Just Call Them Communicators

The best channel to get the Air Force story out to the public, truthfully and credibly, is its own airmen, says Brig. Gen. Erwin Lessel III, chief of USAF’s new Office of Strategic Communications. He sees all USAF personnel as “strategic communicators,” a point echoed in Air Force Secretary Michael Wynne’s recent letter to airmen. And, to help airmen accomplish their new task, Lessel’s staff has developed a 20-page booklet highlighting “The Air Force Story” and an Airman’s card, with a distilled version. Noting that “by nature, we are quiet warriors,” Lessel said that nonetheless all airmen “should be proud of who they are and what they do, and they should be proud to share that with others.”