A Key Factor in US Military Operations and a Positive Influence on the US Army - Research Paper Example

The offices of Public Affairs are important branches of the US Department of Defense that deal with the pubic media. The key advantages of Public Affairs include information superiority, enhancing credibility and coherence, providing information in warfare, and building trust and understanding. In fact, it also fulfils the essential parts of the democratic process in accordance with the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA). The media influence has enabled the public to be kept informed, boosted the morale, and provided a free flow access to raise public awareness.

The media has also improved the accuracy of reporting and allowed the audience to know their perspectives. The benefit is especially important when there is an express need for the military to rapidly influence public opinion such as at the outset of a military action so as to mobilize immediate public support. In reality, conducting Public Affairs is a complicated task. It is a skill of the Public Affairs Officer (PAO) to handle any kind of sensitive information and deal effectively with those who are informing and those are to be informed.

The Office of Public Affairs is very important in the age of real-time news, and the public media has a very powerful influence and immediate effect such that the Army’s conduct can very easily have strategic consequences. The role of the main PAO is to develop “a working relationship with reporters and other media representatives, maintaining a robust community relations program, keeping contact with other government agencies, and keeping.