A division commander recently told me he was going to pull the PAOs in the Brigades and subordinate units, up to Division Headquarters.
He had a few good reasons –
- Most external engagement is done at the Division Headquarters. If it’s not executed completely at division, then it’s at least approved and managed from there.
- Brigade commanders don’t know what to do with PAOs.
- Brigade PAOs are young, inexperienced and would benefit from division PAO oversight and management.
This division commander was no dummy and his reasoning is sound. I disagreed with him. Here’s what my experience tells me –
- As the lead communicator in Afghanistan, I needed subordinate PAOs to tell me WTF was going on. PAOs are often (should be in my units) ahead of ops. To be first with the truth, I need PAOs who have a real understanding of tactical ops and know what’s newsworthy and what I care about.
- Brigade commanders need to learn through practice why he or she needs a PAO and a PAO needs to understand what commanders need. My brigade commander from my first PAO gig is now a 4 star. I’m pretty sure he beckons back to what we did together in Iraq.
- A PAO does much more than media. The PAO should be helping the commander communicate internally, externally and to every audience; to do this, the PAO has to truly know the unit. To know a unit, you need to be in it.
We just gotta be careful. An unsupervised brigade commander can misuse the PAO harming the PAO, the commander and the unit. Often we see the PAO buried under layers of staff or relegated to taking photos at cake cutting ceremonies. To prevent this, a strong division PAO can help mentor brigade commanders. Brigade commanders and PAOs should also be regular readers of MaxDis.
Photo by Sgt. Jeremiah Meaney
