## Instruction

 SUBJECT: Procedures for Joint Public Affairs Operations

References: See Enclosure 1 1.  PURPOSE.  In accordance with the authority of DoD Directive (DoDD) 5122.05 (Reference (a)), this instruction reissues DoD Instruction (DoDI) 5400.14 (Reference (b)) to implement policy, assign responsibilities, and prescribe procedures for the conduct of public affairs programs in support of joint, combined, and unilateral military operations. 2.  APPLICABILITY.  This instruction applies to the OSD, the Military Departments, the Office of the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (CJCS) and the Joint Staff, the Combatant Commands, the Office of the Inspector General of the Department of Defense, the Defense Agencies, the DoD Field Activities, and all other organizational entities within the DoD (referred to collectively in this instruction as the "DoD Components"). 3.  POLICY.  It is DoD policy that:
a.  In accordance with DoDI 5400.13 (Reference (c)), joint, combined, and unilateral military operations must include planning, resourcing, and conducting public affairs activities to support such operations.

b.  In accordance with Enclosure 3 of Reference (a), civilian and DoD internal news media will have access to unclassified joint, combined, and unilateral operations, consistent with operations security and prevailing public affairs guidance (PAG).

4.  RESPONSIBILITIES.  See Enclosure 2. 5.  PROCEDURES.  See Enclosure 3.

6.  RELEASABILITY.  **Cleared for public release**.  This instruction is available on the Internet from the DoD Issuances Website at http://www.dtic.mil/whs/directives.

7.  EFFECTIVE DATE.  This instruction is effective November 3, 2014.


Brent Colburn

Assistant to the Secretary of Defense for

Public Affairs Enclosures
1.  References

2.  Responsibilities

3.  Procedures Glossary

## Table Of Contents

 ENCLOSURE 1:  REFERENCES ........4 ENCLOSURE 2:  RESPONSIBILITIES ........5

ASSISTANT TO THE SECRETARY OF DEFENSE FOR PUBLIC AFFAIRS
(ATSD(PA)) ........5
DIRECTOR, DEFENSE MEDIA ACTIVITY ........5 SECRETARIES OF THE MILITARY DEPARTMENTS........6 CJCS ........6 CCDRs ........7 ENCLOSURE 3:  PROCEDURES ........9
GENERAL ........9


Commander's Communication Synchronization ........9


Public Affairs Operational Infrastructure ........9


Access to Military Units ........9


Operations Security ........9

MEDIA RELATIONS ........10


Planning for News Media ........10


Resource Requirements ........11

OTHER CONSIDERATIONS........11


Exercises ........11


Command Information ........11


Community Engagement ........11 GLOSSARY ........13
PART I:  ABBREVIATIONS AND ACRONYMS ........13
PART II:  DEFINITIONS ........13

## Enclosure 1 References

 (a) DoD Directive 5122.05, "Assistant to the Secretary of Defense for Public Affairs
(ASD(PA)," September 5, 2008

(b) DoD Instruction 5400.14, "Procedures for Joint Public Affairs Operations,"

January 22, 1996 (hereby cancelled)
(c) DoD Instruction 5400.13, "Public Affairs (PA) Operations," October 15, 2008 (d) DoD Instruction 5405.3, "Development of Proposed Public Affairs Guidance (PPAG),"

April 5, 1991
(e) DoD Instruction 5040.02, "Visual Information (VI)," October 27, 2011
(f)
DoD Directive 5105.74, "Defense Media Activity (DMA)," December 18, 2007
(g) DoD Instruction 5120.20, "Armed Forces Radio and Television Service (AFRTS),"
October 18, 2010
(h) DoD Directive 5410.18, "Public Affairs Community Relations Policy,"

November 20, 2001, as amended
(i)
Joint Publication 1-02, "Department of Defense Dictionary of Military and Associated
Terms," current edition

## Enclosure 2 Responsibilities

 1.  ASSISTANT TO THE SECRETARY OF DEFENSE FOR PUBLIC AFFAIRS (ATSD(PA)). The ATSD(PA):
a.  Has primary responsibility for the consistent implementation of DoD information policy according to Reference (a).

