Posted on 04/06/2009 6:20:46 PM PDT by SandRat
BAGHDAD – Iraqi Army (IA) and Air Force (IqAF) officers, plus one Ministry of Defense (MoD) civilian, will embark on a career in Public Affairs (PA) after completing the three-week long Iraqi Joint Headquarters PA Course taught at the Ministerial Training Development Center (MTDC) here, April 1
The 16 newly minted PA officers will return to their respective divisions and brigades to pursue PA activities and advise their commanders on interacting with the media. The course is part of the MoD’s strategy to enhance the information flow across the country by having qualified PA staff embedded at the division and brigade level.
IA Col. Jasim, Joint Headquarters (JHQ) deputy PA officer, said the course included instruction in basic journalism, preparing leaders for interviews, developing command messages, hosting press conferences and other media related subjects. Students in Class 11 held ranks ranging from lieutenant to staff colonel and most were specifically chosen by their commanders to learn about communications.
A typical classroom session began with a PowerPoint slide presentation which was followed by a question and answer session during which the students sought out the advice of their seasoned instructors.
IA Maj. Ghazi from the 4th Brigade, 1st Division in Diyala was “amazed about the experience of the teachers and how they developed the information about the role of Public Affairs during the training.” He will return to his command, and hopes to hone his skills in the future through professional development courses.
Practical exercises were vital to the learning experience, with students conducting mock interviews which were recorded on video and subsequently critiqued. “One of your most important tasks will be to convince your commanders of the value of Public Affairs so you will be able to deliver the command message and tell your story,” said IA Col. Ali, JHQ PA officer. Ali has been teaching the course since its inception in 2006, seeing nearly 130 students graduate since then.
The MTDC began operations in October 2007 and offers instruction to MoD civilian and military personnel as well as officials from other security agencies. More than 3,500 Iraqi government officials have benefited from the MTDC’s professional development training and civil service reform initiatives.
Their job is to kill people and break things and we give them a public relations course.
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