How Can I Learn More about
Being a Better CAP PAO?
Major (Dr.) David A. Miller
Assistant Public Affairs Officer
Missouri Wing
Overview
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Hold National Press Conferences
Handle Hundreds of International
Media Requests
Prepare for National Media Interviews
You are in the Wrong Seminar!
Dr. Dave’s PAO 101
Ten Rules for Being
a Better CAP PAO
Who Am I?
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MOWG Assistant PAO, Medical Officer,
Group II Commander
2006 MOWG PAO of the Year
2008 NCR PAO of the Year (Wing Lvl)
Four 2007 Inaugural Balsam Awards
Family Physician in Private Practice
Medical Grand Rounds
A Case of Melancholy
Medical Grand Rounds
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“C.A.P”
66 year old
Male Veteran
(DOB 12/1/1941)
Chief Complaint:
Melancholy
Medical Grand Rounds
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History of the Present Illness:
– Acute Onset of Melancholy (Sadness)
– “I just don’t feel appreciated, Doc.”
– “Nobody knows what I do for my
country.”
– “I feel like a ‘best kept secret’.”
Medical Grand Rounds
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Past Medical History
– Heartburn (Too Many Uniform Changes)
– Insomnia (Too Many AFRCC 2 am Calls)
– Occasional Palpitations (SUI and CI Visits)
– Old Right Knee Injury (Rappelling Injury
Summer Encampment 1975)
– Elevated Cholesterol (Too Many Donuts at
the FBO and MRE’s in the Field)
Medical Grand Rounds
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Patient’s Social History:
– Married Three Times
– Divorced Twice (from the Office of Civilian
Defense and the Army Air Corps)
– Married to the US Air Force since 1948
– 22,000 children (Cadets)
– 7,000 grand children (Junior Cadets)
Medical Grand Rounds
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Patient’s Social History (Continued):
– Retired Military, Former Commercial Pilot
– Served WWII, Korea, Vietnam, Gulf I & II
– Credited with Sinking Two U-boats
– Received 824 Air Medals
– Flies 110,000 Hours a Year
– Credited with 103 Lives Saved Last Year
Medical Grand Rounds
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Physical Examination
– Vital Signs Normal, Appears Sad
– Fit (Within 10% of USAF Requirements)
– Slight Hard of Hearing (Engine Noise)
– Excellent Eye Sight but Early Cataract
Formation (Flew Too Many High Birds)
Medical Grand Rounds
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Diagnosis:
– Acute Melancholy
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Treatment:
– Vitamin PAO! (STAT!)
Dr. Dave’s Rule #1
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Read CAPR 190-1
– Our Bible, Road Map, Marching Orders
– Only Six Pages Long
– Fully Revised June 2007
– Don’t Forget CAPM 190-1, Vols. I & II
(“Guide to Civil Air Patrol Public Affairs”)
CAPR 190-1 Highlights
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Commander and PAO are Official Unit
Spokespersons
Provide PAO Training for Subordinate
Units at least Annually
Develop Annual Public Relations Plan
for Internal and External Audiences
Develop Annual Crisis Communications
Plan
CAPR 190-1 Highlights
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Create and Distribute a Regular Newsletter, at least Quarterly
Oversee all Distributed Multimedia
Materials (Photos, Audio, Video, etc.)
Access to Unit Equipment (Cameras
and Computers)
Oversee Unit Websites and Listservs
Dr. Dave’s Rule #2
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Don’t Reinvent the Wheel
– Multiple Examples of PR and Crisis Plans
– Other Unit’s Websites and Newsletters
– CAP News Online Article Examples
– Regional Resources (www.ncrpao.org)
– CAP Channel (www.capchannel.com)
– PAO Toolkit
PAO Toolkit Contents
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Annual Reports to Congress
CAP Biographies
CAP Emblem, Seal, CAPR 190-1
CAP Fact Sheets
CAP Posters (4, lowres & hires)
CAP Stock Print Ads (17 b&w, 9 color)
CAP Videos (16)
Media Relations Videos (5)
News Writing Tips (5)
PowerPoint Presentations (5)
NHQ PA Staff Contact Sheet
NCR PAO Website
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Open House Resources
CAP PowerPoint Templates
CAP Business Card Templates
CAP Presentations
PAO Planning Resources
PAO Listserv Information
MIO Resources (2007 Workshop, Handbook)
NCR PAO Training Calendar
NCR Photos (Conferences, Activities, Missions)
NCR 2008 Flood Updates
Extensive CAP PAO Links
Dr. Dave’s Rule #3
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Network, Network, Network!
– Meetings, Conferences, PAO Academy
– PAO Workshops at Wing/Region Mtgs
– PAO Listservs (www.themareks.com/pao)
– Mentoring
Dr. Dave’s Rule #3
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Network, Network, Network!
