Communicating Airpower: Strategic Communication and the United States Air Force since 9/11

The Air Force Research Institute asked the knowledgeable Washington editor John Robinson to analyze Air Force communications and provide some lessons that might help the Air Force communicate with the nation. As the ground campaigns in Iraq and Afghanistan drag on, perceptions of the Air Force contribution to those efforts and the larger global war on terrorism will play an increasing role in how communication is understood by the American public as well as leaders in the Pentagon and Congress. Robinson concludes that the Air Force needs to abandon the vague theoretical construct of strategic communication, rebuild the public affairs community, and focus on better explaining the relevance of airpower in current and future wars. AFRI collected these thoughts from Robinson in order to distribute them to Air Force public affairs offices and those most affected by and interested in his observations.