Public Affairs: News and information from you, for you

  • Published
  • By Senior Airman Kristopher Levasseur
  • 48th Fighter Wing Public Affairs
ROYAL AIR FORCE LAKENHEATH, England --  The mission is simple: provide timely and accurate news stories, photos and videos to a worldwide audience. This is the basic mission of the 48th Fighter Wing Public Affairs office, but what does that mean to the members of RAF Lakenheath? It means you are the news.

Every day, Liberty Warriors work diligently to accomplish the mission, whether it is working with multi-million dollar aircraft or working quality-of-life initiatives for Airmen and their families, and their stories deserve to be heard.

"Our job is to make sure the 48th Fighter Wing story is told," said Capt. Alysia Harvey, 48th FW PA chief. "There are a variety of ways we can accomplish this, but one of our leading methods is the public Web site."

The public Web site, which can be found at www.lakenheath.af.mil, showcases stories about Liberty members performing their day-to-day tasks, stories from the perspective of the lowest-ranking Airman all the way to the commander, news about base achievements and events; and a variety of helpful information.

"The information we receive for the Web site comes from many different places, but the biggest source for us is the people involved in the story," said Tech. Sgt. Christopher Campbell, 48th FW PA NCO in charge of Internal Information. "We strive to get out as much information about our people as possible, but when it comes down to it, if we don't know about it, we can't cover it."

Sergeant Campbell went on to discuss the increased capabilities PA has to get information out since it merged with multimedia in June 2007.

"Our photographers and broadcasters support the PA mission by adding imagery to words," said Sergeant Campbell. "There are a lot of people who need a picture to catch their eyes and bring them into the story. The broadcasters add a whole new dimension to the PA mission by capturing live action for events and stories.

"With the use of traditional journalism, photo and video; we are able to cover the majority of what's happening at Lakenheath, but we can't be everywhere at the same time," he added. "Our self-help area loans out still and video cameras for the public during times we are not able to support functions. Anyone who would like photo or video of a military ceremony can call us up and see if we have the resources available; unfortunately, it is a first-come first-serve basis."

Several Liberty organizations and members utilize the self-help area on a regular basis. A frequent customer of the self-help area is Staff Sgt. Aaron Smith, 48th FW chaplain's assistant.

"I've used the self-help section several times to cover NCO induction ceremonies," said Sergeant Smith. "Every time I dealt with PA for my self-help needs, they have been very professional and very helpful. You can tell they care about their job."

Self-help is not the only resource available to customers. They also accept photo and story submissions from Liberty members.

"If units and organizations have something they'd like to highlight or a sharp Airman; then they should let us know. That's why we are here, and those are the things we enjoy," said Sergeant Campbell. " Unfortunately we can't post everything we receive because of the rules that govern Air Force Web sites, but we do our best to work with customers to make sure their information gets to the people who need it. After all, our customers are the news."