all CAP training needs to be taken seriously, from aircrew to aerospace education.  How we mentor our members has a big effect on whether we are creating a team of ribbon-collectors or a resource pool of professional volunteers.  Each member needs to be groomed to understand that continuing education is part of the responsibility. Most professional licenses require continuing education. I don’t care if 70% of PAOs remain tech-rated as long as they undergo annual training.  Those that chose to reach for the next level rating should be willing to stretch beyond their comfort zone.   The role of the public information officer is important to Civil Air Patrol.   A CAP PIO will stand shoulder to shoulder with military, government and non-government professional PIOs.  Members need to be encouraged to embark on the journey to meet professional standards and the CAP organization needs to provide support for the members to meet these standards.   In my opinion, CAP is a perfect vehicle to develop human capital among ordinary citizens.  Regardless of age, each member must be challenged and not allowed to soften and stagnate in a comfort zone.  Many people complain when asked to extend effort, but everyone enjoys a sense of purpose, a sense of accomplishment, the recognition of personal growth. This is not our personal hobby farm. We are momentary guardians of this organization and have the responsibility to deliver a robust and pertinent entity into the hands of the next generation.      Change can be difficult. The release of the new CAPP201 has been a good wake-up call. Both sides of the equation still require some adjustment. I look forward to seeing if leadership has vision and CAP personnel have the mettle to rise to the challenge.   Jeff Carlson PAO/PIO Civil Air Patrol     From: cap-pao-bounces at lists.sempervigilans.org [mailto: cap-pao-bounces at lists.sempervigilans.org ] On Behalf Of jaimielhenson at fuse.net Sent: Saturday, August 09, 2014 10:35 PM To: CAP Public Affairs Officers Subject: Re: [PAO] New CAPP 201 - Public Affairs Officer Specialty Track   I have real problems requiring PAOs to become PIOs. The positions are very different and require very different skill sets. One can be an effective, even an outstanding PAO, "behind the scenes". That is, writing news and community interest stories, posting/sending photographs, maintaining facebook pages, twitter accounts, websites, etc. It is a non-stress, non-time limit position. It does not necessarily require one to be attractive or well-spoken or to look good in the uniform. PIO requires all of those things and then some. IF PIO is going to be required, the training needs to be taken seriously. I had the honor of being in the first NESA PIO class several years ago. There was a member of the class who had absolutely no business ever dealing with the public or press. This member was an complete embarrassment to the uniform and CAP. The member was awarded PIO credentials just because the course was completed. There was no provision for "failing" someone who clearly wasn't qualified. Anything can be put on a piece of paper. If CAP PAOs and PIOs want to be seen and treated as professional equals in the "real" world, then we have to be trained and held accountable to the same level. Not all PAOs can or should be qualified as PIOs. To force this upon someone is either going to reduce the number of personnel willing to train beyond the Technician Rating or is going to end with many unqualified PIOs in the field simply because they completed a course. Neither of those scenarios is a positive outcome for CAP Public Relations. Jaimie Henson, Maj. Public Affairs Officer Public Information Officer Kentucky Wing From: "Blake Sasse" < bsasse at sbcglobal.net > To: "CAP Public Affairs Officers" < cap-pao at lists.sempervigilans.org > Sent: Saturday, August 9, 2014 5:36:29 PM Subject: Re: [PAO] New CAPP 201 - Public Affairs Officer Specialty Track   I don't think I agree with the merging of PIO/PAO quals as this essentially does.  With effort you can find people willing to do normal CAP PAO work, but I have had a very tough time finding those interested in the more high pressure, time-sensitive PIO job. What I think we are risking is that more and more unqualified people will be put in the PAO slot because it is a required position, but that they will choose another specialty to progress through because of the very high new and existing barriers within the PAO track. Those that are actually interested will probably still get Technician, for which the requirements are basically to do the squadron PAO job the way it is supposed to be done.  But, I think that we will see a major decrease in the number going to Senior and Master because of the PIO requirements.  I counted 5 in-residence training courses to get Master -- any one of which is likely to be an insurmountable barrier to a majority of PAOs, especially those that work and can't afford to give up that many weeks of pay for CAP (since most of these courses are taught during the work-week for the paid emergency response community). I have always been supportive of the idea of increasing the requirements for PIO, which are awfully weak, but putting this much into the specialty track just doesn't make a lot of sense to me. How much is it going to benefit CAP to make it this difficult for someone that is only interested in doing PAO to advance in grade? Incidentally, has anyone pointed out that the "become a PIO" requirement is in both the Senior and Master requirements?  I think it would be "Become a PIO" for Senior and "Maintain PIO" for Master (assuming we want Master level to be a PIO at the time they get the rating). Blake Sasse _______________________________________________ Subscribed Email Address: JaimieLHenson at fuse.net CAP-PAO mailing list CAP-PAO at lists.sempervigilans.org http://lists.sempervigilans.org/mailman/listinfo/cap-pao   _______________________________________________ Subscribed Email Address: pa at natcapwg.cap.gov CAP-PAO mailing list CAP-PAO at lists.sempervigilans.org http://lists.sempervigilans.org/mailman/listinfo/cap-pao   Civil Air Patrol National Capital Wing "Citizens Serving Communities: Above and Beyond" CFC Charity #26757 www.NatCapWing.org   _______________________________________________ Subscribed Email Address: kd4ios at embarqmail.com CAP-PAO mailing list CAP-PAO at lists.sempervigilans.org http://lists.sempervigilans.org/mailman/listinfo/cap-pao -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From awoodgate at austin.rr.com Sun Aug 10 14:35:27 2014 From: awoodgate at austin.rr.com (Arthur Woodgate) Date: Sun, 10 Aug 2014 14:35:27 -0500 Subject: [PAO] CAP-PAO Digest, Vol 68, Issue 3 In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: <007c01cfb4d2$3e8be0c0$bba3a240$@austin.rr.com> It should be posted on eServices, under CAP tests. Arthur ~ From: cap-pao-bounces at lists.sempervigilans.org [mailto:cap-pao-bounces at lists.sempervigilans.org] On Behalf Of Lt Col Annette Carlson Sent: Sunday, August 10, 2014 1:17 PM To: cap-pao at lists.sempervigilans.org Subject: Re: [PAO] CAP-PAO Digest, Vol 68, Issue 3 Does anyone know where the "online CAPP 201 test" is to be found ? Thank YOU for all YOU do in CAP! Annette Carlson, Lt Col, CAP Wing Public Affairs & Information Officer (PAO/PIO) Civil Air Patrol Pennsylvania Wing E: pao at pawg.cap.gov www.pawg.cap.gov www.GoCivilAirPatrol.com CIVIL AIR PATROL Pennsylvania - - Mission 4: Excellence in the Spirit of Service! -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From lockit3 at att.net Sun Aug 10 15:02:56 2014 From: lockit3 at att.net (lockit3) Date: Sun, 10 Aug 2014 16:02:56 -0400 Subject: [PAO] [Bulk] FW: New CAPP 201 - Public Affairs Officer Specialty Track In-Reply-To: <053801cfb4cc$e5ef5870$b1ce0950$@flwg.us> References: <53E6945D.8070301@sbcglobal.net> <1451007569.16130480.1407638128868.JavaMail.root@md10.cincibell.synacor.com> <04f601cfb4b8$6d2e80a0$478b81e0$@flwg.us> <053801cfb4cc$e5ef5870$b1ce0950$@flwg.us> Message-ID: <00b701cfb4d6$14bdfc70$3e39f550$@att.net> Releasing the new Capp201 has certainly stirred a conversation. I have my own opinions about the new specialty track requirements but am trying to let them evolve as I watch the discussion grow. So far I have seen both ends of the spectrum, from PAO and PIO functions should be completely separate from each other to the two should be one and the same with absolutely no separation of duties. I can’t help but think that somewhere between those two lies the correct position. Where I see the conversation sitting right now, indicates to me that we are approached the wrong end of the mule. By this I mean, perhaps the PAO specialty track rating should be a requirement for PIO instead of the PAO being required to be so immersed in the operational side of things. There is no doubt changes need to be made, I am not sure that what has come about is as wrong or as right as the replies in this message board imply. When I asked why the specialty track became so operational oriented, Deep Water Horizon was held up to me as the example of how our PAO’s worked with so many paid agencies and how the level of professionalism shown on that mission should be maintained, grown and spread across the organization. First I would submit that those were PIO’s not PAO’s. Second overall it is one of the best arguments for PIO’s to more fully develop PAO skills. My reason for stating this is, this is going to sting a little, they didn’t do a very good job. No one but C.A.P. members knows that C.A.P. participated in the Deep Water Horizon mission. I had been involved in C.A.P. for eight months and a member for two before I knew we had anything to do with it or that we had a video illustrating it. Part of the reason for this is that C.A.P. P.I.O.’s do not “stand shoulder to shoulder” with PIO’s from other agencies. In the above example every agency but CAP that was involved had a PIO on camera behind the Coast Guard Admiral who was giving the briefings. I totally agree with Jeff that we should be about the job at hand and not ribbon collecting or self-promotion, however, if we are to be consistent about the duties should work so closely together, we have a task to promote CAP’s existence and mission. If we are not visible at the party we have failed at that task. I have attended three annual Public Affairs Academies in my two years in CAP and have learned volumes from some of the best in the organization. Sometimes much to his chagrin, I have adopted one of those outstanding professionals as my mentor. These classes help build the kind of skills that will allow us to be in a position to let our presence be seen without angering the paid organizations we are there to assist and inform. Now, as for ribbon collecting and progression. This is something that will be very difficult for many to do if the current requirements stand. The issue with this is that progression, which comes with the ribbons is not optional in Civil Air Patrol. You must progress to remain in the organization, therefore, attaining a technician level and making the annual training academies is not really an option. With the requirements as they are we may lose members because of lack of progression. I know we need the skills to do our job correctly and I have shown that I do not mind continuing education, I had to do that when I was a Volunteer Firefighter, I just think maybe we should concentrate a little less on having credentials (in my view this is a national mandate to “collect ribbons” in the form of FEMA certifications) and more on seeing if there are alternative methods to build the same skills. Sorry for the lengthy response, Curtis “Wayne” Hooks 1st Lt. Civil Air Patrol FLWG Online Newsfeed Manager Group 1 Public Affairs Officer Group 1 Recruitment and Retention Officer Tallahassee Composite Squadron Ser FL-432 Public Affairs Officer Recruitment and Retention Officer From: cap-pao-bounces at lists.sempervigilans.org [mailto:cap-pao-bounces at lists.sempervigilans.org] On Behalf Of Jeff Carlson, Grp 5 HQ Sent: Sunday, August 10, 2014 2:57 PM To: 'CAP Public Affairs Officers' Subject: [Bulk] [PAO] FW: New CAPP 201 - Public Affairs Officer Specialty Track There are many who argue that PAO and PIO should be rolled under the same umbrella. I don’t think that is necessary though I envision the required areas of training would be almost duplicate. It is a volunteer organization and the members should be allowed some choice in their primary mission area. Having PIOs and PAOs participate in the same training activities could help eliminate the silo effect between operations and support that many have complained about. Public information is a tactical (specific mission) application of public relations. Public affairs focuses more on a strategic (long term) application of public relations. An active mission does not preclude consideration of CAP’s strategic public relation goals. Public Affairs should not be shut down because of an active mission. I do agree we can vastly improve the cross-functional integration between the two areas. An entry-level PAO needs to understand the lane markings in regards to an active mission; it doesn’t hurt to have a senior level PAO gain a better understanding of the CAP ES mission by earning a GES-rating and working with a rated-PIO to exercise skills; mission information is a slice of the overall CAP public affairs pie so a Master-rated CAP PAO should have a working understanding of PIO responsibilities. The National Incident Management System (NIMS) does require incident resources, including human, to meet a set standard. We have an obligation to meet these requirements. Very few individuals possess all of the writing, photo/video-graphy, information technology, media relations skills and a square-jaw that looks good on camera. In my opinion, we need to change course and emphasize team-building. The ability to work as part of a team is more important than any single PR skill. Even the best writer will wisely have a second pair of eyes look over the prose. Just like we train aircrews so that we can take members from different units and put them together for a sortie, we need to train our information personnel to “form, storm, norm, perform” and maximize individual strengths. In my opinion, a good lead PIO doesn’t have to be able to write, take a photo without the thumb over the lens, or even have a Twitter account. A good lead PIO knows how to set effective information goals, organize and utilize available resources, and work within the existing political landscape. Can you show me where these skills are addressed in CAP PIO training? Are we developing effective leadership among our public relations personnel? Maybe this is a source of the ongoing dysfunction. Jeff From: Cianciolo, Lt Col, Paul [mailto:paul.cianciolo at natcapwg.cap.gov] Sent: Sunday, August 10, 2014 1:33 PM To: CAP PAO Listserv; jcarlson at flwg.us Subject: Re: [PAO] New CAPP 201 - Public Affairs Officer Specialty Track I agree with your disagreement Jeff. We are one CAP and need to speak to the media that way if on a mission or not. You can't take the mission out of CAP and still have the same organization. I think what is needed is to ensure that mission PIOs are plugged into the PA system and not separate. Lt Col Paul Cianciolo Sent from my Droid DNA On Aug 10, 2014 12:31 PM, "Jeff Carlson, Grp 5 HQ" wrote: I disagree that PIOs and PAOs have different skill sets. I also disagree that a PIO has to be all things and I am saddened every time I come across this “army-of-one” attitude. We need to become more team oriented in our public affairs/mission information efforts. When you fully understand the scope of public information needs, you quickly realize the job is bigger than any one person. The job of the public information officer includes all those things Maj. Hensen listed under the “behind-the-scene” PAO duties. For example, social media has become a major part any of public information plan of action. In addition, both PAOs and PIOs need to develop media relation skills. It is very important for a PIO to have skills for working in conjunction with PIOs from other agencies. The reality is that CAP is virtually never the lead agency in a mission. We are invited to the party, it is not our party. Even a small REDCAP, the local sheriff’s office is the lead agency and the sheriff’s office PIO is the lead PIO for the mission. There are political influences at work on a county level and a CAP PIO needs to maintain situational awareness. Circumventing the lead PIO is unprofessional. A CAP PIO needs to know how to develop a relationship and support the lead PIO while working to ensure the CAP part of the story is included in the public message. When working as part of a major multi-agency response effort, the CAP PIO is going to be the CAP liaison to the incident’s Joint Information System (JIS). Each agency has their representative. A CAP PIO becomes responsible for submitting CAP “facts” into the JIS and working with other agency’s PIOs on projects aimed at reaching the lead PIOs information goals. I don’t believe the CAP PIO training is stressing this reality. We need to be training our PIOs to work as a part of a larger system, a.k.a…teamwork. The Emergency Management Institute’s E-388 Advanced PIO course teaches PIOs to act more as liaisons for their respective agencies rather than the focal point of media attention. In my opinion, the CAP nomenclature is misleading by stating the PIO is the spokesperson rather than an information conduit. The media needs the PIO as a point of contact, they don’t necessarily want to interview the PIO. The media wants to interview the persons in charge, or somebody who has been “in the field”. This is who the media’s audience wants to hear from. The professional PIO prepares these interviewees and acts as wingman to cover their six by monitoring the interview, providing support during the interview and being prepared to inject if the interview starts going south. There is an old adage, “the medium is the message”. A statement from a pilot who overflew the damage is a different message than a PIO giving a narrative of the pilot’s experience. Having the Incident Commander, or Wing Commander say “CAP volunteers are working tirelessly to support the relief effort” is different than the PIO saying the same words. The PIO should only do the interview if they can’t come up with a better alternative. Not just PIO training, all CAP training needs to be taken seriously, from aircrew to aerospace education. How we mentor our members has a big effect on whether we are creating a team of ribbon-collectors or a resource pool of professional volunteers. Each member needs to be groomed to understand that continuing education is part of the responsibility. Most professional licenses require continuing education. I don’t care if 70% of PAOs remain tech-rated as long as they undergo annual training. Those that chose to reach for the next level rating should be willing to stretch beyond their comfort zone. The role of the public information officer is important to Civil Air Patrol. A CAP PIO will stand shoulder to shoulder with military, government and non-government professional PIOs. Members need to be encouraged to embark on the journey to meet professional standards and the CAP organization needs to provide support for the members to meet these standards. In my opinion, CAP is a perfect vehicle to develop human capital among ordinary citizens. Regardless of age, each member must be challenged and not allowed to soften and stagnate in a comfort zone. Many people complain when asked to extend effort, but everyone enjoys a sense of purpose, a sense of accomplishment, the recognition of personal growth. This is not our personal hobby farm. We are momentary guardians of this organization and have the responsibility to deliver a robust and pertinent entity into the hands of the next generation. Change can be difficult. The release of the new CAPP201 has been a good wake-up call. Both sides of the equation still require some adjustment. I look forward to seeing if leadership has vision and CAP personnel have the mettle to rise to the challenge. Jeff Carlson PAO/PIO Civil Air Patrol From: cap-pao-bounces at lists.sempervigilans.org [mailto:cap-pao-bounces at lists.sempervigilans.org] On Behalf Of jaimielhenson at fuse.net Sent: Saturday, August 09, 2014 10:35 PM To: CAP Public Affairs Officers Subject: Re: [PAO] New CAPP 201 - Public Affairs Officer Specialty Track I have real problems requiring PAOs to become PIOs. The positions are very different and require very different skill sets. One can be an effective, even an outstanding PAO, "behind the scenes". That is, writing news and community interest stories, posting/sending photographs, maintaining facebook pages, twitter accounts, websites, etc. It is a non-stress, non-time limit position. It does not necessarily require one to be attractive or well-spoken or to look good in the uniform. PIO requires all of those things and then some. IF PIO is going to be required, the training needs to be taken seriously. I had the honor of being in the first NESA PIO class several years ago. There was a member of the class who had absolutely no business ever dealing with the public or press. This member was an complete embarrassment to the uniform and CAP. The member was awarded PIO credentials just because the course was completed. There was no provision for "failing" someone who clearly wasn't qualified. Anything can be put on a piece of paper. If CAP PAOs and PIOs want to be seen and treated as professional equals in the "real" world, then we have to be trained and held accountable to the same level. Not all PAOs can or should be qualified as PIOs. To force this upon someone is either going to reduce the number of personnel willing to train beyond the Technician Rating or is going to end with many unqualified PIOs in the field simply because they completed a course. Neither of those scenarios is a positive outcome for CAP Public Relations. Jaimie Henson, Maj. Public Affairs Officer Public Information Officer Kentucky Wing _____ From: "Blake Sasse" To: "CAP Public Affairs Officers" Sent: Saturday, August 9, 2014 5:36:29 PM Subject: Re: [PAO] New CAPP 201 - Public Affairs Officer Specialty Track I don't think I agree with the merging of PIO/PAO quals as this essentially does. With effort you can find people willing to do normal CAP PAO work, but I have had a very tough time finding those interested in the more high pressure, time-sensitive PIO job. What I think we are risking is that more and more unqualified people will be put in the PAO slot because it is a required position, but that they will choose another specialty to progress through because of the very high new and existing barriers within the PAO track. Those that are actually interested will probably still get Technician, for which the requirements are basically to do the squadron PAO job the way it is supposed to be done. But, I think that we will see a major decrease in the number going to Senior and Master because of the PIO requirements. I counted 5 in-residence training courses to get Master -- any one of which is likely to be an insurmountable barrier to a majority of PAOs, especially those that work and can't afford to give up that many weeks of pay for CAP (since most of these courses are taught during the work-week for the paid emergency response community). I have always been supportive of the idea of increasing the requirements for PIO, which are awfully weak, but putting this much into the specialty track just doesn't make a lot of sense to me. How much is it going to benefit CAP to make it this difficult for someone that is only interested in doing PAO to advance in grade? Incidentally, has anyone pointed out that the "become a PIO" requirement is in both the Senior and Master requirements? I think it would be "Become a PIO" for Senior and "Maintain PIO" for Master (assuming we want Master level to be a PIO at the time they get the rating). Blake Sasse _______________________________________________ Subscribed Email Address: JaimieLHenson at fuse.net CAP-PAO mailing list CAP-PAO at lists.sempervigilans.org http://lists.sempervigilans.org/mailman/listinfo/cap-pao _______________________________________________ Subscribed Email Address: pa at natcapwg.cap.gov CAP-PAO mailing list CAP-PAO at lists.sempervigilans.org http://lists.sempervigilans.org/mailman/listinfo/cap-pao _____ Civil Air Patrol National Capital Wing "Citizens Serving Communities: Above and Beyond" CFC Charity #26757 www.NatCapWing.org -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From lockit3 at att.net Sun Aug 10 15:10:37 2014 From: lockit3 at att.net (lockit3) Date: Sun, 10 Aug 2014 16:10:37 -0400 Subject: [PAO] [Bulk] Re: CAP-PAO Digest, Vol 68, Issue 3 In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: <00bc01cfb4d7$2850dc70$78f29550$@att.net> Ma’am, To my knowledge, at this time one does not exist for Public Affairs at this time. There are enough required tests within the specialty track, I guess, they didn’t think we needed a “final.” From: cap-pao-bounces at lists.sempervigilans.org [mailto:cap-pao-bounces at lists.sempervigilans.org] On Behalf Of Lt Col Annette Carlson Sent: Sunday, August 10, 2014 2:17 PM To: cap-pao at lists.sempervigilans.org Subject: [Bulk] Re: [PAO] CAP-PAO Digest, Vol 68, Issue 3 Does anyone know where the "online CAPP 201 test" is to be found ? Thank YOU for all YOU do in CAP! Annette Carlson, Lt Col, CAP Wing Public Affairs & Information Officer (PAO/PIO) Civil Air Patrol Pennsylvania Wing E: pao at pawg.cap.gov www.pawg.cap.gov www.GoCivilAirPatrol.com CIVIL AIR PATROL Pennsylvania - - Mission 4: Excellence in the Spirit of Service! -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From bsasse at sbcglobal.net Sun Aug 10 15:27:25 2014 From: bsasse at sbcglobal.net (Blake Sasse) Date: Sun, 10 Aug 2014 15:27:25 -0500 Subject: [PAO] [Bulk] FW: New CAPP 201 - Public Affairs Officer Specialty Track In-Reply-To: <00b701cfb4d6$14bdfc70$3e39f550$@att.net> References: <53E6945D.8070301@sbcglobal.net> <1451007569.16130480.1407638128868.JavaMail.root@md10.cincibell.synacor.com> <04f601cfb4b8$6d2e80a0$478b81e0$@flwg.us> <053801cfb4cc$e5ef5870$b1ce0950$@flwg.us> <00b701cfb4d6$14bdfc70$3e39f550$@att.net> Message-ID: <53E7D5AD.8020905@sbcglobal.net> An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From jaimielhenson at fuse.net Sun Aug 10 15:57:27 2014 From: jaimielhenson at fuse.net (jaimielhenson at fuse.net) Date: Sun, 10 Aug 2014 16:57:27 -0400 (EDT) Subject: [PAO] [Bulk] FW: New CAPP 201 - Public Affairs Officer Specialty Track In-Reply-To: <00b701cfb4d6$14bdfc70$3e39f550$@att.net> Message-ID: <1276541556.17189515.1407704247871.JavaMail.root@md10.cincibell.synacor.com> Wayne you nailed it better than I did. Reading the responses, many are in agreement, we have just communicated it differently. I do not believe all PAOs can or should be PIOs. I stand by that. It is a specialized function. I have said for many, many years all PIOs should be PAOs, as the generalities of Public Affairs apply to both. The CAP PIO absolutely needs an elevated level of training in order to liaison with other agency PIOs, the PAO does not need that same level of training. I agree PIOs should not ever have the goal of being on camera or in the newspaper, but the fact is they should always be prepared to do so. I have yet to work with an IC who wanted to conduct the interview (I have come across a few pilots who are not camera shy!) They have always requested I perform that function. I try to get cadets on camera and in the paper as often as possible, a young person's face is worth, well, you know. On mission, the PIO is one of two points of contact, and most likely the first person the press is going to speak with. If we present someone who is shipshod in uniform, grammar, speaking ability, etc...the information gathering is going to end right there. That is what I was referring to about appearance, etc... We have to look and sound the part even if we are not ultimately the actual part. Jaimie Henson, Maj. Public Affairs Officer Public Information Officer Kentucky Wing ----- Original Message ----- From: "lockit3" To: jcarlson at flwg.us, "CAP Public Affairs Officers" Sent: Sunday, August 10, 2014 4:02:56 PM Subject: Re: [PAO] [Bulk] FW: New CAPP 201 - Public Affairs Officer Specialty Track Releasing the new Capp201 has certainly stirred a conversation. I have my own opinions about the new specialty track requirements but am trying to let them evolve as I watch the discussion grow. So far I have seen both ends of the spectrum, from PAO and PIO functions should be completely separate from each other to the two should be one and the same with absolutely no separation of duties. I can’t help but think that somewhere between those two lies the correct position. Where I see the conversation sitting right now, indicates to me that we are approached the wrong end of the mule. By this I mean, perhaps the PAO specialty track rating should be a requirement for PIO instead of the PAO being required to be so immersed in the operational side of things. There is no doubt changes need to be made, I am not sure that what has come about is as wrong or as right as the replies in this message board imply. When I asked why the specialty track became so operational oriented, Deep Water Horizon was held up to me as the example of how our PAO’s worked with so many paid agencies and how the level of professionalism shown on that mission should be maintained, grown and spread across the organization. First I would submit that those were PIO’s not PAO’s. Second overall it is one of the best arguments for PIO’s to more fully develop PAO skills. My reason for stating this is, this is going to sting a little, they didn’t do a very good job. No one but C.A.P. members knows that C.A.P. participated in the Deep Water Horizon mission. I had been involved in C.A.P. for eight months and a member for two before I knew we had anything to do with it or that we had a video illustrating it. Part of the reason for this is that C.A.P. P.I.O.’s do not “stand shoulder to shoulder” with PIO’s from other agencies. In the above example every agency but CAP that was involved had a PIO on camera behind the Coast Guard Admiral who was giving the briefings. I totally agree with Jeff that we should be about the job at hand and not ribbon collecting or self-promotion, however, if we are to be consistent about the duties should work so closely together, we have a task to promote CAP’s existence and mission. If we are not visible at the party we have failed at that task. I have attended three annual Public Affairs Academies in my two years in CAP and have learned volumes from some of the best in the organization. Sometimes much to his chagrin, I have adopted one of those outstanding professionals as my mentor. These classes help build the kind of skills that will allow us to be in a position to let our presence be seen without angering the paid organizations we are there to assist and inform. Now, as for ribbon collecting and progression. This is something that will be very difficult for many to do if the current requirements stand. The issue with this is that progression, which comes with the ribbons is not optional in Civil Air Patrol. You must progress to remain in the organization, therefore, attaining a technician level and making the annual training academies is not really an option. With the requirements as they are we may lose members because of lack of progression. I know we need the skills to do our job correctly and I have shown that I do not mind continuing education, I had to do that when I was a Volunteer Firefighter, I just think maybe we should concentrate a little less on having credentials (in my view this is a national mandate to “collect ribbons” in the form of FEMA certifications) and more on seeing if there are alternative methods to build the same skills. Sorry for the lengthy response, Curtis “Wayne” Hooks 1st Lt. Civil Air Patrol FLWG Online Newsfeed Manager Group 1 Public Affairs Officer Group 1 Recruitment and Retention Officer Tallahassee Composite Squadron Ser FL-432 Public Affairs Officer Recruitment and Retention Officer From: cap-pao-bounces at lists.sempervigilans.org [mailto:cap-pao-bounces at lists.sempervigilans.org] On Behalf Of Jeff Carlson, Grp 5 HQ Sent: Sunday, August 10, 2014 2:57 PM To: 'CAP Public Affairs Officers' Subject: [Bulk] [PAO] FW: New CAPP 201 - Public Affairs Officer Specialty Track There are many who argue that PAO and PIO should be rolled under the same umbrella. I don’t think that is necessary though I envision the required areas of training would be almost duplicate. It is a volunteer organization and the members should be allowed some choice in their primary mission area. Having PIOs and PAOs participate in the same training activities could help eliminate the silo effect between operations and support that many have complained about. Public information is a tactical (specific mission) application of public relations. Public affairs focuses more on a strategic (long term) application of public relations. An active mission does not preclude consideration of CAP’s strategic public relation goals. Public Affairs should not be shut down because of an active mission. I do agree we can vastly improve the cross-functional integration between the two areas. An entry-level PAO needs to understand the lane markings in regards to an active mission; it doesn’t hurt to have a senior level PAO gain a better understanding of the CAP ES mission by earning a GES-rating and working with a rated-PIO to exercise skills; mission information is a slice of the overall CAP public affairs pie so a Master-rated CAP PAO should have a working understanding of PIO responsibilities. The National Incident Management System (NIMS) does require incident resources, including human, to meet a set standard. We have an obligation to meet these requirements. Very few individuals possess all of the writing, photo/video-graphy, information technology, media relations skills and a square-jaw that looks good on camera. In my opinion, we need to change course and emphasize team-building. The ability to work as part of a team is more important than any single PR skill. Even the best writer will wisely have a second pair of eyes look over the prose. Just like we train aircrews so that we can take members from different units and put them together for a sortie, we need to train our information personnel to “form, storm, norm, perform” and maximize individual strengths. In my opinion, a good lead PIO doesn’t have to be able to write, take a photo without the thumb over the lens, or even have a Twitter account. A good lead PIO knows how to set effective information goals, organize and utilize available resources, and work within the existing political landscape. Can you show me where these skills are addressed in CAP PIO training? Are we developing effective leadership among our public relations personnel? Maybe this is a source of the ongoing dysfunction. Jeff From: Cianciolo, Lt Col, Paul [ mailto:paul.cianciolo at natcapwg.cap.gov ] Sent: Sunday, August 10, 2014 1:33 PM To: CAP PAO Listserv; jcarlson at flwg.us Subject: Re: [PAO] New CAPP 201 - Public Affairs Officer Specialty Track I agree with your disagreement Jeff. We are one CAP and need to speak to the media that way if on a mission or not. You can't take the mission out of CAP and still have the same organization. I think what is needed is to ensure that mission PIOs are plugged into the PA system and not separate. Lt Col Paul Cianciolo Sent from my Droid DNA On Aug 10, 2014 12:31 PM, "Jeff Carlson, Grp 5 HQ" < jcarlson at flwg.us > wrote: I disagree that PIOs and PAOs have different skill sets. I also disagree that a PIO has to be all things and I am saddened every time I come across this “army-of-one” attitude. We need to become more team oriented in our public affairs/mission information efforts. When you fully understand the scope of public information needs, you quickly realize the job is bigger than any one person. The job of the public information officer includes all those things Maj. Hensen listed under the “behind-the-scene” PAO duties. For example, social media has become a major part any of public information plan of action. In addition, both PAOs and PIOs need to develop media relation skills. It is very important for a PIO to have skills for working in conjunction with PIOs from other agencies. The reality is that CAP is virtually never the lead agency in a mission. We are invited to the party, it is not our party. Even a small REDCAP, the local sheriff’s office is the lead agency and the sheriff’s office PIO is the lead PIO for the mission. There are political influences at work on a county level and a CAP PIO needs to maintain situational awareness. Circumventing the lead PIO is unprofessional. A CAP PIO needs to know how to develop a relationship and support the lead PIO while working to ensure the CAP part of the story is included in the public message. When working as part of a major multi-agency response effort, the CAP PIO is going to be the CAP liaison to the incident’s Joint Information System (JIS). Each agency has their representative. A CAP PIO becomes responsible for submitting CAP “facts” into the JIS and working with other agency’s PIOs on projects aimed at reaching the lead PIOs information goals. I don’t believe the CAP PIO training is stressing this reality. We need to be training our PIOs to work as a part of a larger system, a.k.a…teamwork. The Emergency Management Institute’s E-388 Advanced PIO course teaches PIOs to act more as liaisons for their respective agencies rather than the focal point of media attention. In my opinion, the CAP nomenclature is misleading by stating the PIO is the spokesperson rather than an information conduit. The media needs the PIO as a point of contact, they don’t necessarily want to interview the PIO. The media wants to interview the persons in charge, or somebody who has been “in the field”. This is who the media’s audience wants to hear from. The professional PIO prepares these interviewees and acts as wingman to cover their six by monitoring the interview, providing support during the interview and being prepared to inject if the interview starts going south. There is an old adage, “the medium is the message”. A statement from a pilot who overflew the damage is a different message than a PIO giving a narrative of the pilot’s experience. Having the Incident Commander, or Wing Commander say “CAP volunteers are working tirelessly to support the relief effort” is different than the PIO saying the same words. The PIO should only do the interview if they can’t come up with a better alternative. Not just PIO training, all CAP training needs to be taken seriously, from aircrew to aerospace education. How we mentor our members has a big effect on whether we are creating a team of ribbon-collectors or a resource pool of professional volunteers. Each member needs to be groomed to understand that continuing education is part of the responsibility. Most professional licenses require continuing education. I don’t care if 70% of PAOs remain tech-rated as long as they undergo annual training. Those that chose to reach for the next level rating should be willing to stretch beyond their comfort zone. The role of the public information officer is important to Civil Air Patrol. A CAP PIO will stand shoulder to shoulder with military, government and non-government professional PIOs. Members need to be encouraged to embark on the journey to meet professional standards and the CAP organization needs to provide support for the members to meet these standards. In my opinion, CAP is a perfect vehicle to develop human capital among ordinary citizens. Regardless of age, each member must be challenged and not allowed to soften and stagnate in a comfort zone. Many people complain when asked to extend effort, but everyone enjoys a sense of purpose, a sense of accomplishment, the recognition of personal growth. This is not our personal hobby farm. We are momentary guardians of this organization and have the responsibility to deliver a robust and pertinent entity into the hands of the next generation. Change can be difficult. The release of the new CAPP201 has been a good wake-up call. Both sides of the equation still require some adjustment. I look forward to seeing if leadership has vision and CAP personnel have the mettle to rise to the challenge. Jeff Carlson PAO/PIO Civil Air Patrol From: cap-pao-bounces at lists.sempervigilans.org [mailto: cap-pao-bounces at lists.sempervigilans.org ] On Behalf Of jaimielhenson at fuse.net Sent: Saturday, August 09, 2014 10:35 PM To: CAP Public Affairs Officers Subject: Re: [PAO] New CAPP 201 - Public Affairs Officer Specialty Track I have real problems requiring PAOs to become PIOs. The positions are very different and require very different skill sets. One can be an effective, even an outstanding PAO, "behind the scenes". That is, writing news and community interest stories, posting/sending photographs, maintaining facebook pages, twitter accounts, websites, etc. It is a non-stress, non-time limit position. It does not necessarily require one to be attractive or well-spoken or to look good in the uniform. PIO requires all of those things and then some. IF PIO is going to be required, the training needs to be taken seriously. I had the honor of being in the first NESA PIO class several years ago. There was a member of the class who had absolutely no business ever dealing with the public or press. This member was an complete embarrassment to the uniform and CAP. The member was awarded PIO credentials just because the course was completed. There was no provision for "failing" someone who clearly wasn't qualified. Anything can be put on a piece of paper. If CAP PAOs and PIOs want to be seen and treated as professional equals in the "real" world, then we have to be trained and held accountable to the same level. Not all PAOs can or should be qualified as PIOs. To force this upon someone is either going to reduce the number of personnel willing to train beyond the Technician Rating or is going to end with many unqualified PIOs in the field simply because they completed a course. Neither of those scenarios is a positive outcome for CAP Public Relations. Jaimie Henson, Maj. Public Affairs Officer Public Information Officer Kentucky Wing From: "Blake Sasse" < bsasse