b.  Determines who will serve as the initial source of information about joint, combined, and unilateral operations and decides whether to delegate public affairs release authority to the Combatant Commander (CCDR).


c.  Reviews, coordinates, approves, and disseminates public affairs plans and PAG in accordance with DoDI 5405.3 (Reference (d)).

d.  Establishes and exercises procedures for the administrative management, activation, and direction of a DoD media pool when ordered by the Secretary of Defense. e.  Coordinates public affairs matters within the DoD and with other federal departments and agencies outside the DoD.

f.  Provides policy guidance for the employment of joint combat camera teams and the distribution of their products, as established in DoDI 5040.02 (Reference (e)).

g.  Provides representation to the OSD Crisis Coordination Center and establishes, as necessary, a crisis or wartime public affairs element at the Pentagon to provide continuous public affairs planning, gather and disseminate information, and evaluate public affairs support of the operational mission.

h.  Conducts periodic news briefings on issues and events about ongoing joint, combined, and unilateral operations. 2.  DIRECTOR, DMA.  Under the authority, direction, and control of the ATSD(PA), and in accordance with DoDD 5105.74 (Reference (f)), the Director, DMA:
a.  Supports Combatant Command plans for the command information mission, including the deployment of broadcast facilities from the AFRTS, in accordance with DoDI 5120.20 (Reference (g)), and distribution of print media.

b.  Directs joint public affairs training at the Defense Information School for entry- and advanced-level military and civilian public affairs personnel of all grades.

c.  In coordination with the Defense Information School, the Joint Staff, the Military Departments, and the Combatant Commands, develops, teaches, and maintains public affairs policy. 3.  SECRETARIES OF THE MILITARY DEPARTMENTS.  The Secretaries of the Military Departments:
a.  Coordinate with the Combatant Commanders (CCDRs) to determine the resources
(personnel and equipment) needed to conduct successful public affairs activities in joint or single-service environments.  Ensure the prompt and sustained availability of Active and Reserve Component public affairs resources needed to support any assigned mission.  Ensure that a fully capable public affairs structure, made up of Active and Reserve Component assets, exists to support short-notice deployments.


b.  Organize, fund, and equip public affairs personnel and units to conduct public affairs activities in support of CCDRs conducting operations.

c.  Conduct Military Service-unique public affairs programs required to support joint and unilateral operations.  Included are command information programs that serve deployed service members and their families at home stations, as well as community engagement programs designed to meet the requirements in DoDI 5410.18 (Reference (h)).

d.  Provide public affairs training at Service schools and encourage programs that improve understanding and cooperation between the military and the news media. e.  Provide news media training for public affairs personnel, commanders, and key staff who are to be involved in wartime or contingency media relations activities. f.  Support planning and provide resources for contingency and wartime operations of AFRTS.

## 4.  Cjcs.  The Cjcs:

 a.  Develops and distributes joint public affairs doctrine. b.  Ensures that existing operational public affairs plans comply with published joint public affairs doctrine and guidance. c.  Establishes a CJCS Public Affairs Response Cell within the National Military Command Center to provide public affairs support to the Office of the Assistant to the Secretary of Defense for Public Affairs (OATSD(PA)).


d.  Supports the DoD in explaining mission aspects of joint and unilateral operations by making available senior officers with expertise on matters of interest to the news media and the public.


e.  In accordance with Reference (e), plans for the employment of combat camera assets in crisis situations, operations, and exercises. f.  Plans for the employment of Reserve Component public affairs assets to support the unique public information and command information requirements of mobilized Reserve Component units.

