Photo By Senior Airman Jocelyn Tuller | U.S. Air Force Staff Sgt. Paul Helmig, a public affairs specialist with the 182nd...... read more read more
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CAMP GRAYLING, Mich. – Twenty-seven airmen from multiple Air National Guard units across the United States participated in a public affairs deployment readiness training workshop during Exercise Northern Strike 24-2 (NS 24-2) at Camp Grayling, Michigan, Aug. 3-17, 2024.
Public affairs airmen from Illinois, Indiana, New Jersey, New York, and Washington came together at Camp Grayling to sharpen their skills as part of their annual readiness training while also providing photo and video coverage of NS 24-2, one of the Department of Defense's largest reserve component readiness exercises.
Master Sgt. Scott Thompson, the public affairs superintendent with the 181st Intelligence Wing, has been in public affairs for twenty-nine years and wanted an opportunity for public affairs members to connect and sharpen their skills. He has organized public affairs training events in the past, but this year’s training was meant to be different. This year included workshops and assignments that simulated deployment conditions to test creators, including opportunities to work with other service branches and foreign military forces.
"This year's training had an organized workflow and well-structured assignments,” said Staff Sgt. Paul Helmig, a public affairs specialist with the 182nd Airlift Wing. “We learned how to manage our time better to avoid burnout and focused on delivering quality products. The environment allows us to experiment and train with our equipment without adding additional stress.”
Mentorship and teamwork played a significant role in the training. Airmen collaborated on photography and videography assignments in teams of two – with post-production mentorship on each assignment – to cover different angles of events, learning how to combine their work to produce a more comprehensive project than one person could typically achieve. Additionally, there was a dedicated person each day to give guidance to the team.
Guest speakers, including Jackie Spinner, a war reporter, and Alyce Henson, a photojournalist, both of whom shared their experiences and offered career advice. Henson also worked hands on with some airmen in the field. Members of the Latvian National Armed Forces combat camera team also reflected on their experiences and emphasized the importance of working with allies.
Public affairs specialists do not often get the opportunity to take part in training like this workshop. Typically, they document training without the chance to work with other members of their career field to learn and diversify their skill sets.
“Working with several different units and learning how to best structure everything to meet the mission objectives of the exercise comes with challenges,” said 1st Lt. Jonathan Padish, the chief of public affairs with the 181st Intelligence Wing. “No plan survives first contact intact. It was a good experience to plan ahead for those challenges, face them in real time, and adjust them as needed to meet mission execution. This exercise allowed me the opportunity to test myself and see how I would do.”
The training also gave senior non-commissioned officers and officers a chance to be in an information operations center, using strategic communication to plan schedules, assignments, and workshop times. This experience allowed them to lead a larger team than usual, providing additional leadership experience.
Furthermore, junior enlisted members had rare opportunities to document events outside of their comfort zone, including on helicopters and boats. Working with different branches of the military in a joint forces environment gave airmen opportunities to create content on people, aircraft, weaponry, and boats that they would rarely see at their home stations. Northern Strike is an ideal setting for this training because it is a reserve component training event designed to build readiness with joint and partner forces in all domains of warfare.
“This was my first training away from home, and it gave me opportunities I wouldn't have at my base, like flying on a helicopter and shooting a Howitzer,” said Airman 1st Class Danielle Dillard, a public affairs specialist with the 183rd Wing. “I appreciated the chance to work with new public affairs mentors and get fresh feedback. It has reignited my passion for the field.”
Airmen will bring home experience to utilize in their career fields and teach others in their shops.
“We are a collection of Airmen who come together for a short time, build connections, and learn from each other,” said Helmig. “We create a ripple effect in each other’s lives that you can carry with you the rest of your career.”
Although the training ends Aug. 17, the success of this year’s event suggests even greater opportunities in the future, with the potential for more speakers, knowledge sharing, and expanded coverage at exercises like Northern Strike.
| Date Taken: | 08.15.2024 |
| Date Posted: | 08.15.2024 19:18 |
| Story ID: | 478747 |
| Location: | GRAYLING, MICHIGAN, US |
| Web Views: | 167 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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