at sbcglobal.net > To: "CAP Public Affairs Officers" < cap-pao at lists.sempervigilans.org > Sent: Saturday, August 9, 2014 5:36:29 PM Subject: Re: [PAO] New CAPP 201 - Public Affairs Officer Specialty Track I don't think I agree with the merging of PIO/PAO quals as this essentially does. With effort you can find people willing to do normal CAP PAO work, but I have had a very tough time finding those interested in the more high pressure, time-sensitive PIO job. What I think we are risking is that more and more unqualified people will be put in the PAO slot because it is a required position, but that they will choose another specialty to progress through because of the very high new and existing barriers within the PAO track. Those that are actually interested will probably still get Technician, for which the requirements are basically to do the squadron PAO job the way it is supposed to be done. But, I think that we will see a major decrease in the number going to Senior and Master because of the PIO requirements. I counted 5 in-residence training courses to get Master -- any one of which is likely to be an insurmountable barrier to a majority of PAOs, especially those that work and can't afford to give up that many weeks of pay for CAP (since most of these courses are taught during the work-week for the paid emergency response community). I have always been supportive of the idea of increasing the requirements for PIO, which are awfully weak, but putting this much into the specialty track just doesn't make a lot of sense to me. How much is it going to benefit CAP to make it this difficult for someone that is only interested in doing PAO to advance in grade? Incidentally, has anyone pointed out that the "become a PIO" requirement is in both the Senior and Master requirements? I think it would be "Become a PIO" for Senior and "Maintain PIO" for Master (assuming we want Master level to be a PIO at the time they get the rating). Blake Sasse _______________________________________________ Subscribed Email Address: JaimieLHenson at fuse.net CAP-PAO mailing list CAP-PAO at lists.sempervigilans.org http://lists.sempervigilans.org/mailman/listinfo/cap-pao _______________________________________________ Subscribed Email Address: pa at natcapwg.cap.gov CAP-PAO mailing list CAP-PAO at lists.sempervigilans.org http://lists.sempervigilans.org/mailman/listinfo/cap-pao Civil Air Patrol National Capital Wing "Citizens Serving Communities: Above and Beyond" CFC Charity #26757 www.NatCapWing.org _______________________________________________ Subscribed Email Address: JaimieLHenson at fuse.net CAP-PAO mailing list CAP-PAO at lists.sempervigilans.org http://lists.sempervigilans.org/mailman/listinfo/cap-pao -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From Barth7394 at comcast.net Sun Aug 10 16:40:08 2014 From: Barth7394 at comcast.net (Doug Barth) Date: Sun, 10 Aug 2014 17:40:08 -0400 Subject: [PAO] New CAPP 201 - Public Affairs Officer Specialty Track Message-ID: <004901cfb4e3$b2698770$173c9650$@comcast.net> I really appreciate the conversation and discussion on this topic. As a Tech rated PAO (and former squadron commander, PDO) and with retirement approaching am looking at how to increase my engagement in CAP (within time and budget constraints). Quick question, going back to a question raised in the initial post for this conversation Since NHQ/PA has placed mandatory training requirements for the two FMEA in-residence courses (and I am sure they are aware of the travel, expense etc issues); I would ask, what is the plan to provide this training to our members…knowing that “go to Maryland” is not a plan. Developing a training delivery plan should have been included in the development of the new regulation. I would look for NHQ/PA to be developing CAP internal resources to develop and deliver these courses for our members. Perhaps FEMA has a train-the-trainer program? I belong to several other volunteer and professional organizations, and it is the organization’s responsibility to ensure that required training is developed and delivered to its members (thru either in-house resources or contracted resources, or online) and not to be dependent on external sources where access is limited (ie in-residence classes.) Doug Barth, Major, CAP Maryland Wing Group 2 -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From jcarlson at flwg.us Sun Aug 10 16:56:02 2014 From: jcarlson at flwg.us (Jeff Carlson, Grp 5 HQ) Date: Sun, 10 Aug 2014 17:56:02 -0400 Subject: [PAO] FW: New CAPP 201 - Public Affairs Officer Specialty Track Message-ID: <057d01cfb4e5$e0c94130$a25bc390$@flwg.us> I apologize for filling people's inboxes with my ranting this weekend. This is an important topic and is worthy of constructive dialogue. The CAP organization needs to provide both standards and opportunities for members to develop skills to meet the standards. We must recognize skill-levels will vary from person to person. Creating a race of super-PAOs is not a realistic goal. Pilots are trained to utilize Crew Resource Management (CRM). PAOs & PIOs must be indoctrinated to utilize a resource management system as well. Let me tell one last story. In addition to CAP, I also volunteer with American Red Cross as a government liaison assigned to the county emergency operations center. A seasoned county manager told me about the warm-chair test. He liked to walk around the various ESF stations and feel the back of the chair when he spoke to a liaison. If the chair was very warm, he knew the liaison was not circulating enough among the other stations. This was an important lesson for me. When assigned to a CAP mission as PIO, I try to make certain that I circulate. I use the ol' fly on the wall technique. Casual conversation, observing body language, voice intonation all offer a revealing perspective to how a mission is going. I was asked to supervise a trio of PIO trainees during a recent SAREX. After a morning briefing with me, the trainees went off to work on their assigned tasks and I began to circulate. I look for wallflowers, as these are often new members who are lost in the rush of activity. This morning I found one and sat down next to her. She was a new member looking for a best fit in CAP. She was thinking ES might be the answer. As I interviewed her, I learned she had over twenty-years' experience in crisis counseling. As we talked, I used my smartphone to email a link to her with information about the CAP CISM team. Later that morning, one of the trainees came up to me in a panicked manner and handed me a slip of paper. It was an exercise inject about a distraught family member. About that time, a man burst into the operations center in a rage. I asked the trainee to get the man's attention and escort him to a side room, then I walked over to the woman I had met earlier and asked her to accompany me. We joined the PIO trainee and the visitor. The counselor quickly assessed the situation when we entered the room. She began asking questions that helped the man feel as though he became a part of the solution of finding his lost family member. His manner changed very quickly and he became calm. I learned a lot from observing the professional counselor at work. I hoped it helped her recognize that she already possessed skills that were valuable to CAP. With my CISM and psychological first aid training, I would like to think I could have personally handled the situation in an effective manner. Regardless of my training, knowing the resources that were available to me and then utilizing them was the most valuable asset I could apply to achieve mission success. Yes, we must encourage skill development; we must also train our personnel to identify and utilize all available resources. Thank you for your attention. Southeast CAP 21.out. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From bweil at ncwgcap.org Sun Aug 10 17:10:46 2014 From: bweil at ncwgcap.org (1Lt. Bryan Weil,CAP) Date: Sun, 10 Aug 2014 18:10:46 -0400 Subject: [PAO] New CAPP 201 - Public Affairs Officer Specialty Track Message-ID: <3ypm9fmx6sgdplku9gss3tpj.1407708646994@email.android.com> Doug. I am at the National conference in Vegas i hope to get some clarification at the PAO academy on Monday. 1Lt. BRYAN Weil,CAP NCWG Public Affairs Officer 919-609-6868 bweil at ncwgcap.org *****Sent from my phone
-------- Original message --------
From: Doug Barth
Date:08/10/2014 17:40 (GMT-05:00)
To: 'CAP Public Affairs Officers'
Subject: Re: [PAO] New CAPP 201 - Public Affairs Officer Specialty Track
I really appreciate the conversation and discussion on this topic. As a Tech rated PAO (and former squadron commander, PDO) and with retirement approaching am looking at how to increase my engagement in CAP (within time and budget constraints). Quick question, going back to a question raised in the initial post for this conversation Since NHQ/PA has placed mandatory training requirements for the two FMEA in-residence courses (and I am sure they are aware of the travel, expense etc issues); I would ask, what is the plan to provide this training to our members…knowing that “go to Maryland” is not a plan. Developing a training delivery plan should have been included in the development of the new regulation. I would look for NHQ/PA to be developing CAP internal resources to develop and deliver these courses for our members. Perhaps FEMA has a train-the-trainer program? I belong to several other volunteer and professional organizations, and it is the organization’s responsibility to ensure that required training is developed and delivered to its members (thru either in-house resources or contracted resources, or online) and not to be dependent on external sources where access is limited (ie in-residence classes.) Doug Barth, Major, CAP Maryland Wing Group 2 -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From hertelpcap at att.net Sun Aug 10 17:19:18 2014 From: hertelpcap at att.net (Lt Col Hertel) Date: Sun, 10 Aug 2014 17:19:18 -0500 Subject: [PAO] [Bulk] FW: New CAPP 201 - Public Affairs Officer Specialty Track Message-ID: I've been saying for years, PAOs and PIOs should be able to attend DINFOS.   Sent from my Verizon Wireless 4G LTE Smartphone
-------- Original message --------
From: jaimielhenson at fuse.net
Date:08/10/2014 15:57 (GMT-06:00)
To: CAP Public Affairs Officers
Subject: Re: [PAO] [Bulk] FW: New CAPP 201 - Public Affairs Officer Specialty Track
Wayne you nailed it better than I did. Reading the responses, many are in agreement, we have just communicated it differently. I do not believe all PAOs can or should be PIOs. I stand by that. It is a specialized function. I have said for many, many years all PIOs should be PAOs, as the generalities of Public Affairs apply to both. The CAP PIO absolutely needs an elevated level of training in order to liaison with other agency PIOs, the PAO does not need that same level of training. I agree PIOs should not ever have the goal of being on camera or in the newspaper, but the fact is they should always be prepared to do so. I have yet to work with an IC who wanted to conduct the interview (I have come across a few pilots who are not camera shy!) They have always requested I perform that function. I try to get cadets on camera and in the paper as often as possible, a young person's face is worth, well, you know. On mission, the PIO is one of two points of contact, and most likely the first person the press is going to speak with. If we present someone who is shipshod in uniform, grammar, speaking ability, etc...the information gathering is going to end right there. That is what I was referring to about appearance, etc... We have to look and sound the part even if we are not ultimately the actual part. Jaimie Henson, Maj. Public Affairs Officer Public Information Officer Kentucky Wing From: "lockit3" To: jcarlson at flwg.us, "CAP Public Affairs Officers" Sent: Sunday, August 10, 2014 4:02:56 PM Subject: Re: [PAO] [Bulk] FW: New CAPP 201 - Public Affairs Officer Specialty Track Releasing the new Capp201 has certainly stirred a conversation. I have my own opinions about the new specialty track requirements but am trying to let them evolve as I watch the discussion grow. So far I have seen both ends of the spectrum, from PAO and PIO functions should be completely separate from each other to the two should be one and the same with absolutely no separation of duties. I can’t help but think that somewhere between those two lies the correct position. Where I see the conversation sitting right now, indicates to me that we are approached the wrong end of the mule. By this I mean, perhaps the PAO specialty track rating should be a requirement for PIO instead of the PAO being required to be so immersed in the operational side of things. There is no doubt changes need to be made, I am not sure that what has come about is as wrong or as right as the replies in this message board imply. When I asked why the specialty track became so operational oriented, Deep Water Horizon was held up to me as the example of how our PAO’s worked with so many paid agencies and how the level of professionalism shown on that mission should be maintained, grown and spread across the organization. First I would submit that those were PIO’s not PAO’s. Second overall it is one of the best arguments for PIO’s to more fully develop PAO skills. My reason for stating this is, this is going to sting a little, they didn’t do a very good job. No one but C.A.P. members knows that C.A.P. participated in the Deep Water Horizon mission. I had been involved in C.A.P. for eight months and a member for two before I knew we had anything to do with it or that we had a video illustrating it. Part of the reason for this is that C.A.P. P.I.O.’s do not “stand shoulder to shoulder” with PIO’s from other agencies. In the above example every agency but CAP that was involved had a PIO on camera behind the Coast Guard Admiral who was giving the briefings. I totally agree with Jeff that we should be about the job at hand and not ribbon collecting or self-promotion, however, if we are to be consistent about the duties should work so closely together, we have a task to promote CAP’s existence and mission. If we are not visible at the party we have failed at that task. I have attended three annual Public Affairs Academies in my two years in CAP and have learned volumes from some of the best in the organization. Sometimes much to his chagrin, I have adopted one of those outstanding professionals as my mentor. These classes help build the kind of skills that will allow us to be in a position to let our presence be seen without angering the paid organizations we are there to assist and inform. Now, as for ribbon collecting and progression. This is something that will be very difficult for many to do if the current requirements stand. The issue with this is that progression, which comes with the ribbons is not optional in Civil Air Patrol. You must progress to remain in the organization, therefore, attaining a technician level and making the annual training academies is not really an option. With the requirements as they are we may lose members because of lack of progression. I know we need the skills to do our job correctly and I have shown that I do not mind continuing education, I had to do that when I was a Volunteer Firefighter, I just think maybe we should concentrate a little less on having credentials (in my view this is a national mandate to “collect ribbons” in the form of FEMA certifications) and more on seeing if there are alternative methods to build the same skills. Sorry for the lengthy response, Curtis “Wayne” Hooks 1st Lt. Civil Air Patrol FLWG Online Newsfeed Manager Group 1 Public Affairs Officer Group 1 Recruitment and Retention Officer Tallahassee Composite Squadron Ser FL-432 Public Affairs Officer Recruitment and Retention Officer From: cap-pao-bounces at lists.sempervigilans.org [mailto:cap-pao-bounces at lists.sempervigilans.org] On Behalf Of Jeff Carlson, Grp 5 HQ Sent: Sunday, August 10, 2014 2:57 PM To: 'CAP Public Affairs Officers' Subject: [Bulk] [PAO] FW: New CAPP 201 - Public Affairs Officer Specialty Track There are many who argue that PAO and PIO should be rolled under the same umbrella. I don’t think that is necessary though I envision the required areas of training would be almost duplicate. It is a volunteer organization and the members should be allowed some choice in their primary mission area. Having PIOs and PAOs participate in the same training activities could help eliminate the silo effect between operations and support that many have complained about. Public information is a tactical (specific mission) application of public relations. Public affairs focuses more on a strategic (long term) application of public relations. An active mission does not preclude consideration of CAP’s strategic public relation goals. Public Affairs should not be shut down because of an active mission. I do agree we can vastly improve the cross-functional integration between the two areas. An entry-level PAO needs to understand the lane markings in regards to an active mission; it doesn’t hurt to have a senior level PAO gain a better understanding of the CAP ES mission by earning a GES-rating and working with a rated-PIO to exercise skills; mission information is a slice of the overall CAP public affairs pie so a Master-rated CAP PAO should have a working understanding of PIO responsibilities. The National Incident Management System (NIMS) does require incident resources, including human, to meet a set standard. We have an obligation to meet these requirements. Very few individuals possess all of the writing, photo/video-graphy, information technology, media relations skills and a square-jaw that looks good on camera. In my opinion, we need to change course and emphasize team-building. The ability to work as part of a team is more important than any single PR skill. Even the best writer will wisely have a second pair of eyes look over the prose. Just like we train aircrews so that we can take members from different units and put them together for a sortie, we need to train our information personnel to “form, storm, norm, perform” and maximize individual strengths. In my opinion, a good lead PIO doesn’t have to be able to write, take a photo without the thumb over the lens, or even have a Twitter account. A good lead PIO knows how to set effective information goals, organize and utilize available resources, and work within the existing political landscape. Can you show me where these skills are addressed in CAP PIO training? Are we developing effective leadership among our public relations personnel? Maybe this is a source of the ongoing dysfunction. Jeff From: Cianciolo, Lt Col, Paul [mailto:paul.cianciolo at natcapwg.cap.gov] Sent: Sunday, August 10, 2014 1:33 PM To: CAP PAO Listserv; jcarlson at flwg.us Subject: Re: [PAO] New CAPP 201 - Public Affairs Officer Specialty Track I agree with your disagreement Jeff. We are one CAP and need to speak to the media that way if on a mission or not. You can't take the mission out of CAP and still have the same organization. I think what is needed is to ensure that mission PIOs are plugged into the PA system and not separate. Lt Col Paul Cianciolo Sent from my Droid DNA On Aug 10, 2014 12:31 PM, "Jeff Carlson, Grp 5 HQ" wrote: I disagree that PIOs and PAOs have different skill sets. I also disagree that a PIO has to be all things and I am saddened every time I come across this “army-of-one” attitude. We need to become more team oriented in our public affairs/mission information efforts. When you fully understand the scope of public information needs, you quickly realize the job is bigger than any one person. The job of the public information officer includes all those things Maj. Hensen listed under the “behind-the-scene” PAO duties. For example, social media has become a major part any of public information plan of action. In addition, both PAOs and PIOs need to develop media relation skills. It is very important for a PIO to have skills for working in conjunction with PIOs from other agencies. The reality is that CAP is virtually never the lead agency in a mission. We are invited to the party, it is not our party. Even a small REDCAP, the local sheriff’s office is the lead agency and the sheriff’s office PIO is the lead PIO for the mission. There are political influences at work on a county level and a CAP PIO needs to maintain situational awareness. Circumventing the lead PIO is unprofessional. A CAP PIO needs to know how to develop a relationship and support the lead PIO while working to ensure the CAP part of the story is included in the public message. When working as part of a major multi-agency response effort, the CAP PIO is going to be the CAP liaison to the incident’s Joint Information System (JIS). Each agency has their representative. A CAP PIO becomes responsible for submitting CAP “facts= -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From djessmer at cap.gov Sun Aug 10 18:54:12 2014 From: djessmer at cap.gov (DOUGLAS E. JESSMER, Lt Col, CAP CAP/PM) Date: Sun, 10 Aug 2014 19:54:12 -0400 Subject: [PAO] [Bulk] FW: New CAPP 201 - Public Affairs Officer Specialty Track In-Reply-To: <1276541556.17189515.1407704247871.JavaMail.root@md10.cincibell.synacor.com> References: <1276541556.17189515.1407704247871.JavaMail.root@md10.cincibell.synacor.com> Message-ID: All: I've been following this discussion with great interest, as it goes to the heart of how we communicate to pretty much every constituency. Fact is, emergency services is one of our three main missions. How can we be effective in telling the CAP story if we don't have some background in what's probably our highest-profile purpose? I don't believe every public affairs officer should need to be a public information officer. And they don't have to be, but those PAs who don't want the FEMA courses and the PIO qualification can stop with the technician level of the track. Those who want the PIO training but can't get to Emmitsburg can go as far as the senior level. I'm sure Emmitsburg is nice this time of year — it's got to be less muggy than it is here in Florida. And if you want the training and to climb the ladder of the specialty track and lay low on the ops side, that's up to you. CAP is, after all, a volunteer organization. But every PIO should be a PA. And every public affairs officer should at least have a 101 card and some PIO training. Not to have that is to neglect a very important part of what is CAP. We aren't a pure-play emergency services organization, but people know us for that, at least the ones who know us. (And that's another thing — many would-be "customers" for our ops folks still don't know who we are! We need to market ourselves better in that regard....) We aren't just a cadet-program organization. And public affairs officers are in the best position to explain the three sides of CAP — they're not "the ops side and everyone else," but rather, the emergency services, cadet program and aerospace education missions with which Congress chartered us back in the day (PLs 476 and 557). A good PA needs to be well-versed in all three components. The most important thing in PIO training for CAP members is to learn how to play well with other agencies. CAP's PIOs won't be the lead on any incident, but we still stand to get our message out, and we must have the discipline of messaging to "stay in our lane" and work as part of a greater system. If Deepwater Horizon didn't teach us that, I don't know what will. We need to be team players, all up and down the line. Squadron PAs play as vital a role in our missions as do wing PIOs and the national staff. There's not really much else I can say that hasn't been said. Yes, these are the requirements. If there's widespread issue, I imagine adjustments may be made (that's just me speaking from my experience, not saying anything official by any means). We still need to be realistic while we're stretching the field, after all. But what's most important is that we want our public affairs officers to be the best they can be, to be able to capably, competently and confidently tell our story, and to position CAP favorably in our populaces. DOUGLAS E. JESSMER, Lt Col, CAP National Marketing Officer COM: (727) 480-9606 Clearwater, Fla. CAUTION: This e-mail is intended only for the person or entity to which it is addressed and may contain information that is privileged or otherwise protected from disclosure. Do not disseminate this message without the sender's approval. If you received this message in error, please notify the sender by reply e-mail and delete all copies of this message. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From paa.sdwg at gmail.com Sun Aug 10 20:54:43 2014 From: paa.sdwg at gmail.com (Bruce Kipp) Date: Sun, 10 Aug 2014 20:54:43 -0500 Subject: [PAO] NEW CAPP 201 Creates Bar To Advancement Message-ID: IMHO the new CAPP 201 inadvertently creates a severe impediment to advancement not only in the PAO Specialty Track but in the CAP Professional Development Program. Let me illustrate. To achieve "Senior" level in PAO you must take G-290, not a bad idea in and of itself. However, here in South Dakota G-290 has not been taught by the state's Department of Emergency Management for the last couple of years and is not scheduled to be taught until August 2015. To achieve "Master" level in PAO you must take E-388 which is only taught at Emittsburg, PA. G-290 is the prerequisite for E-388. So, in South Dakota, and I suspect other Midwestern states, this is a double whammy. You can't get G-290 so you can't take E-388. Given that E-388 is only taught at Emittsburg, it is time consuming and expensive for someone from the Midwest to go there for training. I myself am retired, living on a pension, and have medical conditions that make such a trek virtually impossible. So, without E-388 I can't earn "Master" level. Without "Master" level I cannot complete Level IV of the professional development program. Without Level IV I cannot progress to Level V and, hopefully, promotion. I believe the inclusion of E-388 as a requirement for "Master" level in specialty track PAO inadvertently and unnecessarily represents a major impediment to advancement in both the specialty track and the professional development program. ^ *Bruce Kipp, Major, CAP* *Public Affairs Officer* *SD Wing Civil Air Patrol* *605-261-4507 * *Email: paa.sdwg at gmail.com * *Website: www.sdcap.us * *[image: Twitter]* *[image: facebook]* *[image: Flickr]* -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: image008.png Type: image/png Size: 2920 bytes Desc: not available URL: -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: image009.jpg Type: image/jpeg Size: 1053 bytes Desc: not available URL: -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: image007.png Type: image/png Size: 3194 bytes Desc: not available URL: From awoodgate at austin.rr.com Sun Aug 10 22:30:11 2014 From: awoodgate at austin.rr.com (Arthur Woodgate) Date: Sun, 10 Aug 2014 22:30:11 -0500 Subject: [PAO] [Bulk] FW: New CAPP 201 - Public Affairs Officer Specialty Track In-Reply-To: References: <1276541556.17189515.1407704247871.JavaMail.root@md10.cincibell.synacor.com> Message-ID: <011201cfb514$8ed1ef10$ac75cd30$@austin.rr.com> Thank you, Douglas. Your analysis is pretty much in line with the spirit of what NHQ/PA set out to accomplish, and spells out the choices available to the PAO very well. The PIO position has such high visibility that it can either boost someone to national prominence or doom that same person to bottom-of-the-heap status. It's all a matter of training - and choice. Regards, Arthur ~ __________________________________ ARTHUR E. WOODGATE, Lt. Col., CAP Director of Public Affairs & Director of Organizational Excellence Southwest Region Civil Air Patrol - "Citizens Serving Communities" 512.432.0231 512.547.6997 <<< VoIP (secondary) 512.567.1935 (cell - not always on) awoodgate at austin.rr.com LtColWoodgate at gmail.com From: cap-pao-bounces at lists.sempervigilans.org [mailto:cap-pao-bounces at lists.sempervigilans.org] On Behalf Of DOUGLAS E. JESSMER, Lt Col, CAP CAP/PM Sent: Sunday, August 10, 2014 6:54 PM To: CAP Public Affairs Officers Subject: Re: [PAO] [Bulk] FW: New CAPP 201 - Public Affairs Officer Specialty Track All: I've been following this discussion with great interest, as it goes to the heart of how we communicate to pretty much every constituency. Fact is, emergency services is one of our three main missions. How can we be effective in telling the CAP story if we don't have some background in what's probably our highest-profile purpose? I don't believe every public affairs officer should need to be a public information officer. And they don't have to be, but those PAs who don't want the FEMA courses and the PIO qualification can stop with the technician level of the track. Those who want the PIO training but can't get to Emmitsburg can go as far as the senior level. I'm sure Emmitsburg is nice this time of year - it's got to be less muggy than it is here in Florida. And if you want the training and to climb the ladder of the specialty track and lay low on the ops side, that's up to you. CAP is, after all, a volunteer organization. But every PIO should be a PA. And every public affairs officer should at least have a 101 card and some PIO training. Not to have that is to neglect a very important part of what is CAP. We aren't a pure-play emergency services organization, but people know us for that, at least the ones who know us. (And that's another thing - many would-be "customers" for our ops folks still don't know who we are! We need to market ourselves better in that regard....) We aren't just a cadet-program organization. And public affairs officers are in the best position to explain the three sides of CAP - they're not "the ops side and everyone else," but rather, the emergency services, cadet program and aerospace education missions with which Congress chartered us back in the day (PLs 476 and 557). A good PA needs to be well-versed in all three components. The most important thing in PIO training for CAP members is to learn how to play well with other agencies. CAP's PIOs won't be the lead on any incident, but we still stand to get our message out, and we must have the discipline of messaging to "stay in our lane" and work as part of a greater system. If Deepwater Horizon didn't teach us that, I don't know what will. We need to be team players, all up and down the line. Squadron PAs play as vital a role in our missions as do wing PIOs and the national staff. There's not really much else I can say that hasn't been said. Yes, these are the requirements. If there's widespread issue, I imagine adjustments may be made (that's just me speaking from my experience, not saying anything official by any means). We still need to be realistic while we're stretching the field, after all. But what's most important is that we want our public affairs officers to be the best they can be, to be able to capably, competently and confidently tell our story, and to position CAP favorably in our populaces. DOUGLAS E. JESSMER, Lt Col, CAP National Marketing Officer COM: (727) 480-9606 Clearwater, Fla. CAUTION: This e-mail is intended only for the person or entity to which it is addressed and may contain information that is privileged or otherwise protected from disclosure. Do not disseminate this message without the sender's approval. If you received this message in error, please notify the sender by reply e-mail and delete all copies of this message. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From wweiler at flwg.us Mon Aug 11 00:00:34 2014 From: wweiler at flwg.us (Bill Weiler CAP) Date: Mon, 11 Aug 2014 01:00:34 -0400 Subject: [PAO] [Bulk] FW: New CAPP 201 - Public Affairs Officer Specialty Track Message-ID: <1e8b4fff$4a3dc1f1$375132d7$@flwg.us> Some great ideas and valid complaints have been posted here, but we've danced around one of the real problems I see as an IC, PIO, and PAO. We have 3 levels of ICs, and with the diverse missions we conduct, 1 level of PIO just doesn't make sense to me. An IC3 can do ELT missions, SAREXs, and a multitude of small missions, but if it's a REDCAP or multi-agency mission an IC2 is required. A PAO with a little basic training can be PIO for a local SAREX or even a simple ELT mission, and learn a lot about 1/3 of CAP's mission while helping the local unit and team. The current PIO requirements are completely inadequate for a REDCAP or a Deepwater Horizon, and I spent weeks in the JIC at Mobile and Tallahassee for Deepwater. The only non-CAP classroom training for the current PIO is a local FEMA weekend course that shouldn't be too hard for any PAO/PIO candidate to attend, and it's a great networking opportunity with both the local media and ES community. Make the current basic PIO course a PIO 2 and make that the only PIO requirement for a PAO Master Rating with no additional FEMA training that most non-PIO PAOs don't need. A Master Rated PAO should understand the role of a PIO and what's entailed, but may not be well suited to ever serve as a PIO in a critical mission. The experience will help them help the PIO if needed and will help the local unit. With 40+ years experience in the ES community doing PAO/PIO work, gaining the trust and respect of other PIOs and ICs at a JIC is easy working side by side with them. Also being an IC helps. I've had a much more difficult time gaining the trust and authority I need for big missions from our own chain of command and organization - along with the AF. I can't say I blame them considering how elementary our PIO qualification currently is, and how many people with the qual are not ready for prime time. If we add the FEMA 200 and 300 PIO courses to a PIO 1 qualification, along with a few other requirements, we'll ensure that a PIO 1 can step into any mission without needing constant handholding, will truly know what can and cannot be said, and will be part of the JIC/IC team able to get the CAP story out real-time. Long before the term PIO was conceived, in 1969, I was the face for a multi-fatality snow slide, and I've done dozens of serious and fatal plane crashes since then with the sheriff and even FAA and NTSB asking me to be part of the media QA team. Now, when invited by the FEMA and USCG members of a JIC to be part of a media event I had to decline because the CAP chain required 48-72 hour advance notice and a review of what might be discussed before being authorized to be part of the event - that was called at the last minute. Maybe I've gotten that bad over the years, but I really think it's because we don't have an internal way of proving some PIOs are experienced enough and well trained enough to do their job unless they're personally known or micromanaged. Being a PIO is not some binary yes or no you can do it. It is something that takes considerable experience and training for the big jobs, but can easily be learned and mastered for the small missions. FEMA has multiple levels of PIO, so we should too. We need many more basic PIOs to help out, but we need a few Master Level PIOs just like FEMA has. We need more, not less, Master Rated PAOs that aren't discouraged from the task because of excessive PIO requirements they do not want to be directly involved in. Normal 0 false false false EN-US X-NONE X-NONE MicrosoftInternetExplorer4 Bill Weiler, Maj CAP Florida Wing Civil Air Patrol 913.488.5392 FLCAP 218 wweiler at flwg.us ---------------------------------------- From: "DOUGLAS E. JESSMER, Lt Col, CAP CAP/PM" Sent: Sunday, August 10, 2014 7:56 PM To: "CAP Public Affairs Officers" Subject: Re: [PAO] [Bulk] FW: New CAPP 201 - Public Affairs Officer Specialty Track All: I've been following this discussion with great interest, as it goes to the heart of how we communicate to pretty much every constituency. Fact is, emergency services is one of our three main missions. How can we be effective in telling the CAP story if we don't have some background in what's probably our highest-profile purpose? I don't believe every public affairs officer should need to be a public information officer. And they don't have to be, but those PAs who don't want the FEMA courses and the PIO qualification can stop with the technician level of the track. Those who want the PIO training but can't get to Emmitsburg can go as far as the senior level. I'm sure Emmitsburg is nice this time of year - it's got to be less muggy than it is here in Florida. And if you want the training and to climb the ladder of the specialty track and lay low on the ops side, that's up to you. CAP is, after all, a volunteer organization. But every PIO should be a PA. And every public affairs officer should at least have a 101 card and some PIO training. Not to have that is to neglect a very important part of what is CAP. We aren't a pure-play emergency services organization, but people know us for that, at least the ones who know us. (And that's another thing - many would-be "customers" for our ops folks still don't know who we are! We need to market ourselves better in that regard....) We aren't just a cadet-program organization. And public affairs officers are in the best position to explain the three sides of CAP - they're not "the ops side and everyone else," but rather, the emergency services, cadet program and aerospace education missions with which Congress chartered us back in the day (PLs 476 and 557). A good PA needs to be well-versed in all three components. The most important thing in PIO training for CAP members is to learn how to play well with other agencies. CAP's PIOs won't be the lead on any incident, but we still stand to get our message out, and we must have the discipline of messaging to "stay in our lane" and work as part of a greater system. If Deepwater Horizon didn't teach us that, I don't know what will. We need to be team players, all up and down the line. Squadron PAs play as vital a role in our missions as do wing PIOs and the national staff. There's not really much else I can say that hasn't been said. Yes, these are the requirements. If there's widespread issue, I imagine adjustments may be made (that's just me speaking from my experience, not saying anything official by any means). We still need to be realistic while we're stretching the field, after all. But what's most important is that we want our public affairs officers to be the best they can be, to be able to capably, competently and confidently tell our story, and to position CAP favorably in our populaces. DOUGLAS E. JESSMER, Lt Col, CAP National Marketing Officer COM: (727) 480-9606 Clearwater, Fla. CAUTION: This e-mail is intended only for the person or entity to which it is addressed and may contain information that is privileged or otherwise protected from disclosure. Do not disseminate this message without the sender's approval. If you received this message in error, please notify the sender by reply e-mail and delete all copies of this message. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From pmitcham at knology.net Mon Aug 11 11:18:52 2014 From: pmitcham at knology.net (Patricia Mitcham) Date: Mon, 11 Aug 2014 11:18:52 -0500 Subject: [PAO] [Bulk] FW: New CAPP 201 - Public Affairs Officer Specialty Track In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: <000d01cfb57f$f147c3c0$d3d74b40$@knology.net> Good morning all, I have been reading all of these with great interest. Maj. Henson has written what I have been thinking for a long time. Thank you for expressing it so well. Regards, Pat Mitcham, Lt Col, CAP Huntsville Senior Squadron Public Affairs Officer Public Information Officer From: cap-pao-bounces at lists.sempervigilans.org [mailto:cap-pao-bounces at lists.sempervigilans.org] On Behalf Of Lt Col Hertel Sent: Sunday, August 10, 2014 5:19 PM To: CAP Public Affairs Officers Subject: Re: [PAO] [Bulk] FW: New CAPP 201 - Public Affairs Officer Specialty Track I've been saying for years, PAOs and PIOs should be able to attend DINFOS. Sent from my Verizon Wireless 4G LTE Smartphone -------- Original message -------- From: jaimielhenson at fuse.net Date:08/10/2014 15:57 (GMT-06:00) To: CAP Public Affairs Officers Subject: Re: [PAO] [Bulk] FW: New CAPP 201 - Public Affairs Officer Specialty Track Wayne you nailed it better than I did. Reading the responses, many are in agreement, we have just communicated it differently. I do not believe all PAOs can or should be PIOs. I stand by that. It is a specialized function. I have said for many, many years all PIOs should be PAOs, as the generalities of Public Affairs apply to both. The CAP PIO absolutely needs an elevated level of training in order to liaison with other agency PIOs, the PAO does not need that same level of training. I agree PIOs should not ever have the goal of being on camera or in the newspaper, but the fact is they should always be prepared to do so. I have yet to work with an IC who wanted to conduct the interview (I have come across a few pilots who are not camera shy!) They have always requested I perform that function. I try to get cadets on camera and in the paper as often as possible, a young person's face is worth, well, you know. On mission, the PIO is one of two points of contact, and most likely the first person the press is going to speak with. If we present someone who is shipshod in uniform, grammar, speaking ability, etc...the information gathering is going to end right there. That is what I was referring to about appearance, etc... We have to look and sound the part even if we are not ultimately the actual part. Jaimie Henson, Maj. Public Affairs Officer Public Information Officer Kentucky Wing _____ From: "lockit3" < lockit3 at att.net> To: jcarlson at flwg.us, "CAP Public Affairs Officers" < cap-pao at lists.sempervigilans.org> Sent: Sunday, August 10, 2014 4:02:56 PM Subject: Re: [PAO] [Bulk] FW: New CAPP 201 - Public Affairs Officer Specialty Track Releasing the new Capp201 has certainly stirred a conversation. I have my own opinions about the new specialty track requirements but am trying to let them evolve as I watch the discussion grow. So far I have seen both ends of the spectrum, from PAO and PIO functions should be completely separate from each other to the two should be one and the same with absolutely no separation of duties. I can’t help but think that somewhere between those two lies the correct position. Where I see the conversation sitting right now, indicates to me that we are approached the wrong end of the mule. By this I mean, perhaps the PAO specialty track rating should be a requirement for PIO instead of the PAO being required to be so immersed in the operational side of things. There is no doubt changes need to be made, I am not sure that what has come about is as wrong or as right as the replies in this message board imply. When I asked why the specialty track became so operational oriented, Deep Water Horizon was held up to me as the example of how our PAO’s worked with so many paid agencies and how the level of professionalism shown on that mission should be maintained, grown and spread across the organization. First I would submit that those were PIO’s not PAO’s. Second overall it is one of the best arguments for PIO’s to more fully develop PAO skills. My reason for stating this is, this is going to sting a little, they didn’t do a very good job. No one but C.A.P. members knows that C.A.P. participated in the Deep Water Horizon mission. I had been involved in C.A.P. for eight months and a member for two before I knew we had anything to do with it or that we had a video illustrating it. Part of the reason for this is that C.A.P. P.I.O.’s do not “stand shoulder to shoulder” with PIO’s from other agencies. In the above example every agency but CAP that was involved had a PIO on camera behind the Coast Guard Admiral who was giving the briefings. I totally agree with Jeff that we should be about the job at hand and not ribbon collecting or self-promotion, however, if we are to be consistent about the duties should work so closely together, we have a task to promote CAP’s existence and mission. If we are not visible at the party we have failed at that task. I have attended three annual Public Affairs Academies in my two years in CAP and have learned volumes from some of the best in the organization. Sometimes much to his chagrin, I have adopted one of those outstanding professionals as my mentor. These classes help build the kind of skills that will allow us to be in a position to let our presence be seen without angering the paid organizations we are there to assist and inform. Now, as for ribbon collecting and progression. This is something that will be very difficult for many to do if the current requirements stand. The issue with this is that progression, which comes with the ribbons is not optional in Civil Air Patrol. You must progress to remain in the organization, therefore, attaining a technician level and making the annual training academies is not really an option. With the requirements as they are we may lose members because of lack of progression. I know we need the skills to do our job correctly and I have shown that I do not mind continuing education, I had to do that when I was a Volunteer Firefighter, I just think maybe we should concentrate a little less on having credentials (in my view this is a national mandate to “collect ribbons” in the form of FEMA certifications) and more on seeing if there are alternative methods to build the same skills. Sorry for the lengthy response, Curtis “Wayne” Hooks 1st Lt. Civil Air Patrol FLWG Online Newsfeed Manager Group 1 Public Affairs Officer Group 1 Recruitment and Retention Officer Tallahassee Composite Squadron Ser FL-432 Public Affairs Officer Recruitment and Retention Officer From: cap-pao-bounces at lists.sempervigilans.org [ mailto:cap-pao-bounces at lists.sempervigilans.org] On Behalf Of Jeff Carlson, Grp 5 HQ Sent: Sunday, August 10, 2014 2:57 PM To: 'CAP Public Affairs Officers' Subject: [Bulk] [PAO] FW: New CAPP 201 - Public Affairs Officer Specialty Track There are many who argue that PAO and PIO should be rolled under the same umbrella. I don’t think that is necessary though I envision the required areas of training would be almost duplicate. It is a volunteer organization and the members should be allowed some choice in their primary mission area. Having PIOs and PAOs participate in the same training activities could help eliminate the silo effect between operations and support that many have complained about. Public information is a tactical (specific mission) application of public relations. Public affairs focuses more on a strategic (long term) application of public relations. An active mission does not preclude consideration of CAP’s strategic public relation goals. Public Affairs should not be shut down because of an active mission. I do agree we can vastly improve the cross-functional integration between the two areas. An entry-level PAO needs to understand the lane markings in regards to an active mission; it doesn’t hurt to have a senior level PAO gain a better understanding of the CAP ES mission by earning a GES-rating and working with a rated-PIO to exercise skills; mission information is a slice of the overall CAP public affairs pie so a Master-rated CAP PAO should have a working understanding of PIO responsibilities. The National Incident Management System (NIMS) does require incident resources, including human, to meet a set standard. We have an obligation to meet these requirements. Very few individuals possess all of the writing, photo/video-graphy, information technology, media relations skills and a square-jaw that looks good on camera. In my opinion, we need to change course and emphasize team-building. The ability to work as part of a team is more important than any single PR skill. Even the best writer will wisely have a second pair of eyes look over the prose. Just like we train aircrews so that we can take members from different units and put them together for a sortie, we need to train our information personnel to “form, storm, norm, perform” and maximize individual strengths. In my opinion, a good lead PIO doesn’t have to be able to write, take a photo without the thumb over the lens, or even have a Twitter account. A good lead PIO knows how to set effective information goals, organize and utilize available resources, and work within the existing political landscape. Can you show me where these skills are addressed in CAP PIO training? Are we developing effective leadership among our public relations personnel? Maybe this is a source of the ongoing dysfunction. Jeff From: Cianciolo, Lt Col, Paul [ mailto:paul.cianciolo at natcapwg.cap.gov] Sent: Sunday, August 10, 2014 1:33 PM To: CAP PAO Listserv; jcarlson at flwg.us Subject: Re: [PAO] New CAPP 201 - Public Affairs Officer Specialty Track I agree with your disagreement Jeff. We are one CAP and need to speak to the media that way if on a mission or not. You can't take the mission out of CAP and still have the same organization. I think what is needed is to ensure that mission PIOs are plugged into the PA system and not separate. Lt Col Paul Cianciolo Sent from my Droid DNA On Aug 10, 2014 12:31 PM, "Jeff Carlson, Grp 5 HQ" > wrote: I disagree that PIOs and PAOs have different skill sets. I also disagree that a PIO has to be all things and I am saddened every time I come across this “army-of-one” attitude. We need to become more team oriented in our public affairs/mission information efforts. When you fully understand the scope of public information needs, you quickly realize the job is bigger than any one person. The job of the public information officer includes all those things Maj. Hensen listed under the “behind-the-scene” PAO duties. For example, social media has become a major part any of public information plan of action. In addition, both PAOs and PIOs need to develop media relation skills. It is very important for a PIO to have skills for working in conjunction with PIOs from other agencies. The reality is that CAP is virtually never the lead agency in a mission. We are invited to the party, it is not our party. Even a small REDCAP, the local sheriff’s office is the lead agency and the sheriff’s office PIO is the lead PIO for the mission. There are political influences at work on a county level and a CAP PIO needs to maintain situational awareness. Circumventing the lead PIO is unprofessional. A CAP PIO needs to know how to develop a relationship and support the lead PIO while working to ensure the CAP part of the story is included in the public message. When working as part of a major multi-agency response effort, the CAP PIO is going to be the CAP liaison to the incident’s Joint Information System (JIS). Each agency has their representative. A CAP PIO becomes responsible for submitting CAP “facts= -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From wweiler at flwg.us Mon Aug 11 23:30:36 2014 From: wweiler at flwg.us (Bill Weiler CAP) Date: Tue, 12 Aug 2014 00:30:36 -0400 Subject: [PAO] fw: Re: [Bulk] FW: New CAPP 201 - Public Affairs Officer Specialty Track Message-ID: Some great ideas and valid complaints have been posted here, but we've danced around one of the real problems I see as an IC, PIO, and PAO. We have 3 levels of ICs, and with the diverse missions we conduct, 1 level of PIO just doesn't make sense to me. An IC3 can do ELT missions, SAREXs, and a multitude of small missions, but if it's a REDCAP or multi-agency mission an IC2 is required. A PAO with a little basic training can be PIO for a local SAREX or even a simple ELT mission, and learn a lot about 1/3 of CAP's mission while helping the local unit and team. The current PIO requirements are completely inadequate for a REDCAP or a Deepwater Horizon, and I spent weeks in the JIC at Mobile and Tallahassee for Deepwater. The only non-CAP classroom training for the current PIO is a local FEMA weekend course that shouldn't be too hard for any PAO/PIO candidate to attend, and it's a great networking opportunity with both the local media and ES community. Make the current basic PIO course a PIO 2 and make that the only PIO requirement for a PAO Master Rating with no additional FEMA training that most non-PIO PAOs don't need. A Master Rated PAO should understand the role of a PIO and what's entailed, but may not be well suited to ever serve as a PIO in a critical mission. The experience will help them help the PIO if needed and will help the local unit. With 40+ years experience in the ES community doing PAO/PIO work, gaining the trust and respect of other PIOs and ICs at a JIC is easy working side by side with them. Also being an IC helps. I've had a much more difficult time gaining the trust and authority I need for big missions from our own chain of command and organization - along with the AF. I can't say I blame them considering how elementary our PIO qualification currently is, and how many people with the qual are not ready for prime time. If we add the FEMA 200 and 300 PIO courses to a PIO 1 qualification, along with a few other requirements, we'll ensure that a PIO 1 can step into any mission without needing constant handholding, will truly know what can and cannot be said, and will be part of the JIC/IC team able to get the CAP story out real-time. Long before the term PIO was conceived, in 1969, I was the face for a multi-fatality snow slide, and I've done dozens of serious and fatal plane crashes since then with the sheriff and even FAA and NTSB asking me to be part of the media QA team. Now, when invited by the FEMA and USCG members of a JIC to be part of a media event I had to decline because the CAP chain required 48-72 hour advance notice and a review of what might be discussed before being authorized to be part of the event - that was called at the last minute. Maybe I've gotten that bad over the years, but I really think it's because we don't have an internal way of proving some PIOs are experienced enough and well trained enough to do their job unless they're personally known or micromanaged. Being a PIO is not some binary yes or no you can do it. It is something that takes considerable experience and training for the big jobs, but can easily be learned and mastered for the small missions. FEMA has multiple levels of PIO, so we should too. We need many more basic PIOs to help out, but we need a few Master Level PIOs just like FEMA has. We need more, not less, Master Rated PAOs that aren't discouraged from the task because of excessive PIO requirements they do not want to be directly involved in. Normal 0 false false false EN-US X-NONE X-NONE MicrosoftInternetExplorer4 Bill Weiler, Maj CAP Florida Wing Civil Air Patrol 913.488.5392 FLCAP 218 wweiler at flwg.us ---------------------------------------- From: "DOUGLAS E. JESSMER, Lt Col, CAP CAP/PM" Sent: Sunday, August 10, 2014 7:56 PM To: "CAP Public Affairs Officers" Subject: Re: [PAO] [Bulk] FW: New CAPP 201 - Public Affairs Officer Specialty Track All: I've been following this discussion with great interest, as it goes to the heart of how we communicate to pretty much every constituency. Fact is, emergency services is one of our three main missions. How can we be effective in telling the CAP story if we don't have some background in what's probably our highest-profile purpose? I don't believe every public affairs officer should need to be a public information officer. And they don't have to be, but those PAs who don't want the FEMA courses and the PIO qualification can stop with the technician level of the track. Those who want the PIO training but can't get to Emmitsburg can go as far as the senior level. I'm sure Emmitsburg is nice this time of year - it's got to be less muggy than it is here in Florida. And if you want the training and to climb the ladder of the specialty track and lay low on the ops side, that's up to you. CAP is, after all, a volunteer organization. But every PIO should be a PA. And every public affairs officer should at least have a 101 card and some PIO training. Not to have that is to neglect a very important part of what is CAP. We aren't a pure-play emergency services organization, but people know us for that, at least the ones who know us. (And that's another thing - many would-be "customers" for our ops folks still don't know who we are! We need to market ourselves better in that regard....) We aren't just a cadet-program organization. And public affairs officers are in the best position to explain the three sides of CAP - they're not "the ops side and everyone else," but rather, the emergency services, cadet program and aerospace education missions with which Congress chartered us back in the day (PLs 476 and 557). A good PA needs to be well-versed in all three components. The most important thing in PIO training for CAP members is to learn how to play well with other agencies. CAP's PIOs won't be the lead on any incident, but we still stand to get our message out, and we must have the discipline of messaging to "stay in our lane" and work as part of a greater system. If Deepwater Horizon didn't teach us that, I don't know what will. We need to be team players, all up and down the line. Squadron PAs play as vital a role in our missions as do wing PIOs and the national staff. There's not really much else I can say that hasn't been said. Yes, these are the requirements. If there's widespread issue, I imagine adjustments may be made (that's just me speaking from my experience, not saying anything official by any means). We still need to be realistic while we're stretching the field, after all. But what's most important is that we want our public affairs officers to be the best they can be, to be able to capably, competently and confidently tell our story, and to position CAP favorably in our populaces. DOUGLAS E. JESSMER, Lt Col, CAP National Marketing Officer COM: (727) 480-9606 Clearwater, Fla. CAUTION: This e-mail is intended only for the person or entity to which it is addressed and may contain information that is privileged or otherwise protected from disclosure. Do not disseminate this message without the sender's approval. If you received this message in error, please notify the sender by reply e-mail and delete all copies of this message. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From alice at mansell.com Tue Aug 12 03:21:28 2014 From: alice at mansell.com (Alice Mansell) Date: Tue, 12 Aug 2014 01:21:28 -0700 Subject: [PAO] New CAPP 201 - Public Affairs Officer Specialty Track In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: Wow, Bill! You articulated so many fabulous thoughts on the deeper issue. Absolutely agree with all you wrote, especially the need for different PIO ratings. I, also, have worked in JICs with military, federal agency, and state government information officers. Some random thoughts from those JICs: - The CAP golf shirt works there the best. Any white aviator shirt gets too many confused reactions and to wear the USAF style uniform, one must truly meet military weight and grooming standards to have rapport with any military personnel present who can be a daily shifting cast of people. - In JICs, once trusted by the lead informaton officer, a CAP member may end up doing as much work to get the word out for "other" agencies as our own, even for just internal CAP use. Whatever the incident commander thinks is the main messaging is more important than CAP ringing its own bell during a real mission or exercise with field operations. - It is truly fun to work in JICs..... but they can be a steep learning curve in situations where it might take 5+ hours for every agency-stuck-in-silos to approve press releases. CAP should be able to delegate "our" such approvals to regionally approved PIO3s who can train, mentor, and/or supervise PIO2s and PIO1s. I recall well how my Wing was one of the first to make sure only the most vetted and experienced mission coordinators (ICs now) were allowed to run real missing aircraft missions...and how it can take years to earn that duty assignment by consistently demonstrating quality skills in difficult situations. The days of a mission PIO being whatever warm body is willing to write a paragraph or talk to the press should stop. -Alice On Monday, August 11, 2014, Bill Weiler CAP wrote: > Some great ideas and valid complaints have been posted here, but we've danced around one of the real problems I see as an IC, PIO, and PAO. > > We have 3 levels of ICs, and with the diverse missions we conduct, 1 level of PIO just doesn't make sense to me. An IC3 can do ELT missions, SAREXs, and a multitude of small missions, but if it's a REDCAP or multi-agency mission an IC2 is required. A PAO with a little basic training can be PIO for a local SAREX or even a simple ELT mission, and learn a lot about 1/3 of CAP's mission while helping the local unit and team. The current PIO requirements are completely inadequate for a REDCAP or a Deepwater Horizon, and I spent weeks in the JIC at Mobile and Tallahassee for Deepwater. The only non-CAP classroom training for the current PIO is a local FEMA weekend course that shouldn't be too hard for any PAO/PIO candidate to attend, and it's a great networking opportunity with both the local media and ES community. Make the current basic PIO course a PIO 2 and make that the only PIO requirement for a PAO Master Rating with no additional FEMA training that most non-PIO PAOs don't need. A Master Rated PAO should understand the role of a PIO and what's entailed, but may not be well suited to ever serve as a PIO in a critical mission. The experience will help them help the PIO if needed and will help the local unit. > > With 40+ years experience in the ES community doing PAO/PIO work, gaining the trust and respect of other PIOs and ICs at a JIC is easy working side by side with them. Also being an IC helps. I've had a much more difficult time gaining the trust and authority I need for big missions from our own chain of command and organization - along with the AF. I can't say I blame them considering how elementary our PIO qualification currently is, and how many people with the qual are not ready for prime time. If we add the FEMA 200 and 300 PIO courses to a PIO 1 qualification, along with a few other requirements, we'll ensure that a PIO 1 can step into any mission without needing constant handholding, will truly know what can and cannot be said, and will be part of the JIC/IC team able to get the CAP story out real-time. > > Long before the term PIO was conceived, in 1969, I was the face for a multi-fatality snow slide, and I've done dozens of serious and fatal plane crashes since then with the sheriff and even FAA and NTSB asking me to be part of the media QA team. Now, when invited by the FEMA and USCG members of a JIC to be part of a media event I had to decline because the CAP chain required 48-72 hour advance notice and a review of what might be discussed before being authorized to be part of the event - that was called at the last minute. Maybe I've gotten that bad over the years, but I really think it's because we don't have an internal way of proving some PIOs are experienced enough and well trained enough to do their job unless they're personally known or micromanaged. > > Being a PIO is not some binary yes or no you can do it. It is something that takes considerable experience and training for the big jobs, but can easily be learned and mastered for the small missions. FEMA has multiple levels of PIO, so we should too. We need many more basic PIOs to help out, but we need a few Master Level PIOs just like FEMA has. We need more, not less, Master Rated PAOs that aren't discouraged from the task because of excessive PIO requirements they do not want to be directly involved in. > > > > Bill Weiler, Maj CAP > > Florida Wing Civil Air Patrol > > 913.488.5392 > > FLCAP 218 > > wweiler at flwg.us > > > > ________________________________ > From: "DOUGLAS E. JESSMER, Lt Col, CAP CAP/PM" > > Sent: Sunday, August 10, 2014 7:56 PM > > To: "CAP Public Affairs Officers" > > Subject: Re: [PAO] [Bulk] FW: New CAPP 201 - Public Affairs Officer Specialty Track > > > > All: > > I've been following this discussion with great interest, as it goes to the heart of how we communicate to pretty much every constituency. Fact is, emergency services is one of our three main missions. How can we be effective in telling the CAP story if we don't have some background in what's probably our highest-profile purpose? > > I don't believe every public affairs officer should need to be a public information officer. And they don't have to be, but those PAs who don't want the FEMA courses and the PIO qualification can stop with the technician level of the track. Those who want the PIO training but can't get to Emmitsburg can go as far as the senior level. I'm sure Emmitsburg is nice this time of year — it's got to be less muggy than it is here in Florida. And if you want the training and to climb the ladder of the specialty track and lay low on the ops side, that's up to you. CAP is, after all, a volunteer organization. > > But every PIO should be a PA. And every public affairs officer should at least have a 101 card and some PIO training. Not to have that is to neglect a very important part of what is CAP. We aren't a pure-play emergency services organization, but people know us for that, at least the ones who know us. (And that's another thing — many would-be "customers" for our ops folks still don't know who we are! We need to market ourselves better in that regard....) We aren't just a cadet-program organization. And public affairs officers are in the best position to explain the three sides of CAP — they're not "the ops side and everyone else," but rather, the emergency services, cadet program and aerospace education missions with which Congress chartered us back in the day (PLs 476 and 557). A good PA needs to be well-versed in all three components. > > The most important thing in PIO training for CAP members is to learn how to play well with other agencies. CAP's PIOs won't be the lead on any incident, but we still stand to get our message out, and we must have the discipline of messaging to "stay in our lane" and work as part of a greater system. If Deepwater Horizon didn't teach us that, I don't know what will. We need to be team players, all up and down the line. Squadron PAs play as vital a role in our missions as do wing PIOs and the national staff. > > There's not really much else I can say that hasn't been said. Yes, these are the requirements. If there's widespread issue, I imagine adjustments may be made (that's just me speaking from my experience, not saying anything official by any means). We still need to be realistic while we're stretching the field, after all. But what's most important is that we want our public affairs officers to be the best they can be, to be able to capably, competently and confidently tell our story, and to position CAP favorably in our populaces. > > > > DOUGLAS E. JESSMER, Lt Col, CAP > > National Marketing Officer > > > > COM: (727) 480-9606 > > Clearwater, Fla. > > > > CAUTION: This e-mail is intended only for the person or entity to which it is addressed and may contain information that is privileged or otherwise protected from disclosure. Do not disseminate this message without the sender's approval. If you received this message in error, please notify the sender by reply e-mail and delete all copies of this message. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From lockit3 at att.net Tue Aug 12 05:25:58 2014 From: lockit3 at att.net (lockit3) Date: Tue, 12 Aug 2014 06:25:58 -0400 Subject: [PAO] [Bulk] Re: New CAPP 201 - Public Affairs Officer Specialty Track In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: <002401cfb617$cfac43b0$6f04cb10$@att.net> You have both stated the case well. This is why we must realize the PAO and PIO jobs ARE very different. Also, this is why the new FEMA course requirements should be part of moving through multi-level PIO ratings not PAO ratings. We have multi levels for GMT and not for PIO, yet we feel that PAO’s can do the PIO job. Thank you, Curtis “Wayne” Hooks 1st Lt. Civil Air Patrol FLWG Online Newsfeed Manager Group 1 Public Affairs Officer Group 1 Recruitment and Retention Officer Tallahassee Composite Squadron Ser FL-432 Public Affairs Officer Recruitment and Retention Officer From: cap-pao-bounces at lists.sempervigilans.org [mailto:cap-pao-bounces at lists.sempervigilans.org] On Behalf Of Alice Mansell Sent: Tuesday, August 12, 2014 4:21 AM To: wweiler at flwg.us; CAP Public Affairs Officers Subject: [Bulk] Re: [PAO] New CAPP 201 - Public Affairs Officer Specialty Track Wow, Bill! You articulated so many fabulous thoughts on the deeper issue. Absolutely agree with all you wrote, especially the need for different PIO ratings. I, also, have worked in JICs with military, federal agency, and state government information officers. Some random thoughts from those JICs: - The CAP golf shirt works there the best. Any white aviator shirt gets too many confused reactions and to wear the USAF style uniform, one must truly meet military weight and grooming standards to have rapport with any military personnel present who can be a daily shifting cast of people. - In JICs, once trusted by the lead informaton officer, a CAP member may end up doing as much work to get the word out for "other" agencies as our own, even for just internal CAP use. Whatever the incident commander thinks is the main messaging is more important than CAP ringing its own bell during a real mission or exercise with field operations. - It is truly fun to work in JICs..... but they can be a steep learning curve in situations where it might take 5+ hours for every agency-stuck-in-silos to approve press releases. CAP should be able to delegate "our" such approvals to regionally approved PIO3s who can train, mentor, and/or supervise PIO2s and PIO1s. I recall well how my Wing was one of the first to make sure only the most vetted and experienced mission coordinators (ICs now) were allowed to run real missing aircraft missions...and how it can take years to earn that duty assignment by consistently demonstrating quality skills in difficult situations. The days of a mission PIO being whatever warm body is willing to write a paragraph or talk to the press should stop. -Alice On Monday, August 11, 2014, Bill Weiler CAP wrote: > Some great ideas and valid complaints have been posted here, but we've danced around one of the real problems I see as an IC, PIO, and PAO. > > We have 3 levels of ICs, and with the diverse missions we conduct, 1 level of PIO just doesn't make sense to me. An IC3 can do ELT missions, SAREXs, and a multitude of small missions, but if it's a REDCAP or multi-agency mission an IC2 is required. A PAO with a little basic training can be PIO for a local SAREX or even a simple ELT mission, and learn a lot about 1/3 of CAP's mission while helping the local unit and team. The current PIO requirements are completely inadequate for a REDCAP or a Deepwater Horizon, and I spent weeks in the JIC at Mobile and Tallahassee for Deepwater. The only non-CAP classroom training for the current PIO is a local FEMA weekend course that shouldn't be too hard for any PAO/PIO candidate to attend, and it's a great networking opportunity with both the local media and ES community. Make the current basic PIO course a PIO 2 and make that the only PIO requirement for a PAO Master Rating with no additional FEMA training that most non-PIO PAOs don't need. A Master Rated PAO should understand the role of a PIO and what's entailed, but may not be well suited to ever serve as a PIO in a critical mission. The experience will help them help the PIO if needed and will help the local unit. > > With 40+ years experience in the ES community doing PAO/PIO work, gaining the trust and respect of other PIOs and ICs at a JIC is easy working side by side with them. Also being an IC helps. I've had a much more difficult time gaining the trust and authority I need for big missions from our own chain of command and organization - along with the AF. I can't say I blame them considering how elementary our PIO qualification currently is, and how many people with the qual are not ready for prime time. If we add the FEMA 200 and 300 PIO courses to a PIO 1 qualification, along with a few other requirements, we'll ensure that a PIO 1 can step into any mission without needing constant handholding, will truly know what can and cannot be said, and will be part of the JIC/IC team able to get the CAP story out real-time. > > Long before the term PIO was conceived, in 1969, I was the face for a multi-fatality snow slide, and I've done dozens of serious and fatal plane crashes since then with the sheriff and even FAA and NTSB asking me to be part of the media QA team. Now, when invited by the FEMA and USCG members of a JIC to be part of a media event I had to decline because the CAP chain required 48-72 hour advance notice and a review of what might be discussed before being authorized to be part of the event - that was called at the last minute. Maybe I've gotten that bad over the years, but I really think it's because we don't have an internal way of proving some PIOs are experienced enough and well trained enough to do their job unless they're personally known or micromanaged. > > Being a PIO is not some binary yes or no you can do it. It is something that takes considerable experience and training for the big jobs, but can easily be learned and mastered for the small missions. FEMA has multiple levels of PIO, so we should too. We need many more basic PIOs to help out, but we need a few Master Level PIOs just like FEMA has. We need more, not less, Master Rated PAOs that aren't discouraged from the task because of excessive PIO requirements they do not want to be directly involved in. > > > > Bill Weiler, Maj CAP > > Florida Wing Civil Air Patrol > > 913.488.5392 > > FLCAP 218 > > wweiler at flwg.us > > > > ________________________________ > From: "DOUGLAS E. JESSMER, Lt Col, CAP CAP/PM" > > Sent: Sunday, August 10, 2014 7:56 PM > > To: "CAP Public Affairs Officers" > > Subject: Re: [PAO] [Bulk] FW: New CAPP 201 - Public Affairs Officer Specialty Track > > > > All: > > I've been following this discussion with great interest, as it goes to the heart of how we communicate to pretty much every constituency. Fact is, emergency services is one of our three main missions. How can we be effective in telling the CAP story if we don't have some background in what's probably our highest-profile purpose? > > I don't believe every public affairs officer should need to be a public information officer. And they don't have to be, but those PAs who don't want the FEMA courses and the PIO qualification can stop with the technician level of the track. Those who want the PIO training but can't get to Emmitsburg can go as far as the senior level. I'm sure Emmitsburg is nice this time of year — it's got to be less muggy than it is here in Florida. And if you want the training and to climb the ladder of the specialty track and lay low on the ops side, that's up to you. CAP is, after all, a volunteer organization. > > But every PIO should be a PA. And every public affairs officer should at least have a 101 card and some PIO training. Not to have that is to neglect a very important part of what is CAP. We aren't a pure-play emergency services organization, but people know us for that, at least the ones who know us. (And that's another thing — many would-be "customers" for our ops folks still don't know who we are! We need to market ourselves better in that regard....) We aren't just a cadet-program organization. And public affairs officers are in the best position to explain the three sides of CAP — they're not "the ops side and everyone else," but rather, the emergency services, cadet program and aerospace education missions with which Congress chartered us back in the day (PLs 476 and 557). A good PA needs to be well-versed in all three components. > > The most important thing in PIO training for CAP members is to learn how to play well with other agencies. CAP's PIOs won't be the lead on any incident, but we still stand to get our message out, and we must have the discipline of messaging to "stay in our lane" and work as part of a greater system. If Deepwater Horizon didn't teach us that, I don't know what will. We need to be team players, all up and down the line. Squadron PAs play as vital a role in our missions as do wing PIOs and the national staff. > > There's not really much else I can say that hasn't been said. Yes, these are the requirements. If there's widespread issue, I imagine adjustments may be made (that's just me speaking from my experience, not saying anything official by any means). We still need to be realistic while we're stretching the field, after all. But what's most important is that we want our public affairs officers to be the best they can be, to be able to capably, competently and confidently tell our story, and to position CAP favorably in our populaces. > > > > DOUGLAS E. JESSMER, Lt Col, CAP > > National Marketing Officer > > > > COM: (727) 480-9606 > > Clearwater, Fla. > > > > CAUTION: This e-mail is intended only for the person or entity to which it is addressed and may contain information that is privileged or otherwise protected from disclosure. Do not disseminate this message without the sender's approval. If you received this message in error, please notify the sender by reply e-mail and delete all copies of this message. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From ssolomon at cap.gov Tue Aug 12 08:43:09 2014 From: ssolomon at cap.gov (Steven Solomon) Date: Tue, 12 Aug 2014 06:43:09 -0700 Subject: [PAO] [Bulk] Re: New CAPP 201 - Public Affairs Officer Specialty Track In-Reply-To: <002401cfb617$cfac43b0$6f04cb10$@att.net> References: <002401cfb617$cfac43b0$6f04cb10$@att.net> Message-ID: I'm in Las Vegas now for the National PAO Academy being offered today and tomorrow, having just finished up two weeks as a Cadet Officer School flight instructor at Maxwell AFB Base. I see that there has been much discussion the last few days about the revised PAO Specialty Track released on July 25. I strongly urge that comments and suggestions go through the chain of command in order to be considered official, but I'd like to address the concerns that have been raised on this forum. It had been 14 years since the track was issued, so an update was long overdue. Many CAP PAOs, including SER PAO Jeff Carlson, were extremely anxious that the PA track be updated, especially because the A4/6 (formerly AFIADL and before that ECI) CAP Public Affairs Officer 02010 correspondence course was no longer available, had not been replaced, and was still required to satisfy the CAPP 201 Technician Rating (3d) requirement. So a National Level PA Working Group approved by the National CC, consisting of NATCAPWG PAO Lt Col Paul Cianciolo, ILWG PAO Lt Col Paul Hertel and RMR PAO Lt Col Al Nash, made recommendations that NHQ/PA Deputy Director of PA Julie Debardelaben, myself, and SWR PAO Lt Col Arthur Woodgate polished. Col Bryan Cooper, National Professional Development Officer, and Bobbie Tourville, NHQ Professional Development Chief, completed the project. As I privately told SDWG PAO Maj Bruce Kipp, who started the discussion on this list-serve, our thinking is that CAP PAOs/PIOs are being assigned to increasingly complex and challenging missions, often alongside other federal agencies, and need to be NIMS compliant like our counterparts because even though we are all volunteers and not paid, we need to be as professional as the professionals we are being deployed to work alongside. We offered G-289 yesterday here in Las Vegas before the two-day National PAO Academy, and are planning on offering G-290 next year. The registration fee for the E-388 course at the Emergency Management Institute in Emmitsburg, Md. is waived for CAP members, and transportation costs are also covered. So, taking E-388 is actually easier than taking Region or National Staff College, both of which are required for advancing through the CAP professional development process. In the end though, it is up to every CAP officer to decide what track and what level they pursue. I can't speak for whomever succeeds me in my national position someday, but I suspect that the requirements will only get harder as we continue to study and accept the public affairs strategies and tools constantly being developed. In my opinion, it's an ongoing process. Regards, Steven STEVEN SOLOMON, Lt Col, CAP National Public Affairs Officer Civil Air Patrol National Headquarters 105 South Hansell St., Building 714 Maxwell AFB AL 36112-5937 s solomon at cap.gov Cell: 240-505-6279 * [image: CAP Prop Logo 2012 small] ... Citizens Serving Communities* [image: cid:image001.png at 01CE2BC7.1FAC87D0] [image: cid:image002.png at 01CE2BC7.1FAC87D0] [image: cid:image003.png at 01CE2BC7.1FAC87D0] On Tue, Aug 12, 2014 at 3:25 AM, lockit3 wrote: > *You have both stated the case well. This is why we must realize the PAO > and PIO jobs ARE very different. Also, this is why the new FEMA course > requirements should be part of moving through multi-level PIO ratings not > PAO ratings. We have multi levels for GMT and not for PIO, yet we feel that > PAO’s can do the PIO job.* > > > > *Thank you,* > > > > > > *Curtis “Wayne” Hooks 1st Lt.