CAP Public Information Officer: High Profile Missions

1. CAP Public Information Officer:High Profile Missions Julie DeBardelaben Deputy Director, Public Affairs Civil Air Patrol National Headquarters jdebardelaben@capnhq.gov (877) 227-9142, ext. 250 Capt. Phil Norris Assistant Director of Public Affairs Southeast Region, CAP norris.phil@gmail.com (601) 325-6800

2. High-Profile vs. Regular Missions vs. Public Affairs A High-Profile Mission requires different rules than a regular mission or the normal public affairs duties of a PAO. The stakes are higher during high-profile missions, and only properly trained PIOs are involved in these missions.

3. Regular Missions Regular missions involve the search for a lost aircraft, the search for a missing person or the investigation of an ELT signal reported from an aircraft. Regular missions normally involve a local incident staff, an aircrew, a ground team and the appropriate wing command staff.

4. Public Affairs Public affairs is the function familiar to most PAOs. It is a relationship-building process in which local units reach out to the community to educate the public on CAP’s three primary missions.

5. High-Profile Mission Protocol CAP NHQ/PA has developed a high-profile missions policy in response to Hurricane Katrina, flooding in the Midwest and several other missions that required more diligence from the standpoint of public affairs. Having this in place aided in the approach to public affairs during Deepwater Horizon.

6. CAP’s High-Profile Missions Policy A high-profile Air Force-assigned mission (AFAM) is defined as a mission that will potentially trigger significant media interest at the regional or national level. A mission may be treated as high-profile as deemed appropriate by the CAP National Operations Center, NHQ/PA, wing commanders or the mission approval authority (1st, 11th or 13th Air Force, CAP-USAF, etc.). 

7. High-Profile Missions Policy ICs or PIOs who are unsure whether a mission would be considered high-profile, or who simply need assistance, should contact the NOC or NHQ/PA for guidance. News releases for high-profile AFAMs must be approved by NHQ/PA and the NOC. This clearance is not required for routine missions or training missions.

8. High-Profile Missions Policy Media relations for high-profile events – including developing a public awareness plan, developing talking points, identifying whether and when to hold press conferences, scheduling one-on-one interviews with selected spokesmen and developing and disseminating news releases and media kits – will be accomplished in partnership with NHQ/PA.

9. High-Profile Missions Policy NHQ/PA provides approvals to proceed with these public affairs initiatives to the IC and IO. NHQ/PA will establish and maintain, as deemed appropriate, a page on www.gocivilairpatrol.com where photos and news releases of high-profile missions will be posted on an ongoing basis.

10. Deepwater Horizon On April 20, 2010, the Deepwater Horizon semi-submersible mobile off-shore drilling unit, located approximately 41 miles from the Louisiana coast, exploded. Eleven workers were killed and 17 others were injured. The explosion caused a large fire on the oil rig. This resulted in the dumping of approximately 62,000 barrels of oil into the Gulf of Mexico.

11. Deepwater Horizon Organizations involved initially in the oil rig crisis: U.S. Coast Guard. BP Oil Co. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Energy, Geological Survey, Bureau of Ocean Energy Management and coastal state emergency organizations.

12. Deepwater Horizon Initial potentially damaging effects of the oil spill: Damage to coastlines of Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Florida and Texas. Impact on Gulf Coast economies and fishing industry (tourism, real estate values, etc.). Long-term damage to marine life in Gulf. Impact on the future of the oil industry in Gulf.

13. Deepwater Horizon Civil Air Patrol was tasked with oil spill response support in early May 2010: Initial CAP Incident Command established at Mobile Civic Center as one of the Incident Command Posts along the Gulf. Col. James Rushing, Southeast Region commander, was appointed senior officer in charge for CAP.

14. Deepwater Horizon Maj. John Neil, Alabama Wing Director of Operations, and Capt. Jan Hulsey, from the National Operations Center, set up the initial Incident Command Post for CAP. NHQ/PA got involved from the start and began gathering resources and discussing PA guidelines with Col. Rushing, CAP NHQ staff, 1st Air Force and the incident commander.

15. Deepwater Horizon The decision was made by Col. Rushing and Lt. Col. Joel Katz of the Southeast Region, after consulting with NHQ/PA, that one CAP member should be tasked as the overall Pubic Information Officer (PIO) for the mission. Capt. Phil Norris, Southeast Region assistant director of public affairs, was chosen as the Deepwater Horizon Mission PIO.