5.  CCDRs.  The CCDRs:


a.  Include an annex in operations plans that establishes the responsive public affairs organizations and structures for the operation and which identifies the requirement for personnel, facilities, equipment, transportation, and communications assets to support the public affairs mission.

b.  Plan to support news media from the earliest, pre-deployment stages of any operation.
Ensure that reporters are granted all appropriate access to unclassified activities, including combat operations.

c.  In accordance with Reference (d), develop operational public affairs guidance that recommends an active or response to query public affairs posture, proposes holding and public statements as appropriate, and provides responses to anticipated news media questions.

d.  Prepare for and assist in the deployment and operation of a DoD media pool, as required.


e.  Conduct a full range of public affairs activities consistent with current PAG, public affairs release authority, and operations security requirements.

f.  As appropriate, establish, resource, and operate a media operations center (MOC) to serve as an interface between the joint forces and the news media.  The Combatant Command MOC will provide direct public affairs support to the joint task force commander.  The director of the joint task force MOC will receive public affairs policy guidance and oversight from Combatant Command MOC, and be prepared to participate in Coalition Press Information Centers to support the responsible combined operations with contributing nations.

g.  As appropriate, for domestic operations, form a Joint Information Center (JIC), including multiple agencies (civilian and military), under the Emergency Support Function.  DoD will support this structure but DoD personnel supporting it remain under military command and control.  DoD may create an MOC to support unique or unilateral DoD operations in the domestic environment.


h.  Assist news media in gaining access to the full spectrum of U.S. Military units and personnel conducting joint and unilateral operations, subject to special operations restrictions. i.  As needed, provide other information requirements identified by OATSD(PA).  Provide daily situation reports to OATSD(PA) during current operations as circumstances require, apprising OATSD(PA) immediately of major operational developments, incidents, or other newsworthy events. j.  Prepare plans to conduct command information programs using, as appropriate, subordinate Service component assets and resources.  Plan to employ the capabilities of AFRTS and other internal news media products that convey information to deployed forces, those remaining at the home station, and all family members.


k.  Apply ground rules for releasing information equally to civilian reporters and to military reporters assigned command information tasks. l.  Provide public affairs resources (personnel, equipment, transportation, and communications) to the supported CCDR as identified by the CJCS in approved contingency plans.  Be prepared to reinforce the supported CCDR to meet unplanned resource requirements. m.  Designate an officer as the combat camera representative to plan for the employment of combat camera assets. n.  In accordance with Reference (e), plan for the employment of combat camera assets in crisis situations, operations, and exercises.  Provide the Defense Imagery Management Operations Center appropriate combat camera documentary products for release to the news media. o.  Support the public affairs requirements of Reserve Component units mobilized and deployed in a theater of operations.  CCDRs must ensure that Reserve Component family members and hometown news media are provided information to dispel rumors, sustain public awareness, and increase understanding of Reserve Component units and their missions in the theater of operations.



## Enclosure 3 Procedures 1.  General

a.  Commander's Communication Synchronization.  While the supported commander must plan for, resource, and execute public affairs operations, the accomplishment of the overall military strategic and operational public affairs objectives relies on the coordinated responses of supporting Combatant Commands, the Military Departments, the CJCS, and OATSD(PA).


(1)  Joint, combined, and unilateral public affairs activities must involve a process of deliberate planning to produce public affairs assessments, assign public affairs activities to support overall mission objectives, develop public affairs employment concepts, establish command relationships, coordinate communication plans and messages across the command and staff, and provide necessary resources.


(2)  Public affairs plans, programs, policies, or actions that have operational implications will be coordinated with the CJCS and other appropriate governmental agencies at the national level and approved by the ATSD(PA).


b.  Public Affairs Operational Infrastructure.  To meet their responsibilities to communicate to the general public, commanders will devote resources necessary for a robust, responsive, and efficient public affairs infrastructure under prevailing DoD PAG.   Commanders will ensure adequate, immediately available dedicated personnel, equipment, transportation, and communications resources are able to meet the demands for information.

c.  Access to Military Units.  Joint force commanders will ensure that the credentialed news media covering their operations are granted access to military units and activities consistent with operations security.  The goal is to provide journalists a complete overview of the entire operation, subject to security restrictions, and to assist journalists in reporting about the objectives and accomplishments of joint operations and the complexity of challenges faced by military forces.  The personal safety of correspondents, in and of itself, is not a reason for excluding them from such situations.  The goal is to treat the news media as members of units, allowing them to accompany the organizations during the conduct of their missions.