* > > *Civil Air Patrol* > > *FLWG Online Newsfeed Manager* > > *Group 1 Public Affairs Officer* > > *Group 1 Recruitment and Retention Officer* > > *Tallahassee Composite Squadron* > > *Ser FL-432* > > *Public Affairs Officer* > > *Recruitment and Retention Officer* > > > > > > > > *From:* cap-pao-bounces at lists.sempervigilans.org [mailto: > cap-pao-bounces at lists.sempervigilans.org] *On Behalf Of *Alice Mansell > *Sent:* Tuesday, August 12, 2014 4:21 AM > *To:* wweiler at flwg.us; CAP Public Affairs Officers > *Subject:* [Bulk] Re: [PAO] New CAPP 201 - Public Affairs Officer > Specialty Track > > > > Wow, Bill! You articulated so many fabulous thoughts on the deeper issue. > > Absolutely agree with all you wrote, especially the need for different PIO > ratings. I, also, have worked in JICs with military, federal agency, and > state government information officers. Some random thoughts from those > JICs: > > - The CAP golf shirt works there the best. Any white aviator shirt gets > too many confused reactions and to wear the USAF style uniform, one must > truly meet military weight and grooming standards to have rapport with any > military personnel present who can be a daily shifting cast of people. > > - In JICs, once trusted by the lead informaton officer, a CAP member may > end up doing as much work to get the word out for "other" agencies as our > own, even for just internal CAP use. Whatever the incident commander > thinks is the main messaging is more important than CAP ringing its own > bell during a real mission or exercise with field operations. > > - It is truly fun to work in JICs..... but they can be a steep learning > curve in situations where it might take 5+ hours for every > agency-stuck-in-silos to approve press releases. CAP should be able to > delegate "our" such approvals to regionally approved PIO3s who can train, > mentor, and/or supervise PIO2s and PIO1s. > > I recall well how my Wing was one of the first to make sure only the most > vetted and experienced mission coordinators (ICs now) were allowed to run > real missing aircraft missions...and how it can take years to earn that > duty assignment by consistently demonstrating quality skills in difficult > situations. The days of a mission PIO being whatever warm body is willing > to write a paragraph or talk to the press should stop. > > -Alice > > > > On Monday, August 11, 2014, Bill Weiler CAP wrote: > > Some great ideas and valid complaints have been posted here, but we've > danced around one of the real problems I see as an IC, PIO, and PAO. > > > > We have 3 levels of ICs, and with the diverse missions we conduct, 1 > level of PIO just doesn't make sense to me. An IC3 can do ELT missions, > SAREXs, and a multitude of small missions, but if it's a REDCAP or > multi-agency mission an IC2 is required. A PAO with a little basic training > can be PIO for a local SAREX or even a simple ELT mission, and learn a lot > about 1/3 of CAP's mission while helping the local unit and team. The > current PIO requirements are completely inadequate for a REDCAP or a > Deepwater Horizon, and I spent weeks in the JIC at Mobile and Tallahassee > for Deepwater. The only non-CAP classroom training for the current PIO is a > local FEMA weekend course that shouldn't be too hard for any PAO/PIO > candidate to attend, and it's a great networking opportunity with both the > local media and ES community. Make the current basic PIO course a PIO 2 and > make that the only PIO requirement for a PAO Master Rating with no > additional FEMA training that most non-PIO PAOs don't need. A Master Rated > PAO should understand the role of a PIO and what's entailed, but may not be > well suited to ever serve as a PIO in a critical mission. The experience > will help them help the PIO if needed and will help the local unit. > > > > With 40+ years experience in the ES community doing PAO/PIO work, > gaining the trust and respect of other PIOs and ICs at a JIC is easy > working side by side with them. Also being an IC helps. I've had a much > more difficult time gaining the trust and authority I need for big missions > from our own chain of command and organization - along with the AF. I can't > say I blame them considering how elementary our PIO qualification currently > is, and how many people with the qual are not ready for prime time. If we > add the FEMA 200 and 300 PIO courses to a PIO 1 qualification, along with a > few other requirements, we'll ensure that a PIO 1 can step into any mission > without needing constant handholding, will truly know what can and cannot > be said, and will be part of the JIC/IC team able to get the CAP story out > real-time. > > > > Long before the term PIO was conceived, in 1969, I was the face for a > multi-fatality snow slide, and I've done dozens of serious and fatal plane > crashes since then with the sheriff and even FAA and NTSB asking me to be > part of the media QA team. Now, when invited by the FEMA and USCG members > of a JIC to be part of a media event I had to decline because the CAP chain > required 48-72 hour advance notice and a review of what might be discussed > before being authorized to be part of the event - that was called at the > last minute. Maybe I've gotten that bad over the years, but I really think > it's because we don't have an internal way of proving some PIOs are > experienced enough and well trained enough to do their job unless they're > personally known or micromanaged. > > > > Being a PIO is not some binary yes or no you can do it. It is something > that takes considerable experience and training for the big jobs, but can > easily be learned and mastered for the small missions. FEMA has multiple > levels of PIO, so we should too. We need many more basic PIOs to help out, > but we need a few Master Level PIOs just like FEMA has. We need more, not > less, Master Rated PAOs that aren't discouraged from the task because of > excessive PIO requirements they do not want to be directly involved in. > > > > > > > > Bill Weiler, Maj CAP > > > > Florida Wing Civil Air Patrol > > > > 913.488.5392 > > > > FLCAP 218 > > > > wweiler at flwg.us > > > > > > > > ________________________________ > > From: "DOUGLAS E. JESSMER, Lt Col, CAP CAP/PM" > > > > Sent: Sunday, August 10, 2014 7:56 PM > > > > To: "CAP Public Affairs Officers" > > > > Subject: Re: [PAO] [Bulk] FW: New CAPP 201 - Public Affairs Officer > Specialty Track > > > > > > > > All: > > > > I've been following this discussion with great interest, as it goes to > the heart of how we communicate to pretty much every constituency. Fact is, > emergency services is one of our three main missions. How can we be > effective in telling the CAP story if we don't have some background in > what's probably our highest-profile purpose? > > > > I don't believe every public affairs officer should need to be a public > information officer. And they don't have to be, but those PAs who don't > want the FEMA courses and the PIO qualification can stop with the > technician level of the track. Those who want the PIO training but can't > get to Emmitsburg can go as far as the senior level. I'm sure Emmitsburg is > nice this time of year — it's got to be less muggy than it is here in > Florida. And if you want the training and to climb the ladder of the > specialty track and lay low on the ops side, that's up to you. CAP is, > after all, a volunteer organization. > > > > But every PIO should be a PA. And every public affairs officer should at > least have a 101 card and some PIO training. Not to have that is to neglect > a very important part of what is CAP. We aren't a pure-play emergency > services organization, but people know us for that, at least the ones who > know us. (And that's another thing — many would-be "customers" for our ops > folks still don't know who we are! We need to market ourselves better in > that regard....) We aren't just a cadet-program organization. And public > affairs officers are in the best position to explain the three sides of CAP > — they're not "the ops side and everyone else," but rather, the emergency > services, cadet program and aerospace education missions with which > Congress chartered us back in the day (PLs 476 and 557). A good PA needs to > be well-versed in all three components. > > > > The most important thing in PIO training for CAP members is to learn how > to play well with other agencies. CAP's PIOs won't be the lead on any > incident, but we still stand to get our message out, and we must have the > discipline of messaging to "stay in our lane" and work as part of a greater > system. If Deepwater Horizon didn't teach us that, I don't know what will. > We need to be team players, all up and down the line. Squadron PAs play as > vital a role in our missions as do wing PIOs and the national staff. > > > > There's not really much else I can say that hasn't been said. Yes, these > are the requirements. If there's widespread issue, I imagine adjustments > may be made (that's just me speaking from my experience, not saying > anything official by any means). We still need to be realistic while we're > stretching the field, after all. But what's most important is that we want > our public affairs officers to be the best they can be, to be able to > capably, competently and confidently tell our story, and to position CAP > favorably in our populaces. > > > > > > > > DOUGLAS E. JESSMER, Lt Col, CAP > > > > National Marketing Officer > > > > > > > > COM: (727) 480-9606 > > > > Clearwater, Fla. > > > > > > > > CAUTION: This e-mail is intended only for the person or entity to which > it is addressed and may contain information that is privileged or otherwise > protected from disclosure. Do not disseminate this message without the > sender's approval. If you received this message in error, please notify the > sender by reply e-mail and delete all copies of this message. > > _______________________________________________ > Subscribed Email Address: ssolomon at cap.gov > CAP-PAO mailing list > CAP-PAO at lists.sempervigilans.org > http://lists.sempervigilans.org/mailman/listinfo/cap-pao > > -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: image002.png Type: image/png Size: 2324 bytes Desc: not available URL: -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: image001.png Type: image/png Size: 2110 bytes Desc: not available URL: -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: image003.png Type: image/png Size: 1566 bytes Desc: not available URL: -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: image001.jpg Type: image/jpeg Size: 1370 bytes Desc: not available URL: From jcarlson at flwg.us Tue Aug 12 10:31:53 2014 From: jcarlson at flwg.us (Jeff Carlson, Grp 5 HQ) Date: Tue, 12 Aug 2014 11:31:53 -0400 Subject: [PAO] [Bulk] Re: New CAPP 201 - Public Affairs Officer Specialty Track In-Reply-To: References: <002401cfb617$cfac43b0$6f04cb10$@att.net> Message-ID: <069d01cfb642$8b815740$a28405c0$@flwg.us> Steven, Thanks for including your comments in the latest ‘unofficial’ rendition of a long-standing debate. Personally, I was pleased to see action finally being taken to update the P201 specialty track. Though, since 2010, my main point of contention has always been the absence of the P201 online exams; which are still suspiciously omitted from any NHQ/PA announcement or comment. Do you have a target date for release? I thank the working group and the national staff for their efforts to update the P201 specialty track. The results definitely look good on paper, though it is quickly becoming obvious that it is not a perfect answer. I read somewhere that NHQ/PA wanted to update this written guidance on a biennial basis. Considering how slowly the wheels turn, perhaps NHQ/PA should put together the next working group now to begin the process of revision so that the next version can be ready in a timely manner. I agree the E-388 course in Emmitsburg, MD is bargain-priced (free). Spending a week on the EMI campus near Camp David and the Gettysburg Memorial is an outstanding opportunity. I still question how easy it will be for CAP members to make it through the hand-selected admission process. Maybe at best, a couple of seats per year. Over the past nine years that I have been with CAP, I have witnessed numerous examples of edicts being issued from on high followed by a scramble to come up with an effective manner to get members in compliance. This lack of foresight is an irritant to the troops and many talented members leave because of the repeated folly caused by a deficiency in leadership’s vision. If a requirement is established, the programing needs to include corresponding support to assist the members in meeting the requirements. The token offer of G-289/G-290 at the national conference is a first step but is not sufficient to meet the needs of the organization. I believe much of the push-back about the new CAPP201 is because half of the equation is missing. The members have not been provided with a reasonable solution to meet the higher standards. It appears that a roadblock has been established rather than a pathway to a higher plane. High standards can be good and offer a measuring stick for progress. If we want a robust CAP public affairs/mission information program, we need to focus on growing the people. The attitude of “hey, this is what you get; you choose” is not transformational leadership. It lacks inspiration, it lacks vision. There is no doubt in my mind the solution will require effort on a region, wing, group, and squadron level. The role at the top is not just doing PA tasks for HQ, it also involves providing quality leadership for the subordinate unit personnel. No one said that life was easy at the top. Enjoy your time in Las Vegas! Jeff Carlson PAO/PIO Civil Air Patrol From: cap-pao-bounces at lists.sempervigilans.org [mailto:cap-pao-bounces at lists.sempervigilans.org] On Behalf Of Steven Solomon Sent: Tuesday, August 12, 2014 9:43 AM To: CAP Public Affairs Officers Cc: Joseph A Guimond Jr; Salvador, John; Julie Debardelaben Subject: Re: [PAO] [Bulk] Re: New CAPP 201 - Public Affairs Officer Specialty Track I'm in Las Vegas now for the National PAO Academy being offered today and tomorrow, having just finished up two weeks as a Cadet Officer School flight instructor at Maxwell AFB Base. I see that there has been much discussion the last few days about the revised PAO Specialty Track released on July 25. I strongly urge that comments and suggestions go through the chain of command in order to be considered official, but I'd like to address the concerns that have been raised on this forum. It had been 14 years since the track was issued, so an update was long overdue. Many CAP PAOs, including SER PAO Jeff Carlson, were extremely anxious that the PA track be updated, especially because the A4/6 (formerly AFIADL and before that ECI) CAP Public Affairs Officer 02010 correspondence course was no longer available, had not been replaced, and was still required to satisfy the CAPP 201 Technician Rating (3d) requirement. So a National Level PA Working Group approved by the National CC, consisting of NATCAPWG PAO Lt Col Paul Cianciolo, ILWG PAO Lt Col Paul Hertel and RMR PAO Lt Col Al Nash, made recommendations that NHQ/PA Deputy Director of PA Julie Debardelaben, myself, and SWR PAO Lt Col Arthur Woodgate polished. Col Bryan Cooper, National Professional Development Officer, and Bobbie Tourville, NHQ Professional Development Chief, completed the project. As I privately told SDWG PAO Maj Bruce Kipp, who started the discussion on this list-serve, our thinking is that CAP PAOs/PIOs are being assigned to increasingly complex and challenging missions, often alongside other federal agencies, and need to be NIMS compliant like our counterparts because even though we are all volunteers and not paid, we need to be as professional as the professionals we are being deployed to work alongside. We offered G-289 yesterday here in Las Vegas before the two-day National PAO Academy, and are planning on offering G-290 next year. The registration fee for the E-388 course at the Emergency Management Institute in Emmitsburg, Md. is waived for CAP members, and transportation costs are also covered. So, taking E-388 is actually easier than taking Region or National Staff College, both of which are required for advancing through the CAP professional development process. In the end though, it is up to every CAP officer to decide what track and what level they pursue. I can't speak for whomever succeeds me in my national position someday, but I suspect that the requirements will only get harder as we continue to study and accept the public affairs strategies and tools constantly being developed. In my opinion, it's an ongoing process. Regards, Steven STEVEN SOLOMON, Lt Col, CAP National Public Affairs Officer Civil Air Patrol National Headquarters 105 South Hansell St., Building 714 Maxwell AFB AL 36112-5937 s solomon at cap.gov Cell: 240-505-6279 CAP Prop Logo 2012 small ... Citizens Serving Communities cid:image001.png at 01CE2BC7.1FAC87D0 cid:image002.png at 01CE2BC7.1FAC87D0 cid:image003.png at 01CE2BC7.1FAC87D0 On Tue, Aug 12, 2014 at 3:25 AM, lockit3 wrote: You have both stated the case well. This is why we must realize the PAO and PIO jobs ARE very different. Also, this is why the new FEMA course requirements should be part of moving through multi-level PIO ratings not PAO ratings. We have multi levels for GMT and not for PIO, yet we feel that PAO’s can do the PIO job. Thank you, Curtis “Wayne” Hooks 1st Lt. Civil Air Patrol FLWG Online Newsfeed Manager Group 1 Public Affairs Officer Group 1 Recruitment and Retention Officer Tallahassee Composite Squadron Ser FL-432 Public Affairs Officer Recruitment and Retention Officer From: cap-pao-bounces at lists.sempervigilans.org [mailto: cap-pao-bounces at lists.sempervigilans.org] On Behalf Of Alice Mansell Sent: Tuesday, August 12, 2014 4:21 AM To: wweiler at flwg.us; CAP Public Affairs Officers Subject: [Bulk] Re: [PAO] New CAPP 201 - Public Affairs Officer Specialty Track Wow, Bill! You articulated so many fabulous thoughts on the deeper issue. Absolutely agree with all you wrote, especially the need for different PIO ratings. I, also, have worked in JICs with military, federal agency, and state government information officers. Some random thoughts from those JICs: - The CAP golf shirt works there the best. Any white aviator shirt gets too many confused reactions and to wear the USAF style uniform, one must truly meet military weight and grooming standards to have rapport with any military personnel present who can be a daily shifting cast of people. - In JICs, once trusted by the lead informaton officer, a CAP member may end up doing as much work to get the word out for "other" agencies as our own, even for just internal CAP use. Whatever the incident commander thinks is the main messaging is more important than CAP ringing its own bell during a real mission or exercise with field operations. - It is truly fun to work in JICs..... but they can be a steep learning curve in situations where it might take 5+ hours for every agency-stuck-in-silos to approve press releases. CAP should be able to delegate "our" such approvals to regionally approved PIO3s who can train, mentor, and/or supervise PIO2s and PIO1s. I recall well how my Wing was one of the first to make sure only the most vetted and experienced mission coordinators (ICs now) were allowed to run real missing aircraft missions...and how it can take years to earn that duty assignment by consistently demonstrating quality skills in difficult situations. The days of a mission PIO being whatever warm body is willing to write a paragraph or talk to the press should stop. -Alice On Monday, August 11, 2014, Bill Weiler CAP < wweiler at flwg.us> wrote: > Some great ideas and valid complaints have been posted here, but we've danced around one of the real problems I see as an IC, PIO, and PAO. > > We have 3 levels of ICs, and with the diverse missions we conduct, 1 level of PIO just doesn't make sense to me. An IC3 can do ELT missions, SAREXs, and a multitude of small missions, but if it's a REDCAP or multi-agency mission an IC2 is required. A PAO with a little basic training can be PIO for a local SAREX or even a simple ELT mission, and learn a lot about 1/3 of CAP's mission while helping the local unit and team. The current PIO requirements are completely inadequate for a REDCAP or a Deepwater Horizon, and I spent weeks in the JIC at Mobile and Tallahassee for Deepwater. The only non-CAP classroom training for the current PIO is a local FEMA weekend course that shouldn't be too hard for any PAO/PIO candidate to attend, and it's a great networking opportunity with both the local media and ES community. Make the current basic PIO course a PIO 2 and make that the only PIO requirement for a PAO Master Rating with no additional FEMA training that most non-PIO PAOs don't need. A Master Rated PAO should understand the role of a PIO and what's entailed, but may not be well suited to ever serve as a PIO in a critical mission. The experience will help them help the PIO if needed and will help the local unit. > > With 40+ years experience in the ES community doing PAO/PIO work, gaining the trust and respect of other PIOs and ICs at a JIC is easy working side by side with them. Also being an IC helps. I've had a much more difficult time gaining the trust and authority I need for big missions from our own chain of command and organization - along with the AF. I can't say I blame them considering how elementary our PIO qualification currently is, and how many people with the qual are not ready for prime time. If we add the FEMA 200 and 300 PIO courses to a PIO 1 qualification, along with a few other requirements, we'll ensure that a PIO 1 can step into any mission without needing constant handholding, will truly know what can and cannot be said, and will be part of the JIC/IC team able to get the CAP story out real-time. > > Long before the term PIO was conceived, in 1969, I was the face for a multi-fatality snow slide, and I've done dozens of serious and fatal plane crashes since then with the sheriff and even FAA and NTSB asking me to be part of the media QA team. Now, when invited by the FEMA and USCG members of a JIC to be part of a media event I had to decline because the CAP chain required 48-72 hour advance notice and a review of what might be discussed before being authorized to be part of the event - that was called at the last minute. Maybe I've gotten that bad over the years, but I really think it's because we don't have an internal way of proving some PIOs are experienced enough and well trained enough to do their job unless they're personally known or micromanaged. > > Being a PIO is not some binary yes or no you can do it. It is something that takes considerable experience and training for the big jobs, but can easily be learned and mastered for the small missions. FEMA has multiple levels of PIO, so we should too. We need many more basic PIOs to help out, but we need a few Master Level PIOs just like FEMA has. We need more, not less, Master Rated PAOs that aren't discouraged from the task because of excessive PIO requirements they do not want to be directly involved in. > > > > Bill Weiler, Maj CAP > > Florida Wing Civil Air Patrol > > 913.488.5392 > > FLCAP 218 > > wweiler at flwg.us > > > > ________________________________ > From: "DOUGLAS E. JESSMER, Lt Col, CAP CAP/PM" < djessmer at cap.gov> > > Sent: Sunday, August 10, 2014 7:56 PM > > To: "CAP Public Affairs Officers" < cap-pao at lists.sempervigilans.org> > > Subject: Re: [PAO] [Bulk] FW: New CAPP 201 - Public Affairs Officer Specialty Track > > > > All: > > I've been following this discussion with great interest, as it goes to the heart of how we communicate to pretty much every constituency. Fact is, emergency services is one of our three main missions. How can we be effective in telling the CAP story if we don't have some background in what's probably our highest-profile purpose? > > I don't believe every public affairs officer should need to be a public information officer. And they don't have to be, but those PAs who don't want the FEMA courses and the PIO qualification can stop with the technician level of the track. Those who want the PIO training but can't get to Emmitsburg can go as far as the senior level. I'm sure Emmitsburg is nice this time of year — it's got to be less muggy than it is here in Florida. And if you want the training and to climb the ladder of the specialty track and lay low on the ops side, that's up to you. CAP is, after all, a volunteer organization. > > But every PIO should be a PA. And every public affairs officer should at least have a 101 card and some PIO training. Not to have that is to neglect a very important part of what is CAP. We aren't a pure-play emergency services organization, but people know us for that, at least the ones who know us. (And that's another thing — many would-be "customers" for our ops folks still don't know who we are! We need to market ourselves better in that regard....) We aren't just a cadet-program organization. And public affairs officers are in the best position to explain the three sides of CAP — they're not "the ops side and everyone else," but rather, the emergency services, cadet program and aerospace education missions with which Congress chartered us back in the day (PLs 476 and 557). A good PA needs to be well-versed in all three components. > > The most important thing in PIO training for CAP members is to learn how to play well with other agencies. CAP's PIOs won't be the lead on any incident, but we still stand to get our message out, and we must have the discipline of messaging to "stay in our lane" and work as part of a greater system. If Deepwater Horizon didn't teach us that, I don't know what will. We need to be team players, all up and down the line. Squadron PAs play as vital a role in our missions as do wing PIOs and the national staff. > > There's not really much else I can say that hasn't been said. Yes, these are the requirements. If there's widespread issue, I imagine adjustments may be made (that's just me speaking from my experience, not saying anything official by any means). We still need to be realistic while we're stretching the field, after all. But what's most important is that we want our public affairs officers to be the best they can be, to be able to capably, competently and confidently tell our story, and to position CAP favorably in our populaces. > > > > DOUGLAS E. JESSMER, Lt Col, CAP > > National Marketing Officer > > > > COM: (727) 480-9606 > > Clearwater, Fla. > > > > CAUTION: This e-mail is intended only for the person or entity to which it is addressed and may contain information that is privileged or otherwise protected from disclosure. Do not disseminate this message without the sender's approval. If you received this message in error, please notify the sender by reply e-mail and delete all copies of this message. _______________________________________________ Subscribed Email Address: ssolomon at cap.gov CAP-PAO mailing list CAP-PAO at lists.sempervigilans.org http://lists.sempervigilans.org/mailman/listinfo/cap-pao -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: image004.jpg Type: image/jpeg Size: 1370 bytes Desc: not available URL: -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: image005.png Type: image/png Size: 2110 bytes Desc: not available URL: -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: image006.png Type: image/png Size: 2324 bytes Desc: not available URL: -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: image007.png Type: image/png Size: 1566 bytes Desc: not available URL: From ssolomon at cap.gov Tue Aug 12 10:53:57 2014 From: ssolomon at cap.gov (ssolomon at cap.gov) Date: Tue, 12 Aug 2014 08:53:57 -0700 Subject: [PAO] [Bulk] Re: New CAPP 201 - Public Affairs Officer Specialty Track In-Reply-To: <069d01cfb642$8b815740$a28405c0$@flwg.us> References: <002401cfb617$cfac43b0$6f04cb10$@att.net> <069d01cfb642$8b815740$a28405c0$@flwg.us> Message-ID: <9AF22D95-A24C-4400-964F-3A0BC6E8B3AA@cap.gov> Jeff, The PAO track tests can be found under the eServices Learning Management System heading, under the Marketing and Public Affairs function area. Sent from my iPhone Steven Solomon > On Aug 12, 2014, at 8:31 AM, "Jeff Carlson, Grp 5 HQ" wrote: > > Steven, > Thanks for including your comments in the latest ‘unofficial’ rendition of a long-standing debate. > > Personally, I was pleased to see action finally being taken to update the P201 specialty track. Though, since 2010, my main point of contention has always been the absence of the P201 online exams; which are still suspiciously omitted from any NHQ/PA announcement or comment. Do you have a target date for release? > > I thank the working group and the national staff for their efforts to update the P201 specialty track. The results definitely look good on paper, though it is quickly becoming obvious that it is not a perfect answer. I read somewhere that NHQ/PA wanted to update this written guidance on a biennial basis. Considering how slowly the wheels turn, perhaps NHQ/PA should put together the next working group now to begin the process of revision so that the next version can be ready in a timely manner. > > I agree the E-388 course in Emmitsburg, MD is bargain-priced (free). Spending a week on the EMI campus near Camp David and the Gettysburg Memorial is an outstanding opportunity. I still question how easy it will be for CAP members to make it through the hand-selected admission process. Maybe at best, a couple of seats per year. > > Over the past nine years that I have been with CAP, I have witnessed numerous examples of edicts being issued from on high followed by a scramble to come up with an effective manner to get members in compliance. This lack of foresight is an irritant to the troops and many talented members leave because of the repeated folly caused by a deficiency in leadership’s vision. If a requirement is established, the programing needs to include corresponding support to assist the members in meeting the requirements. The token offer of G-289/G-290 at the national conference is a first step but is not sufficient to meet the needs of the organization. > > I believe much of the push-back about the new CAPP201 is because half of the equation is missing. The members have not been provided with a reasonable solution to meet the higher standards. It appears that a roadblock has been established rather than a pathway to a higher plane. > > High standards can be good and offer a measuring stick for progress. If we want a robust CAP public affairs/mission information program, we need to focus on growing the people. The attitude of “hey, this is what you get; you choose” is not transformational leadership. It lacks inspiration, it lacks vision. There is no doubt in my mind the solution will require effort on a region, wing, group, and squadron level. The role at the top is not just doing PA tasks for HQ, it also involves providing quality leadership for the subordinate unit personnel. No one said that life was easy at the top. > > Enjoy your time in Las Vegas! > > Jeff Carlson > PAO/PIO > Civil Air Patrol > > > From: cap-pao-bounces at lists.sempervigilans.org [mailto:cap-pao-bounces at lists.sempervigilans.org] On Behalf Of Steven Solomon > Sent: Tuesday, August 12, 2014 9:43 AM > To: CAP Public Affairs Officers > Cc: Joseph A Guimond Jr; Salvador, John; Julie Debardelaben > Subject: Re: [PAO] [Bulk] Re: New CAPP 201 - Public Affairs Officer Specialty Track > > I'm in Las Vegas now for the National PAO Academy being offered today and tomorrow, having just finished up two weeks as a Cadet Officer School flight instructor at Maxwell AFB Base. I see that there has been much discussion the last few days about the revised PAO Specialty Track released on July 25. I strongly urge that comments and suggestions go through the chain of command in order to be considered official, but I'd like to address the concerns that have been raised on this forum. > > It had been 14 years since the track was issued, so an update was long overdue. Many CAP PAOs, including SER PAO Jeff Carlson, were extremely anxious that the PA track be updated, especially because the A4/6 (formerly AFIADL and before that ECI) CAP Public Affairs Officer 02010 correspondence course was no longer available, had not been replaced, and was still required to satisfy the CAPP 201 Technician Rating (3d) requirement. > > So a National Level PA Working Group approved by the National CC, consisting of NATCAPWG PAO Lt Col Paul Cianciolo, ILWG PAO Lt Col Paul Hertel and RMR PAO Lt Col Al Nash, made recommendations that NHQ/PA Deputy Director of PA Julie Debardelaben, myself, and SWR PAO Lt Col Arthur Woodgate polished. Col Bryan Cooper, National Professional Development Officer, and Bobbie Tourville, NHQ Professional Development Chief, completed the project. > > As I privately told SDWG PAO Maj Bruce Kipp, who started the discussion on this list-serve, our thinking is that CAP PAOs/PIOs are being assigned to increasingly complex and challenging missions, often alongside other federal agencies, and need to be NIMS compliant like our counterparts because even though we are all volunteers and not paid, we need to be as professional as the professionals we are being deployed to work alongside. > > We offered G-289 yesterday here in Las Vegas before the two-day National PAO Academy, and are planning on offering G-290 next year. The registration fee for the E-388 course at the Emergency Management Institute in Emmitsburg, Md. is waived for CAP members, and transportation costs are also covered. So, taking E-388 is actually easier than taking Region or National Staff College, both of which are required for advancing through the CAP professional development process. > > In the end though, it is up to every CAP officer to decide what track and what level they pursue. I can't speak for whomever succeeds me in my national position someday, but I suspect that the requirements will only get harder as we continue to study and accept the public affairs strategies and tools constantly being developed. In my opinion, it's an ongoing process. > > Regards, > Steven > > > STEVEN SOLOMON, Lt Col, CAP > National Public Affairs Officer > Civil Air Patrol National Headquarters > 105 South Hansell St., Building 714 > Maxwell AFB AL 36112-5937 > ssolomon at cap.gov > Cell: 240-505-6279 > > > > ... Citizens Serving Communities > > > > > > > > > On Tue, Aug 12, 2014 at 3:25 AM, lockit3 wrote: > You have both stated the case well. This is why we must realize the PAO and PIO jobs ARE very different. Also, this is why the new FEMA course requirements should be part of moving through multi-level PIO ratings not PAO ratings. We have multi levels for GMT and not for PIO, yet we feel that PAO’s can do the PIO job. > > Thank you, > > > Curtis “Wayne” Hooks 1st Lt. > Civil Air Patrol > FLWG Online Newsfeed Manager > Group 1 Public Affairs Officer > Group 1 Recruitment and Retention Officer > Tallahassee Composite Squadron > Ser FL-432 > Public Affairs Officer > Recruitment and Retention Officer > > > > From: cap-pao-bounces at lists.sempervigilans.org [mailto:cap-pao-bounces at lists.sempervigilans.org] On Behalf Of Alice Mansell > Sent: Tuesday, August 12, 2014 4:21 AM > To: wweiler at flwg.us; CAP Public Affairs Officers > Subject: [Bulk] Re: [PAO] New CAPP 201 - Public Affairs Officer Specialty Track > > Wow, Bill! You articulated so many fabulous thoughts on the deeper issue. > > Absolutely agree with all you wrote, especially the need for different PIO ratings. I, also, have worked in JICs with military, federal agency, and state government information officers. Some random thoughts from those JICs: > > - The CAP golf shirt works there the best. Any white aviator shirt gets too many confused reactions and to wear the USAF style uniform, one must truly meet military weight and grooming standards to have rapport with any military personnel present who can be a daily shifting cast of people. > > - In JICs, once trusted by the lead informaton officer, a CAP member may end up doing as much work to get the word out for "other" agencies as our own, even for just internal CAP use. Whatever the incident commander thinks is the main messaging is more important than CAP ringing its own bell during a real mission or exercise with field operations. > > - It is truly fun to work in JICs..... but they can be a steep learning curve in situations where it might take 5+ hours for every agency-stuck-in-silos to approve press releases. CAP should be able to delegate "our" such approvals to regionally approved PIO3s who can train, mentor, and/or supervise PIO2s and PIO1s. > > I recall well how my Wing was one of the first to make sure only the most vetted and experienced mission coordinators (ICs now) were allowed to run real missing aircraft missions...and how it can take years to earn that duty assignment by consistently demonstrating quality skills in difficult situations. The days of a mission PIO being whatever warm body is willing to write a paragraph or talk to the press should stop. > > -Alice > > > > On Monday, August 11, 2014, Bill Weiler CAP wrote: > > Some great ideas and valid complaints have been posted here, but we've danced around one of the real problems I see as an IC, PIO, and PAO. > > > > We have 3 levels of ICs, and with the diverse missions we conduct, 1 level of PIO just doesn't make sense to me. An IC3 can do ELT missions, SAREXs, and a multitude of small missions, but if it's a REDCAP or multi-agency mission an IC2 is required. A PAO with a little basic training can be PIO for a local SAREX or even a simple ELT mission, and learn a lot about 1/3 of CAP's mission while helping the local unit and team. The current PIO requirements are completely inadequate for a REDCAP or a Deepwater Horizon, and I spent weeks in the JIC at Mobile and Tallahassee for Deepwater. The only non-CAP classroom training for the current PIO is a local FEMA weekend course that shouldn't be too hard for any PAO/PIO candidate to attend, and it's a great networking opportunity with both the local media and ES community. Make the current basic PIO course a PIO 2 and make that the only PIO requirement for a PAO Master Rating with no additional FEMA training that most non-PIO PAOs don't need. A Master Rated PAO should understand the role of a PIO and what's entailed, but may not be well suited to ever serve as a PIO in a critical mission. The experience will help them help the PIO if needed and will help the local unit. > > > > With 40+ years experience in the ES community doing PAO/PIO work, gaining the trust and respect of other PIOs and ICs at a JIC is easy working side by side with them. Also being an IC helps. I've had a much more difficult time gaining the trust and authority I need for big missions from our own chain of command and organization - along with the AF. I can't say I blame them considering how elementary our PIO qualification currently is, and how many people with the qual are not ready for prime time. If we add the FEMA 200 and 300 PIO courses to a PIO 1 qualification, along with a few other requirements, we'll ensure that a PIO 1 can step into any mission without needing constant handholding, will truly know what can and cannot be said, and will be part of the JIC/IC team able to get the CAP story out real-time. > > > > Long before the term PIO was conceived, in 1969, I was the face for a multi-fatality snow slide, and I've done dozens of serious and fatal plane crashes since then with the sheriff and even FAA and NTSB asking me to be part of the media QA team. Now, when invited by the FEMA and USCG members of a JIC to be part of a media event I had to decline because the CAP chain required 48-72 hour advance notice and a review of what might be discussed before being authorized to be part of the event - that was called at the last minute. Maybe I've gotten that bad over the years, but I really think it's because we don't have an internal way of proving some PIOs are experienced enough and well trained enough to do their job unless they're personally known or micromanaged. > > > > Being a PIO is not some binary yes or no you can do it. It is something that takes considerable experience and training for the big jobs, but can easily be learned and mastered for the small missions. FEMA has multiple levels of PIO, so we should too. We need many more basic PIOs to help out, but we need a few Master Level PIOs just like FEMA has. We need more, not less, Master Rated PAOs that aren't discouraged from the task because of excessive PIO requirements they do not want to be directly involved in. > > > > > > > > Bill Weiler, Maj CAP > > > > Florida Wing Civil Air Patrol > > > > 913.488.5392 > > > > FLCAP 218 > > > > wweiler at flwg.us > > > > > > > > ________________________________ > > From: "DOUGLAS E. JESSMER, Lt Col, CAP CAP/PM" > > > > Sent: Sunday, August 10, 2014 7:56 PM > > > > To: "CAP Public Affairs Officers" > > > > Subject: Re: [PAO] [Bulk] FW: New CAPP 201 - Public Affairs Officer Specialty Track > > > > > > > > All: > > > > I've been following this discussion with great interest, as it goes to the heart of how we communicate to pretty much every constituency. Fact is, emergency services is one of our three main missions. How can we be effective in telling the CAP story if we don't have some background in what's probably our highest-profile purpose? > > > > I don't believe every public affairs officer should need to be a public information officer. And they don't have to be, but those PAs who don't want the FEMA courses and the PIO qualification can stop with the technician level of the track. Those who want the PIO training but can't get to Emmitsburg can go as far as the senior level. I'm sure Emmitsburg is nice this time of year — it's got to be less muggy than it is here in Florida. And if you want the training and to climb the ladder of the specialty track and lay low on the ops side, that's up to you. CAP is, after all, a volunteer organization. > > > > But every PIO should be a PA. And every public affairs officer should at least have a 101 card and some PIO training. Not to have that is to neglect a very important part of what is CAP. We aren't a pure-play emergency services organization, but people know us for that, at least the ones who know us. (And that's another thing — many would-be "customers" for our ops folks still don't know who we are! We need to market ourselves better in that regard....) We aren't just a cadet-program organization. And public affairs officers are in the best position to explain the three sides of CAP — they're not "the ops side and everyone else," but rather, the emergency services, cadet program and aerospace education missions with which Congress chartered us back in the day (PLs 476 and 557). A good PA needs to be well-versed in all three components. > > > > The most important thing in PIO training for CAP members is to learn how to play well with other agencies. CAP's PIOs won't be the lead on any incident, but we still stand to get our message out, and we must have the discipline of messaging to "stay in our lane" and work as part of a greater system. If Deepwater Horizon didn't teach us that, I don't know what will. We need to be team players, all up and down the line. Squadron PAs play as vital a role in our missions as do wing PIOs and the national staff. > > > > There's not really much else I can say that hasn't been said. Yes, these are the requirements. If there's widespread issue, I imagine adjustments may be made (that's just me speaking from my experience, not saying anything official by any means). We still need to be realistic while we're stretching the field, after all. But what's most important is that we want our public affairs officers to be the best they can be, to be able to capably, competently and confidently tell our story, and to position CAP favorably in our populaces. > > > > > > > > DOUGLAS E. JESSMER, Lt Col, CAP > > > > National Marketing Officer > > > > > > > > COM: (727) 480-9606 > > > > Clearwater, Fla. > > > > > > > > CAUTION: This e-mail is intended only for the person or entity to which it is addressed and may contain information that is privileged or otherwise protected from disclosure. Do not disseminate this message without the sender's approval. If you received this message in error, please notify the sender by reply e-mail and delete all copies of this message. > > _______________________________________________ > Subscribed Email Address: ssolomon at cap.gov > CAP-PAO mailing list > CAP-PAO at lists.sempervigilans.org > http://lists.sempervigilans.org/mailman/listinfo/cap-pao > > > _______________________________________________ > Subscribed Email Address: ssolomon at cap.gov > CAP-PAO mailing list > CAP-PAO at lists.sempervigilans.org > http://lists.sempervigilans.org/mailman/listinfo/cap-pao -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From awoodgate at austin.rr.com Tue Aug 12 10:57:59 2014 From: awoodgate at austin.rr.com (Arthur Woodgate) Date: Tue, 12 Aug 2014 10:57:59 -0500 Subject: [PAO] [Bulk] Re: New CAPP 201 - Public Affairs Officer Specialty Track In-Reply-To: <9AF22D95-A24C-4400-964F-3A0BC6E8B3AA@cap.gov> References: <002401cfb617$cfac43b0$6f04cb10$@att.net> <069d01cfb642$8b815740$a28405c0$@flwg.us> <9AF22D95-A24C-4400-964F-3A0BC6E8B3AA@cap.gov> Message-ID: <003c01cfb646$309cebb0$91d6c310$@austin.rr.com> Thanks, Steven. Arthur ~ From: cap-pao-bounces at lists.sempervigilans.org [mailto:cap-pao-bounces at lists.sempervigilans.org] On Behalf Of ssolomon at cap.gov Sent: Tuesday, August 12, 2014 10:54 AM To: jcarlson at flwg.us; CAP Public Affairs Officers Subject: Re: [PAO] [Bulk] Re: New CAPP 201 - Public Affairs Officer Specialty Track Jeff, The PAO track tests can be found under the eServices Learning Management System heading, under the Marketing and Public Affairs function area. Sent from my iPhone Steven Solomon On Aug 12, 2014, at 8:31 AM, "Jeff Carlson, Grp 5 HQ" wrote: Steven, Thanks for including your comments in the latest ‘unofficial’ rendition of a long-standing debate. Personally, I was pleased to see action finally being taken to update