16. Deepwater Horizon Capt. Norris’s CAP PA credentials: Master Rating in Public Affairs. 5 years’ experience as CAP PAO/PIO. Attended 2007 and 2008 PAO Academies. Several National PA Awards. Coordinated national media relations for the Dennis Steinbock mission in 2007. Former Mississippi Wing PAO.

17. Deepwater Horizon Norris’ initial tasking was to serve as a central point of contact for all information released relating to the CAP mission in the oil spill response. This required him to be in the approval chain for all press releases that dealt with the oil spill response.

18. Deepwater Horizon Major concerns from the standpoint of PA: Protecting sensitive information related to the mission. Keeping CAP members involved in the mission from using unauthorized channels to publish information about the mission (social media, e-mail, local stories, etc.). Not violating the trust the Unified Command placed in CAP to protect sensitive information.

19. Deepwater Horizon Major concerns from the standpoint of PA (cont.): • Working with the Incident Command Structure and Joint Information Center (JIC) on a large- scale mission where CAP was not the lead agency. • Staying in our lanes when sending out CAP press releases. • Telling the CAP story in a timely fashion and obtaining necessary approvals.

20. Deepwater Horizon Major PA goals for this mission: Maintain information integrity and operations security. Tell the CAP story to a national audience (aiding recruiting efforts). Recognize members who contributed to the success of the mission (aiding retention efforts). Establish CAP as a key emergency services player in future large-scale missions. Demonstrate CAP’s value to stakeholders.

21. Deepwater Horizon Initial steps to execute PA mission: PIO and NHQ/PA discussed how coordination would be carried out and chain of command. Educated key mission players, including all wing and region PAOs and national PA team leader, on protocol for mission. PIO and NHQ/PA communicated with key players in the JIC, 1st Air Force and NOC to learn what we could and couldn’t publish.

22. Deepwater Horizon Initial Steps to execute PA mission (cont.): NHQ/PA and PIO partnered with wing PAOs to encourage publicizing CAP’s involvement in the mission on the local level. Established rules for national press releases, local press releases and interviews. Established high-profile mission page on national website with updates and articles.

23. Deepwater Horizon Subsequent steps in executing PA mission: Focused on getting a national press release out as soon as possible to build national interest in the CAP story. Contacted selected national media outlets to promote interest in the CAP story. Contacted local media outlets to build interest in CAP (tasked wing PAOs with this).

24. Deepwater Horizon Subsequent steps in executing PA mission (cont.): As soon as national media interest was trickling in, established protocol to get approval for media flights and media interviews with key personnel. Continued to send out press releases to national media to maintain interest in CAP’s story. Developed communication plans for each media event.

25. Deepwater Horizon Our Successes

26. Deepwater Horizon Our successes: • We provided a media flight to CBS Evening News, which featured CAP on national news (more than 5 million viewers). • We provided a media flight to WALB-TV from Albany, Ga., which aired a 3-minute feature on CAP. • Newspath flew with us and aired a story shown on 80 CBS channels.

27. Our Successes Our successes (cont.): National news releases picked up online, including Aero-News Network and General Aviation. Air & Space/Smithsonian and AOPA Pilot magazines both writing feature stories including coverage of CAP’s contributions. We told the CAP story to several local media outlets (at least 12 print stories/video reports).

28. Deepwater Horizon Our successes (cont.): Received media information requests from Popular Mechanics, Fox News and “Inside Edition.” Established CAP PA as a professional organization capable of handling high-profile missions. Educated large contingent of CAP PAOs on proper conduct for a high-profile mission.

29. Deepwater Horizon Our successes (cont.): Demonstrated to 1st Air Force, U.S. Coast Guard, Federal Emergency Management Agency, Department of Homeland Security and other key emergency services organizations the value of CAP’s volunteer membership. DHS developed PowerPoint presentation, which featured CAP, to show local communities.

30. Deepwater Horizon Lessons learned: • Involve PA early on in high-profile missions. • The Incident Command Structure works. • NHQ/PA and mission PIO partnership is critical to PA success. • Get all affected PAs involved in the process. • Communication is critical to mission success. • Be willing to be flexible; rules change at times.

