Air Force Doctrine Document 3-61: Public Affairs Operations - Strategic Communications, Tasks, DOD Principles of Information, PSYOPS

This document articulates fundamental Air Force principles for conducting public affairs (PA) operations and provides commanders with operational level guidance for employing and integrating those capabilities across the range of air, space, and information operations.

America's national security rests on a strategy of full spectrum dominance supported by effects-based planning and operations. To support this full spectrum dominance, public affairs (PA) operations must be planned and conducted within an effects-based framework. PA operations integrate activities from different information and media disciplines to support commanders across the full range of military operations. PA operations span the spectrum of the information environment and battlespace, and are an important part of information operations (IO). As such, PA operations must be comprehensively planned and prioritized. The coordination and deconfliction of PA operations and IO are essential to Air Force credibility, and must be part of the overall planning effort.

America's strategies are predicated on developing and maintaining a highly trained force, leveraging decisive information, and achieving dominant effects. PA operations inform the public to gain and maintain the trust and support required to recruit, train, equip, and sustain such a dominant force. PA operations provide global influence in the international public information environment by highlighting and publicizing the professionalism and readiness of those forces sustaining the peace and deterring aggression.

Contents: Chapter One - The Character of Public Affairs * Chapter Two - Principles, Competencies and Tasks * Chapter Three - Public Affairs Relationship to Information Operations * Chapter Four - Operational Engagement * Chapter Five - Public Affairs Readiness