the P201 specialty track. Though, since 2010, my main point of contention has always been the absence of the P201 online exams; which are still suspiciously omitted from any NHQ/PA announcement or comment. Do you have a target date for release? I thank the working group and the national staff for their efforts to update the P201 specialty track. The results definitely look good on paper, though it is quickly becoming obvious that it is not a perfect answer. I read somewhere that NHQ/PA wanted to update this written guidance on a biennial basis. Considering how slowly the wheels turn, perhaps NHQ/PA should put together the next working group now to begin the process of revision so that the next version can be ready in a timely manner. I agree the E-388 course in Emmitsburg, MD is bargain-priced (free). Spending a week on the EMI campus near Camp David and the Gettysburg Memorial is an outstanding opportunity. I still question how easy it will be for CAP members to make it through the hand-selected admission process. Maybe at best, a couple of seats per year. Over the past nine years that I have been with CAP, I have witnessed numerous examples of edicts being issued from on high followed by a scramble to come up with an effective manner to get members in compliance. This lack of foresight is an irritant to the troops and many talented members leave because of the repeated folly caused by a deficiency in leadership’s vision. If a requirement is established, the programing needs to include corresponding support to assist the members in meeting the requirements. The token offer of G-289/G-290 at the national conference is a first step but is not sufficient to meet the needs of the organization. I believe much of the push-back about the new CAPP201 is because half of the equation is missing. The members have not been provided with a reasonable solution to meet the higher standards. It appears that a roadblock has been established rather than a pathway to a higher plane. High standards can be good and offer a measuring stick for progress. If we want a robust CAP public affairs/mission information program, we need to focus on growing the people. The attitude of “hey, this is what you get; you choose” is not transformational leadership. It lacks inspiration, it lacks vision. There is no doubt in my mind the solution will require effort on a region, wing, group, and squadron level. The role at the top is not just doing PA tasks for HQ, it also involves providing quality leadership for the subordinate unit personnel. No one said that life was easy at the top. Enjoy your time in Las Vegas! Jeff Carlson PAO/PIO Civil Air Patrol From: cap-pao-bounces at lists.sempervigilans.org [mailto:cap-pao-bounces at lists.sempervigilans.org] On Behalf Of Steven Solomon Sent: Tuesday, August 12, 2014 9:43 AM To: CAP Public Affairs Officers Cc: Joseph A Guimond Jr; Salvador, John; Julie Debardelaben Subject: Re: [PAO] [Bulk] Re: New CAPP 201 - Public Affairs Officer Specialty Track I'm in Las Vegas now for the National PAO Academy being offered today and tomorrow, having just finished up two weeks as a Cadet Officer School flight instructor at Maxwell AFB Base. I see that there has been much discussion the last few days about the revised PAO Specialty Track released on July 25. I strongly urge that comments and suggestions go through the chain of command in order to be considered official, but I'd like to address the concerns that have been raised on this forum. It had been 14 years since the track was issued, so an update was long overdue. Many CAP PAOs, including SER PAO Jeff Carlson, were extremely anxious that the PA track be updated, especially because the A4/6 (formerly AFIADL and before that ECI) CAP Public Affairs Officer 02010 correspondence course was no longer available, had not been replaced, and was still required to satisfy the CAPP 201 Technician Rating (3d) requirement. So a National Level PA Working Group approved by the National CC, consisting of NATCAPWG PAO Lt Col Paul Cianciolo, ILWG PAO Lt Col Paul Hertel and RMR PAO Lt Col Al Nash, made recommendations that NHQ/PA Deputy Director of PA Julie Debardelaben, myself, and SWR PAO Lt Col Arthur Woodgate polished. Col Bryan Cooper, National Professional Development Officer, and Bobbie Tourville, NHQ Professional Development Chief, completed the project. As I privately told SDWG PAO Maj Bruce Kipp, who started the discussion on this list-serve, our thinking is that CAP PAOs/PIOs are being assigned to increasingly complex and challenging missions, often alongside other federal agencies, and need to be NIMS compliant like our counterparts because even though we are all volunteers and not paid, we need to be as professional as the professionals we are being deployed to work alongside. We offered G-289 yesterday here in Las Vegas before the two-day National PAO Academy, and are planning on offering G-290 next year. The registration fee for the E-388 course at the Emergency Management Institute in Emmitsburg, Md. is waived for CAP members, and transportation costs are also covered. So, taking E-388 is actually easier than taking Region or National Staff College, both of which are required for advancing through the CAP professional development process. In the end though, it is up to every CAP officer to decide what track and what level they pursue. I can't speak for whomever succeeds me in my national position someday, but I suspect that the requirements will only get harder as we continue to study and accept the public affairs strategies and tools constantly being developed. In my opinion, it's an ongoing process. Regards, Steven STEVEN SOLOMON, Lt Col, CAP National Public Affairs Officer Civil Air Patrol National Headquarters 105 South Hansell St., Building 714 Maxwell AFB AL 36112-5937 s solomon at cap.gov Cell: 240-505-6279 ... Citizens Serving Communities On Tue, Aug 12, 2014 at 3:25 AM, lockit3 wrote: You have both stated the case well. This is why we must realize the PAO and PIO jobs ARE very different. Also, this is why the new FEMA course requirements should be part of moving through multi-level PIO ratings not PAO ratings. We have multi levels for GMT and not for PIO, yet we feel that PAO’s can do the PIO job. Thank you, Curtis “Wayne” Hooks 1st Lt. Civil Air Patrol FLWG Online Newsfeed Manager Group 1 Public Affairs Officer Group 1 Recruitment and Retention Officer Tallahassee Composite Squadron Ser FL-432 Public Affairs Officer Recruitment and Retention Officer From: cap-pao-bounces at lists.sempervigilans.org [mailto: cap-pao-bounces at lists.sempervigilans.org] On Behalf Of Alice Mansell Sent: Tuesday, August 12, 2014 4:21 AM To: wweiler at flwg.us; CAP Public Affairs Officers Subject: [Bulk] Re: [PAO] New CAPP 201 - Public Affairs Officer Specialty Track Wow, Bill! You articulated so many fabulous thoughts on the deeper issue. Absolutely agree with all you wrote, especially the need for different PIO ratings. I, also, have worked in JICs with military, federal agency, and state government information officers. Some random thoughts from those JICs: - The CAP golf shirt works there the best. Any white aviator shirt gets too many confused reactions and to wear the USAF style uniform, one must truly meet military weight and grooming standards to have rapport with any military personnel present who can be a daily shifting cast of people. - In JICs, once trusted by the lead informaton officer, a CAP member may end up doing as much work to get the word out for "other" agencies as our own, even for just internal CAP use. Whatever the incident commander thinks is the main messaging is more important than CAP ringing its own bell during a real mission or exercise with field operations. - It is truly fun to work in JICs..... but they can be a steep learning curve in situations where it might take 5+ hours for every agency-stuck-in-silos to approve press releases. CAP should be able to delegate "our" such approvals to regionally approved PIO3s who can train, mentor, and/or supervise PIO2s and PIO1s. I recall well how my Wing was one of the first to make sure only the most vetted and experienced mission coordinators (ICs now) were allowed to run real missing aircraft missions...and how it can take years to earn that duty assignment by consistently demonstrating quality skills in difficult situations. The days of a mission PIO being whatever warm body is willing to write a paragraph or talk to the press should stop. -Alice On Monday, August 11, 2014, Bill Weiler CAP < wweiler at flwg.us> wrote: > Some great ideas and valid complaints have been posted here, but we've danced around one of the real problems I see as an IC, PIO, and PAO. > > We have 3 levels of ICs, and with the diverse missions we conduct, 1 level of PIO just doesn't make sense to me. An IC3 can do ELT missions, SAREXs, and a multitude of small missions, but if it's a REDCAP or multi-agency mission an IC2 is required. A PAO with a little basic training can be PIO for a local SAREX or even a simple ELT mission, and learn a lot about 1/3 of CAP's mission while helping the local unit and team. The current PIO requirements are completely inadequate for a REDCAP or a Deepwater Horizon, and I spent weeks in the JIC at Mobile and Tallahassee for Deepwater. The only non-CAP classroom training for the current PIO is a local FEMA weekend course that shouldn't be too hard for any PAO/PIO candidate to attend, and it's a great networking opportunity with both the local media and ES community. Make the current basic PIO course a PIO 2 and make that the only PIO requirement for a PAO Master Rating with no additional FEMA training that most non-PIO PAOs don't need. A Master Rated PAO should understand the role of a PIO and what's entailed, but may not be well suited to ever serve as a PIO in a critical mission. The experience will help them help the PIO if needed and will help the local unit. > > With 40+ years experience in the ES community doing PAO/PIO work, gaining the trust and respect of other PIOs and ICs at a JIC is easy working side by side with them. Also being an IC helps. I've had a much more difficult time gaining the trust and authority I need for big missions from our own chain of command and organization - along with the AF. I can't say I blame them considering how elementary our PIO qualification currently is, and how many people with the qual are not ready for prime time. If we add the FEMA 200 and 300 PIO courses to a PIO 1 qualification, along with a few other requirements, we'll ensure that a PIO 1 can step into any mission without needing constant handholding, will truly know what can and cannot be said, and will be part of the JIC/IC team able to get the CAP story out real-time. > > Long before the term PIO was conceived, in 1969, I was the face for a multi-fatality snow slide, and I've done dozens of serious and fatal plane crashes since then with the sheriff and even FAA and NTSB asking me to be part of the media QA team. Now, when invited by the FEMA and USCG members of a JIC to be part of a media event I had to decline because the CAP chain required 48-72 hour advance notice and a review of what might be discussed before being authorized to be part of the event - that was called at the last minute. Maybe I've gotten that bad over the years, but I really think it's because we don't have an internal way of proving some PIOs are experienced enough and well trained enough to do their job unless they're personally known or micromanaged. > > Being a PIO is not some binary yes or no you can do it. It is something that takes considerable experience and training for the big jobs, but can easily be learned and mastered for the small missions. FEMA has multiple levels of PIO, so we should too. We need many more basic PIOs to help out, but we need a few Master Level PIOs just like FEMA has. We need more, not less, Master Rated PAOs that aren't discouraged from the task because of excessive PIO requirements they do not want to be directly involved in. > > > > Bill Weiler, Maj CAP > > Florida Wing Civil Air Patrol > > 913.488.5392 > > FLCAP 218 > > wweiler at flwg.us > > > > ________________________________ > From: "DOUGLAS E. JESSMER, Lt Col, CAP CAP/PM" < djessmer at cap.gov> > > Sent: Sunday, August 10, 2014 7:56 PM > > To: "CAP Public Affairs Officers" < cap-pao at lists.sempervigilans.org> > > Subject: Re: [PAO] [Bulk] FW: New CAPP 201 - Public Affairs Officer Specialty Track > > > > All: > > I've been following this discussion with great interest, as it goes to the heart of how we communicate to pretty much every constituency. Fact is, emergency services is one of our three main missions. How can we be effective in telling the CAP story if we don't have some background in what's probably our highest-profile purpose? > > I don't believe every public affairs officer should need to be a public information officer. And they don't have to be, but those PAs who don't want the FEMA courses and the PIO qualification can stop with the technician level of the track. Those who want the PIO training but can't get to Emmitsburg can go as far as the senior level. I'm sure Emmitsburg is nice this time of year — it's got to be less muggy than it is here in Florida. And if you want the training and to climb the ladder of the specialty track and lay low on the ops side, that's up to you. CAP is, after all, a volunteer organization. > > But every PIO should be a PA. And every public affairs officer should at least have a 101 card and some PIO training. Not to have that is to neglect a very important part of what is CAP. We aren't a pure-play emergency services organization, but people know us for that, at least the ones who know us. (And that's another thing — many would-be "customers" for our ops folks still don't know who we are! We need to market ourselves better in that regard....) We aren't just a cadet-program organization. And public affairs officers are in the best position to explain the three sides of CAP — they're not "the ops side and everyone else," but rather, the emergency services, cadet program and aerospace education missions with which Congress chartered us back in the day (PLs 476 and 557). A good PA needs to be well-versed in all three components. > > The most important thing in PIO training for CAP members is to learn how to play well with other agencies. CAP's PIOs won't be the lead on any incident, but we still stand to get our message out, and we must have the discipline of messaging to "stay in our lane" and work as part of a greater system. If Deepwater Horizon didn't teach us that, I don't know what will. We need to be team players, all up and down the line. Squadron PAs play as vital a role in our missions as do wing PIOs and the national staff. > > There's not really much else I can say that hasn't been said. Yes, these are the requirements. If there's widespread issue, I imagine adjustments may be made (that's just me speaking from my experience, not saying anything official by any means). We still need to be realistic while we're stretching the field, after all. But what's most important is that we want our public affairs officers to be the best they can be, to be able to capably, competently and confidently tell our story, and to position CAP favorably in our populaces. > > > > DOUGLAS E. JESSMER, Lt Col, CAP > > National Marketing Officer > > > > COM: (727) 480-9606 > > Clearwater, Fla. > > > > CAUTION: This e-mail is intended only for the person or entity to which it is addressed and may contain information that is privileged or otherwise protected from disclosure. Do not disseminate this message without the sender's approval. If you received this message in error, please notify the sender by reply e-mail and delete all copies of this message. _______________________________________________ Subscribed Email Address: ssolomon at cap.gov CAP-PAO mailing list CAP-PAO at lists.sempervigilans.org http://lists.sempervigilans.org/mailman/listinfo/cap-pao _______________________________________________ Subscribed Email Address: ssolomon at cap.gov CAP-PAO mailing list CAP-PAO at lists.sempervigilans.org http://lists.sempervigilans.org/mailman/listinfo/cap-pao -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From jcarlson at flwg.us Tue Aug 12 11:33:28 2014 From: jcarlson at flwg.us (Jeff Carlson, Grp 5 HQ) Date: Tue, 12 Aug 2014 12:33:28 -0400 Subject: [PAO] [Bulk] Re: New CAPP 201 - Public Affairs Officer Specialty Track In-Reply-To: <9AF22D95-A24C-4400-964F-3A0BC6E8B3AA@cap.gov> References: <002401cfb617$cfac43b0$6f04cb10$@att.net> <069d01cfb642$8b815740$a28405c0$@flwg.us> <9AF22D95-A24C-4400-964F-3A0BC6E8B3AA@cap.gov> Message-ID: <06c301cfb64b$25da0000$718e0000$@flwg.us> Steven, That is fantastic news!!! I think that information, specifically about the P201 online exams, is worthy of a memo from NHQ/PA. It would inform the troops and be demonstrative of the work being done to move the PA program forward. Jeff From: ssolomon at cap.gov [mailto:ssolomon at cap.gov] Sent: Tuesday, August 12, 2014 11:54 AM To: jcarlson at flwg.us; CAP Public Affairs Officers Subject: Re: [PAO] [Bulk] Re: New CAPP 201 - Public Affairs Officer Specialty Track Jeff, The PAO track tests can be found under the eServices Learning Management System heading, under the Marketing and Public Affairs function area. Sent from my iPhone Steven Solomon On Aug 12, 2014, at 8:31 AM, "Jeff Carlson, Grp 5 HQ" wrote: Steven, Thanks for including your comments in the latest ‘unofficial’ rendition of a long-standing debate. Personally, I was pleased to see action finally being taken to update the P201 specialty track. Though, since 2010, my main point of contention has always been the absence of the P201 online exams; which are still suspiciously omitted from any NHQ/PA announcement or comment. Do you have a target date for release? I thank the working group and the national staff for their efforts to update the P201 specialty track. The results definitely look good on paper, though it is quickly becoming obvious that it is not a perfect answer. I read somewhere that NHQ/PA wanted to update this written guidance on a biennial basis. Considering how slowly the wheels turn, perhaps NHQ/PA should put together the next working group now to begin the process of revision so that the next version can be ready in a timely manner. I agree the E-388 course in Emmitsburg, MD is bargain-priced (free). Spending a week on the EMI campus near Camp David and the Gettysburg Memorial is an outstanding opportunity. I still question how easy it will be for CAP members to make it through the hand-selected admission process. Maybe at best, a couple of seats per year. Over the past nine years that I have been with CAP, I have witnessed numerous examples of edicts being issued from on high followed by a scramble to come up with an effective manner to get members in compliance. This lack of foresight is an irritant to the troops and many talented members leave because of the repeated folly caused by a deficiency in leadership’s vision. If a requirement is established, the programing needs to include corresponding support to assist the members in meeting the requirements. The token offer of G-289/G-290 at the national conference is a first step but is not sufficient to meet the needs of the organization. I believe much of the push-back about the new CAPP201 is because half of the equation is missing. The members have not been provided with a reasonable solution to meet the higher standards. It appears that a roadblock has been established rather than a pathway to a higher plane. High standards can be good and offer a measuring stick for progress. If we want a robust CAP public affairs/mission information program, we need to focus on growing the people. The attitude of “hey, this is what you get; you choose” is not transformational leadership. It lacks inspiration, it lacks vision. There is no doubt in my mind the solution will require effort on a region, wing, group, and squadron level. The role at the top is not just doing PA tasks for HQ, it also involves providing quality leadership for the subordinate unit personnel. No one said that life was easy at the top. Enjoy your time in Las Vegas! Jeff Carlson PAO/PIO Civil Air Patrol From: cap-pao-bounces at lists.sempervigilans.org [mailto:cap-pao-bounces at lists.sempervigilans.org] On Behalf Of Steven Solomon Sent: Tuesday, August 12, 2014 9:43 AM To: CAP Public Affairs Officers Cc: Joseph A Guimond Jr; Salvador, John; Julie Debardelaben Subject: Re: [PAO] [Bulk] Re: New CAPP 201 - Public Affairs Officer Specialty Track I'm in Las Vegas now for the National PAO Academy being offered today and tomorrow, having just finished up two weeks as a Cadet Officer School flight instructor at Maxwell AFB Base. I see that there has been much discussion the last few days about the revised PAO Specialty Track released on July 25. I strongly urge that comments and suggestions go through the chain of command in order to be considered official, but I'd like to address the concerns that have been raised on this forum. It had been 14 years since the track was issued, so an update was long overdue. Many CAP PAOs, including SER PAO Jeff Carlson, were extremely anxious that the PA track be updated, especially because the A4/6 (formerly AFIADL and before that ECI) CAP Public Affairs Officer 02010 correspondence course was no longer available, had not been replaced, and was still required to satisfy the CAPP 201 Technician Rating (3d) requirement. So a National Level PA Working Group approved by the National CC, consisting of NATCAPWG PAO Lt Col Paul Cianciolo, ILWG PAO Lt Col Paul Hertel and RMR PAO Lt Col Al Nash, made recommendations that NHQ/PA Deputy Director of PA Julie Debardelaben, myself, and SWR PAO Lt Col Arthur Woodgate polished. Col Bryan Cooper, National Professional Development Officer, and Bobbie Tourville, NHQ Professional Development Chief, completed the project. As I privately told SDWG PAO Maj Bruce Kipp, who started the discussion on this list-serve, our thinking is that CAP PAOs/PIOs are being assigned to increasingly complex and challenging missions, often alongside other federal agencies, and need to be NIMS compliant like our counterparts because even though we are all volunteers and not paid, we need to be as professional as the professionals we are being deployed to work alongside. We offered G-289 yesterday here in Las Vegas before the two-day National PAO Academy, and are planning on offering G-290 next year. The registration fee for the E-388 course at the Emergency Management Institute in Emmitsburg, Md. is waived for CAP members, and transportation costs are also covered. So, taking E-388 is actually easier than taking Region or National Staff College, both of which are required for advancing through the CAP professional development process. In the end though, it is up to every CAP officer to decide what track and what level they pursue. I can't speak for whomever succeeds me in my national position someday, but I suspect that the requirements will only get harder as we continue to study and accept the public affairs strategies and tools constantly being developed. In my opinion, it's an ongoing process. Regards, Steven STEVEN SOLOMON, Lt Col, CAP National Public Affairs Officer Civil Air Patrol National Headquarters 105 South Hansell St., Building 714 Maxwell AFB AL 36112-5937 s solomon at cap.gov Cell: 240-505-6279 ... Citizens Serving Communities On Tue, Aug 12, 2014 at 3:25 AM, lockit3 wrote: You have both stated the case well. This is why we must realize the PAO and PIO jobs ARE very different. Also, this is why the new FEMA course requirements should be part of moving through multi-level PIO ratings not PAO ratings. We have multi levels for GMT and not for PIO, yet we feel that PAO’s can do the PIO job. Thank you, Curtis “Wayne” Hooks 1st Lt. Civil Air Patrol FLWG Online Newsfeed Manager Group 1 Public Affairs Officer Group 1 Recruitment and Retention Officer Tallahassee Composite Squadron Ser FL-432 Public Affairs Officer Recruitment and Retention Officer From: cap-pao-bounces at lists.sempervigilans.org [mailto: cap-pao-bounces at lists.sempervigilans.org] On Behalf Of Alice Mansell Sent: Tuesday, August 12, 2014 4:21 AM To: wweiler at flwg.us; CAP Public Affairs Officers Subject: [Bulk] Re: [PAO] New CAPP 201 - Public Affairs Officer Specialty Track Wow, Bill! You articulated so many fabulous thoughts on the deeper issue. Absolutely agree with all you wrote, especially the need for different PIO ratings. I, also, have worked in JICs with military, federal agency, and state government information officers. Some random thoughts from those JICs: - The CAP golf shirt works there the best. Any white aviator shirt gets too many confused reactions and to wear the USAF style uniform, one must truly meet military weight and grooming standards to have rapport with any military personnel present who can be a daily shifting cast of people. - In JICs, once trusted by the lead informaton officer, a CAP member may end up doing as much work to get the word out for "other" agencies as our own, even for just internal CAP use. Whatever the incident commander thinks is the main messaging is more important than CAP ringing its own bell during a real mission or exercise with field operations. - It is truly fun to work in JICs..... but they can be a steep learning curve in situations where it might take 5+ hours for every agency-stuck-in-silos to approve press releases. CAP should be able to delegate "our" such approvals to regionally approved PIO3s who can train, mentor, and/or supervise PIO2s and PIO1s. I recall well how my Wing was one of the first to make sure only the most vetted and experienced mission coordinators (ICs now) were allowed to run real missing aircraft missions...and how it can take years to earn that duty assignment by consistently demonstrating quality skills in difficult situations. The days of a mission PIO being whatever warm body is willing to write a paragraph or talk to the press should stop. -Alice On Monday, August 11, 2014, Bill Weiler CAP < wweiler at flwg.us> wrote: > Some great ideas and valid complaints have been posted here, but we've danced around one of the real problems I see as an IC, PIO, and PAO. > > We have 3 levels of ICs, and with the diverse missions we conduct, 1 level of PIO just doesn't make sense to me. An IC3 can do ELT missions, SAREXs, and a multitude of small missions, but if it's a REDCAP or multi-agency mission an IC2 is required. A PAO with a little basic training can be PIO for a local SAREX or even a simple ELT mission, and learn a lot about 1/3 of CAP's mission while helping the local unit and team. The current PIO requirements are completely inadequate for a REDCAP or a Deepwater Horizon, and I spent weeks in the JIC at Mobile and Tallahassee for Deepwater. The only non-CAP classroom training for the current PIO is a local FEMA weekend course that shouldn't be too hard for any PAO/PIO candidate to attend, and it's a great networking opportunity with both the local media and ES community. Make the current basic PIO course a PIO 2 and make that the only PIO requirement for a PAO Master Rating with no additional FEMA training that most non-PIO PAOs don't need. A Master Rated PAO should understand the role of a PIO and what's entailed, but may not be well suited to ever serve as a PIO in a critical mission. The experience will help them help the PIO if needed and will help the local unit. > > With 40+ years experience in the ES community doing PAO/PIO work, gaining the trust and respect of other PIOs and ICs at a JIC is easy working side by side with them. Also being an IC helps. I've had a much more difficult time gaining the trust and authority I need for big missions from our own chain of command and organization - along with the AF. I can't say I blame them considering how elementary our PIO qualification currently is, and how many people with the qual are not ready for prime time. If we add the FEMA 200 and 300 PIO courses to a PIO 1 qualification, along with a few other requirements, we'll ensure that a PIO 1 can step into any mission without needing constant handholding, will truly know what can and cannot be said, and will be part of the JIC/IC team able to get the CAP story out real-time. > > Long before the term PIO was conceived, in 1969, I was the face for a multi-fatality snow slide, and I've done dozens of serious and fatal plane crashes since then with the sheriff and even FAA and NTSB asking me to be part of the media QA team. Now, when invited by the FEMA and USCG members of a JIC to be part of a media event I had to decline because the CAP chain required 48-72 hour advance notice and a review of what might be discussed before being authorized to be part of the event - that was called at the last minute. Maybe I've gotten that bad over the years, but I really think it's because we don't have an internal way of proving some PIOs are experienced enough and well trained enough to do their job unless they're personally known or micromanaged. > > Being a PIO is not some binary yes or no you can do it. It is something that takes considerable experience and training for the big jobs, but can easily be learned and mastered for the small missions. FEMA has multiple levels of PIO, so we should too. We need many more basic PIOs to help out, but we need a few Master Level PIOs just like FEMA has. We need more, not less, Master Rated PAOs that aren't discouraged from the task because of excessive PIO requirements they do not want to be directly involved in. > > > > Bill Weiler, Maj CAP > > Florida Wing Civil Air Patrol > > 913.488.5392 > > FLCAP 218 > > wweiler at flwg.us > > > > ________________________________ > From: "DOUGLAS E. JESSMER, Lt Col, CAP CAP/PM" < djessmer at cap.gov> > > Sent: Sunday, August 10, 2014 7:56 PM > > To: "CAP Public Affairs Officers" < cap-pao at lists.sempervigilans.org> > > Subject: Re: [PAO] [Bulk] FW: New CAPP 201 - Public Affairs Officer Specialty Track > > > > All: > > I've been following this discussion with great interest, as it goes to the heart of how we communicate to pretty much every constituency. Fact is, emergency services is one of our three main missions. How can we be effective in telling the CAP story if we don't have some background in what's probably our highest-profile purpose? > > I don't believe every public affairs officer should need to be a public information officer. And they don't have to be, but those PAs who don't want the FEMA courses and the PIO qualification can stop with the technician level of the track. Those who want the PIO training but can't get to Emmitsburg can go as far as the senior level. I'm sure Emmitsburg is nice this time of year — it's got to be less muggy than it is here in Florida. And if you want the training and to climb the ladder of the specialty track and lay low on the ops side, that's up to you. CAP is, after all, a volunteer organization. > > But every PIO should be a PA. And every public affairs officer should at least have a 101 card and some PIO training. Not to have that is to neglect a very important part of what is CAP. We aren't a pure-play emergency services organization, but people know us for that, at least the ones who know us. (And that's another thing — many would-be "customers" for our ops folks still don't know who we are! We need to market ourselves better in that regard....) We aren't just a cadet-program organization. And public affairs officers are in the best position to explain the three sides of CAP — they're not "the ops side and everyone else," but rather, the emergency services, cadet program and aerospace education missions with which Congress chartered us back in the day (PLs 476 and 557). A good PA needs to be well-versed in all three components. > > The most important thing in PIO training for CAP members is to learn how to play well with other agencies. CAP's PIOs won't be the lead on any incident, but we still stand to get our message out, and we must have the discipline of messaging to "stay in our lane" and work as part of a greater system. If Deepwater Horizon didn't teach us that, I don't know what will. We need to be team players, all up and down the line. Squadron PAs play as vital a role in our missions as do wing PIOs and the national staff. > > There's not really much else I can say that hasn't been said. Yes, these are the requirements. If there's widespread issue, I imagine adjustments may be made (that's just me speaking from my experience, not saying anything official by any means). We still need to be realistic while we're stretching the field, after all. But what's most important is that we want our public affairs officers to be the best they can be, to be able to capably, competently and confidently tell our story, and to position CAP favorably in our populaces. > > > > DOUGLAS E. JESSMER, Lt Col, CAP > > National Marketing Officer > > > > COM: (727) 480-9606 > > Clearwater, Fla. > > > > CAUTION: This e-mail is intended only for the person or entity to which it is addressed and may contain information that is privileged or otherwise protected from disclosure. Do not disseminate this message without the sender's approval. If you received this message in error, please notify the sender by reply e-mail and delete all copies of this message. _______________________________________________ Subscribed Email Address: ssolomon at cap.gov CAP-PAO mailing list CAP-PAO at lists.sempervigilans.org http://lists.sempervigilans.org/mailman/listinfo/cap-pao _______________________________________________ Subscribed Email Address: ssolomon at cap.gov CAP-PAO mailing list CAP-PAO at lists.sempervigilans.org http://lists.sempervigilans.org/mailman/listinfo/cap-pao -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From jcarlson at flwg.us Tue Aug 12 14:20:50 2014 From: jcarlson at flwg.us (Jeff Carlson, Grp 5 HQ) Date: Tue, 12 Aug 2014 15:20:50 -0400 Subject: [PAO] [Bulk] Re: New CAPP 201 - E388 Message-ID: <06e601cfb662$877696e0$9663c4a0$@flwg.us> Tom, E388 is a valuable experience. Nestled at the foot of the northern Appalachian chain, the DHS National Emergency Training Center is located on the beautiful campus of a former Catholic college near the quaint village of Emittsburg, MD. If selected to attend, EMI offers you a travel allowance reimbursement and transfer service to/from the airport. There is no fee for the 4-day course. Lodging is available, cost depends on which agency you represent. As a Red Cross volunteer, my lodging was provided by EMI without charge. As I press my aging mind, I now recall that you are required to purchase an inexpensive meal ticket that offers three cafeteria-style meals per day for the duration of the course. There can be some other optional out-of-pocket expense involved; I elected to include an extra few days in DC to visit the museums, the class elected to go into town for an end-of-course evening meal, each class designs a polo shirt, the campus store has some neat items with the DHS logo. For more info, review the welcome package. http://www.fema.gov/media-library-data/20130726-1748-25045-6474/netc_welcome_package.pdf The course content is comprehensive and the facilitators are first rate. I was the only volunteer in my cohort, most candidates are paid staff from first response agencies and county EM or health personnel. The interaction in workgroups with members from various agencies was highly valuable. I learned nearly as much from my cohorts as the course content. The course included several exercises from the all too familiar Central City, Liberty County where every possible disaster seems to happen. The two course highlights for me were the press conference(s) and the JIC simulation. Information officers need to maintain a professional posture during a crisis. The tempo increases as the simulations progress which are designed to purposefully test the candidates limits. I would love to tell you more, but each graduate is sworn to secrecy. I hope it works out that you can attend. Try to schedule a layover in DC and take the evening Segway tour. Riding the Segway is a fun way to get an overview tour of the nation’s capital and the illuminated buildings and monuments are beautiful. Jeff From: Tom Traver [ mailto:tomt at theppigroup.com] Sent: Tuesday, August 12, 2014 11:41 AM To: Jeff Carlson, Grp 5 HQ Subject: FW: [PAO] [Bulk] Re: New CAPP 201 - Public Affairs Officer Specialty Track Thanks for your comments, Jeff. Things are happening that NEED TO HAPPEN. Sounds like you have been to EMI. What type of room and board expenses should we plan for? Are class attendees “billeted at no charge”on campus with meals on your own or is this a totally out of your pocket type of expense? Personally, I am looking forward to being able to attend the E388. Sounds like a real mind opener. Tom Traver From: cap-pao-bounces at lists.sempervigilans.org [ mailto:cap-pao-bounces at lists.sempervigilans.org] On Behalf Of Jeff Carlson, Grp 5 HQ Sent: Tuesday, August 12, 2014 8:32 AM To: 'CAP Public Affairs Officers' Subject: Re: [PAO] [Bulk] Re: New CAPP 201 - Public Affairs Officer Specialty Track Steven, Thanks for including your comments in the latest ‘unofficial’ rendition of a long-standing debate. Personally, I was pleased to see action finally being taken to update the P201 specialty track. Though, since 2010, my main point of contention has always been the absence of the P201 online exams; which are still suspiciously omitted from any NHQ/PA announcement or comment. Do you have a target date for release? I thank the working group and the national staff for their efforts to update the P201 specialty track. The results definitely look good on paper, though it is quickly becoming obvious that it is not a perfect answer. I read somewhere that NHQ/PA wanted to update this written guidance on a biennial basis. Considering how slowly the wheels turn, perhaps NHQ/PA should put together the next working group now to begin the process of revision so that the next version can be ready in a timely manner. I agree the E-388 course in Emmitsburg, MD is bargain-priced (free). Spending a week on the EMI campus near Camp David and the Gettysburg Memorial is an outstanding opportunity. I still question how easy it will be for CAP members to make it through the hand-selected admission process. Maybe at best, a couple of seats per year. Over the past nine years that I have been with CAP, I have witnessed numerous examples of edicts being issued from on high followed by a scramble to come up with an effective manner to get members in compliance. This lack of foresight is an irritant to the troops and many talented members leave because of the repeated folly caused by a deficiency in leadership’s vision. If a requirement is established, the programing needs to include corresponding support to assist the members in meeting the requirements. The token offer of G-289/G-290 at the national conference is a first step but is not sufficient to meet the needs of the organization. I believe much of the push-back about the new CAPP201 is because half of the equation is missing. The members have not been provided with a reasonable solution to meet the higher standards. It appears that a roadblock has been established rather than a pathway to a higher plane. High standards can be good and offer a measuring stick for progress. If we want a robust CAP public affairs/mission information program, we need to focus on growing the people. The attitude of “hey, this is what you get; you choose” is not transformational leadership. It lacks inspiration, it lacks vision. There is no doubt in my mind the solution will require effort on a region, wing, group, and squadron level. The role at the top is not just doing PA tasks for HQ, it also involves providing quality leadership for the subordinate unit personnel. No one said that life was easy at the top. Enjoy your time in Las Vegas! Jeff Carlson PAO/PIO Civil Air Patrol From: cap-pao-bounces at lists.sempervigilans.org [ mailto:cap-pao-bounces at lists.sempervigilans.org] On Behalf Of Steven Solomon Sent: Tuesday, August 12, 2014 9:43 AM To: CAP Public Affairs Officers Cc: Joseph A Guimond Jr; Salvador, John; Julie Debardelaben Subject: Re: [PAO] [Bulk] Re: New CAPP 201 - Public Affairs Officer Specialty Track I'm in Las Vegas now for the National PAO Academy being offered today and tomorrow, having just finished up two weeks as a Cadet Officer School flight instructor at Maxwell AFB Base. I see that there has been much discussion the last few days about the revised PAO Specialty Track released on July 25. I strongly urge that comments and suggestions go through the chain of command in order to be considered official, but I'd like to address the concerns that have been raised on this forum. It had been 14 years since the track was issued, so an update was long overdue. Many CAP PAOs, including SER PAO Jeff Carlson, were extremely anxious that the PA track be updated, especially because the A4/6 (formerly AFIADL and before that ECI) CAP Public Affairs Officer 02010 correspondence course was no longer available, had not been replaced, and was still required to satisfy the CAPP 201 Technician Rating (3d) requirement. So a National Level PA Working Group approved by the National CC, consisting of NATCAPWG PAO Lt Col Paul Cianciolo, ILWG PAO Lt Col Paul Hertel and RMR PAO Lt Col Al Nash, made recommendations that NHQ/PA Deputy Director of PA Julie Debardelaben, myself, and SWR PAO Lt Col Arthur Woodgate polished. Col Bryan Cooper, National Professional Development Officer, and Bobbie Tourville, NHQ Professional Development Chief, completed the project. As I privately told SDWG PAO Maj Bruce Kipp, who started the discussion on this list-serve, our thinking is that CAP PAOs/PIOs are being assigned to increasingly complex and challenging missions, often alongside other federal agencies, and need to be NIMS compliant like our counterparts because even though we are all volunteers and not paid, we need to be as professional as the professionals we are being deployed to work alongside. We offered G-289 yesterday here in Las Vegas before the two-day National PAO Academy, and are planning on offering G-290 next year. The registration fee for the E-388 course at the Emergency Management Institute in Emmitsburg, Md. is waived for CAP members, and transportation costs are also covered. So, taking E-388 is actually easier than taking Region or National Staff College, both of which are required for advancing through the CAP professional development process. In