C170_Essay

U.S ARMY COMMAND AND GENERAL STAFF COLLEGE C170 Essay Requirement MAJ Brian E. Jezewski Did you know that the South Carolina Army National Guard recently completed the largest deployment of vehicles since World War II' Did you know that the 218th Brigade Support Battalion is the only National Guard logistics element that will be supporting and sustaining others at a large disaster like “911”' The reason you probably did not know this is because the unit’s leaders failed to properly use the media. I am the Battalion staff officer that is going to get our message to the public by using effective media relations and public speaking, as learned in the C141 block of instruction. The Media Relations courses had the greatest impact on me, during Intermediate Level Education. I will use lessons and the course material to better present the unit to the public. I feel that using aspects of the C141 media relations course will benefit my military career, my civilian career, and most importantly the mission of my unit. The concepts taught in the course will be used to gain a positive light on the unit, in the public’s eye. The use of a media plan, development of a public affairs representative at each unit, and comprehensive training of the unit soldiers will enable members of the unit to minimize any potential for negative media interactions. The troops will be able to represent the unit in a proper manner, with the proper information. The first step is to develop Standard Operating Procedures (SOP) for media relations. I can then train the troops in media relations. As the soldiers gain more knowledge of the unit’s history, importance and accomplishments, they will develop an “esprirt de corps” that will spread throughout the Battalion. This action will then cause the soldiers to develop a sense of worth in himself as he gets more freely involved, and allowed to participate, in the program. Who doesn’t want their picture in the paper or their name in the news' This positive representation of the unit will be good for the unit because the program will have a far reaching affects on the unit and morale. The soldiers will also have a program that will be followed by future leaders and soldiers of the Battalion. This increase in positive public perception and positive unit morale will also be good for me, personally, as well. I will have shown to my superior’s that I am able to complete these types of task and that I am ready for greater responsibilities. Throughout the process of developing the Battalion media plan, I will also be improving my abilities and responsibilities as a leader. Most field grade officer are predominantly stuck behind a desk, in a back corner office while there are developing written communications, orders and drafts of documents. It is my intent to show others that I am more valuable than other field grade officers by using media relations to also develop my abilities as a public speaker. This continued improvement will allow me to fine tune my everyday verbal and non-verbal skills. Refinement of these skills will be essential to me as a field grade officer because it is essential for a good Staff Officer to communicate effectively. These skills will allow me to make a difference in my military career, my civilian career and to my community by assisting me in delivering information Having good communications skills better enables me to impact my desires, goals and ideas on the people around me. As my abilities in public speaking are recognized, my level of responsibility will also be increased because the people around me will see that I have the ability to persuade and influence others. I will also be able to appeal to their emotions through the use of effective speaking because I will be more intuitive to the audience, not just reading a script to say a bunch of words while standing in front of an audience. What I am trying to convey is that my superior’s will see my ability to get thing done, through my use and demonstration of these skills, and they will want me to conduct more important briefings and speeches. These actions will increase my audience and therefore allow me to bring a bigger sphere of influence onto the Battalion and myself. These actions will essentially increasing my abilities to influence people outside of my MTOE organization, which is a leadership trait recognized in the “Multi Source Assessment and Feedback” tool. This feedback tool is used to evaluate and rate officers. In developing self-awareness of my abilities and weakness’s, I will be gaining ground on my personal aspirations of becoming a member of a city administration. Both of these aspects will assist me in becoming a better field grade officer. The feedback I receive from interactions with the media, public speaking and other assessment tools, will develop my self-awareness. This self-awareness will not only be of me, but of those around me. I will have better situational awareness, and a more comprehensive understanding of the situations at hand. Officers and public officials need to be able to convey their ideas and visions to their target audience, through a public speaking forum. I have stated several times that this attribute is very much required to show other leadership competencies. In city administrations, visions for future plans, financial responsibility and the administrator’s ability to build and maintain a team, is just a parcel of what the public expects to understand. As a Commanding Officer, the message to the soldiers is not much different. The art of persuasion, by having the power to influence others through speaking on these matters, will be paramount to accomplishing the mission. The intent will not be effectively communicated to the public thru some sort of written paper or document. Only through public speaking will I be able to able to persuade those around me, and widen my sphere of influence. This leadership competency is therefore very much needed in my aspirations to work in a city administration, as well improving me as I become a more effective officer. In conclusion, I have proven that the Media Relations course will provide me the greatest benefit as a field grade officer. I have shown that an effective media relations plan, along with public speaking, will develop a better public perception of the 218th Brigade Support Battalion and the South Carolina National Guard. Using and teaching aspects of the C141 media relations course will benefit my military career, my civilian career, and most importantly the mission of my unit. BIBLIOGRAPHY FM 6-22, Army Leadership, Ch. 1 October 2006. Army Knowledge Online, Multi Source Assessment and Feedback. 2010.