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From the earliest moments humans learned to communicate they have been telling stories, either to communicate needs, warnings or to push their histories into the future so they are not forgotten.
The last reason is important; though the earliest documented storytellers simply drew on cave walls, these humans helped us learn our history and began the tradition passing down stories from one generation to another.
We’ve come a long way since cave drawings; today, Task Force Spartan Public Affairs Soldiers use advanced mediums such as photography, video-news stories, and written-news stories to tell the Army’s story and how we are working with our partners to maintain security in the Southwest Asia region.
“Not only do we tell the Army story, but through our expertise we can position the Army to an organization of choice,” said Maj. Jessica Jackson, the director of public affairs for Task Force Spartan. “What I mean by this is that there is so much power in imagery and words. The right photo or video can stop someone in their tracks; the right words can change someone’s mind. We can tell the story and inform the narrative; that’s the beauty of what we do in this field.”
Jackson’s TF Spartan PA team is made up of herself and six other individuals: Capt. Allegra Taylor, the deputy public affairs officer; Sgt. 1st Class Suzanne Ringle, the non-commissioned officer in charge; Staff Sgt. Mark Scovell, the operations NCO; Staff Sgt. Daryl Bradford, the media operations NCO; Staff Sgt. Daisy Broker, the command historian and mass communications specialist; and Sgt. Sam Deleon, the command information NCO and mass communications specialist.
TF Spartan Public Affairs Soldiers are tasked with telling the Army and, more specifically, TF Spartan’s story. When talking about storytelling, the American author Kurt Vonnegut Jr. said that every sentence in a story must advance the action as well as reveal character.
TF Spartan Public Affairs helps advance the Army story and reveal the character of Soldiers by drawing on their personal experiences and sharing how they’ve grown and overcome.
Deleon had the opportunity to highlight partnership and that character when on mission to cover the exercise Iron Union 14 in the United Arab Emirates.
“My favorite PA experience was going to UAE to cover Iron Union,” said Deleon. “It was a great opportunity to see our soldiers train with the Emirati soldiers. During that exercise I was able to show how well our Soldiers worked with the Emiratis to accomplish the mission and highlight the partnership between the two countries.”
Broker had the same feeling when supporting training missions in Kuwait and displayed how our partnerships are strengthened.
“I also love the times I have gotten to fly with the 28th Expeditionary Combat Aviation Brigade, covering a personnel recovery mission with the Kuwait Fire Force, and covering the 75th FAB's HIMAR's training fire,” said Broker. “I am so thankful for the amazing experiences the Texas National Guard has provided me. I can't wait for the next adventure.”
Scovell said he has had his own experiences in Public Affairs showing partnerships, but his most memorable moments are about the past, and building off those host nation relationships in Kuwait.
“On my first deployment in 2013 I had the chance to spend Thanksgiving with some Kuwait children to teach them about the U.S holiday, customs and traditions,” said Scovell. “They were very curious to learn more about Americans. It really gave me a new perspective on the significance of our mission and how we were building partnerships with the future generations of Kuwait.”
That is the power of Public Affairs today, conveying stories well beyond the borders of the events they cover to audiences that would have never had the chance to partake in them. These stories support a history that future Army Soldiers should be proud of and build from.
By being honest and transparent, Army Public Affairs can set a precedent for incoming Soldiers by highlighting loyalty, duty, respect, selfless service, honor, integrity, and personal courage.
“Public Affairs is not about developing photos,” said Taylor. “But history, transparency, and support for our forces and our mission wherever and whatever that is.”
Often, the stereotype of the stern and rigid Soldier sits in the forefront of public opinion when it comes to the military. Public Affairs can and does cut through that view by bringing stories straight to your computer or phone screens, humanizing military members by showing them building relationships in nations different from the U.S..
“Many stories matter,” said the Nigerian Author, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie. “Stories have been used to dispossess and to malign. But stories can also be used to empower, and to humanize.”
This humanization allows the world to see service members as more than Soldiers. It brings a comradery amongst nations that knows no border, whether geographical or language related.
“Having an opportunity to spend days with our Soldiers while they were working with the Jordanian Soldiers during the Desert Warrior 21 mission was amazing,” said Ringle. “I was a witness to relationships becoming stronger as the two forces got to work together—learning each other's languages and even how they communicated without words. More important than the skills we can share with each other are the relationships that we forged, forever in my heart.”
Sharing the Army story is the main job of Public Affairs. It’s the textbook answer that any Defense Information School trained Public Affairs Soldier will give you, and it’s a good one. If you dig deeper though, TF Spartan Public Affairs might tell you their job is to humanize, to reveal character, and to share the story of the people in the Army.
If you dig deeper, according to Brig. Gen. Win Burkett, the TF Spartan deputy commanding general of operations, you’ll find that Public Affairs and storytelling is instrumental to the force.
“They tell the story,” said Burkett. “Moreover, they know how to tell the story, how to package the information, what pictures to use, how to reach target audiences across all media, and can access how well the audience was reached. The Army has a great story to tell; Public Affairs makes it better and shares it.”
| Date Taken: | 04.26.2021 |
| Date Posted: | 05.14.2021 06:56 |
| Story ID: | 394693 |
| Location: | KW |
| Web Views: | 48 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, The Task Force Spartan storytellers, by SSG Daryl Bradford, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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