PA sees changes ahead

  • Published
  • By 1st Lt. Frank Hartnett
  • The Bombardier
BARKSDALE AIR FORCE BASE, La. --  Public affairs is streamlining its efforts to keep up with manpower reductions and increased deployments.

The most notable changes are the cancellation of The Bombardier on Sept. 28 and the realignment of the Electronic Imaging Center under public affairs.

"This is an Air Force-wide effort to help free up man-hours and resources for Public Affairs shops," said Maj. Todd White, public affairs chief. "It couldn't come at a better time as we face some large manpower reductions."

After The Bombardier's end, news stories and photos will be published directly online on the Barksdale public Web site.

"The Bombardier now has to be ready for print by Wednesday, so if a story broke on Thursday it could be nine days old before it gets in the paper," Major White said.

"Moving to electronic publishing frees up the office to cover stories as they happen."

While The Bombardier will no longer be available, readers who like their news in hardcopy will still have that option.

Negotiations are under way with several local news publishers to possibly pick up where The Bombardier ends. The first edition of potential replacements is scheduled for Oct. 5.

Another PA change comes with its merge with EIC.

Photography, video and graphics currently work in the electronic imaging center which is under the command of the 2d Communication Squadron. This alignment comes after the decision was made to combine similar career fields to work together to inform the public and tell the Air Force story. In addition to the change-of-command, EIC's mission will change.

"The whole mission is changing from documenting history, to supporting strategic communication," said Tech. Sgt. Laura Smith, NCO in charge of base photography. "There will be fewer photographers but we will press forward. We will work better to send out the Air Force message to those who might not know about what we do."

The multimedia merger is scheduled to begin at the end of July and is should be complete by the end of September.