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380AEW Article

Commander turns table on PA staff

  • Published
  • By Brig. Gen. Daniel Orcutt
  • 380th Air Expeditionary Wing commander

Every good story requires a great storyteller. At the 380th Air Expeditionary Wing we are fortunate to have some of the finest Public Affairs professionals in the business.  Your stories, as told by PA, are both humbling and inspiring. But who tells PA’s story?  Who takes the pictures of our photojournalists and broadcasters in action? Since they never seek the limelight, I wanted to share a few facts about the range of skills our PA team has. 

Did you know PA is called to the scene of most accidents and any crimes on base?  They are trained crime scene photographers who help our security and investigative professionals collect and preserve evidence.  PA also advises Hollywood production companies to ensure they understand the realities of Air Force capabilities when portraying Airmen on the silver screen. Want to complain about aircraft noise, or report a UFO sighting? PA gets those calls too.

However, the primary mission of Public Affairs is to inform the general public of the Air Force’s story. Recently, Capt. Ashley Walker, our 380th AEW PA officer, forward deployed to assist a geographically separated unit at an undisclosed location. The Secretary of Defense was visiting the Expeditionary Group there with members of the Pentagon press corps. Captain Walker ensured the AEG’s story was told to the New York Times, Fox News, the Wall Street Journal, and several other media outlets.  She did so while maintaining operational security concerns and an impressive flexibility to an ever-changing schedule. Whenever you see a leader step in front of the press, you can be certain a PA team has spent hours preparing them for success.  This was certainly true in the case of Captain Walker’s assistance with the SECDEF visit, as demonstrated by the accolades I personally received for her performance.

In addition to the above tasks, PA also covers base events, concerts, changes of command, athletic events and other stories of interest as our Airmen carry out their duties in a demanding environment. Alongside Captain Walker, Tech. Sgt. Jeff Andrejcik, Tech. Sgt. Christopher Boitz and Staff Sgt. Candace Reese capture that sense of community, our neighborhood if you will, which is unique to our location.  The more time I get to spend with each of you, in your work environment, the more I realize each of your stories is awesome and needs to be told.  Lucky for us, PA is here to share our stories.

The Airmen of the 380th AEW PA shop are impressive. With only four personnel assigned, their mission is to tell the story of nearly 4,000 Airmen!  From documenting crime scenes, escorting national media, and telling our story, here’s to you, Public Affairs! Thanks for everything you do to showcase to the world how truly awesome the Airmen of the 380th AEW are.