U.s. Armys Strategic Communication - 1698 Words

Organizational Structure A major issue for the U.S. Army to execute strategic communication is that the functional areas delegated the task to execute the U.S. Army’s strategic communication program all have different primary missions. This organizational structure tends to produce strategic communications that are not integrated into a broad organizational objective, there leading to the potential of contradicting messages. Public affairs and civil affairs have the functional mission centered on delivering messages that â€Å"inform†. The mission of Army public affairs is to inform internal and external publics, and fulfill the Army’s obligation to keep the American people and the Army informed as established in Title 10, United States Code†¦show more content†¦While inform and influence cannot be meaningfully separated, truth and falsehood can. (Paul, 2011). Every action, utterance, message, depiction, and movement of a nation’s military forces influences the perce ptions and opinions of populations that witness them, both in the area of operations (first hand), and in the broader world (Paul, 2011). Another problem for the U.S. Army is that information operations, psychological operations, public affairs and civil affairs, defense support to public diplomacy (DSPD), military diplomacy, and visual information all fall under different command structures which are scattered throughout the U.S. Army’s formation. The fact that these functional areas are under different commands allows each element to create its own theme and messages. Paul (2011) claims that if every representative of the government says whatever they feel like saying, each becomes a potential loose cannon on the ship of communication. But, regardless of decentralization, full integration is possible. Along with the urgency to execute strategic communication, the U.S. Army is moving toward more conducive command structure for complex environments. The military is adapting a â€Å"mission command† philosophy. Mission command relies on the human ability to take action in a timely manner based on analy sis of the environment and what is necessary for the achievement of an assigned task or goal. For effective mission command to