31. Deepwater Horizon Lessons learned (cont.): Establish good relationships with JIC, Air Force, CAP volunteer leadership, CAP subordinate unit PAOs, PA team leader and local and national media. Be patient and make sure your message is scrutinized before publishing. Properly brief CAP members before interaction with media representatives.

32. Deepwater Horizon Summary: The Deepwater Horizon mission was a large success for CAP PA. We established CAP as a national asset in the minds of the national media, stakeholders and the general public. For the mission PIO, the coordination and support from NHQ/PA was absolutely critical in achieving great successes during the Deepwater Horizon mission.

33. Partnering with NHQ/PA for High-Profile Missions Planning: Develop and/or refine crisis plan or public relations plan. Identify a spokesperson. Anticipate media needs and questions. Make recommendations on all media coverage. Coordinate national leadership participation. Provide talking points and media kits.

34. Partnering with NHQ/PA for High-Profile Missions Media queries and responses: Respond to media inquiries. Research, interview and write news releases. Disseminate news releases nationwide. Develop radio and TV announcements. Set up interviews. Set up press conferences.

35. Partnering with NHQ/PA for High-Profile Missions Issues management: Develop proactive media messages. Prepare a daily issues management report that tracks key issues and recommends courses of action.

36. Partnering with NHQ/PA for High-Profile Missions Logistics: Publish daily updates online. Provide media contact lists. Provide a daily report of media coverage. Provide a copy of  WMIRS reports to members involved in missions, issued daily by NHQ’s National Operations Center. Prepare an after-action report.

37. Parterning with NHQ/PA for High Profile Missions Creative Services: Coordinate with NHQ Creative Services to establish and maintain a website. Coordinate with NHQ Creative Services to secure and publish photographs online. Coordinate with NHQ Creative Services to record, edit and distribute videos/DVDs.

38. Deepwater Horizon Summary (cont.): The support of Col. Rushing, Southeast Region commander, the various incident commanders, the National Operations Center, 1st Air Force, the mission base staff, aircrews and the wing PAOs was essential in getting a positive CAP story out to a national audience. This will pay tremendous dividends to CAP for years to come. Thanks to all who supported the PA mission.

39. Deepwater Horizon Thanks to: Julie DeBardelaben, NHQ/PA Steve Cox, NHQ/PA NHQ/PA Staff Writer and Photographer Maj. Al Pabon, National PA Team Leader National Operations Center Personnel Col. James Rushing Incident Commanders Mission Base Staff CAP Aircrews Col. Becky Tilton, MSWG PAO Maj. Pat Mitcham, ALWG PAO Maj. Doug Jessmer, FLWG PAO Maj. Paige Joyner, GAWG PAO Lt. Kimberly Bennett, TNWG PAO

40. High-Profile Missions Future High-Profile Mission PA involvement: Plans are under way to create different qualification levels for CAP public information officers. Specific qualification requirements will be in place for PIOs before they will be allowed to participate in high-profile missions.

41. PIO Requirements: The Future Future High-Profile Mission PA involvement (cont.): Three levels of training based on the Department of Homeland Security’s National Incident Management System (NIMS) requirements. NIMS has five levels, but the top two are for federal-level PIOs serving on missions of national consequence – roles CAP would not fill. CAP will have PIOs Level 5 to 3.

42. PIO Requirements: Level 5 Current requirements: • Operational Risk Management Basic and Intermediate Training. • Complete Technician Rating in PAO Specialty Track. • FEMA’s G-289 or an equivalent CAP PIO Course. • Demonstrate Writing Technique – Writing a good news release. Current PIOs will be rolled in at this level automatically and will be expected to complete the above before renewing their qualifications.

43. PIO Requirements: Level 4 • Complete Senior Rating in PAO Specialty Track. • Demonstrate additional proficiency in writing, photography and presentation preparation. • Demonstrate knowledge of AP style. • Demonstrate ability to prepare for and conduct a press conference. • Complete FEMA G-290 and G-291 or equivalent CAP PIO courses. • Complete two missions as a Level 4 supervised trainee. Current PIOs meeting these requirements can be qualified immediately by their wing commander or a designee.

44. PIO Requirements: Level 3 : • FEMA’s E-388 or equivalent CAP PIO Course. • Two missions as a Level 3 Supervised Trainee. • Complete ICS 400. • Complete Master Rating in PAO Specialty Track. Current PIOs meeting these requirements can be qualified immediately by their region commander or a designee.

45. Questions?