the end though, it is up to every CAP officer to decide what track and what level they pursue. I can't speak for whomever succeeds me in my national position someday, but I suspect that the requirements will only get harder as we continue to study and accept the public affairs strategies and tools constantly being developed. In my opinion, it's an ongoing process. Regards, Steven STEVEN SOLOMON, Lt Col, CAP National Public Affairs Officer Civil Air Patrol National Headquarters 105 South Hansell St., Building 714 Maxwell AFB AL 36112-5937 s solomon at cap.gov Cell: 240-505-6279 CAP Prop Logo 2012 small ... Citizens Serving Communities cid:image001.png at 01CE2BC7.1FAC87D0 cid:image002.png at 01CE2BC7.1FAC87D0 cid:image003.png at 01CE2BC7.1FAC87D0 On Tue, Aug 12, 2014 at 3:25 AM, lockit3 wrote: You have both stated the case well. This is why we must realize the PAO and PIO jobs ARE very different. Also, this is why the new FEMA course requirements should be part of moving through multi-level PIO ratings not PAO ratings. We have multi levels for GMT and not for PIO, yet we feel that PAO’s can do the PIO job. Thank you, Curtis “Wayne” Hooks 1st Lt. Civil Air Patrol FLWG Online Newsfeed Manager Group 1 Public Affairs Officer Group 1 Recruitment and Retention Officer Tallahassee Composite Squadron Ser FL-432 Public Affairs Officer Recruitment and Retention Officer From: cap-pao-bounces at lists.sempervigilans.org [mailto: cap-pao-bounces at lists.sempervigilans.org] On Behalf Of Alice Mansell Sent: Tuesday, August 12, 2014 4:21 AM To: wweiler at flwg.us; CAP Public Affairs Officers Subject: [Bulk] Re: [PAO] New CAPP 201 - Public Affairs Officer Specialty Track Wow, Bill! You articulated so many fabulous thoughts on the deeper issue. Absolutely agree with all you wrote, especially the need for different PIO ratings. I, also, have worked in JICs with military, federal agency, and state government information officers. Some random thoughts from those JICs: - The CAP golf shirt works there the best. Any white aviator shirt gets too many confused reactions and to wear the USAF style uniform, one must truly meet military weight and grooming standards to have rapport with any military personnel present who can be a daily shifting cast of people. - In JICs, once trusted by the lead informaton officer, a CAP member may end up doing as much work to get the word out for "other" agencies as our own, even for just internal CAP use. Whatever the incident commander thinks is the main messaging is more important than CAP ringing its own bell during a real mission or exercise with field operations. - It is truly fun to work in JICs..... but they can be a steep learning curve in situations where it might take 5+ hours for every agency-stuck-in-silos to approve press releases. CAP should be able to delegate "our" such approvals to regionally approved PIO3s who can train, mentor, and/or supervise PIO2s and PIO1s. I recall well how my Wing was one of the first to make sure only the most vetted and experienced mission coordinators (ICs now) were allowed to run real missing aircraft missions...and how it can take years to earn that duty assignment by consistently demonstrating quality skills in difficult situations. The days of a mission PIO being whatever warm body is willing to write a paragraph or talk to the press should stop. -Alice On Monday, August 11, 2014, Bill Weiler CAP < wweiler at flwg.us> wrote: > Some great ideas and valid complaints have been posted here, but we've danced around one of the real problems I see as an IC, PIO, and PAO. > > We have 3 levels of ICs, and with the diverse missions we conduct, 1 level of PIO just doesn't make sense to me. An IC3 can do ELT missions, SAREXs, and a multitude of small missions, but if it's a REDCAP or multi-agency mission an IC2 is required. A PAO with a little basic training can be PIO for a local SAREX or even a simple ELT mission, and learn a lot about 1/3 of CAP's mission while helping the local unit and team. The current PIO requirements are completely inadequate for a REDCAP or a Deepwater Horizon, and I spent weeks in the JIC at Mobile and Tallahassee for Deepwater. The only non-CAP classroom training for the current PIO is a local FEMA weekend course that shouldn't be too hard for any PAO/PIO candidate to attend, and it's a great networking opportunity with both the local media and ES community. Make the current basic PIO course a PIO 2 and make that the only PIO requirement for a PAO Master Rating with no additional FEMA training that most non-PIO PAOs don't need. A Master Rated PAO should understand the role of a PIO and what's entailed, but may not be well suited to ever serve as a PIO in a critical mission. The experience will help them help the PIO if needed and will help the local unit. > > With 40+ years experience in the ES community doing PAO/PIO work, gaining the trust and respect of other PIOs and ICs at a JIC is easy working side by side with them. Also being an IC helps. I've had a much more difficult time gaining the trust and authority I need for big missions from our own chain of command and organization - along with the AF. I can't say I blame them considering how elementary our PIO qualification currently is, and how many people with the qual are not ready for prime time. If we add the FEMA 200 and 300 PIO courses to a PIO 1 qualification, along with a few other requirements, we'll ensure that a PIO 1 can step into any mission without needing constant handholding, will truly know what can and cannot be said, and will be part of the JIC/IC team able to get the CAP story out real-time. > > Long before the term PIO was conceived, in 1969, I was the face for a multi-fatality snow slide, and I've done dozens of serious and fatal plane crashes since then with the sheriff and even FAA and NTSB asking me to be part of the media QA team. Now, when invited by the FEMA and USCG members of a JIC to be part of a media event I had to decline because the CAP chain required 48-72 hour advance notice and a review of what might be discussed before being authorized to be part of the event - that was called at the last minute. Maybe I've gotten that bad over the years, but I really think it's because we don't have an internal way of proving some PIOs are experienced enough and well trained enough to do their job unless they're personally known or micromanaged. > > Being a PIO is not some binary yes or no you can do it. It is something that takes considerable experience and training for the big jobs, but can easily be learned and mastered for the small missions. FEMA has multiple levels of PIO, so we should too. We need many more basic PIOs to help out, but we need a few Master Level PIOs just like FEMA has. We need more, not less, Master Rated PAOs that aren't discouraged from the task because of excessive PIO requirements they do not want to be directly involved in. > > > > Bill Weiler, Maj CAP > > Florida Wing Civil Air Patrol > > 913.488.5392 > > FLCAP 218 > > wweiler at flwg.us > > > > ________________________________ > From: "DOUGLAS E. JESSMER, Lt Col, CAP CAP/PM" < djessmer at cap.gov> > > Sent: Sunday, August 10, 2014 7:56 PM > > To: "CAP Public Affairs Officers" < cap-pao at lists.sempervigilans.org> > > Subject: Re: [PAO] [Bulk] FW: New CAPP 201 - Public Affairs Officer Specialty Track > > > > All: > > I've been following this discussion with great interest, as it goes to the heart of how we communicate to pretty much every constituency. Fact is, emergency services is one of our three main missions. How can we be effective in telling the CAP story if we don't have some background in what's probably our highest-profile purpose? > > I don't believe every public affairs officer should need to be a public information officer. And they don't have to be, but those PAs who don't want the FEMA courses and the PIO qualification can stop with the technician level of the track. Those who want the PIO training but can't get to Emmitsburg can go as far as the senior level. I'm sure Emmitsburg is nice this time of year — it's got to be less muggy than it is here in Florida. And if you want the training and to climb the ladder of the specialty track and lay low on the ops side, that's up to you. CAP is, after all, a volunteer organization. > > But every PIO should be a PA. And every public affairs officer should at least have a 101 card and some PIO training. Not to have that is to neglect a very important part of what is CAP. We aren't a pure-play emergency services organization, but people know us for that, at least the ones who know us. (And that's another thing — many would-be "customers" for our ops folks still don't know who we are! We need to market ourselves better in that regard....) We aren't just a cadet-program organization. And public affairs officers are in the best position to explain the three sides of CAP — they're not "the ops side and everyone else," but rather, the emergency services, cadet program and aerospace education missions with which Congress chartered us back in the day (PLs 476 and 557). A good PA needs to be well-versed in all three components. > > The most important thing in PIO training for CAP members is to learn how to play well with other agencies. CAP's PIOs won't be the lead on any incident, but we still stand to get our message out, and we must have the discipline of messaging to "stay in our lane" and work as part of a greater system. If Deepwater Horizon didn't teach us that, I don't know what will. We need to be team players, all up and down the line. Squadron PAs play as vital a role in our missions as do wing PIOs and the national staff. > > There's not really much else I can say that hasn't been said. Yes, these are the requirements. If there's widespread issue, I imagine adjustments may be made (that's just me speaking from my experience, not saying anything official by any means). We still need to be realistic while we're stretching the field, after all. But what's most important is that we want our public affairs officers to be the best they can be, to be able to capably, competently and confidently tell our story, and to position CAP favorably in our populaces. > > > > DOUGLAS E. JESSMER, Lt Col, CAP > > National Marketing Officer > > > > COM: (727) 480-9606 > > Clearwater, Fla. > > > > CAUTION: This e-mail is intended only for the person or entity to which it is addressed and may contain information that is privileged or otherwise protected from disclosure. Do not disseminate this message without the sender's approval. If you received this message in error, please notify the sender by reply e-mail and delete all copies of this message. _______________________________________________ Subscribed Email Address: ssolomon at cap.gov CAP-PAO mailing list CAP-PAO at lists.sempervigilans.org http://lists.sempervigilans.org/mailman/listinfo/cap-pao -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: image001.jpg Type: image/jpeg Size: 1370 bytes Desc: not available URL: -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: image002.png Type: image/png Size: 2110 bytes Desc: not available URL: -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: image003.png Type: image/png Size: 2324 bytes Desc: not available URL: -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: image004.png Type: image/png Size: 1566 bytes Desc: not available URL: From tomt at theppigroup.com Tue Aug 12 14:28:34 2014 From: tomt at theppigroup.com (Tom Traver) Date: Tue, 12 Aug 2014 19:28:34 +0000 Subject: [PAO] [Bulk] Re: New CAPP 201 - E388 In-Reply-To: <06e601cfb662$877696e0$9663c4a0$@flwg.us> References: <06e601cfb662$877696e0$9663c4a0$@flwg.us> Message-ID: Thanks for the info Jeff. This sounds like an incredible experience. Been to DC when I attended a national conference some years back. You are right, DC is an incredible experience and the subways are incredible As well. Cheers, Tom From: cap-pao-bounces at lists.sempervigilans.org [mailto:cap-pao-bounces at lists.sempervigilans.org] On Behalf Of Jeff Carlson, Grp 5 HQ Sent: Tuesday, August 12, 2014 12:21 PM To: 'CAP Public Affairs Officers' Subject: Re: [PAO] [Bulk] Re: New CAPP 201 - E388 Tom, E388 is a valuable experience. Nestled at the foot of the northern Appalachian chain, the DHS National Emergency Training Center is located on the beautiful campus of a former Catholic college near the quaint village of Emittsburg, MD. If selected to attend, EMI offers you a travel allowance reimbursement and transfer service to/from the airport. There is no fee for the 4-day course. Lodging is available, cost depends on which agency you represent. As a Red Cross volunteer, my lodging was provided by EMI without charge. As I press my aging mind, I now recall that you are required to purchase an inexpensive meal ticket that offers three cafeteria-style meals per day for the duration of the course. There can be some other optional out-of-pocket expense involved; I elected to include an extra few days in DC to visit the museums, the class elected to go into town for an end-of-course evening meal, each class designs a polo shirt, the campus store has some neat items with the DHS logo. For more info, review the welcome package. http://www.fema.gov/media-library-data/20130726-1748-25045-6474/netc_welcome_package.pdf The course content is comprehensive and the facilitators are first rate. I was the only volunteer in my cohort, most candidates are paid staff from first response agencies and county EM or health personnel. The interaction in workgroups with members from various agencies was highly valuable. I learned nearly as much from my cohorts as the course content. The course included several exercises from the all too familiar Central City, Liberty County where every possible disaster seems to happen. The two course highlights for me were the press conference(s) and the JIC simulation. Information officers need to maintain a professional posture during a crisis. The tempo increases as the simulations progress which are designed to purposefully test the candidates limits. I would love to tell you more, but each graduate is sworn to secrecy. I hope it works out that you can attend. Try to schedule a layover in DC and take the evening Segway tour. Riding the Segway is a fun way to get an overview tour of the nation’s capital and the illuminated buildings and monuments are beautiful. Jeff From: Tom Traver [mailto:tomt at theppigroup.com] Sent: Tuesday, August 12, 2014 11:41 AM To: Jeff Carlson, Grp 5 HQ Subject: FW: [PAO] [Bulk] Re: New CAPP 201 - Public Affairs Officer Specialty Track Thanks for your comments, Jeff. Things are happening that NEED TO HAPPEN. Sounds like you have been to EMI. What type of room and board expenses should we plan for? Are class attendees “billeted at no charge”on campus with meals on your own or is this a totally out of your pocket type of expense? Personally, I am looking forward to being able to attend the E388. Sounds like a real mind opener. Tom Traver From: cap-pao-bounces at lists.sempervigilans.org [mailto:cap-pao-bounces at lists.sempervigilans.org] On Behalf Of Jeff Carlson, Grp 5 HQ Sent: Tuesday, August 12, 2014 8:32 AM To: 'CAP Public Affairs Officers' Subject: Re: [PAO] [Bulk] Re: New CAPP 201 - Public Affairs Officer Specialty Track Steven, Thanks for including your comments in the latest ‘unofficial’ rendition of a long-standing debate. Personally, I was pleased to see action finally being taken to update the P201 specialty track. Though, since 2010, my main point of contention has always been the absence of the P201 online exams; which are still suspiciously omitted from any NHQ/PA announcement or comment. Do you have a target date for release? I thank the working group and the national staff for their efforts to update the P201 specialty track. The results definitely look good on paper, though it is quickly becoming obvious that it is not a perfect answer. I read somewhere that NHQ/PA wanted to update this written guidance on a biennial basis. Considering how slowly the wheels turn, perhaps NHQ/PA should put together the next working group now to begin the process of revision so that the next version can be ready in a timely manner. I agree the E-388 course in Emmitsburg, MD is bargain-priced (free). Spending a week on the EMI campus near Camp David and the Gettysburg Memorial is an outstanding opportunity. I still question how easy it will be for CAP members to make it through the hand-selected admission process. Maybe at best, a couple of seats per year. Over the past nine years that I have been with CAP, I have witnessed numerous examples of edicts being issued from on high followed by a scramble to come up with an effective manner to get members in compliance. This lack of foresight is an irritant to the troops and many talented members leave because of the repeated folly caused by a deficiency in leadership’s vision. If a requirement is established, the programing needs to include corresponding support to assist the members in meeting the requirements. The token offer of G-289/G-290 at the national conference is a first step but is not sufficient to meet the needs of the organization. I believe much of the push-back about the new CAPP201 is because half of the equation is missing. The members have not been provided with a reasonable solution to meet the higher standards. It appears that a roadblock has been established rather than a pathway to a higher plane. High standards can be good and offer a measuring stick for progress. If we want a robust CAP public affairs/mission information program, we need to focus on growing the people. The attitude of “hey, this is what you get; you choose” is not transformational leadership. It lacks inspiration, it lacks vision. There is no doubt in my mind the solution will require effort on a region, wing, group, and squadron level. The role at the top is not just doing PA tasks for HQ, it also involves providing quality leadership for the subordinate unit personnel. No one said that life was easy at the top. Enjoy your time in Las Vegas! Jeff Carlson PAO/PIO Civil Air Patrol From: cap-pao-bounces at lists.sempervigilans.org [mailto:cap-pao-bounces at lists.sempervigilans.org] On Behalf Of Steven Solomon Sent: Tuesday, August 12, 2014 9:43 AM To: CAP Public Affairs Officers Cc: Joseph A Guimond Jr; Salvador, John; Julie Debardelaben Subject: Re: [PAO] [Bulk] Re: New CAPP 201 - Public Affairs Officer Specialty Track I'm in Las Vegas now for the National PAO Academy being offered today and tomorrow, having just finished up two weeks as a Cadet Officer School flight instructor at Maxwell AFB Base. I see that there has been much discussion the last few days about the revised PAO Specialty Track released on July 25. I strongly urge that comments and suggestions go through the chain of command in order to be considered official, but I'd like to address the concerns that have been raised on this forum. It had been 14 years since the track was issued, so an update was long overdue. Many CAP PAOs, including SER PAO Jeff Carlson, were extremely anxious that the PA track be updated, especially because the A4/6 (formerly AFIADL and before that ECI) CAP Public Affairs Officer 02010 correspondence course was no longer available, had not been replaced, and was still required to satisfy the CAPP 201 Technician Rating (3d) requirement. So a National Level PA Working Group approved by the National CC, consisting of NATCAPWG PAO Lt Col Paul Cianciolo, ILWG PAO Lt Col Paul Hertel and RMR PAO Lt Col Al Nash, made recommendations that NHQ/PA Deputy Director of PA Julie Debardelaben, myself, and SWR PAO Lt Col Arthur Woodgate polished. Col Bryan Cooper, National Professional Development Officer, and Bobbie Tourville, NHQ Professional Development Chief, completed the project. As I privately told SDWG PAO Maj Bruce Kipp, who started the discussion on this list-serve, our thinking is that CAP PAOs/PIOs are being assigned to increasingly complex and challenging missions, often alongside other federal agencies, and need to be NIMS compliant like our counterparts because even though we are all volunteers and not paid, we need to be as professional as the professionals we are being deployed to work alongside. We offered G-289 yesterday here in Las Vegas before the two-day National PAO Academy, and are planning on offering G-290 next year. The registration fee for the E-388 course at the Emergency Management Institute in Emmitsburg, Md. is waived for CAP members, and transportation costs are also covered. So, taking E-388 is actually easier than taking Region or National Staff College, both of which are required for advancing through the CAP professional development process. In the end though, it is up to every CAP officer to decide what track and what level they pursue. I can't speak for whomever succeeds me in my national position someday, but I suspect that the requirements will only get harder as we continue to study and accept the public affairs strategies and tools constantly being developed. In my opinion, it's an ongoing process. Regards, Steven STEVEN SOLOMON, Lt Col, CAP National Public Affairs Officer Civil Air Patrol National Headquarters 105 South Hansell St., Building 714 Maxwell AFB AL 36112-5937 ssolomon at cap.gov Cell: 240-505-6279 [CAP Prop Logo 2012 small] ... Citizens Serving Communities [cid:image001.png at 01CE2BC7.1FAC87D0] [cid:image002.png at 01CE2BC7.1FAC87D0] [cid:image003.png at 01CE2BC7.1FAC87D0] On Tue, Aug 12, 2014 at 3:25 AM, lockit3 > wrote: You have both stated the case well. This is why we must realize the PAO and PIO jobs ARE very different. Also, this is why the new FEMA course requirements should be part of moving through multi-level PIO ratings not PAO ratings. We have multi levels for GMT and not for PIO, yet we feel that PAO’s can do the PIO job. Thank you, Curtis “Wayne” Hooks 1st Lt. Civil Air Patrol FLWG Online Newsfeed Manager Group 1 Public Affairs Officer Group 1 Recruitment and Retention Officer Tallahassee Composite Squadron Ser FL-432 Public Affairs Officer Recruitment and Retention Officer From: cap-pao-bounces at lists.sempervigilans.org [mailto:cap-pao-bounces at lists.sempervigilans.org] On Behalf Of Alice Mansell Sent: Tuesday, August 12, 2014 4:21 AM To: wweiler at flwg.us; CAP Public Affairs Officers Subject: [Bulk] Re: [PAO] New CAPP 201 - Public Affairs Officer Specialty Track Wow, Bill! You articulated so many fabulous thoughts on the deeper issue. Absolutely agree with all you wrote, especially the need for different PIO ratings. I, also, have worked in JICs with military, federal agency, and state government information officers. Some random thoughts from those JICs: - The CAP golf shirt works there the best. Any white aviator shirt gets too many confused reactions and to wear the USAF style uniform, one must truly meet military weight and grooming standards to have rapport with any military personnel present who can be a daily shifting cast of people. - In JICs, once trusted by the lead informaton officer, a CAP member may end up doing as much work to get the word out for "other" agencies as our own, even for just internal CAP use. Whatever the incident commander thinks is the main messaging is more important than CAP ringing its own bell during a real mission or exercise with field operations. - It is truly fun to work in JICs..... but they can be a steep learning curve in situations where it might take 5+ hours for every agency-stuck-in-silos to approve press releases. CAP should be able to delegate "our" such approvals to regionally approved PIO3s who can train, mentor, and/or supervise PIO2s and PIO1s. I recall well how my Wing was one of the first to make sure only the most vetted and experienced mission coordinators (ICs now) were allowed to run real missing aircraft missions...and how it can take years to earn that duty assignment by consistently demonstrating quality skills in difficult situations. The days of a mission PIO being whatever warm body is willing to write a paragraph or talk to the press should stop. -Alice On Monday, August 11, 2014, Bill Weiler CAP > wrote: > Some great ideas and valid complaints have been posted here, but we've danced around one of the real problems I see as an IC, PIO, and PAO. > > We have 3 levels of ICs, and with the diverse missions we conduct, 1 level of PIO just doesn't make sense to me. An IC3 can do ELT missions, SAREXs, and a multitude of small missions, but if it's a REDCAP or multi-agency mission an IC2 is required. A PAO with a little basic training can be PIO for a local SAREX or even a simple ELT mission, and learn a lot about 1/3 of CAP's mission while helping the local unit and team. The current PIO requirements are completely inadequate for a REDCAP or a Deepwater Horizon, and I spent weeks in the JIC at Mobile and Tallahassee for Deepwater. The only non-CAP classroom training for the current PIO is a local FEMA weekend course that shouldn't be too hard for any PAO/PIO candidate to attend, and it's a great networking opportunity with both the local media and ES community. Make the current basic PIO course a PIO 2 and make that the only PIO requirement for a PAO Master Rating with no additional FEMA training that most non-PIO PAOs don't need. A Master Rated PAO should understand the role of a PIO and what's entailed, but may not be well suited to ever serve as a PIO in a critical mission. The experience will help them help the PIO if needed and will help the local unit. > > With 40+ years experience in the ES community doing PAO/PIO work, gaining the trust and respect of other PIOs and ICs at a JIC is easy working side by side with them. Also being an IC helps. I've had a much more difficult time gaining the trust and authority I need for big missions from our own chain of command and organization - along with the AF. I can't say I blame them considering how elementary our PIO qualification currently is, and how many people with the qual are not ready for prime time. If we add the FEMA 200 and 300 PIO courses to a PIO 1 qualification, along with a few other requirements, we'll ensure that a PIO 1 can step into any mission without needing constant handholding, will truly know what can and cannot be said, and will be part of the JIC/IC team able to get the CAP story out real-time. > > Long before the term PIO was conceived, in 1969, I was the face for a multi-fatality snow slide, and I've done dozens of serious and fatal plane crashes since then with the sheriff and even FAA and NTSB asking me to be part of the media QA team. Now, when invited by the FEMA and USCG members of a JIC to be part of a media event I had to decline because the CAP chain required 48-72 hour advance notice and a review of what might be discussed before being authorized to be part of the event - that was called at the last minute. Maybe I've gotten that bad over the years, but I really think it's because we don't have an internal way of proving some PIOs are experienced enough and well trained enough to do their job unless they're personally known or micromanaged. > > Being a PIO is not some binary yes or no you can do it. It is something that takes considerable experience and training for the big jobs, but can easily be learned and mastered for the small missions. FEMA has multiple levels of PIO, so we should too. We need many more basic PIOs to help out, but we need a few Master Level PIOs just like FEMA has. We need more, not less, Master Rated PAOs that aren't discouraged from the task because of excessive PIO requirements they do not want to be directly involved in. > > > > Bill Weiler, Maj CAP > > Florida Wing Civil Air Patrol > > 913.488.5392 > > FLCAP 218 > > wweiler at flwg.us > > > > ________________________________ > From: "DOUGLAS E. JESSMER, Lt Col, CAP CAP/PM" > > > Sent: Sunday, August 10, 2014 7:56 PM > > To: "CAP Public Affairs Officers" > > > Subject: Re: [PAO] [Bulk] FW: New CAPP 201 - Public Affairs Officer Specialty Track > > > > All: > > I've been following this discussion with great interest, as it goes to the heart of how we communicate to pretty much every constituency. Fact is, emergency services is one of our three main missions. How can we be effective in telling the CAP story if we don't have some background in what's probably our highest-profile purpose? > > I don't believe every public affairs officer should need to be a public information officer. And they don't have to be, but those PAs who don't want the FEMA courses and the PIO qualification can stop with the technician level of the track. Those who want the PIO training but can't get to Emmitsburg can go as far as the senior level. I'm sure Emmitsburg is nice this time of year — it's got to be less muggy than it is here in Florida. And if you want the training and to climb the ladder of the specialty track and lay low on the ops side, that's up to you. CAP is, after all, a volunteer organization. > > But every PIO should be a PA. And every public affairs officer should at least have a 101 card and some PIO training. Not to have that is to neglect a very important part of what is CAP. We aren't a pure-play emergency services organization, but people know us for that, at least the ones who know us. (And that's another thing — many would-be "customers" for our ops folks still don't know who we are! We need to market ourselves better in that regard....) We aren't just a cadet-program organization. And public affairs officers are in the best position to explain the three sides of CAP — they're not "the ops side and everyone else," but rather, the emergency services, cadet program and aerospace education missions with which Congress chartered us back in the day (PLs 476 and 557). A good PA needs to be well-versed in all three components. > > The most important thing in PIO training for CAP members is to learn how to play well with other agencies. CAP's PIOs won't be the lead on any incident, but we still stand to get our message out, and we must have the discipline of messaging to "stay in our lane" and work as part of a greater system. If Deepwater Horizon didn't teach us that, I don't know what will. We need to be team players, all up and down the line. Squadron PAs play as vital a role in our missions as do wing PIOs and the national staff. > > There's not really much else I can say that hasn't been said. Yes, these are the requirements. If there's widespread issue, I imagine adjustments may be made (that's just me speaking from my experience, not saying anything official by any means). We still need to be realistic while we're stretching the field, after all. But what's most important is that we want our public affairs officers to be the best they can be, to be able to capably, competently and confidently tell our story, and to position CAP favorably in our populaces. > > > > DOUGLAS E. JESSMER, Lt Col, CAP > > National Marketing Officer > > > > COM: (727) 480-9606 > > Clearwater, Fla. > > > > CAUTION: This e-mail is intended only for the person or entity to which it is addressed and may contain information that is privileged or otherwise protected from disclosure. Do not disseminate this message without the sender's approval. If you received this message in error, please notify the sender by reply e-mail and delete all copies of this message. _______________________________________________ Subscribed Email Address: ssolomon at cap.gov CAP-PAO mailing list CAP-PAO at lists.sempervigilans.org http://lists.sempervigilans.org/mailman/listinfo/cap-pao -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: image001.jpg Type: image/jpeg Size: 1370 bytes Desc: image001.jpg URL: -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: image002.png Type: image/png Size: 2110 bytes Desc: image002.png URL: -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: image003.png Type: image/png Size: 2324 bytes Desc: image003.png URL: -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: image004.png Type: image/png Size: 1566 bytes Desc: image004.png URL: From djessmer at cap.gov Tue Aug 12 14:39:10 2014 From: djessmer at cap.gov (DOUGLAS E. JESSMER, Lt Col, CAP. CAP/PM) Date: Tue, 12 Aug 2014 15:39:10 -0400 Subject: [PAO] [Bulk] Re: New CAPP 201 - E388 In-Reply-To: References: <06e601cfb662$877696e0$9663c4a0$@flwg.us> Message-ID: Do we have a unit in Central City? If we don't, man, we need one there. We need to contact the Liberty County EMA. Sent from my iPhone via AT&T This message is confidential and intended only for the addressed recipients. Do not forward without permission from the sender (me). > On Aug 12, 2014, at 15:28, Tom Traver wrote: > > Thanks for the info Jeff. This sounds like an incredible experience. Been to DC when I attended a national conference some years back. You are right, DC is an incredible experience and the subways are incredible > As well. > > Cheers, > > Tom > > From: cap-pao-bounces at lists.sempervigilans.org [mailto:cap-pao-bounces at lists.sempervigilans.org] On Behalf Of Jeff Carlson, Grp 5 HQ > Sent: Tuesday, August 12, 2014 12:21 PM > To: 'CAP Public Affairs Officers' > Subject: Re: [PAO] [Bulk] Re: New CAPP 201 - E388 > > Tom, E388 is a valuable experience. > > Nestled at the foot of the northern Appalachian chain, the DHS National Emergency Training Center is located on the beautiful campus of a former Catholic college near the quaint village of Emittsburg, MD. > > If selected to attend, EMI offers you a travel allowance reimbursement and transfer service to/from the airport. There is no fee for the 4-day course. Lodging is available, cost depends on which agency you represent. As a Red Cross volunteer, my lodging was provided by EMI without charge. As I press my aging mind, I now recall that you are required to purchase an inexpensive meal ticket that offers three cafeteria-style meals per day for the duration of the course. There can be some other optional out-of-pocket expense involved; I elected to include an extra few days in DC to visit the museums, the class elected to go into town for an end-of-course evening meal, each class designs a polo shirt, the campus store has some neat items with the DHS logo. > > For more info, review the welcome package. http://www.fema.gov/media-library-data/20130726-1748-25045-6474/netc_welcome_package.pdf > > The course content is comprehensive and the facilitators are first rate. I was the only volunteer in my cohort, most candidates are paid staff from first response agencies and county EM or health personnel. The interaction in workgroups with members from various agencies was highly valuable. I learned nearly as much from my cohorts as the course content. > > The course included several exercises from the all too familiar Central City, Liberty County where every possible disaster seems to happen. The two course highlights for me were the press conference(s) and the JIC simulation. Information officers need to maintain a professional posture during a crisis. The tempo increases as the simulations progress which are designed to purposefully test the candidates limits. I would love to tell you more, but each graduate is sworn to secrecy. > > I hope it works out that you can attend. Try to schedule a layover in DC and take the evening Segway tour. Riding the Segway is a fun way to get an overview tour of the nation’s capital and the illuminated buildings and monuments are beautiful. > > Jeff > > From: Tom Traver [mailto:tomt at theppigroup.com] > Sent: Tuesday, August 12, 2014 11:41 AM > To: Jeff Carlson, Grp 5 HQ > Subject: FW: [PAO] [Bulk] Re: New CAPP 201 - Public Affairs Officer Specialty Track > > Thanks for your comments, Jeff. Things are happening that NEED TO HAPPEN. > Sounds like you have been to EMI. What type of room and board expenses should we plan for? > Are class attendees “billeted at no charge”on campus with meals on your own or is this a totally out of your pocket type of expense? Personally, I am looking forward to being able to attend the E388. Sounds like a real mind opener. > > Tom Traver > > > From: cap-pao-bounces at lists.sempervigilans.org [mailto:cap-pao-bounces at lists.sempervigilans.org] On Behalf Of Jeff Carlson, Grp 5 HQ > Sent: Tuesday, August 12, 2014 8:32 AM > To: 'CAP Public Affairs Officers' > Subject: Re: [PAO] [Bulk] Re: New CAPP 201 - Public Affairs Officer Specialty Track > > Steven, > Thanks for including your comments in the latest ‘unofficial’ rendition of a long-standing debate. > > Personally, I was pleased to see action finally being taken to update the P201 specialty track. Though, since 2010, my main point of contention has always been the absence of the P201 online exams; which are still suspiciously omitted from any NHQ/PA announcement or comment. Do you have a target date for release? > > I thank the working group and the national staff for their efforts to update the P201 specialty track. The results definitely look good on paper, though it is quickly becoming obvious that it is not a perfect answer. I read somewhere that NHQ/PA wanted to update this written guidance on a biennial basis. Considering how slowly the wheels turn, perhaps NHQ/PA should put together the next working group now to begin the process of revision so that the next version can be ready in a timely manner. > > I agree the E-388 course in Emmitsburg, MD is bargain-priced (free). Spending a week on the EMI campus near Camp David and the Gettysburg Memorial is an outstanding opportunity. I still question how easy it will be for CAP members to make it through the hand-selected admission process. Maybe at best, a couple of seats per year. > > Over the past nine years that I have been with CAP, I have witnessed numerous examples of edicts being issued from on high followed by a scramble to come up with an effective manner to get members in compliance. This lack of foresight is an irritant to the troops and many talented members leave because of the repeated folly caused by a deficiency in leadership’s vision. If a requirement is established, the programing needs to include corresponding support to assist the members in meeting the requirements. The token offer of G-289/G-290 at the national conference is a first step but is not sufficient to meet the needs of the organization. > > I believe much of the push-back about the new CAPP201 is because half of the equation is missing. The members have not been provided with a reasonable solution to meet the higher standards. It appears that a roadblock has been established rather than a pathway to a higher plane. > > High standards can be good and offer a measuring stick for progress. If we want a robust CAP public affairs/mission information program, we need to focus on growing the people. The attitude of “hey, this is what you get; you choose” is not transformational leadership. It lacks inspiration, it lacks vision. There is no doubt in my mind the solution will require effort on a region, wing, group, and squadron level. The role at the top is not just doing PA tasks for HQ, it also involves providing quality leadership for the subordinate unit personnel. No one said that life was easy at the top. > > Enjoy your time in Las Vegas! > > Jeff Carlson > PAO/PIO > Civil Air Patrol > > > From: cap-pao-bounces at lists.sempervigilans.org [mailto:cap-pao-bounces at lists.sempervigilans.org] On Behalf Of Steven Solomon > Sent: Tuesday, August 12, 2014 9:43 AM > To: CAP Public Affairs Officers > Cc: Joseph A Guimond Jr; Salvador, John; Julie Debardelaben > Subject: Re: [PAO] [Bulk] Re: New CAPP 201 - Public Affairs Officer Specialty Track > > I'm in Las Vegas now for the National PAO Academy being offered today and tomorrow, having just finished up two weeks as a Cadet Officer School flight instructor at Maxwell AFB Base. I see that there has been much discussion the last few days about the revised PAO Specialty Track released on July 25. I strongly urge that comments and suggestions go through the chain of command in order to be considered official, but I'd like to address the concerns that have been raised on this forum. > > It had been 14 years since the track was issued, so an update was long overdue. Many CAP PAOs, including SER PAO Jeff Carlson, were extremely anxious that the PA track be updated, especially because the A4/6 (formerly AFIADL and before that ECI) CAP Public Affairs Officer 02010 correspondence course was no longer available, had not been replaced, and was still required to satisfy the CAPP 201 Technician Rating (3d) requirement. > > So a National Level PA Working Group approved by the National CC, consisting of NATCAPWG PAO Lt Col Paul Cianciolo, ILWG PAO Lt Col Paul Hertel and RMR PAO Lt Col Al Nash, made recommendations that NHQ/PA Deputy Director of PA Julie Debardelaben, myself, and SWR PAO Lt Col Arthur Woodgate polished. Col Bryan Cooper, National Professional Development Officer, and Bobbie Tourville, NHQ Professional Development Chief, completed the project. > > As I privately told SDWG PAO Maj Bruce Kipp, who started the discussion on this list-serve, our thinking is that CAP PAOs/PIOs are being assigned to increasingly complex and challenging missions, often alongside other federal agencies, and need to be NIMS compliant like our counterparts because even though we are all volunteers and not paid, we need to be as professional as the professionals we are being deployed to work alongside. > > We offered G-289 yesterday here in Las Vegas before the two-day National PAO Academy, and are planning on offering G-290 next year. The registration fee for the E-388 course at the Emergency Management Institute in Emmitsburg, Md. is waived for CAP members, and transportation costs are also covered. So, taking E-388 is actually easier than taking Region or National Staff College, both of which are required for advancing through the CAP professional development process. > > In the end though, it is up to every CAP officer to decide what track and what level they pursue. I can't speak for whomever succeeds me in my national position someday, but I suspect that the requirements will only get harder as we continue to study and accept the public affairs strategies and tools constantly being developed. In my opinion, it's an ongoing process. > > Regards, > Steven > > > STEVEN SOLOMON, Lt Col, CAP > National Public Affairs Officer > Civil Air Patrol National Headquarters > 105 South Hansell St., Building 714 > Maxwell AFB AL 36112-5937 > ssolomon at cap.gov > Cell: 240-505-6279 > > > > ... Citizens Serving Communities > > > > > > > > > On Tue, Aug 12, 2014 at 3:25 AM, lockit3 wrote: > You have both stated the case well. This is why we must realize the PAO and PIO jobs ARE very different. Also, this