A U.S. Air Force-ordered freeze on public outreach efforts is not expected to have a major impact on Columbus Air Force Base, according to base officials.
According to a Defense News report, published late Monday evening, the Air Force, in a guidance issued on March 1, ordered public affairs officials and commanders down to the wing level to go through retraining to avoid giving away sensitive information before interacting with the press.
The report says that until wing-level spokesman have completed their training, responses to reporter inquires that could include information about “operations, training or exercises, readiness or other issues which may reveal operational information to potential adversaries” are subject to approval by the Secretary of the Air Force Public Affairs office at the Pentagon.
While the retraining is in progress, the Air Force is restricting access to base visits, media embeds and other similar opportunities.
On Tuesday evening, CAFB officials, responding to a request from The Dispatch for comment on the local effect of the moratorium, issued a statement that said the impact on the base is expected to be minimal. However, the new policy will be “restrictive” until the training’s expected completion at the end of March.
“As we adapt to the reemergence of great power competition and the reality that our adversaries learn from what we say in public, we must strike the crucial balance between providing information to the public we serve and preventing release of operational information that could provide potential adversaries a military advantage,” the statement said. “To do this, the Air Force is temporarily limiting the number and type of public engagements it conducts and placing additional checks and balances on the release of operational and readiness information.”
In the Defense News report, Brig. Gen. Ed Thomas, director of Public Affairs for the Air Force, said the training should be completed “in the coming weeks.” He also cited “great power competition” and said the Air Force will continue to attempt to be as transparent as possible, while protecting sensitive information.
“We owe both to the public, and it is vitally important for the public to understand what we are doing on their behalf and with their tax dollars,” he said.
The Secretary of the Air Force Public Affairs office did not respond a request from The Dispatch for comment by press time.
Alex Holloway was formerly a reporter with The Dispatch.
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