d.  Operations Security.  All commanders will take the steps necessary to balance the parallel responsibilities of allowing open and independent reporting on their forces and ensuring operations security.  Each of these responsibilities requires a continuous effort to identify what information is releasable to the news media.  While there may be situations when a formal security review of news media products may be necessary, all cases involve the disciplined practice of securing information on operations.  While meeting with the news media helps ensure that members of the media are well informed, commanders must also ensure that classified or sensitive but unclassified information whose disclosure could jeopardize an operation or is otherwise restricted for other reasons, such as the Privacy Act, is not disclosed.  In planning coverage of operations, the public affairs officer will develop written ground rules on inadvertent disclosures of classified or sensitive information to ensure the safety of individuals and operations security.  These rules should be in an enclosure to the public affairs annex of an order or other planning documents and approved by the commander.  News media members who will be covering operations will be provided a copy of these rules and sign them during the credentialing process to ensure informed consent.  As special staff to the commander, the public affairs officer will set these and other rules to allow coverage of forces while minimizing the chances of a security lapse.

2.  MEDIA RELATIONS
a.  Planning for News Media.  The primary means of covering U.S. Military operations will be open and independent coverage by properly credentialed news media.  There will be situations, especially in the deployment of joint forces or in support of specific missions, in which the formation of a news media pool will be the most appropriate public affairs course of action.  Plans for supporting the news media must address:

(1)  Daily, comprehensive, and unclassified operational briefings for news media personnel.


(2)  Access to areas of ongoing combat or exercise operations.  The personal safety of the news media, in and of itself, is not a reason for excluding them.


(3)  Reasonable access to key command and staff personnel.


(4)  Requirements to coordinate news media pool.  An officer from the supported command in the grade of O-5 or O-6 will coordinate news media pool requirements.


(5)  Itinerary planning that will enable news media pool members to disperse throughout the operational area.


(6)  Cooperation expected from all U.S. forces participating in the operation or exercise on a non-interference basis.


(7)  Logistical support for news media and escort personnel out of existing contingency or exercise funds.  Required support may include, but not be limited to, the following:


(a)  Existing contingency or exercise airlift from the continental United States to the area of operation or exercise and return.



(b)  Theater ground, sea, and air transportation to allow national media pool coverage
of operations.


(c)  Messing and billeting on a reimbursable basis.


(d)  Issuance of equipment considered appropriate to the situation (helmets, canteens, flak vests, etc.).



(e)  Access to communications facilities to file stories on an expedited basis.


(f)  In cases where open and independent coverage is not possible for selected ongoing operations, planning will address requirements needed to support temporary news media pools.



(8)  Provide news media access to properly released DoD visual information products in support of contingency missions as soon as is practical.

b.  Resource Requirements.  Joint, combined, and unilateral public affairs activities are personnel and resource intensive, and it is likely that no single organization will possess sufficient organic assets to conduct effective wartime or contingency public affairs operations.

(1)  Commanders must ensure that the operations planning process includes public affairs assessments that precisely identify resource requirements.  Plans must provide for specific measures to reinforce personnel and to procure, lease, or assign other necessary resources.  That effort will involve assistance from the supporting Combatant Commands and the Military Departments.  It is essential that all materials be immediately deployable and provided on a dedicated basis so that the responsible commander can sustain public affairs operations at required levels.

(2)  Each phase of an operation will have unique public affairs implications that require the attention of the commander, the staff, and the PAO.  News media interest will vary, and military support packages must be able to accommodate communications programs that include online social media as well as traditional news media and that anticipate surges in news media activities.  Public affairs assets should ideally be in place before the beginning of operations. There should be a high priority assigned for the movement of public affairs assets by air and ground transportation to ensure that adequate public affairs support is available to meet news media requirements.