is why the new FEMA course requirements should be part of moving through multi-level PIO ratings not PAO ratings. We have multi levels for GMT and not for PIO, yet we feel that PAO’s can do the PIO job. > > Thank you, > > > Curtis “Wayne” Hooks 1st Lt. > Civil Air Patrol > FLWG Online Newsfeed Manager > Group 1 Public Affairs Officer > Group 1 Recruitment and Retention Officer > Tallahassee Composite Squadron > Ser FL-432 > Public Affairs Officer > Recruitment and Retention Officer > > > > From: cap-pao-bounces at lists.sempervigilans.org [mailto:cap-pao-bounces at lists.sempervigilans.org] On Behalf Of Alice Mansell > Sent: Tuesday, August 12, 2014 4:21 AM > To: wweiler at flwg.us; CAP Public Affairs Officers > Subject: [Bulk] Re: [PAO] New CAPP 201 - Public Affairs Officer Specialty Track > > Wow, Bill! You articulated so many fabulous thoughts on the deeper issue. > > Absolutely agree with all you wrote, especially the need for different PIO ratings. I, also, have worked in JICs with military, federal agency, and state government information officers. Some random thoughts from those JICs: > > - The CAP golf shirt works there the best. Any white aviator shirt gets too many confused reactions and to wear the USAF style uniform, one must truly meet military weight and grooming standards to have rapport with any military personnel present who can be a daily shifting cast of people. > > - In JICs, once trusted by the lead informaton officer, a CAP member may end up doing as much work to get the word out for "other" agencies as our own, even for just internal CAP use. Whatever the incident commander thinks is the main messaging is more important than CAP ringing its own bell during a real mission or exercise with field operations. > > - It is truly fun to work in JICs..... but they can be a steep learning curve in situations where it might take 5+ hours for every agency-stuck-in-silos to approve press releases. CAP should be able to delegate "our" such approvals to regionally approved PIO3s who can train, mentor, and/or supervise PIO2s and PIO1s. > > I recall well how my Wing was one of the first to make sure only the most vetted and experienced mission coordinators (ICs now) were allowed to run real missing aircraft missions...and how it can take years to earn that duty assignment by consistently demonstrating quality skills in difficult situations. The days of a mission PIO being whatever warm body is willing to write a paragraph or talk to the press should stop. > > -Alice > > > > On Monday, August 11, 2014, Bill Weiler CAP wrote: > > Some great ideas and valid complaints have been posted here, but we've danced around one of the real problems I see as an IC, PIO, and PAO. > > > > We have 3 levels of ICs, and with the diverse missions we conduct, 1 level of PIO just doesn't make sense to me. An IC3 can do ELT missions, SAREXs, and a multitude of small missions, but if it's a REDCAP or multi-agency mission an IC2 is required. A PAO with a little basic training can be PIO for a local SAREX or even a simple ELT mission, and learn a lot about 1/3 of CAP's mission while helping the local unit and team. The current PIO requirements are completely inadequate for a REDCAP or a Deepwater Horizon, and I spent weeks in the JIC at Mobile and Tallahassee for Deepwater. The only non-CAP classroom training for the current PIO is a local FEMA weekend course that shouldn't be too hard for any PAO/PIO candidate to attend, and it's a great networking opportunity with both the local media and ES community. Make the current basic PIO course a PIO 2 and make that the only PIO requirement for a PAO Master Rating with no additional FEMA training that most non-PIO PAOs don't need. A Master Rated PAO should understand the role of a PIO and what's entailed, but may not be well suited to ever serve as a PIO in a critical mission. The experience will help them help the PIO if needed and will help the local unit. > > > > With 40+ years experience in the ES community doing PAO/PIO work, gaining the trust and respect of other PIOs and ICs at a JIC is easy working side by side with them. Also being an IC helps. I've had a much more difficult time gaining the trust and authority I need for big missions from our own chain of command and organization - along with the AF. I can't say I blame them considering how elementary our PIO qualification currently is, and how many people with the qual are not ready for prime time. If we add the FEMA 200 and 300 PIO courses to a PIO 1 qualification, along with a few other requirements, we'll ensure that a PIO 1 can step into any mission without needing constant handholding, will truly know what can and cannot be said, and will be part of the JIC/IC team able to get the CAP story out real-time. > > > > Long before the term PIO was conceived, in 1969, I was the face for a multi-fatality snow slide, and I've done dozens of serious and fatal plane crashes since then with the sheriff and even FAA and NTSB asking me to be part of the media QA team. Now, when invited by the FEMA and USCG members of a JIC to be part of a media event I had to decline because the CAP chain required 48-72 hour advance notice and a review of what might be discussed before being authorized to be part of the event - that was called at the last minute. Maybe I've gotten that bad over the years, but I really think it's because we don't have an internal way of proving some PIOs are experienced enough and well trained enough to do their job unless they're personally known or micromanaged. > > > > Being a PIO is not some binary yes or no you can do it. It is something that takes considerable experience and training for the big jobs, but can easily be learned and mastered for the small missions. FEMA has multiple levels of PIO, so we should too. We need many more basic PIOs to help out, but we need a few Master Level PIOs just like FEMA has. We need more, not less, Master Rated PAOs that aren't discouraged from the task because of excessive PIO requirements they do not want to be directly involved in. > > > > > > > > Bill Weiler, Maj CAP > > > > Florida Wing Civil Air Patrol > > > > 913.488.5392 > > > > FLCAP 218 > > > > wweiler at flwg.us > > > > > > > > ________________________________ > > From: "DOUGLAS E. JESSMER, Lt Col, CAP CAP/PM" > > > > Sent: Sunday, August 10, 2014 7:56 PM > > > > To: "CAP Public Affairs Officers" > > > > Subject: Re: [PAO] [Bulk] FW: New CAPP 201 - Public Affairs Officer Specialty Track > > > > > > > > All: > > > > I've been following this discussion with great interest, as it goes to the heart of how we communicate to pretty much every constituency. Fact is, emergency services is one of our three main missions. How can we be effective in telling the CAP story if we don't have some background in what's probably our highest-profile purpose? > > > > I don't believe every public affairs officer should need to be a public information officer. And they don't have to be, but those PAs who don't want the FEMA courses and the PIO qualification can stop with the technician level of the track. Those who want the PIO training but can't get to Emmitsburg can go as far as the senior level. I'm sure Emmitsburg is nice this time of year — it's got to be less muggy than it is here in Florida. And if you want the training and to climb the ladder of the specialty track and lay low on the ops side, that's up to you. CAP is, after all, a volunteer organization. > > > > But every PIO should be a PA. And every public affairs officer should at least have a 101 card and some PIO training. Not to have that is to neglect a very important part of what is CAP. We aren't a pure-play emergency services organization, but people know us for that, at least the ones who know us. (And that's another thing — many would-be "customers" for our ops folks still don't know who we are! We need to market ourselves better in that regard....) We aren't just a cadet-program organization. And public affairs officers are in the best position to explain the three sides of CAP — they're not "the ops side and everyone else," but rather, the emergency services, cadet program and aerospace education missions with which Congress chartered us back in the day (PLs 476 and 557). A good PA needs to be well-versed in all three components. > > > > The most important thing in PIO training for CAP members is to learn how to play well with other agencies. CAP's PIOs won't be the lead on any incident, but we still stand to get our message out, and we must have the discipline of messaging to "stay in our lane" and work as part of a greater system. If Deepwater Horizon didn't teach us that, I don't know what will. We need to be team players, all up and down the line. Squadron PAs play as vital a role in our missions as do wing PIOs and the national staff. > > > > There's not really much else I can say that hasn't been said. Yes, these are the requirements. If there's widespread issue, I imagine adjustments may be made (that's just me speaking from my experience, not saying anything official by any means). We still need to be realistic while we're stretching the field, after all. But what's most important is that we want our public affairs officers to be the best they can be, to be able to capably, competently and confidently tell our story, and to position CAP favorably in our populaces. > > > > > > > > DOUGLAS E. JESSMER, Lt Col, CAP > > > > National Marketing Officer > > > > > > > > COM: (727) 480-9606 > > > > Clearwater, Fla. > > > > > > > > CAUTION: This e-mail is intended only for the person or entity to which it is addressed and may contain information that is privileged or otherwise protected from disclosure. Do not disseminate this message without the sender's approval. If you received this message in error, please notify the sender by reply e-mail and delete all copies of this message. > > _______________________________________________ > Subscribed Email Address: ssolomon at cap.gov > CAP-PAO mailing list > CAP-PAO at lists.sempervigilans.org > http://lists.sempervigilans.org/mailman/listinfo/cap-pao > > > _______________________________________________ > Subscribed Email Address: djessmer at cap.gov > CAP-PAO mailing list > CAP-PAO at lists.sempervigilans.org > http://lists.sempervigilans.org/mailman/listinfo/cap-pao -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From jDebardelaben at capnhq.gov Tue Aug 12 12:47:31 2014 From: jDebardelaben at capnhq.gov (Debardelaben, Julie) Date: Tue, 12 Aug 2014 10:47:31 -0700 Subject: [PAO] [Bulk] Re: New CAPP 201 - Public Affairs Officer Specialty Track In-Reply-To: References: <002401cfb617$cfac43b0$6f04cb10$@att.net> Message-ID: <6F5B39E1-8CAF-47AE-94E0-49A2AA607338@capnhq.gov> I concur with this response. Sent from my iPhone > On Aug 12, 2014, at 6:42 AM, "Steven Solomon" wrote: > > I'm in Las Vegas now for the National PAO Academy being offered today and tomorrow, having just finished up two weeks as a Cadet Officer School flight instructor at Maxwell AFB Base. I see that there has been much discussion the last few days about the revised PAO Specialty Track released on July 25. I strongly urge that comments and suggestions go through the chain of command in order to be considered official, but I'd like to address the concerns that have been raised on this forum. > > It had been 14 years since the track was issued, so an update was long overdue. Many CAP PAOs, including SER PAO Jeff Carlson, were extremely anxious that the PA track be updated, especially because the A4/6 (formerly AFIADL and before that ECI) CAP Public Affairs Officer 02010 correspondence course was no longer available, had not been replaced, and was still required to satisfy the CAPP 201 Technician Rating (3d) requirement. > > So a National Level PA Working Group approved by the National CC, consisting of NATCAPWG PAO Lt Col Paul Cianciolo, ILWG PAO Lt Col Paul Hertel and RMR PAO Lt Col Al Nash, made recommendations that NHQ/PA Deputy Director of PA Julie Debardelaben, myself, and SWR PAO Lt Col Arthur Woodgate polished. Col Bryan Cooper, National Professional Development Officer, and Bobbie Tourville, NHQ Professional Development Chief, completed the project. > > As I privately told SDWG PAO Maj Bruce Kipp, who started the discussion on this list-serve, our thinking is that CAP PAOs/PIOs are being assigned to increasingly complex and challenging missions, often alongside other federal agencies, and need to be NIMS compliant like our counterparts because even though we are all volunteers and not paid, we need to be as professional as the professionals we are being deployed to work alongside. > > We offered G-289 yesterday here in Las Vegas before the two-day National PAO Academy, and are planning on offering G-290 next year. The registration fee for the E-388 course at the Emergency Management Institute in Emmitsburg, Md. is waived for CAP members, and transportation costs are also covered. So, taking E-388 is actually easier than taking Region or National Staff College, both of which are required for advancing through the CAP professional development process. > > In the end though, it is up to every CAP officer to decide what track and what level they pursue. I can't speak for whomever succeeds me in my national position someday, but I suspect that the requirements will only get harder as we continue to study and accept the public affairs strategies and tools constantly being developed. In my opinion, it's an ongoing process. > > Regards, > Steven > > > STEVEN SOLOMON, Lt Col, CAP > National Public Affairs Officer > Civil Air Patrol National Headquarters > 105 South Hansell St., Building 714 > Maxwell AFB AL 36112-5937 > ssolomon at cap.gov > Cell: 240-505-6279 > > > > ... Citizens Serving Communities > > > > > > > > > >> On Tue, Aug 12, 2014 at 3:25 AM, lockit3 wrote: >> You have both stated the case well. This is why we must realize the PAO and PIO jobs ARE very different. Also, this is why the new FEMA course requirements should be part of moving through multi-level PIO ratings not PAO ratings. We have multi levels for GMT and not for PIO, yet we feel that PAO’s can do the PIO job. >> >> >> >> Thank you, >> >> >> >> >> >> Curtis “Wayne” Hooks 1st Lt. >> >> Civil Air Patrol >> >> FLWG Online Newsfeed Manager >> >> Group 1 Public Affairs Officer >> >> Group 1 Recruitment and Retention Officer >> >> Tallahassee Composite Squadron >> >> Ser FL-432 >> >> Public Affairs Officer >> >> Recruitment and Retention Officer >> >> >> >> >> >> >> >> From: cap-pao-bounces at lists.sempervigilans.org [mailto:cap-pao-bounces at lists.sempervigilans.org] On Behalf Of Alice Mansell >> Sent: Tuesday, August 12, 2014 4:21 AM >> To: wweiler at flwg.us; CAP Public Affairs Officers >> Subject: [Bulk] Re: [PAO] New CAPP 201 - Public Affairs Officer Specialty Track >> >> >> >> Wow, Bill! You articulated so many fabulous thoughts on the deeper issue. >> >> Absolutely agree with all you wrote, especially the need for different PIO ratings. I, also, have worked in JICs with military, federal agency, and state government information officers. Some random thoughts from those JICs: >> >> - The CAP golf shirt works there the best. Any white aviator shirt gets too many confused reactions and to wear the USAF style uniform, one must truly meet military weight and grooming standards to have rapport with any military personnel present who can be a daily shifting cast of people. >> >> - In JICs, once trusted by the lead informaton officer, a CAP member may end up doing as much work to get the word out for "other" agencies as our own, even for just internal CAP use. Whatever the incident commander thinks is the main messaging is more important than CAP ringing its own bell during a real mission or exercise with field operations. >> >> - It is truly fun to work in JICs..... but they can be a steep learning curve in situations where it might take 5+ hours for every agency-stuck-in-silos to approve press releases. CAP should be able to delegate "our" such approvals to regionally approved PIO3s who can train, mentor, and/or supervise PIO2s and PIO1s. >> >> I recall well how my Wing was one of the first to make sure only the most vetted and experienced mission coordinators (ICs now) were allowed to run real missing aircraft missions...and how it can take years to earn that duty assignment by consistently demonstrating quality skills in difficult situations. The days of a mission PIO being whatever warm body is willing to write a paragraph or talk to the press should stop. >> >> -Alice >> >> >> >> On Monday, August 11, 2014, Bill Weiler CAP wrote: >> > Some great ideas and valid complaints have been posted here, but we've danced around one of the real problems I see as an IC, PIO, and PAO. >> > >> > We have 3 levels of ICs, and with the diverse missions we conduct, 1 level of PIO just doesn't make sense to me. An IC3 can do ELT missions, SAREXs, and a multitude of small missions, but if it's a REDCAP or multi-agency mission an IC2 is required. A PAO with a little basic training can be PIO for a local SAREX or even a simple ELT mission, and learn a lot about 1/3 of CAP's mission while helping the local unit and team. The current PIO requirements are completely inadequate for a REDCAP or a Deepwater Horizon, and I spent weeks in the JIC at Mobile and Tallahassee for Deepwater. The only non-CAP classroom training for the current PIO is a local FEMA weekend course that shouldn't be too hard for any PAO/PIO candidate to attend, and it's a great networking opportunity with both the local media and ES community. Make the current basic PIO course a PIO 2 and make that the only PIO requirement for a PAO Master Rating with no additional FEMA training that most non-PIO PAOs don't need. A Master Rated PAO should understand the role of a PIO and what's entailed, but may not be well suited to ever serve as a PIO in a critical mission. The experience will help them help the PIO if needed and will help the local unit. >> > >> > With 40+ years experience in the ES community doing PAO/PIO work, gaining the trust and respect of other PIOs and ICs at a JIC is easy working side by side with them. Also being an IC helps. I've had a much more difficult time gaining the trust and authority I need for big missions from our own chain of command and organization - along with the AF. I can't say I blame them considering how elementary our PIO qualification currently is, and how many people with the qual are not ready for prime time. If we add the FEMA 200 and 300 PIO courses to a PIO 1 qualification, along with a few other requirements, we'll ensure that a PIO 1 can step into any mission without needing constant handholding, will truly know what can and cannot be said, and will be part of the JIC/IC team able to get the CAP story out real-time. >> > >> > Long before the term PIO was conceived, in 1969, I was the face for a multi-fatality snow slide, and I've done dozens of serious and fatal plane crashes since then with the sheriff and even FAA and NTSB asking me to be part of the media QA team. Now, when invited by the FEMA and USCG members of a JIC to be part of a media event I had to decline because the CAP chain required 48-72 hour advance notice and a review of what might be discussed before being authorized to be part of the event - that was called at the last minute. Maybe I've gotten that bad over the years, but I really think it's because we don't have an internal way of proving some PIOs are experienced enough and well trained enough to do their job unless they're personally known or micromanaged. >> > >> > Being a PIO is not some binary yes or no you can do it. It is something that takes considerable experience and training for the big jobs, but can easily be learned and mastered for the small missions. FEMA has multiple levels of PIO, so we should too. We need many more basic PIOs to help out, but we need a few Master Level PIOs just like FEMA has. We need more, not less, Master Rated PAOs that aren't discouraged from the task because of excessive PIO requirements they do not want to be directly involved in. >> > >> > >> > >> > Bill Weiler, Maj CAP >> > >> > Florida Wing Civil Air Patrol >> > >> > 913.488.5392 >> > >> > FLCAP 218 >> > >> > wweiler at flwg.us >> > >> > >> > >> > ________________________________ >> > From: "DOUGLAS E. JESSMER, Lt Col, CAP CAP/PM" >> > >> > Sent: Sunday, August 10, 2014 7:56 PM >> > >> > To: "CAP Public Affairs Officers" >> > >> > Subject: Re: [PAO] [Bulk] FW: New CAPP 201 - Public Affairs Officer Specialty Track >> > >> > >> > >> > All: >> > >> > I've been following this discussion with great interest, as it goes to the heart of how we communicate to pretty much every constituency. Fact is, emergency services is one of our three main missions. How can we be effective in telling the CAP story if we don't have some background in what's probably our highest-profile purpose? >> > >> > I don't believe every public affairs officer should need to be a public information officer. And they don't have to be, but those PAs who don't want the FEMA courses and the PIO qualification can stop with the technician level of the track. Those who want the PIO training but can't get to Emmitsburg can go as far as the senior level. I'm sure Emmitsburg is nice this time of year — it's got to be less muggy than it is here in Florida. And if you want the training and to climb the ladder of the specialty track and lay low on the ops side, that's up to you. CAP is, after all, a volunteer organization. >> > >> > But every PIO should be a PA. And every public affairs officer should at least have a 101 card and some PIO training. Not to have that is to neglect a very important part of what is CAP. We aren't a pure-play emergency services organization, but people know us for that, at least the ones who know us. (And that's another thing — many would-be "customers" for our ops folks still don't know who we are! We need to market ourselves better in that regard....) We aren't just a cadet-program organization. And public affairs officers are in the best position to explain the three sides of CAP — they're not "the ops side and everyone else," but rather, the emergency services, cadet program and aerospace education missions with which Congress chartered us back in the day (PLs 476 and 557). A good PA needs to be well-versed in all three components. >> > >> > The most important thing in PIO training for CAP members is to learn how to play well with other agencies. CAP's PIOs won't be the lead on any incident, but we still stand to get our message out, and we must have the discipline of messaging to "stay in our lane" and work as part of a greater system. If Deepwater Horizon didn't teach us that, I don't know what will. We need to be team players, all up and down the line. Squadron PAs play as vital a role in our missions as do wing PIOs and the national staff. >> > >> > There's not really much else I can say that hasn't been said. Yes, these are the requirements. If there's widespread issue, I imagine adjustments may be made (that's just me speaking from my experience, not saying anything official by any means). We still need to be realistic while we're stretching the field, after all. But what's most important is that we want our public affairs officers to be the best they can be, to be able to capably, competently and confidently tell our story, and to position CAP favorably in our populaces. >> > >> > >> > >> > DOUGLAS E. JESSMER, Lt Col, CAP >> > >> > National Marketing Officer >> > >> > >> > >> > COM: (727) 480-9606 >> > >> > Clearwater, Fla. >> > >> > >> > >> > CAUTION: This e-mail is intended only for the person or entity to which it is addressed and may contain information that is privileged or otherwise protected from disclosure. Do not disseminate this message without the sender's approval. If you received this message in error, please notify the sender by reply e-mail and delete all copies of this message. >> >> >> _______________________________________________ >> Subscribed Email Address: ssolomon at cap.gov >> CAP-PAO mailing list >> CAP-PAO at lists.sempervigilans.org >> http://lists.sempervigilans.org/mailman/listinfo/cap-pao > -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From barth7394 at comcast.net Tue Aug 12 21:14:06 2014 From: barth7394 at comcast.net (Doug Barth) Date: Tue, 12 Aug 2014 22:14:06 -0400 Subject: [PAO] [Bulk] Re: New CAPP 201 - Public Affairs Officer Specialty Track In-Reply-To: References: <002401cfb617$cfac43b0$6f04cb10$@att.net> Message-ID: <2DC046BD-4336-4C05-83B3-690E66C197D6@comcast.net> Lt Col Solomon, Would you please clarify the correct chain of command for submitting comments? Could you provide an msword version of CAPP 201 so we could use track changes/comments? Thank you Major Doug Barth, CAP Group 2 MDWG Sent from my iPad > On Aug 12, 2014, at 9:43 AM, Steven Solomon wrote: > > I'm in Las Vegas now for the National PAO Academy being offered today and tomorrow, having just finished up two weeks as a Cadet Officer School flight instructor at Maxwell AFB Base. I see that there has been much discussion the last few days about the revised PAO Specialty Track released on July 25. I strongly urge that comments and suggestions go through the chain of command in order to be considered official, but I'd like to address the concerns that have been raised on this forum. > > It had been 14 years since the track was issued, so an update was long overdue. Many CAP PAOs, including SER PAO Jeff Carlson, were extremely anxious that the PA track be updated, especially because the A4/6 (formerly AFIADL and before that ECI) CAP Public Affairs Officer 02010 correspondence course was no longer available, had not been replaced, and was still required to satisfy the CAPP 201 Technician Rating (3d) requirement. > > So a National Level PA Working Group approved by the National CC, consisting of NATCAPWG PAO Lt Col Paul Cianciolo, ILWG PAO Lt Col Paul Hertel and RMR PAO Lt Col Al Nash, made recommendations that NHQ/PA Deputy Director of PA Julie Debardelaben, myself, and SWR PAO Lt Col Arthur Woodgate polished. Col Bryan Cooper, National Professional Development Officer, and Bobbie Tourville, NHQ Professional Development Chief, completed the project. > > As I privately told SDWG PAO Maj Bruce Kipp, who started the discussion on this list-serve, our thinking is that CAP PAOs/PIOs are being assigned to increasingly complex and challenging missions, often alongside other federal agencies, and need to be NIMS compliant like our counterparts because even though we are all volunteers and not paid, we need to be as professional as the professionals we are being deployed to work alongside. > > We offered G-289 yesterday here in Las Vegas before the two-day National PAO Academy, and are planning on offering G-290 next year. The registration fee for the E-388 course at the Emergency Management Institute in Emmitsburg, Md. is waived for CAP members, and transportation costs are also covered. So, taking E-388 is actually easier than taking Region or National Staff College, both of which are required for advancing through the CAP professional development process. > > In the end though, it is up to every CAP officer to decide what track and what level they pursue. I can't speak for whomever succeeds me in my national position someday, but I suspect that the requirements will only get harder as we continue to study and accept the public affairs strategies and tools constantly being developed. In my opinion, it's an ongoing process. > > Regards, > Steven > > > STEVEN SOLOMON, Lt Col, CAP > National Public Affairs Officer > Civil Air Patrol National Headquarters > 105 South Hansell St., Building 714 > Maxwell AFB AL 36112-5937 > ssolomon at cap.gov > Cell: 240-505-6279 > > > > ... Citizens Serving Communities > > > > > > > > > >> On Tue, Aug 12, 2014 at 3:25 AM, lockit3 wrote: >> You have both stated the case well. This is why we must realize the PAO and PIO jobs ARE very different. Also, this is why the new FEMA course requirements should be part of moving through multi-level PIO ratings not PAO ratings. We have multi levels for GMT and not for PIO, yet we feel that PAO’s can do the PIO job. >> >> >> >> Thank you, >> >> >> >> >> >> Curtis “Wayne” Hooks 1st Lt. >> >> Civil Air Patrol >> >> FLWG Online Newsfeed Manager >> >> Group 1 Public Affairs Officer >> >> Group 1 Recruitment and Retention Officer >> >> Tallahassee Composite Squadron >> >> Ser FL-432 >> >> Public Affairs Officer >> >> Recruitment and Retention Officer >> >> >> >> >> >> >> >> From: cap-pao-bounces at lists.sempervigilans.org [mailto:cap-pao-bounces at lists.sempervigilans.org] On Behalf Of Alice Mansell >> Sent: Tuesday, August 12, 2014 4:21 AM >> To: wweiler at flwg.us; CAP Public Affairs Officers >> Subject: [Bulk] Re: [PAO] New CAPP 201 - Public Affairs Officer Specialty Track >> >> >> >> Wow, Bill! You articulated so many fabulous thoughts on the deeper issue. >> >> Absolutely agree with all you wrote, especially the need for different PIO ratings. I, also, have worked in JICs with military, federal agency, and state government information officers. Some random thoughts from those JICs: >> >> - The CAP golf shirt works there the best. Any white aviator shirt gets too many confused reactions and to wear the USAF style uniform, one must truly meet military weight and grooming standards to have rapport with any military personnel present who can be a daily shifting cast of people. >> >> - In JICs, once trusted by the lead informaton officer, a CAP member may end up doing as much work to get the word out for "other" agencies as our own, even for just internal CAP use. Whatever the incident commander thinks is the main messaging is more important than CAP ringing its own bell during a real mission or exercise with field operations. >> >> - It is truly fun to work in JICs..... but they can be a steep learning curve in situations where it might take 5+ hours for every agency-stuck-in-silos to approve press releases. CAP should be able to delegate "our" such approvals to regionally approved PIO3s who can train, mentor, and/or supervise PIO2s and PIO1s. >> >> I recall well how my Wing was one of the first to make sure only the most vetted and experienced mission coordinators (ICs now) were allowed to run real missing aircraft missions...and how it can take years to earn that duty assignment by consistently demonstrating quality skills in difficult situations. The days of a mission PIO being whatever warm body is willing to write a paragraph or talk to the press should stop. >> >> -Alice >> >> >> >> On Monday, August 11, 2014, Bill Weiler CAP wrote: >> > Some great ideas and valid complaints have been posted here, but we've danced around one of the real problems I see as an IC, PIO, and PAO. >> > >> > We have 3 levels of ICs, and with the diverse missions we conduct, 1 level of PIO just doesn't make sense to me. An IC3 can do ELT missions, SAREXs, and a multitude of small missions, but if it's a REDCAP or multi-agency mission an IC2 is required. A PAO with a little basic training can be PIO for a local SAREX or even a simple ELT mission, and learn a lot about 1/3 of CAP's mission while helping the local unit and team. The current PIO requirements are completely inadequate for a REDCAP or a Deepwater Horizon, and I spent weeks in the JIC at Mobile and Tallahassee for Deepwater. The only non-CAP classroom training for the current PIO is a local FEMA weekend course that shouldn't be too hard for any PAO/PIO candidate to attend, and it's a great networking opportunity with both the local media and ES community. Make the current basic PIO course a PIO 2 and make that the only PIO requirement for a PAO Master Rating with no additional FEMA training that most non-PIO PAOs don't need. A Master Rated PAO should understand the role of a PIO and what's entailed, but may not be well suited to ever serve as a PIO in a critical mission. The experience will help them help the PIO if needed and will help the local unit. >> > >> > With 40+ years experience in the ES community doing PAO/PIO work, gaining the trust and respect of other PIOs and ICs at a JIC is easy working side by side with them. Also being an IC helps. I've had a much more difficult time gaining the trust and authority I need for big missions from our own chain of command and organization - along with the AF. I can't say I blame them considering how elementary our PIO qualification currently is, and how many people with the qual are not ready for prime time. If we add the FEMA 200 and 300 PIO courses to a PIO 1 qualification, along with a few other requirements, we'll ensure that a PIO 1 can step into any mission without needing constant handholding, will truly know what can and cannot be said, and will be part of the JIC/IC team able to get the CAP story out real-time. >> > >> > Long before the term PIO was conceived, in 1969, I was the face for a multi-fatality snow slide, and I've done dozens of serious and fatal plane crashes since then with the sheriff and even FAA and NTSB asking me to be part of the media QA team. Now, when invited by the FEMA and USCG members of a JIC to be part of a media event I had to decline because the CAP chain required 48-72 hour advance notice and a review of what might be discussed before being authorized to be part of the event - that was called at the last minute. Maybe I've gotten that bad over the years, but I really think it's because we don't have an internal way of proving some PIOs are experienced enough and well trained enough to do their job unless they're personally known or micromanaged. >> > >> > Being a PIO is not some binary yes or no you can do it. It is something that takes considerable experience and training for the big jobs, but can easily be learned and mastered for the small missions. FEMA has multiple levels of PIO, so we should too. We need many more basic PIOs to help out, but we need a few Master Level PIOs just like FEMA has. We need more, not less, Master Rated PAOs that aren't discouraged from the task because of excessive PIO requirements they do not want to be directly involved in. >> > >> > >> > >> > Bill Weiler, Maj CAP >> > >> > Florida Wing Civil Air Patrol >> > >> > 913.488.5392 >> > >> > FLCAP 218 >> > >> > wweiler at flwg.us >> > >> > >> > >> > ________________________________ >> > From: "DOUGLAS E. JESSMER, Lt Col, CAP CAP/PM" >> > >> > Sent: Sunday, August 10, 2014 7:56 PM >> > >> > To: "CAP Public Affairs Officers" >> > >> > Subject: Re: [PAO] [Bulk] FW: New CAPP 201 - Public Affairs Officer Specialty Track >> > >> > >> > >> > All: >> > >> > I've been following this discussion with great interest, as it goes to the heart of how we communicate to pretty much every constituency. Fact is, emergency services is one of our three main missions. How can we be effective in telling the CAP story if we don't have some background in what's probably our highest-profile purpose? >> > >> > I don't believe every public affairs officer should need to be a public information officer. And they don't have to be, but those PAs who don't want the FEMA courses and the PIO qualification can stop with the technician level of the track. Those who want the PIO training but can't get to Emmitsburg can go as far as the senior level. I'm sure Emmitsburg is nice this time of year — it's got to be less muggy than it is here in Florida. And if you want the training and to climb the ladder of the specialty track and lay low on the ops side, that's up to you. CAP is, after all, a volunteer organization. >> > >> > But every PIO should be a PA. And every public affairs officer should at least have a 101 card and some PIO training. Not to have that is to neglect a very important part of what is CAP. We aren't a pure-play emergency services organization, but people know us for that, at least the ones who know us. (And that's another thing — many would-be "customers" for our ops folks still don't know who we are! We need to market ourselves better in that regard....) We aren't just a cadet-program organization. And public affairs officers are in the best position to explain the three sides of CAP — they're not "the ops side and everyone else," but rather, the emergency services, cadet program and aerospace education missions with which Congress chartered us back in the day (PLs 476 and 557). A good PA needs to be well-versed in all three components. >> > >> > The most important thing in PIO training for CAP members is to learn how to play well with other agencies. CAP's PIOs won't be the lead on any incident, but we still stand to get our message out, and we must have the discipline of messaging to "stay in our lane" and work as part of a greater system. If Deepwater Horizon didn't teach us that, I don't know what will. We need to be team players, all up and down the line. Squadron PAs play as vital a role in our missions as do wing PIOs and the national staff. >> > >> > There's not really much else I can say that hasn't been said. Yes, these are the requirements. If there's widespread issue, I imagine adjustments may be made (that's just me speaking from my experience, not saying anything official by any means). We still need to be realistic while we're stretching the field, after all. But what's most important is that we want our public affairs officers to be the best they can be, to be able to capably, competently and confidently tell our story, and to position CAP favorably in our populaces. >> > >> > >> > >> > DOUGLAS E. JESSMER, Lt Col, CAP >> > >> > National Marketing Officer >> > >> > >> > >> > COM: (727) 480-9606 >> > >> > Clearwater, Fla. >> > >> > >> > >> > CAUTION: This e-mail is intended only for the person or entity to which it is addressed and may contain information that is privileged or otherwise protected from disclosure. Do not disseminate this message without the sender's approval. If you received this message in error, please notify the sender by reply e-mail and delete all copies of this message. >> >> >> _______________________________________________ >> Subscribed Email Address: ssolomon at cap.gov >> CAP-PAO mailing list >> CAP-PAO at lists.sempervigilans.org >> http://lists.sempervigilans.org/mailman/listinfo/cap-pao > > _______________________________________________ > Subscribed Email Address: barth7394 at comcast.net > CAP-PAO mailing list > CAP-PAO at lists.sempervigilans.org > http://lists.sempervigilans.org/mailman/listinfo/cap-pao -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From djessmer at cap.gov Tue Aug 12 23:17:00 2014 From: djessmer at cap.gov (DOUGLAS E. JESSMER, Lt Col, CAP CAP/PM) Date: Wed, 13 Aug 2014 00:17:00 -0400 Subject: [PAO] [Bulk] Re: New CAPP 201 - Public Affairs Officer Specialty Track In-Reply-To: References: <002401cfb617$cfac43b0$6f04cb10$@att.net> Message-ID: All: Obviously, I'm still following this thread, and with the frequency of responses, it's certainly gotten people's attention. In defense of the new FEMA course requirement in CAPP 201 — and for whatever reason, no one's mentioned this yet (why not? this is a selling point!) — the E-388 course is scheduled once almost every month up at Emmitsburg. (I just looked at the schedule through the first quarter of 2015.) Yes, there's obviously national demand for this course if they're doing it so often, but those who've gone up there can speak to the ease of getting in and the benefit derived therefrom. It's possible that some of the concern about the requirement is fear of the unknown. Perhaps some of the folks on this email list who have done E-388 should indeed speak to the application/selection process, the overall experience and the benefits derived. The group who rewrote the CAPP 201 requirements (and kudos to them, since the book sorely needed to be redone) obviously had a reason for including the course. I don't think it's entirely unreasonable, given the environment in which we volunteer these days, that a master PA/PIO candidate should take this course. Again, folks, as a public affairs officer, the expectation is that you're conversant, in broad terms, in ALL of CAP, including emergency services. As I wrote before: We need to be experts in the subject of CAP, since it's marketing and public affairs people who will be telling our story (or who will be the conduit) to most every constituency. And missions are high-profile events for us, things we should capitalize on when the opportunity emerges, but we need to ensure we do it the right way, every time. We don't do that without building competency, folks. The bar has been raised, and it's for the good of both the organization and us individually. DOUGLAS E. JESSMER, Lt Col, CAP National Marketing Officer COM: (727) 480-9606 Clearwater, Fla. CAUTION: This e-mail is intended only for the person or entity to which it is addressed and may contain information that is privileged or otherwise protected from disclosure. Do not disseminate this message without the sender's approval. If you received this message in error, please notify the sender by reply e-mail and delete all copies of this message. On 12 Aug 2014, at 09:43 , Steven Solomon wrote: > I'm in Las Vegas now for the National PAO Academy being offered today and tomorrow, having just finished up two weeks as a Cadet Officer School flight instructor at Maxwell AFB Base. I see that there has been much discussion the last few days about the revised PAO Specialty Track released on July 25. I strongly urge that comments and suggestions go through the chain of command in order to be considered official, but I'd like to address the concerns that have been raised on this forum. > > It had been 14 years since the track was issued, so an update was long overdue. Many CAP PAOs, including SER PAO Jeff Carlson, were extremely anxious that the PA track be updated, especially because the A4/6 (formerly AFIADL and before that ECI) CAP Public Affairs Officer 02010 correspondence course was no longer available, had not been replaced, and was still required to satisfy the CAPP 201 Technician Rating (3d) requirement. > > So a National Level PA Working Group approved by the National CC, consisting of NATCAPWG PAO Lt Col Paul Cianciolo, ILWG PAO Lt Col Paul Hertel and RMR PAO Lt Col Al Nash, made recommendations that NHQ/PA Deputy Director of PA Julie Debardelaben, myself, and SWR PAO Lt Col Arthur Woodgate polished. Col Bryan Cooper, National Professional Development Officer, and Bobbie Tourville, NHQ Professional Development Chief, completed the project. > > As I privately told SDWG PAO Maj Bruce Kipp, who started the discussion on this list-serve, our thinking is that CAP PAOs/PIOs