[PAO] The American Red Cross Versus Civil Air Patrol Public Relations

[Jeff Carlson, Grp 5 HQ]

Well... sort of Steven.  I am guessing the hurricane templates came after
Ken resigned his PA duty.  I only saw them when they were distributed by NHQ
to region level as drafts.  I passed the info to wing level, but from my
concurrent position at group and squadron level, I never saw them
distributed past wing level.  I don't think the information was distributed
as widely as you would have yourself believe.  (You would be wise to really
digest these preceding sentences as they speak volumes of CAP public affairs
program.)

I agree that some of Ken's comments come from an uninformed person, but he
has touched on other relevant issues between his two email messages.  I do
find your dismissive attitude to be all too familiar. 
Authentic leaders give value to the voice of those who follow.  The value
may not be in what is said as much as why it is said.

>From my perspective, Ken represents the failure of leadership from a harvest
of a prior season's planting.  It seems Ken did not have the benefit of
someone to guide him through the initial hurdles and allow him to taste
success as a PAO.  I don't think he is alone. In fact, I would go out on a
limb to suggest that a majority of members assigned to a PAO duty position
in one of CAP's 1500+ units develop similar frustrations.  They may not be
as vocal and instead quietly go away to other things.  I surmise that is
your preference for how you would like Ken to behave.  Will this season's
crop bring a better harvest of PAOs?  It would be madness to think a vastly
different outcome would be produced by the same input.  I fear the program
is still producing too many dysfunctional PAOs.  Ken may be awkward in his
attempt to enact change, but at least he cares enough to try.  That is
deserving of more respect than has been displayed so far by a couple of
field officers who hold high-level leadership positions in CAP public
affairs.

The reality is that competent "authentic"  leadership is needed at all
levels of the CAP PA program.  With the current focus remaining solely on PR
skills, I do not feel NHQ/PA is doing enough to foster an environment that
is conducive to developing effective leadership at lower levels.

Maj Jeffrey P Carlson, CAP
Public Affairs Officer


-----Original Message-----
From: Lt. Col. Steven Solomon, National PA Manager [mailto:ssolomon at cap.gov]

Sent: Saturday, October 03, 2015 4:55 PM
To: jcarlson at flwg.us; CAP Public Affairs Officers
Subject: Re: [PAO] The American Red Cross Versus Civil Air Patrol Public
Relations

Ken is a former CAP PAO who continues to bring up solutions for problems
that don't exist. The National PA Team has twice distributed a package this
hurricane season with news release templates.

Lt Col Steven Solomon, CAP
National Public Affairs Manager
(C) 240.505.6279
Civil Air Patrol, U.S. Air Force Auxiliary http://GoCivilAirPatrol.com

