39th ABW Public Affairs needs paparazzi

  • Published
  • By Staff Sgt. Eboni Reams
  • 39th Air Base Wing Public Affairs
INCIRLIK AIR BASE, Turkey --  The 39th Air Base Wing Public Affairs office is tasked with the responsibility of communicating the commander's message using their local priorities as guides to properly inform all key audiences, while also highlighting the Air Force mission worldwide.

The 39th ABW Public Affairs office excelled at these duties, in turn winning seven U. S. Air Forces in Europe - U.S. Air Forces in Africa awards in the 2014 USAFE-AFAFRICA Communication Excellence Awards and the 2014 USAFE- AFAFRICA Media Contest.

"These awards are a huge testament to the skill, expertise and professionalism of the great Airmen, and civilians in this office," said 1st Lt. Remoshay Nelson, 39th ABW chief of public affairs. "They are very enthusiastic about what we do here, and it shows significantly in their daily work. I am very proud to see their creativity and hard work being recognized."

With social media becoming more prevalent, this year rolled out a new award category in the 2014 USAFE Media Contest awards, 'Outstanding Digital Presence', which the members of the 39th ABW Public Affairs office were the first recipients of. The office received this award through multiple effective social media platforms tools including the trailblazing "Straight Talk" Facebook page which allows the wing leadership and public affairs to be more interactive with Incirlik's Airmen and community members.

"After employing several new social media tools to properly prepare and inform the public during exercises, inspections and incidents this past year, winning the 2014 USAFE-AFAFRICA Outstanding Digital Presence Award and placing second in this category in the Air Force is confirmation of a job well done," said Tech. Sgt. Taylor Worley, 39th ABW NCO in-charge of command information. "Even though we are a small base and a small office we have a busy PA mission here and the office is up to the task.  No matter what gets thrown at us, our team gets the information out and ensures our audience stays informed."

Although known as photojournalists and broadcasters, the professional communicators focus on the main purpose of their craft explained the winner of two individual 2014 USAFE Media Contest awards - 2nd place News Photo and 3rd place Outstanding New Photographer.

"Writing award-winning stories and capturing award-winning images comes second to conveying the commander's message and aligning everything we do with the wing's priorities," said Airman Cory Bush, 39th ABW Public Affairs photojournalist. "It's awesome being recognized but even more satisfying to know we accomplished our mission."

The Public Affairs office superintendent, Master Sgt. James Martin, winner of the 2014 USAFE Communication Excellence Award for Outstanding Communication for Senior NCO, earned his individual award by effectively leading his team through a manning deficit and also earning a 'Superior Performer' team award during the wing unit effectiveness inspection.

Martin explained the secret weapon behind the award-winning office.

"It's easy to win awards when you have a team like we have here," said Martin. "These are their awards and their achievements. I couldn't be prouder to serve with a bunch of outstanding Airmen. Every Airman from one stripe to six stripes brings it every day, regardless of them being a photojournalist or a broadcaster. That's not to say that we don't make errors from time to time, we do, but our ability to be resilient and bounce back and learn from our mistakes allows us to make our products better and help to get the commander's message out, to inform and educate Team Incirlik, and to showcase the their accomplishments throughout the command and the Air Force."

Branded as the best in multiple communication and media areas, the 39th ABW Public Affairs office continues into a new year with high expectations of unwavering mission accomplishment and improvement.

"Incirlik faced a lot of interesting challenges last year, and our office did a phenomenal job of responding to crisis, and keeping our key audiences informed. As military operations continue to develop in the region, I can only imagine the things public affairs will be called to do in 2015. Regardless of the tasks, I am confident our team will be ready to respond to the call with professionalism, credibility and excellence."