are being assigned to increasingly complex and challenging missions, often alongside other federal agencies, and need to be NIMS compliant like our counterparts because even though we are all volunteers and not paid, we need to be as professional as the professionals we are being deployed to work alongside. > > We offered G-289 yesterday here in Las Vegas before the two-day National PAO Academy, and are planning on offering G-290 next year. The registration fee for the E-388 course at the Emergency Management Institute in Emmitsburg, Md. is waived for CAP members, and transportation costs are also covered. So, taking E-388 is actually easier than taking Region or National Staff College, both of which are required for advancing through the CAP professional development process. > > In the end though, it is up to every CAP officer to decide what track and what level they pursue. I can't speak for whomever succeeds me in my national position someday, but I suspect that the requirements will only get harder as we continue to study and accept the public affairs strategies and tools constantly being developed. In my opinion, it's an ongoing process. > > Regards, > Steven > > > STEVEN SOLOMON, Lt Col, CAP > National Public Affairs Officer > Civil Air Patrol National Headquarters > 105 South Hansell St., Building 714 > Maxwell AFB AL 36112-5937 > ssolomon at cap.gov > Cell: 240-505-6279 > > > > ... Citizens Serving Communities > > > > > > > > > On Tue, Aug 12, 2014 at 3:25 AM, lockit3 wrote: > You have both stated the case well. This is why we must realize the PAO and PIO jobs ARE very different. Also, this is why the new FEMA course requirements should be part of moving through multi-level PIO ratings not PAO ratings. We have multi levels for GMT and not for PIO, yet we feel that PAO’s can do the PIO job. > > > > Thank you, > > > > > > Curtis “Wayne” Hooks 1st Lt. > > Civil Air Patrol > > FLWG Online Newsfeed Manager > > Group 1 Public Affairs Officer > > Group 1 Recruitment and Retention Officer > > Tallahassee Composite Squadron > > Ser FL-432 > > Public Affairs Officer > > Recruitment and Retention Officer > > > > > > > > From: cap-pao-bounces at lists.sempervigilans.org [mailto:cap-pao-bounces at lists.sempervigilans.org] On Behalf Of Alice Mansell > Sent: Tuesday, August 12, 2014 4:21 AM > To: wweiler at flwg.us; CAP Public Affairs Officers > Subject: [Bulk] Re: [PAO] New CAPP 201 - Public Affairs Officer Specialty Track > > > > Wow, Bill! You articulated so many fabulous thoughts on the deeper issue. > > Absolutely agree with all you wrote, especially the need for different PIO ratings. I, also, have worked in JICs with military, federal agency, and state government information officers. Some random thoughts from those JICs: > > - The CAP golf shirt works there the best. Any white aviator shirt gets too many confused reactions and to wear the USAF style uniform, one must truly meet military weight and grooming standards to have rapport with any military personnel present who can be a daily shifting cast of people. > > - In JICs, once trusted by the lead informaton officer, a CAP member may end up doing as much work to get the word out for "other" agencies as our own, even for just internal CAP use. Whatever the incident commander thinks is the main messaging is more important than CAP ringing its own bell during a real mission or exercise with field operations. > > - It is truly fun to work in JICs..... but they can be a steep learning curve in situations where it might take 5+ hours for every agency-stuck-in-silos to approve press releases. CAP should be able to delegate "our" such approvals to regionally approved PIO3s who can train, mentor, and/or supervise PIO2s and PIO1s. > > I recall well how my Wing was one of the first to make sure only the most vetted and experienced mission coordinators (ICs now) were allowed to run real missing aircraft missions...and how it can take years to earn that duty assignment by consistently demonstrating quality skills in difficult situations. The days of a mission PIO being whatever warm body is willing to write a paragraph or talk to the press should stop. > > -Alice > > > > On Monday, August 11, 2014, Bill Weiler CAP wrote: > > Some great ideas and valid complaints have been posted here, but we've danced around one of the real problems I see as an IC, PIO, and PAO. > > > > We have 3 levels of ICs, and with the diverse missions we conduct, 1 level of PIO just doesn't make sense to me. An IC3 can do ELT missions, SAREXs, and a multitude of small missions, but if it's a REDCAP or multi-agency mission an IC2 is required. A PAO with a little basic training can be PIO for a local SAREX or even a simple ELT mission, and learn a lot about 1/3 of CAP's mission while helping the local unit and team. The current PIO requirements are completely inadequate for a REDCAP or a Deepwater Horizon, and I spent weeks in the JIC at Mobile and Tallahassee for Deepwater. The only non-CAP classroom training for the current PIO is a local FEMA weekend course that shouldn't be too hard for any PAO/PIO candidate to attend, and it's a great networking opportunity with both the local media and ES community. Make the current basic PIO course a PIO 2 and make that the only PIO requirement for a PAO Master Rating with no additional FEMA training that most non-PIO PAOs don't need. A Master Rated PAO should understand the role of a PIO and what's entailed, but may not be well suited to ever serve as a PIO in a critical mission. The experience will help them help the PIO if needed and will help the local unit. > > > > With 40+ years experience in the ES community doing PAO/PIO work, gaining the trust and respect of other PIOs and ICs at a JIC is easy working side by side with them. Also being an IC helps. I've had a much more difficult time gaining the trust and authority I need for big missions from our own chain of command and organization - along with the AF. I can't say I blame them considering how elementary our PIO qualification currently is, and how many people with the qual are not ready for prime time. If we add the FEMA 200 and 300 PIO courses to a PIO 1 qualification, along with a few other requirements, we'll ensure that a PIO 1 can step into any mission without needing constant handholding, will truly know what can and cannot be said, and will be part of the JIC/IC team able to get the CAP story out real-time. > > > > Long before the term PIO was conceived, in 1969, I was the face for a multi-fatality snow slide, and I've done dozens of serious and fatal plane crashes since then with the sheriff and even FAA and NTSB asking me to be part of the media QA team. Now, when invited by the FEMA and USCG members of a JIC to be part of a media event I had to decline because the CAP chain required 48-72 hour advance notice and a review of what might be discussed before being authorized to be part of the event - that was called at the last minute. Maybe I've gotten that bad over the years, but I really think it's because we don't have an internal way of proving some PIOs are experienced enough and well trained enough to do their job unless they're personally known or micromanaged. > > > > Being a PIO is not some binary yes or no you can do it. It is something that takes considerable experience and training for the big jobs, but can easily be learned and mastered for the small missions. FEMA has multiple levels of PIO, so we should too. We need many more basic PIOs to help out, but we need a few Master Level PIOs just like FEMA has. We need more, not less, Master Rated PAOs that aren't discouraged from the task because of excessive PIO requirements they do not want to be directly involved in. > > > > > > > > Bill Weiler, Maj CAP > > > > Florida Wing Civil Air Patrol > > > > 913.488.5392 > > > > FLCAP 218 > > > > wweiler at flwg.us > > > > > > > > ________________________________ > > From: "DOUGLAS E. JESSMER, Lt Col, CAP CAP/PM" > > > > Sent: Sunday, August 10, 2014 7:56 PM > > > > To: "CAP Public Affairs Officers" > > > > Subject: Re: [PAO] [Bulk] FW: New CAPP 201 - Public Affairs Officer Specialty Track > > > > > > > > All: > > > > I've been following this discussion with great interest, as it goes to the heart of how we communicate to pretty much every constituency. Fact is, emergency services is one of our three main missions. How can we be effective in telling the CAP story if we don't have some background in what's probably our highest-profile purpose? > > > > I don't believe every public affairs officer should need to be a public information officer. And they don't have to be, but those PAs who don't want the FEMA courses and the PIO qualification can stop with the technician level of the track. Those who want the PIO training but can't get to Emmitsburg can go as far as the senior level. I'm sure Emmitsburg is nice this time of year — it's got to be less muggy than it is here in Florida. And if you want the training and to climb the ladder of the specialty track and lay low on the ops side, that's up to you. CAP is, after all, a volunteer organization. > > > > But every PIO should be a PA. And every public affairs officer should at least have a 101 card and some PIO training. Not to have that is to neglect a very important part of what is CAP. We aren't a pure-play emergency services organization, but people know us for that, at least the ones who know us. (And that's another thing — many would-be "customers" for our ops folks still don't know who we are! We need to market ourselves better in that regard....) We aren't just a cadet-program organization. And public affairs officers are in the best position to explain the three sides of CAP — they're not "the ops side and everyone else," but rather, the emergency services, cadet program and aerospace education missions with which Congress chartered us back in the day (PLs 476 and 557). A good PA needs to be well-versed in all three components. > > > > The most important thing in PIO training for CAP members is to learn how to play well with other agencies. CAP's PIOs won't be the lead on any incident, but we still stand to get our message out, and we must have the discipline of messaging to "stay in our lane" and work as part of a greater system. If Deepwater Horizon didn't teach us that, I don't know what will. We need to be team players, all up and down the line. Squadron PAs play as vital a role in our missions as do wing PIOs and the national staff. > > > > There's not really much else I can say that hasn't been said. Yes, these are the requirements. If there's widespread issue, I imagine adjustments may be made (that's just me speaking from my experience, not saying anything official by any means). We still need to be realistic while we're stretching the field, after all. But what's most important is that we want our public affairs officers to be the best they can be, to be able to capably, competently and confidently tell our story, and to position CAP favorably in our populaces. > > > > > > > > DOUGLAS E. JESSMER, Lt Col, CAP > > > > National Marketing Officer > > > > > > > > COM: (727) 480-9606 > > > > Clearwater, Fla. > > > > > > > > CAUTION: This e-mail is intended only for the person or entity to which it is addressed and may contain information that is privileged or otherwise protected from disclosure. Do not disseminate this message without the sender's approval. If you received this message in error, please notify the sender by reply e-mail and delete all copies of this message. > > > _______________________________________________ > Subscribed Email Address: ssolomon at cap.gov > CAP-PAO mailing list > CAP-PAO at lists.sempervigilans.org > http://lists.sempervigilans.org/mailman/listinfo/cap-pao > > > _______________________________________________ > Subscribed Email Address: djessmer at cap.gov > CAP-PAO mailing list > CAP-PAO at lists.sempervigilans.org > http://lists.sempervigilans.org/mailman/listinfo/cap-pao -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From pao at pawg.cap.gov Wed Aug 13 03:07:13 2014 From: pao at pawg.cap.gov (Lt Col Annette Carlson) Date: Wed, 13 Aug 2014 04:07:13 -0400 Subject: [PAO] CAP-PAO Digest, Vol 71, Issue 3 In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: Have the Balsem Awards been announced yet? Annette -- Thanks! Annette Thank YOU for all YOU do in CAP! Annette Carlson, Lt Col, CAP Wing Public Affairs & Information Officer (PAO/PIO) Civil Air Patrol Pennsylvania Wing P: 412-731-4547 C: 215-262-9888 E: pao at pawg.cap.gov www.pawg.cap.gov www.GoCivilAirPatrol.com CIVIL AIR PATROL Pennsylvania - - Mission 4: Excellence! - -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From dbailey at capnhq.gov Wed Aug 13 12:37:47 2014 From: dbailey at capnhq.gov (Bailey, Dan) Date: Wed, 13 Aug 2014 12:37:47 -0500 Subject: [PAO] CAP-PAO Digest, Vol 71, Issue 3 In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: <285EA6784B3D1D478D8064F8F5C987EE01360838@orville.nhq.local> They’re posted at http://bit.ly/1p6xsSA. Dan Dan Bailey VolunteerNow editor Website: www.capvolunteernow.com Facebook: capmembers.com/fb Twitter: capmembers.com/twitter 1-877-227-9142 ext. 255 Register today for the 2014 National Conference August 14-16, 2014 * Las Vegas, NV * From: cap-pao-bounces at lists.sempervigilans.org [mailto:cap-pao-bounces at lists.sempervigilans.org] On Behalf Of Lt Col Annette Carlson Sent: Wednesday, August 13, 2014 3:07 AM To: cap-pao at lists.sempervigilans.org Subject: Re: [PAO] CAP-PAO Digest, Vol 71, Issue 3 Have the Balsem Awards been announced yet? Annette -- Thanks! Annette Thank YOU for all YOU do in CAP! Annette Carlson, Lt Col, CAP Wing Public Affairs & Information Officer (PAO/PIO) Civil Air Patrol Pennsylvania Wing P: 412-731-4547 C: 215-262-9888 E: pao at pawg.cap.gov www.pawg.cap.gov www.GoCivilAirPatrol.com CIVIL AIR PATROL Pennsylvania - - Mission 4: Excellence! - -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: image001.png Type: image/png Size: 2110 bytes Desc: image001.png URL: -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: image002.png Type: image/png Size: 2324 bytes Desc: image002.png URL: -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: image003.png Type: image/png Size: 1566 bytes Desc: image003.png URL: -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: image004.png Type: image/png Size: 32840 bytes Desc: image004.png URL: From karenc at smyth.net Wed Aug 13 14:19:17 2014 From: karenc at smyth.net (Karen Copenhaver) Date: Wed, 13 Aug 2014 15:19:17 -0400 Subject: [PAO] CAP-PAO Digest, Vol 71, Issue 3 In-Reply-To: <285EA6784B3D1D478D8064F8F5C987EE01360838@orville.nhq.local> References: <285EA6784B3D1D478D8064F8F5C987EE01360838@orville.nhq.local> Message-ID: <53EBBA35.2010006@smyth.net> Thanks Dan, We're on top of it !!! :-) Karen /Karen L. Copenhaver, Lt Col, CAP Deputy Director, Public Affairs MER/ On 8/13/2014 1:37 PM, Bailey, Dan wrote: > > They're posted at http://bit.ly/1p6xsSA. > > Dan > > *Dan Bailey* > > */VolunteerNow /*editor > > /Website/: www.capvolunteernow.com > > /Facebook/: capmembers.com/fb > > /Twitte/r: capmembers.com/twitter > > 1-877-227-9142 ext. 255 > > cid:image001.png at 01CE2BC7.1FAC87D0 > cid:image002.png at 01CE2BC7.1FAC87D0 > cid:image003.png at 01CE2BC7.1FAC87D0 > > > NatlConf_CAP2014_73DD79D025125 (2) copy > > *Register today > for the 2014 > National Conference *** > > August 14-16, 2014 * Las Vegas, NV * > > *From:*cap-pao-bounces at lists.sempervigilans.org > [mailto:cap-pao-bounces at lists.sempervigilans.org] *On Behalf Of *Lt > Col Annette Carlson > *Sent:* Wednesday, August 13, 2014 3:07 AM > *To:* cap-pao at lists.sempervigilans.org > *Subject:* Re: [PAO] CAP-PAO Digest, Vol 71, Issue 3 > > Have the Balsem Awards been announced yet? > > Annette > > > > -- > > Thanks! > Annette > > Thank YOU for all YOU do in CAP! > > Annette Carlson, Lt Col, CAP > Wing Public Affairs & Information Officer (PAO/PIO) > Civil Air Patrol Pennsylvania Wing > P: 412-731-4547 > C: 215-262-9888 > E: pao at pawg.cap.gov > > www.pawg.cap.gov > www.GoCivilAirPatrol.com > > CIVIL AIR PATROL Pennsylvania - > - Mission 4: Excellence! - > > > > _______________________________________________ > Subscribed Email Address: karenc at smyth.net > CAP-PAO mailing list > CAP-PAO at lists.sempervigilans.org > http://lists.sempervigilans.org/mailman/listinfo/cap-pao --- This email is free from viruses and malware because avast! Antivirus protection is active. http://www.avast.com -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: not available Type: image/png Size: 2110 bytes Desc: not available URL: -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: not available Type: image/png Size: 2324 bytes Desc: not available URL: -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: not available Type: image/png Size: 1566 bytes Desc: not available URL: -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: not available Type: image/png Size: 32840 bytes Desc: not available URL: From stan.skrabut at gmail.com Wed Aug 13 15:59:28 2014 From: stan.skrabut at gmail.com (Stan Skrabut, Ed.D.) Date: Wed, 13 Aug 2014 14:59:28 -0600 Subject: [PAO] Hashtag for Conference Message-ID: Greetings, What is the social media hashtag that is being used for the CAP Conference in Las Vegas? It would be nice if we were collectively posting to it for Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, etc. Have a great day, STANLEY A. SKRABUT, Col, CAP Director of Professional Development Wyoming Wing http://www.capwyhq.org/ Skype: skrabut skype: 307-222-4858 Cell: 307-287-8147 -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From paul.cianciolo at natcapwg.cap.gov Wed Aug 13 16:06:09 2014 From: paul.cianciolo at natcapwg.cap.gov (Cianciolo, Lt Col, Paul) Date: Wed, 13 Aug 2014 17:06:09 -0400 Subject: [PAO] Hashtag for Conference In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: #CAP14Vegas Lt Col Paul Cianciolo Sent from my Droid DNA On Aug 13, 2014 1:59 PM, "Stan Skrabut, Ed.D." wrote: > Greetings, > > What is the social media hashtag that is being used for the CAP Conference > in Las Vegas? > > It would be nice if we were collectively posting to it for Instagram, > Twitter, Facebook, etc. > > Have a great day, > > STANLEY A. SKRABUT, Col, CAP > Director of Professional Development > Wyoming Wing > http://www.capwyhq.org/ > > Skype: skrabut > skype: 307-222-4858 > Cell: 307-287-8147 > > _______________________________________________ > Subscribed Email Address: pa at natcapwg.cap.gov > CAP-PAO mailing list > CAP-PAO at lists.sempervigilans.org > http://lists.sempervigilans.org/mailman/listinfo/cap-pao > > -- ------------------------------ Civil Air Patrol National Capital Wing *"Citizens Serving Communities: Above and Beyond"* CFC Charity #26757 www.NatCapWing.org -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From flyerthom at gmail.com Wed Aug 13 16:24:11 2014 From: flyerthom at gmail.com (Tom Cooper) Date: Wed, 13 Aug 2014 14:24:11 -0700 Subject: [PAO] Hashtag for Conference In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: <29D0E3100B3E40F19D829CAE721EDB37@TomsPC> #cap14vegas From: Stan Skrabut, Ed.D. Sent: Wednesday, August 13, 2014 1:59 PM To: CAP Public Affairs Officers Subject: [PAO] Hashtag for Conference Greetings, What is the social media hashtag that is being used for the CAP Conference in Las Vegas? It would be nice if we were collectively posting to it for Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, etc. Have a great day, STANLEY A. SKRABUT, Col, CAP Director of Professional Development Wyoming Wing http://www.capwyhq.org/ Skype: skrabut skype: 307-222-4858 Cell: 307-287-8147 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- _______________________________________________ Subscribed Email Address: flyerthom at gmail.com CAP-PAO mailing list CAP-PAO at lists.sempervigilans.org http://lists.sempervigilans.org/mailman/listinfo/cap-pao -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From wywg.pdo at capwyhq.org Wed Aug 13 11:04:37 2014 From: wywg.pdo at capwyhq.org (Skrabut, Stan) Date: Wed, 13 Aug 2014 10:04:37 -0600 Subject: [PAO] Hashtag for Conference Message-ID: Greetings, What is the social media hashtag that is being used for the CAP Conference in Las Vegas? It would be nice if we were collectively posting to it for Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, etc. Have a great day, STANLEY A. SKRABUT, Col, CAP Director of Professional Development Wyoming Wing http://www.capwyhq.org/ Skype: skrabut skype: 307-222-4858 Cell: 307-287-8147 -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From capaugustine at gmail.com Thu Aug 14 19:19:26 2014 From: capaugustine at gmail.com (Johanna Augustine) Date: Thu, 14 Aug 2014 19:19:26 -0500 Subject: [PAO] Hashtag for Conference In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: #CAP14VEGAS On Wed, Aug 13, 2014 at 11:04 AM, Skrabut, Stan wrote: > Greetings, > > What is the social media hashtag that is being used for the CAP Conference > in Las Vegas? > > It would be nice if we were collectively posting to it for Instagram, > Twitter, Facebook, etc. > > Have a great day, > > STANLEY A. SKRABUT, Col, CAP > Director of Professional Development > Wyoming Wing > http://www.capwyhq.org/ > > Skype: skrabut > skype: 307-222-4858 > Cell: 307-287-8147 > > _______________________________________________ > Subscribed Email Address: capaugustine at gmail.com > CAP-PAO mailing list > CAP-PAO at lists.sempervigilans.org > http://lists.sempervigilans.org/mailman/listinfo/cap-pao > > -- Johanna O. Augustine, Maj, CAP Commander Three Rivers Composite Squadron Grape Creek, TX (325)245-8312 *"LIKE" us on Facebook*www.3riverscivilairpatrol.org *" Around here, however, we don't look backwards for very long. We keep moving forward, opening up new doors and doing new things, because we're curious---and curiosity keeps leading us down new paths."* Walt Disney -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From karenc at smyth.net Fri Aug 15 09:52:01 2014 From: karenc at smyth.net (Karen Copenhaver) Date: Fri, 15 Aug 2014 10:52:01 -0400 Subject: [PAO] Fwd: Complimentary Writing Webinar - "Jarring Jargon: How Gobbledygook Garbles Key Messages" In-Reply-To: <0.0.1.110.1CFB894568A969F.49520@mail10.bsftransmit33.com> References: <0.0.1.110.1CFB894568A969F.49520@mail10.bsftransmit33.com> Message-ID: <53EE1E91.6020402@smyth.net> FREE WEBINAR...... !!!! Here is an opportunity to participate in a "FREE" Webinar for writing concise messages. We all need to refresh our skills, or perhaps learn new ones. If you're interested, please see below for the particulars. Have a great day, Karen~ Karen L. Copenhaver, Lt Col, CAP Deputy Director, Public Affairs MER CommPRO.biz Alert CommPRO.biz Alert Jarring Jargon Free Webinar Event Overview Join NYU Graduate PR Professor Bob Noltenmeier once again for a writing webinar on jargon that will maximize the implementation of your utilization of concise language to facilitate your key messaging. Calendar and prioritize this event Wed., Aug. 27, at 1 PM Eastern. Learn to love short words and 10 rules to write simply. Your readers will be glad you do. About Our Speaker img Robert F. Noltenmeier Clinical Assistant Professor New York University Bob Noltenmeier has been a full-time clinical assistant professor in the New York University M.S. Degree Program, Public Relations and Corporate Communication, Department of Strategic Communication, Marketing and Media Management since January 2009. He joined the NYU adjunct faculty in 2004 as an instructor of public relations writing, strategic communication, Internet copywriting, employee communication, and corporate communication theory and practice. In June 2006, he was appointed adjunct professor in the NYU graduate public relations program, where he serves as a thesis adviser. He also has taught advanced business writing in the NYU SCPS Paul McGhee (Undergraduate) Division. Outside of NYU, Bob has been a principal of Quadrant Communications Co., Inc., a Manhattan-based corporate communication and integrated marketing communication business-to-business consulting firm since 1985. Quadrant’s clients include: AT&T, Citigroup Private Bank, The Dana Foundation for Brain Research, The Federal Reserve Bank of New York, The Juilliard School, Morgan Stanley, Polo/Ralph Lauren Corporation and The Washington Post Companies, as well as leading nonprofits and foundations. Before joining Quadrant, Bob held corporate communication positions with ExxonMobil, Hoechst-Celanese and Unisys. During his corporate career, he was responsible for public relations, marketing, media relations, and investor, executive and employee communication. He also was a U.S. Air Force information officer at Strategic Air Command (SAC) headquarters and a liaison to the Secretary of the Air Force. A member of the International Association of Business Communicators (IABC), the global corporate communication association with 16,000 members, Bob served three nonconsecutive terms as president of the New York chapter (NY/IABC). He has chaired the NY/IABC professional development, membership and awards committees; served on IABC regional boards; and judged IABC Gold Quill and PR Week Student of the Year entries. Bob has won several IABC awards for writing and publication excellence. He holds a master’s degree in public relations from Boston University College of Communication. Register For Free register This email was sent by: *CommPRO.biz* *Click here * to unsubscribe or update profile. To make sure you continue to receive our e-mails in your inbox (not bulk or junk folders), please add *CommPRO_Alerts at commpro.biz* to your address book or safe sender list. 222 E. 34th Street, #1201 New York, NY 10016 --- This email is free from viruses and malware because avast! Antivirus protection is active. http://www.avast.com -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From sq11pao at gmail.com Tue Aug 19 08:36:53 2014 From: sq11pao at gmail.com (Crystal Housman) Date: Tue, 19 Aug 2014 06:36:53 -0700 Subject: [PAO] New Pacific Region social media presence Message-ID: Dear PAO colleagues, This weekend Pacific Region launched a more robust social media presence, and I am excited to share our pages with you. We are taking a more strategic direction with our Facebook Page, using metrics to guide us on the scheduling of our posts. https://mbasic.facebook.com/PacificRegionCivilAirPatrol We also launched brand new Twitter and Instagram feeds, both @PCRCAP, with each targeted to different audiences. https://twitter.com/pcrcap http://instagram.com/pcrcap Please "Like" or "Follow" our pages to help us share the great CAP news and activities happening on the west coast. Respectfully, Crystal Housman, Maj., CAP Asst PAO for Social Media, Pacific Region CHousmanCAP at gmail.com -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From tomt at theppigroup.com Wed Aug 20 10:12:21 2014 From: tomt at theppigroup.com (Tom Traver) Date: Wed, 20 Aug 2014 15:12:21 +0000 Subject: [PAO] New Pacific Region social media presence In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: <08cdf1da135b4bfeb9848bd5134574f9@PPIEXCH-01.PortlandPrecision.local> Thanks for the heads up, Crystal ☺ Tom Tom Traver Deputy PAO/ PCR From: cap-pao-bounces at lists.sempervigilans.org [mailto:cap-pao-bounces at lists.sempervigilans.org] On Behalf Of Crystal Housman Sent: Tuesday, August 19, 2014 6:37 AM To: PAO List Server Subject: [PAO] New Pacific Region social media presence Dear PAO colleagues, This weekend Pacific Region launched a more robust social media presence, and I am excited to share our pages with you. We are taking a more strategic direction with our Facebook Page, using metrics to guide us on the scheduling of our posts. https://mbasic.facebook.com/PacificRegionCivilAirPatrol We also launched brand new Twitter and Instagram feeds, both @PCRCAP, with each targeted to different audiences. https://twitter.com/pcrcap http://instagram.com/pcrcap Please "Like" or "Follow" our pages to help us share the great CAP news and activities happening on the west coast. Respectfully, Crystal Housman, Maj., CAP Asst PAO for Social Media, Pacific Region CHousmanCAP at gmail.com -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From paul.cianciolo at natcapwg.cap.gov Wed Aug 20 16:24:15 2014 From: paul.cianciolo at natcapwg.cap.gov (Cianciolo, Lt Col, Paul) Date: Wed, 20 Aug 2014 17:24:15 -0400 Subject: [PAO] Ice Bucket Challenge Message-ID: PAOs, I recently received the email below from the NASA social media team about the Ice Bucket Challenge . Some if you may have seen this going around on social media already, but before you film dumping a bucket of icy water on your wing commander's head, take note. Even though it's for a good cause, it is considered fundraising. That means no Air Force style uniforms -- like on cadets doing this on their own. Now as for CAP supporting this in other ways ... that's up to the chain of command. *The take away here is no fundraising with anything perceived to be Air Force.* We've had multiple NASA centers, programs, and missions ask about the Ice > Bucket Challenge and doing it here. Even the NASA Administrator has been > challenged, as have the astronauts on the ISS. We've sought out the > guidance of our general counsel here since this is a charity fundraiser > event. *NASA's general counsel strongly advises us against participation > in an official capacity.* Here's counsels official reasons why: > *Doing the Challenge in an official capacity as a NASA employee or in the workplace implicates some of the legal prohibitions on fundraising. First, employees may not participate in fundraising activities in their official capacity. This means that employees may not use their NASA title, position, or authority to fundraise. For example, if an employee were to identify themselves as a NASA employee in the video, this could run afoul of the prohibition. This could also create problems under other ethics provisions that restrict employees from using their Government title, position, or authority to endorse a product, service, or enterprise OR to imply the Government sanctions or endorses their personal activities or those of another. In addition, participation may violate prohibitions on engaging in fundraising activities outside of the Combined Federal Campaign in the Federal workplace. Finally, employees should not use official resources, such as Agency social media accounts, to support or promote a fundraiser. * *This does not prohibit employees from participating in the Challenge in their personal capacity off-site and on their own time. One last thing to keep in mind is that, regardless of the context, employees must avoid soliciting funds from subordinates or from prohibited sources, i.e., entities that do business with NASA or are seeking to do so. Thus, if an employee did participate in the Challenge, he or she should not nominate subordinates or Agency contractors. It is also worth noting that the 2014 CFC season will soon begin, providing many opportunities within the Federal workplace for employees to support their favorite charities.* This guidance has been provided by the Office of General Counsel at NASA HQ. Figured I'd share in case you are working with your lawyers on similar guidance at your agencies. Obviously our counsel's guidance may not apply at your agency but it may be useful to have. v/r -- *PAUL S. CIANCIOLO, Lt Col, CAPPublic Affairs OfficerNational Capital Wing* Cell: 301-751-2011 Work: 202-385-9599 (@FAA) -- ------------------------------ Civil Air Patrol National Capital Wing *"Citizens Serving Communities: Above and Beyond"* CFC Charity #26757 www.NatCapWing.org -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From hertelpcap at att.net Wed Aug 20 16:38:50 2014 From: hertelpcap at att.net (Lt Col Paul Hertel) Date: Wed, 20 Aug 2014 16:38:50 -0500 Subject: [PAO] Ice Bucket Challenge In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: <00ec01cfbcbf$22438720$66ca9560$@net> CAPR 173-4 26 DECEMBER 2012 SECTION A – GENERAL INFORMATION Page 2 2. No Air Force Involvement. It is important that no suggestions or inference be made in any CAP fund-raising program that the Air Force is involved or would benefit. Therefore, wear of the Air Force-style CAP uniform in fund raising activities is limited to cadets. Advertising and promotional matter should clearly identify CAP as a distinct organization from the Air Force. (See also paragraph 15f.) My take on the regulation is, paragraph 2 is for fund raising for CAP NOT for charities outside of CAP. What Paul said, no fundraising of this sort in the USAF style uniform. A CAP T-shirt can go a long way. As always, consult your chain of command and the regulations. (knowledge base). V/R PAUL HERTEL, Lt Col, CAP Chief of Staff Public Affairs Officer Illinois Wing 618-416-5180 "I may only be one person, but I can be one person that makes a difference." From: cap-pao-bounces at lists.sempervigilans.org [mailto:cap-pao-bounces at lists.sempervigilans.org] On Behalf Of Cianciolo, Lt Col, Paul Sent: Wednesday, August 20, 2014 4:24 PM To: CAP PAO Listserv; NatCap Public Affairs Subject: [PAO] Ice Bucket Challenge PAOs, I recently received the email below from the NASA social media team about the Ice Bucket Challenge . Some if you may have seen this going around on social media already, but before you film dumping a bucket of icy water on your wing commander's head, take note. Even though it's for a good cause, it is considered fundraising. That means no Air Force style uniforms -- like on cadets doing this on their own. Now as for CAP supporting this in other ways ... that's up to the chain of command. The take away here is no fundraising with anything perceived to be Air Force. We've had multiple NASA centers, programs, and missions ask about the Ice Bucket Challenge and doing it here. Even the NASA Administrator has been challenged, as have the astronauts on the ISS. We've sought out the guidance of our general counsel here since this is a charity fundraiser event. NASA's general counsel strongly advises us against participation in an official capacity. Here's counsels official reasons why: Doing the Challenge in an official capacity as a NASA employee or in the workplace implicates some of the legal prohibitions on fundraising. First, employees may not participate in fundraising activities in their official capacity. This means that employees may not use their NASA title, position, or authority to fundraise. For example, if an employee were to identify themselves as a NASA employee in the video, this could run afoul of the prohibition. This could also create problems under other ethics provisions that restrict employees from using their Government title, position, or authority to endorse a product, service, or enterprise OR to imply the Government sanctions or endorses their personal activities or those of another. In addition, participation may violate prohibitions on engaging in fundraising activities outside of the Combined Federal Campaign in the Federal workplace. Finally, employees should not use official resources, such as Agency social media accounts, to support or promote a fundraiser. This does not prohibit employees from participating in the Challenge in their personal capacity off-site and on their own time. One last thing to keep in mind is that, regardless of the context, employees must avoid soliciting funds from subordinates or from prohibited sources, i.e., entities that do business with NASA or are seeking to do so. Thus, if an employee did participate in the Challenge, he or she should not nominate subordinates or Agency contractors. It is also worth noting that the 2014 CFC season will soon begin, providing many opportunities within the Federal workplace for employees to support their favorite charities. This guidance has been provided by the Office of General Counsel at NASA HQ. Figured I'd share in case you are working with your lawyers on similar guidance at your agencies. Obviously our counsel's guidance may not apply at your agency but it may be useful to have. v/r -- PAUL S. CIANCIOLO, Lt Col, CAP Public Affairs Officer National Capital Wing Cell: 301-751-2011 Work: 202-385-9599 (@FAA) _____ Civil Air Patrol National Capital Wing "Citizens Serving Communities: Above and Beyond" CFC Charity #26757 www.NatCapWing.org -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From paul.cianciolo at natcapwg.cap.gov Wed Aug 20 16:39:47 2014 From: paul.cianciolo at natcapwg.cap.gov (Cianciolo, Lt Col, Paul) Date: Wed, 20 Aug 2014 17:39:47 -0400 Subject: [PAO] Reporting Emotional Distress on Social Media Message-ID: PAOs & Chaplains, The topic of what to do if someone shows signs of emotional distress or suicide when engaging on your agency on social media recently came up in some federal agency discussions. I did not know this, but both Facebook and Twitter have a reporting feature for you, as the admin, to get that person help. More info below. *The following information is from the “Building a Social Media presence > for Suicide Prevention” presentation at the American Association of > Suicidology 2014 Conference by Linda Langford, Ashley Womble, and Anna > Pope. Point of contact for this presentation is Ashley Womble – > awomble at mhaofnyc.org * > > *Sample Messages for users in crisis:* > > “If you feel that life is not worth living, please call the National > Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-TALK (8255). The call is free and > confidential, and crisis workers are there 24/7 to assist you” > > “Thank you for reaching out and caring about your suicidal friend. Feel > free to call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-TALK > (8255) yourself so that you can find out what resources are available in > your area. Most importantly, please encourage your friend to call us at > 1-800-273-TALK (8255).“ > > *Lifeline is Here to help:* > > > - The LifeLine works with the safety teams of all major platforms to > ensure there are procedures in place to assist any individual expressing > suicidal ideation and/or intent > - The “gold standard” is to allow users to *report suicidal content to > the safety team of a social networking site. *Then, the safety team > will send an email encouraging them to call 1-800-273-TALK (8255) or click > on a link that will begin a chat session with a LifeLine crisis worker > - Facebook offers chat support to users in crisis > > *Facebook and LifeLine Partnership* > > - People can report suicidal content to Facebook using the Report > links found throughout the site > - Once Facebook’s User Operations Team receives a report these are > verified (24/7) and then the user is provided with link to IM chat room. > > *Some Additional Resources:* > > *Twitter support page* > > https://support.twitter.com/articles/20170313-dealing-with-self-harm-and-suicide# > > Know the Signs - How to Use Social Media for Suicide Prevention: User Guide > > http://eiconline.org/teamup/wp-content/files/13-CALM-0106-Socialmedia_Guide_FNL.pdf > v/r -- *PAUL S. CIANCIOLO, Lt Col, CAPPublic Affairs OfficerNational Capital Wing* Cell: 301-751-2011 Work: 202-385-9599 (@FAA) -- ------------------------------ Civil Air Patrol National Capital Wing *"Citizens Serving Communities: Above and Beyond"* CFC Charity #26757 www.NatCapWing.org -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From alice at mansell.com Sun Aug 24 20:22:50 2014 From: alice at mansell.com (Alice Mansell) Date: Sun, 24 Aug 2014 18:22:50 -0700 Subject: [PAO] Fwd: [CAWG - General] - Napa Earthquake Response - Update / IC Change In-Reply-To: <1408928041.51311.YahooMailNeo@web140706.mail.bf1.yahoo.com> References: <1408928041.51311.YahooMailNeo@web140706.mail.bf1.yahoo.com> Message-ID: ---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: Date: Sunday, August 24, 2014 Subject: [CAWG - General] - Napa Earthquake Response - Update / IC Change To: Dear CAWG, Current situational update: CAWG is currently supporting Cal-OES and the Solano County Sheriff with airborne photography of the levees within Solano County and Ryer Island. 2 Sorties have been launched to complete this task request. 1 ground sortie was completed to move the mission management kit to Concord Airport in support of a potential base. Capt. Paul Saba has assumed Incident Command from Maj. Jim Anthony effective 17:45 hours. New IC Contact: 714-420-6580 or npfd505 at yahoo.com Sincerely, Andrew J. Saba, C/2nd Lt, CAP Mission Staff Assistant-Planning Napa Earthquake Response - AFAM:14-1-7389 -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From alice at mansell.com Sun Aug 31 15:59:20 2014 From: alice at mansell.com (Alice Mansell) Date: Sun, 31 Aug 2014 13:59:20 -0700 Subject: [PAO] Fwd: [CAWG - General] - 9/11 Challenge In-Reply-To: <0D10A6EE-8B67-45B3-B2BC-FFBC810BAEAB@gmail.com> References: <0D10A6EE-8B67-45B3-B2BC-FFBC810BAEAB@gmail.com> Message-ID: ---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: Date: Sunday, August 31, 2014 Subject: [CAWG - General] - 9/11 Challenge To: Members of the California Wing In a few days, our country will mark the 13th anniversary of the terrorist attacks in New York, Washington and Pennsylvania. Like the attack on Pearl Harbor and the assassination of President Kennedy, those who were alive know exactly what they were doing and the feeling of helplessness that they felt when they heard the awful news. We rebounded and became a stronger people for it. I would like the California Wing to commemorate the anniversary by flying all of our aircraft on September 11th. I challenge all of our pilots, if you were going to do some proficiency flying soon, to chose to do it on the 11th. Let our red, white and blue aircraft be seen in the skies all over California. Take other members, particularly new members, up with you. Wear your flight suits and tell people the story of CAP. I would also ask that you take aloft with you an American flag, any American flag. The flag is a symbol of our freedom and our resolve as Americans. Lastly, take photos of those participating in our 9/11 flights, both in the air and on the ground for display at wing conference. I would ask that all wishing to fly on 9/11 reserve their aircraft through WMIRS. If your regular aircraft is not available, fly a neighboring aircraft or fly later in the day. Together, let's honor those that died on September 11th and those that have died in our War on Terror by flying our aircraft and demonstrating what it is to be free. Regards, Jon Stokes, Colonel, CAP Commander, California Wing -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: