JIB highlights joint fight

  • Published
  • By Senior Airman Rachelle Coleman
  • 354th Fighter Wing Public Affairs
EIELSON AIR FORCE BASE, Alaska --  In today's joint fight, it is important that each branch communicates their individual efforts. When conducting joint operations such as NORTHERN EDGE, Public Affairs personnel from each service must come together to ensure the importance of each military branches' efforts are highlighted.

The Joint Information Bureau is the focal point for the border between military and media when conducting joint operations. The JIB is traditionally formed by Public Affairs professionals from the various services involved in the ongoing operation. The NORTHERN EDGE 2011 JIB at Eielson consists solely of U.S. military personnel -- one Army, one Navy and one Air Force officer, as well as four Air Force NCOs, and one Army specialist.

"Our role is to interface with media to answer questions about NORTHERN EDGE 2011 and also to produce written, photo and video products to showcase the events taking place during the exercise for our service-specific websites and external media use," said Maj. Alysia Harvey, NE11 JIB Director.

By working with a variety of on-base military organizations, as well as local, national and international media, JIB personnel play an important role in sharing military mission stories. They respond to media queries, invite media to cover events, write print stories, and capture video and still imagery for both documentation and publication purposes.

"Not only do we get to experience firsthand the fantastic things our Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen and Marines are doing around the world each day, we also help the American taxpayers experience them vicariously through the products we produce and by facilitating media access for coverage," said Major Harvey.

Military Public Affairs professionals endeavor to establish and maintain open, honest and timely dialogue with media organizations and their reporters. Having a JIB for NE11 meets the spirit and intent of this and enables the JIB personnel to communicate timely, accurate, and useful information about the exercise to domestic and international audiences.

"Aside from the fact that it is a joint mission, which means there are PA professionals from at least two of the U.S. military services participating in the operation, it is pretty much just like normal PA operations," said Major Harvey.

In addition to the JIB here at Eielson, there is also a JIB at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson.

Working together, the efforts of military personnel from all branches of the U.S. armed forces are recognized and highlighted to millions worldwide.