By U.S. Navy Lt. j.g. Jake Joy, NTM-A Public Affairs
Kabul, Afghanistan – The sad truth about beheading videos is they generate a lot of attention.
Afghanistan’s military communicators say they understand this, just as they understand their enemies’ penchant for publicly exaggerating achievements and staging daylight attacks simply to produce better-lit YouTube videos. But how to respond?
Afghan Ministry of Defense Director of Public Information Col. Mohammad Paiman talks to Afghanistan National Army public affairs officers on how to counter Taliban propaganda and help Afghan security forces gain the trust of its nation’s people. Photo by Air Force Tech. Sgt. Joe Prouse.
The information war rages on, and the Afghan National Security Forces are looking for counterpunches.
In a hangar at Oqab Air Base, on the outskirts of Kabul, about 50 Afghan Ministry of Defense and service-level public affairs officers recently gathered for their 14th semiannual Public Affairs Guidance and Tactics Conference.
The three-day event brought military communicators in from around the country to evaluate Taliban efforts and discuss a wide variety of public information topics ranging from enemy propaganda and social media methods to crisis response and how to create better internal products to bolster force morale.
“2014 is very close,” MoD Director of Public Information Col. Mohammad Paiman told attendees, referring to the impending withdrawal of most coalition forces. “It is your responsibility to gain the trust of the people.”
Gaining trust and credibility is difficult, Paimaan said, when Afghan armed services public affairs officers sometimes struggle to quickly communicate facts to higher headquarters or release statements with unconfirmed data on critical facts like insurgents killed and weapons retrieved. At turns asking and demanding, Paimaan implored officers to “read the public affairs guidance and know it perfectly.”
Paiman’s outlook on the future showed a balance of concern and optimism.
Afghan National Army public affairs officers, and Ministry of Defense communicators group up to brainstorm public responses to emergency and crisis scenarios. Photo by Air Force Tech. Sgt. Joe Prouse.
“They are young, they are interested in learning and will be very good soon,” he said about the attendees afterward.
Admonitions were quickly followed by chai and handshakes. Officers broke into small groups to brainstorm communication ideas to share with the larger group, and individuals pulled each other aside to catch up on current events.
Afghan National Army Logistics Command Public Affairs Officer Lt. Col. Abdul Ghani said the conference helps officers exchange information on best practices and lessons learned.
“These conferences are very important for us to get familiar with each other and develop relationships,” Ghani said. “The missions we conduct are different. If a mission is not successful, we get together and talk about how to make similar missions more successful in the future.”
Great attention was paid to enemy capabilities – website layout, the length and production value of online videos and their adversaries’ media releases and rhetoric style. The officers took notes and listened intently, with respect for their foe’s ability to frame and spread a message, but still vowing to produce winning communication products.
“I will die, but I won’t let [the Taliban] have this country again,” Paiman said.