PA field open for officers

  • Published
  • By Airman 1st Class David Owsianka
  • 56th Fighter Wing Public Affairs
LUKE AIR FORCE BASE, Ariz. --  For officers with good people skills who are looking to cross-flow into a rewarding field and would like a challenging job that strategically impacts the Air Force mission, they should look into public affairs.

The U.S. Air Force website states that PA officers are responsible for public communication through news media initiatives, community relations, visual information programs, and internal communication targeting those personnel and families associated with the military.

Officers attend an eight-week course at the Defense Information School at Fort Meade, Md., along with other officers and civilians from all five services and allied nations. DINFOS gives officers the basic skills to do work and know the PA strategy behind the Defense Department policies.

According to Capt. Gerardo Gonzalez, 56th Fighter Wing public affairs chief who is currently deployed, officers are busy in a normal work week; they jump from one task to another, giving guidance to their unit, and tracking upcoming projects and initiatives.

"As a PA officer you can find yourself doing a wide variety of jobs," said Captain Gonzalez. "We can run a PA section at the wing-level, be involved with news media or internal information, be in charge of an entire PA office or can serve as an action officer at various headquarters levels."

Typical deployments for officers are six or nine months long, but there are also a handful of 365-day deployments. Missions in the deployed environment vary from a wide range of taskings.

Officers are in Tempo Band E, which means they could possibly go on a six-month deployment every year. Officers in this field are in high demand in Iraq and Afghanistan.

"I am currently in Afghanistan on a Joint Expeditionary Tasking advising the Afghan National army and police in PA matters," Captain Gonzalez said. "There are officers doing a wide range of deployed jobs, from traditional PA work in an air base wing to not so traditional outside-the-wire missions on provincial reconstruction teams.

"The fact that my job has immeasurable impact beyond the boundaries of the base and I am able to educate people on the Air Force mission makes me love my job," Captain Gonzalez said. "I wouldn't want to do anything else."