Public Affairs

Morning involves checking in with the section, reviewing the day's production commitments, and handling any personnel or administrative issues. You are probably also handling senior leader requests that come through the PA officer — the general wants a video for the change of command, the wing CC needs a message for the installation TV channel. Afternoon might involve reviewing completed packages, coordinating with the wing public affairs office on upcoming events, and handling staff tasks if you are in a staff role. Evening events remain a constant.

Weekly production meeting you lead or co-lead with the PA officer. Coordination with wing scheduling for major events requiring broadcast support. Routine check-ins with your NCOs on their sections. Any recurring command information programming your section owns. Staff call if you are in a staff billet. Equipment maintenance and facility inspections on whatever cycle your organization runs. PME and professional development activities that do not pause for operational tempo.

Production section management at enterprise scale, broadcast technical direction for complex live events (multi-site, satellite, network-quality), digital media strategy including social media and streaming platforms, staff officer engagement and briefing skills, budget management for broadcast equipment and facilities, cross-functional coordination with public affairs officers, COMCAM teams, and joint information bureaus. Understanding of AFN enterprise structure and how your section fits in it.

JP 3-61 (Public Affairs) is now a primary reference — you need to understand how broadcast fits in joint operations. AFI 35-101 at a policy level, not just operational. AFPAA broadcast guidance documents. DINFOS (Defense Information School) advanced course materials if you have attended or plan to. DoD Instruction 5120.20 in full. Air Force Strategic Communication guidance from the Secretary of the Air Force Public Affairs office. Start reading professional broadcast trade publications to maintain currency.

Section-level accountability for all standards — OPSEC compliance, release authority procedures, technical broadcast standards, and Air Force personnel standards for your Airmen. Your section's practices should be documentable, defensible, and transferable — meaning a new TSgt should be able to run your section effectively with your SOPs. Command information products that leave your section reflect on you regardless of who produced them.

Not keeping current on the evolving broadcast technology landscape — IP-based broadcast workflows are replacing traditional SDI infrastructure; if you are not tracking this you will be managing a section using obsolete processes. Not investing in your section's training on current tools. Allowing a production quality culture where 'good enough for military TV' becomes the standard rather than professional broadcast standards. These institutional mistakes outlast individual assignments.

Senior Rater endorsement for CMSgt is the key variable and you should have a clear picture of where you stand by mid-TSgt career. Staff assignments that give you MAJCOM or Air Staff visibility significantly help promotion odds. Consider whether a DINFOS advanced course or other professional development opportunity makes sense at this point. Your mentorship obligations to junior NCOs are now formal career field obligations, not optional.

AFPAA assignments at Andrews involve enterprise broadcast operations, AFN network oversight, and Air Force-wide broadcast policy — high visibility and directly career-advancing for senior NCOs. Theater-level assignments in PACAF or USAFE involve coordination with allied broadcast systems and more complex multinational information environments. AFSOC broadcast support is specialized and high-tempo. Large wing PA shops at major installations are the most common TSgt assignment and offer solid leadership experience.

A sharp TSgt has a section that produces content indistinguishable in quality from professional civilian broadcast operations within the constraints they operate under. Their Airmen and NCOs are developing. Their equipment is current, maintained, and documented. The PA officer trusts their judgment. They brief senior leaders confidently and accurately. They have contributed something to the career field — an SOP, a training product, a process improvement — that outlasts their assignment.

MSgt and above means you are in the Air Force's senior enlisted leadership tier. The broadcast craft remains relevant as credibility foundation, but your primary currency is leadership, judgment, and the ability to translate broadcast capability into command communication outcomes that senior leaders actually care about. You are no longer running equipment — you are running strategy.