Is Navy’s PR “innovation” a belated copycat catchup

The Royal Australian Navy has finally realised that public affairs matter. The only problem is –  Australian Army figured that out decades ago, and the Royal Australian Air Force has been running rings around them too, hiring specialist reserves who actually know what they’re doing.

CAPTION: Military Public Affairs Officers gather at Russell Offices, Canberra, to celebrate Navy’s newest employment category. No photographer credited (good start Navy PR).

With great fanfare and self-congratulation, Navy recently unveiled its newest employment category – Military Public Affairs (MPA) – at Russell Offices in Canberra.

No less than 73 dedicated specialists – branded “cohort zero” as if they’re leading the charge into uncharted waters – now bear the responsibility of communicating the Navy’s message to its people and the public.

But let’s be honest here – this isn’t innovation; it’s imitation, and a rather late one at that.

This is the Navy’s attempt to paper over decades of neglect in the public affairs space.

The Army has had dedicated, battle-hardened public affairs officers since mid last century.

RAAF, clever as always, has been using specialist reserves – real-world media professionals with actual credibility.

Meanwhile, the Navy is just now waking up to the fact that it needs a proper PR machine.

Navy Chief of Staff Commodore Eric Young insists that the MPA Employment Category is a “significant step” in improving communication with sailors and the wider public.

Significant? More like embarrassingly overdue. “

Realising that military messaging needed operational credibility years ago, Army and its public affairs officers and soldiers deploy with combat units, report from the front, and speak the same language as the troops.

RAAF, ever the pragmatists, focused on recruiting seasoned media professionals as reserves – people with actual industry experience.

When a soldier sees an Army Public Affairs Officer reporting from a combat zone, there’s trust. When a journalist-turned-RAAF officer speaks on an air campaign, there’s legitimacy.

But the Navy? They’re trying to build credibility from scratch, and it’s going to be an uphill battle.

They say the Navy’s new PR officers will be stationed across fleet deployments, Joint Operations Command, and even overseas, but the question remains – will they be seen as legitimate voices, or just uniformed spin doctors?

Captain Kelli Lunt, overseeing the program, insists this new career path will create a “highly skilled, motivated, and committed” public affairs workforce.

It sounds impressive on paper.

But let’s see how many of these new Navy spin doctors have ever had to front a tough press conference, write a crisis comms strategy under fire, or deal with real media scrutiny.

Until then, this looks more like a me-too catchup move rather than real reform.

The Navy may finally have its own public affairs cohort, but in the battle for credibility, it’s already years behind.

 

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Another comment from resident crankyman Sir Jeffrey Armiger – a retired Public Servant with a pet hate for BE (bovine excrement).

 

Follow Sir Jeffrey on Facebook here
or view his previous diatribes here.

This post augmented by AI

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