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

Sun Aug 10 13:57:13 CDT 2014

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

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Civil Air Patrol National Capital Wing
"Citizens Serving Communities: Above and Beyond"

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 <http://www.NatCapWing.org> www.NatCapWing.org

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