Team Public Affairs & Communications, NADEP Jacksonville Receives Honorable Mention for Internal Communications

By Susan Brink, Public Affairs Specialist, NADEP Jacksonville

Captain Christopher Roum, Commanding Officer, Naval Air Depot Jacksonville (NADEP JAX) recently presented the Public Affairs & Communications (PAC) Office with a letter of commendation in recognition of being selected for an honorable mention in the Internal Communications, Shore, (Large) category of the 2000 Rear Admiral William Thompson Awards for Excellence in Public Affairs. A plaque was awarded and given in the name of the Navy’s first Chief of Information, (Pietropaoli is the current Chinfo).

This award was given in recognition of PAC’s internal communications program and its ability to successfully identify and continuously improve its program. The internal communications program assists the CO in his ability to communicate to the workforce, promote the education and morale of its employees, and formally express command policies. Communication is especially challenging in an industrial facility made up of over 3,600 civilian employees and some 34 military personnel working in 53 buildings spread over 102 acres of Naval Air Station Jacksonville. NADEP JAX employees are also employed at off-site facilities within the Jacksonville commuting area, as well as facilities in South Carolina, Virginia, and Oklahoma.

Over the years, the PAC office has made extensive use of various media to provide information to the workforce. This effort includes a monthly magazine, a weekly television news show, an Intranet web page, special messages, a Plan of the Week, flyers, memoranda, and bulletin boards. Together, these methods of communication keep employees informed.

The letter of commendation recognizes the skillful planning, thorough coordination and masterful execution of the PAC program exemplifying the highest level of public affairs excellence. As such, NADEP PAC’s entry will be forwarded to the Defense Information School at Fort Meade, MD where it will serve as a textbook case study for the benefit of public affairs specialists throughout the Navy and the world.