Commentary: Visual information contributes to winning wars

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Tucked away in the 1200-series buildings of Hill's west side is an Air Education and Training Command squadron; one of Team Hill's many associate units. While you've likely heard of the 367th Training Support Squadron, you're not alone if you have no idea what it does here at Hill, or for the Air Force more broadly.

Although part of the 82nd Training Wing at Sheppard AFB, Texas, the 367th TRSS neither trains students nor directly supports the squadrons who do. Rather, this one-of-a-kind unit is in the business of providing visual information to customers throughout the Air Force. Images: graphic art, photographs, video productions, interactive multimedia instruction, live broadcasts ... that's what we're in business to create. But make no mistake about it, we're very much in the warfighting business.

The most recent Quadrennial Defense Review in 2005 concluded that "Victory in the long war, the war against terrorism, ultimately depends on strategic communication by the United States and its international partners." Visual information is a primary capability supporting strategic communication. I would argue it is the one capability that empowers and enables all others. That's because people remember less than 10 percent of what they hear, and 30 percent of what they read, but retain more than 80 percent of what they see. Imagery must be at the forefront of all communications strategies, especially when you consider 20 percent of the world is completely illiterate, and hundreds of millions more are functionally illiterate.

Just last year in May 2007, a joint public affairs-visual information assessment team traveled to Iraq at the request of Gen. David Petraeus to review communication efforts in the Multi-National Force ?- Iraq area of responsibility. The team made recommendations to the general's Strategic Effects director designed to improve coalition nonkinetic capabilities in line with the successful kinetic effects of the surge. Clearly, today's warfighters recognize the indispensible role visual information plays in winning today's fight.

In addition to deploying approximately 10 airmen each year to provide visual imagery in theater, the 367th TRSS is constantly engaged in helping the Air Force communicate its strategic messages on the homefront. Recent productions including "To Touch the Sky: the Air Force Memorial Story," "OSI Recruiting 101," "Intermountain CFC 2007 Campaign" and "AMC Aircraft Strut Servicing" were top award winners at the 2008 Air Force and Defense Department Visual Information Production Awards competition.

As the Air Force becomes more and more lean, virtually every uniformed and civilian member is expected to provide a critical warfighting capability. At a major logistics center such as Hill AFB, most are in the business of providing the critical kinetic capabilities our Air Force uses day in and day out to such devastating effect. But in today's information age, facing an adversary who specializes in generating support through strategic communications, and more specifically through the clever use of images, in order to achieve victory our Air Force will increasingly have to rely on nonkinetic capabilities such as those provided by the 367th TRSS.

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