3.  OTHER CONSIDERATIONS
a.  Exercises.  It is essential that public affairs tasks conducted in support of exercises resemble, to the extent possible, the techniques and procedures appropriate to actual contingency operations.  Commanders will ensure that the public affairs functions of assessment, policy development, planning, resourcing, media relations, command information, and feedback are brought together in the training environment.

b.  Command Information.  CCDRs retain responsibility for the public affairs command information mission and should ensure that assets needed to conduct the mission are deployed early.  That process requires close coordination with the Military Departments and the supporting CCDRs for reinforcement.  It is essential that such programs include timely information about current national, international, and military events, as well as on DoD and Military Department policy information.  Commanders will ensure that their public affairs plans include those steps needed to inform non-deployed military personnel and families about the activities of the forces and their roles in the overall joint mission.


c.  Community Engagement.  Whether conducting joint operations in the United States or overseas, CCDRs will plan for and execute community engagement programs that support direct communication with local nationals, and resident international publics, as applicable.  This effort requires close coordination with the Military Departments in the United States and the civilmilitary operations personnel or U.S. Embassy country teams when present in host-nations.

## Glossary Part I.  Abbreviations And Acronyms



 AFRTS
Armed Forces Radio and Television Service
ATSD(PA)
Assistant to the Secretary of Defense for Public Affairs


CCDR
Combatant Commander
CJCS
Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff


DMA
Defense Media Activity
DoDD
DoD Directive
DoDI
DoD Instruction


JIC
Joint Information Center


MOC
Media Operations Center


OATSD(PA) Office of the Assistant to the Secretary of Defense for Public Affairs

PAG
public affairs guidance


## Part Ii.  Definitions


Unless otherwise noted, these terms and their definitions are for the purpose of this instruction. active public affairs posture.  A PA posture that involves using various communication tactics to stimulate public and media interest, such as distributing press releases and inviting media to cover the event, exercise, or operation. combat camera.  The acquisition and use of still and motion imagery in support of combat, information, humanitarian, special force, intelligence, reconnaissance, engineering, legal, public affairs, and other operations involving the Military Services by forces specifically trained, organized, equipped, and tasked to provide such support.  Also known as COMCAM. command information.  Defined in Joint Publication 1-02 (Reference (i)). community engagement.  Defined in Reference (i). public affairs ground rules.  Conditions established by a military command to govern the conduct of news gathering and limitations on the release or use of specified operations, intelligence, and personnel information during an operation. JIC.  A central location where personnel with public information responsibilities perform critical emergency information functions, crisis communications, and public affairs functions.  JICs may be established at various levels of government or at incident sites, or can be components of multiple agencies.  A single JIC location is preferable, but the system is flexible and adaptable enough to accommodate virtual or multiple JIC locations, as required.

MOC.  A facility established by the joint force commander to serve as the focal point for the interface between the military and the media during the conduct of joint operations.  Its purpose is to provide the news media with timely and accurate information on a command's activities, events, and operations.  It also provides necessary equipment, transportation, and communications assets to support public affairs activities and media coverage efforts.  An MOC will be staffed by public affairs personnel from the services represented in the joint force and by support personnel.  Participating Military Services may establish their own information bureaus, subordinate to the MOC, to disseminate information about their particular missions.  A combined MOC will be staffed by public affairs personnel from those nations participating in the combined operation. media pool.  Defined in Reference (i). public affairs.  Defined in Reference (i). public affairs assessment.  Defined in Reference (i). PAG.  Defined in Reference (i). public information.  That aspect of public affairs that emphasizes communicating with the general public as a mass audience. response to query public affairs posture.  A PA posture that doesn't take action to generate media or public interest beyond responding to media queries.    When a response to query posture is in effect, authorities must be prepared to respond to news media inquiries about the issue or activity and to make brief statements to avoid confusion, speculation, misunderstanding, or false information that may prevail if news media queries go unanswered.  Also known as RTQ.


visual information products.  Various visual media with or without sound.  Generally, they include still and motion photography, audio video recording, graphic arts, visual aids, models, displays, and visual presentations.