– Online Communities
CAPtalk (www.captalk.net)
 CAPblog (capblog.typepad.com)
 CadetStuff (www.cadetstuff.org)
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– National Information Officers Association
(www.nioa.org)
Dr. Dave’s Rule #4
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Make Your Own Media Contact List
– Yellow Pages, Government Lists
– United Way Media Guides
– Media Directories
Bacon’s Publicity Checker
 Ayer’s Directory of Publications
 Editor’s and Publisher’s Yearbook
 Broadcast Yearbook
 All In One Directory
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Dr. Dave’s Rule #4
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Online Media Contact List Resources
– US Newspaper List (by state and city)
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www.usnpl.com
– Radio Stations (by Zip Code or state/city)
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www.ontheradio.net/Stations.aspx
– Media Sources (by state and major city)
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www.mondotimes.com/world/usa.html
Dr. Dave’s Rule #4
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Make Your Own Media Contact List
– Wire Services
Associated Press (www.ap.org)
 United Press International (www.upi.com)
 Air Force Association Media Guide
(www.afa.org)
(capwiz.com/afa/dbq/media)
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– Once Made, Constantly Update Your List
Dr. Dave’s Rule #5
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Write, Write, Write!
– Write an Article for Every Activity
– Submit to Local Media as Well as
Unit/Wing/Region/NHQ News Sources
– Start with 1-2 Page Media Releases,
Then Progress to Feature Articles
– Hometown News Release Program
– CAP News Online
Dr. Dave’s Rule #5
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Write, Write, Write!
– CAP Tagline
“Performing Missions for America”
 “More than Meets the Skies”
 “Citizens Serving Communities … Above and
Beyond”
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– CAP Uniform Paragraph (“Boilerplate”)
CAP Uniform Paragraph
The Civil Air Patrol was founded on Dec. 1, 1941, less than a
week before the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor brought the
U.S. into World War II. CAP, the official auxiliary of the U.S.
Air Force, is a nonprofit organization with more than 55,000
members nationwide. CAP performs 95 percent of inland
search and rescue missions, as tasked by the Air Force Rescue
Coordination Center, and was credited by the AFRCC with
saving 103 lives in 2007. Its volunteers also perform
homeland security, disaster relief and counterdrug missions at
the request of federal, state and local agencies. Members play
a leading role in aerospace education and serve as mentors to
the more than 22,000 young people currently participating in
the CAP Cadet program. For more information, go to
www.cap.gov.
Dr. Dave’s Rule #6
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Take Pictures, LOTS of Pictures
– Digital Versus Film
– Extra Batteries and Memory Cards
– Don’t Forget the Photo Credit
– Ownership? CAP, USAF, Client?
Dr. Dave’s Rule #6
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Take Pictures, LOTS of Pictures
– Photo Releases
Written or verbal permission not required for
photos/video taken in public circumstances
 DO limit identifying information to name,
rank, unit’s general location (i.e. city, state
and unit name)
 Commercial purpose use requires written
permission
 Make good faith effort to honor requests
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Situational Awareness
Dr. Dave’s Rule #7
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Advance Your Training
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CAPR 190-1, CAPM 190-1 Vols. I & II
Public Affairs Specialty Track (CAPP 201)
Unit/Wing/Region/NHQ Training Courses
AFIADL PAO Course (Course 02010)
FEMA/SEMA Courses (Basic PIO Course G290,
Advanced PIO Course E388)
– GTM3, Aircrew, MIO training
– Other Organizations/Colleges (i.e. NIOA)
Dr. Dave’s Rule #8
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Newsletters (Yes), Websites (Maybe)
– Newsletters are Required, at least
Quarterly (Usually Monthly/Bimonthly)
– Electronic (pdf, doc) Versus Paper
– One Pagers Versus Monographs
– Multiple Examples at NHQ PAO Site
Dr. Dave’s Rule #8
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Websites
– Free Versus Minimal Cost
– NCR PAO “Website in a Box”
– Dreamhost (www.dreamhost.com)
– Wild Apricot (www.wildapricot.com)
– bizhostnet (www.bizhostnet.com)
– Google Sites
– Wing Website Subdomains
Dr. Dave’s Rule #9
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Join the Mission Information Officer
Club!
– We need more MIO’s!
– PAO’s Versus MIO’s
Similar Yet Different
 PAO Does Not Equal MIO, or Reverse
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– Required for All Missions Lasting Longer
than 48 Hours
Dr. Dave’s Rule #9
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Functions of the MIO
– Provide and Receive Critical Information
– Advises the Incident Commander (IC)
– Protects the Image of CAP
– Provides Timely Information to the PA
Staff of Each Higher HQ and Community
Liaisons
– Only Official Spokesperson other than IC
Dr. Dave’s Rule #10
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Be Able to Learn New Tricks
– YouTube (www.youtube.com)
– Facebook (www.facebook.com)
– MySpace (www.myspace.com)
– Twitter (www.twitter.com)
– Photobucket (photobucket.com)
– Picasa (www.picasaweb.google.com)
Dr. Dave’s Ten Rules for
Being a Better CAP PAO
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#1
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#5
Read CAPR 190-1
Don’t Reinvent the Wheel
Network, Network, Network!
Make Your Own Media Contact List
Write, Write, Write!
Dr. Dave’s Ten Rules for
Being a Better CAP PAO
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#6 Take Pictures, LOTS of Pictures
#7 Advance Your Training
#8 Newspapers (Yes), Websites
(Maybe)
#9 Join the Mission Information
Officer Club!
#10 Be Able to Learn New Tricks
Questions/Discussion?