[PAO] New CAPP 201 - Public Affairs Officer Specialty Track

Sun Aug 10 13:42:54 CDT 2014

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" <paul.cianciolo at natcapwg.cap.gov> 
To: "CAP PAO Listserv" <cap-pao at lists.sempervigilans.org>, 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 

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