> On Oct 3, 2015, at 1:00 PM, Jeff Carlson, Grp 5 HQ <jcarlson at flwg.us>
wrote:
> 
> Speak for yourself Arthur!  
> 
> What it sounds like to me is inexperience.  Based on his comments, I 
> don't believe Ken was in the duty position long enough to uncover what 
> resources are available to support the local PAO.  They really do 
> exist.  For many geographic areas, leadership and mentoring is thin in the
PA directorate.
> To the neophyte, it can seem like being abandoned in a desert.  I 
> remember my early days as a CAP PAO and feeling completely 
> unsupported.  During my first couple of years of duty, I had to 
> organize my own CAP PAO workshops to get training; PAOs came from all 
> over the wing to participate because it was all that was available.
> 
> While I don't agree with everything, Ken's two emails have touched on 
> some valid points and should not be completely discounted.
> 
> As far as comparing CAP and ARC... I voluntarily serve as  both a CAP 
> PAO/PIO and as a member of the Red Cross Public Affairs team.  The 
> reality is that CAP public affairs does not have the same resources as 
> ARC public affairs.  ARC has hundreds of paid staff members and much 
> larger budget.  It is not a fair comparison.  The Red Cross has one of 
> the strongest brand images on the globe, while CAP is huffing and 
> puffing to develop a brand and gain a foothold.  That being said, 
> there are numerous best practices that CAP could borrow from ARC.
> 
> What Ken doesn't seem to realize is that this email listserv is from a 
> bygone era that has seen minimal activity in recent years.  His voice 
> is only carried so far, though I am certain his comments have been 
> received by members of the national PA team.  The unofficial Official 
> CAP Public Affairs Facebook group 
> https://www.facebook.com/groups/4305419935/  is where the action is these
days.
> 
> If Ken wants to shout at the wind, let him do it. The typing will keep 
> his fingers nimble and the release of frustration is the only 
> satisfaction he'll ever get from his efforts expended in this 
> direction. If you don't want to read it, use the delete key.
> 
> Howl away, Ken!
> 
> Maj Jeffrey P Carlson, CAP
> Public Affairs Officer
> 
> 
> -----Original Message-----
> From: cap-pao-bounces at lists.sempervigilans.org
> [mailto:cap-pao-bounces at lists.sempervigilans.org] On Behalf Of Arthur 
> Woodgate
> Sent: Saturday, October 03, 2015 2:17 PM
> To: 'CAP Public Affairs Officers'
> Subject: Re: [PAO] The American Red Cross Versus Civil Air Patrol 
> Public Relations
> 
> Ken,
> 
> Please be advised that by not giving your full name and affiliation, 
> what you have to say sounds a great deal like sour grapes - and most 
> of us view it in that light.
> 
> Lt. Col. Arthur Woodgate, CAP
> SWR Director of Public Affairs
> 
> -----Original Message-----
> From: cap-pao-bounces at lists.sempervigilans.org
> [mailto:cap-pao-bounces at lists.sempervigilans.org] On Behalf Of Ken
> Sent: Saturday, October 03, 2015 12:27 PM
> To: CAP Public Affairs Officers
> Subject: [PAO] The American Red Cross Versus Civil Air Patrol Public 
> Relations
> 
> IMHO admit that the American Red Cross by far seems to have a 
> consistent & successful public relations plan in regards to everything 
> they do nationally, regionally, and locally.
> 
> From a natural disaster standpoint they appear to have ready to go 
> media release/talking points for the preparation, response, & mitigation
> phases of disasters.   Volunteers & paid staff are in a consistent 
> uniform, easy identifying them as ARC, with what appears to me to be 
> standard talking points.  They have the ability to get immediate media 
> coverage showing them doing good things!  The news media definitely sees
> them as an organization to provide coverage for!   Even during local 
> type incidents (e.g. apartment fires) this same type of public 
> relations presentation to the media occurs and aids them in obtaining
funds.
> 
> Contrast this with CAP.  No really consistent uniform (in fact if BDU, 
> BBDU are worn and the orange safety vest is worn, total organization 
> identify is missing).  IF assisting another government organization 
> perception is that nothing can be released about CAP's support.  Very 
> little released regarding CAP preparedness to provide assistance (e.g.
> photo recon training exercise with local pictures released).   
> Inconsistent approach (actually missing opportunities) to providing 
> releases to the news media.  With hurricane season upon us many 
> opportunities for getting the word out about CAP!
> 
> Perhaps National should consider developing a disaster/emergency 
> services internal operations support kit (e.g. pre prepared type media 
> releases
> (templates) that certain information just has to be filled in for 
> specific type incidents, as well as general type media releases on
> CAP's typical disaster relief missions).   Perhaps even a National PAO 
> Duty officer needs to be immediate/near immediate available to assist 
> field PAO's with successfully writing/releasing news media releases, 
> perhaps even sending the releases on behalf of the field PAO's.
> 
> A good gauge to see the Red Cross' news media success is to use google 
> news search engine "American Red Cross".
> 
> Ken
> Former PAO
> 
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