American Forces Information Service

Last updated
American Forces Information Service.png

The American Forces Information Service (AFIS) was a United States Department of Defense-providing news service that supplied information about the U.S. military.

Contents

History

In 1952 the Office of the Secretary of Defense established the Office of Armed Forces Information and Education. [1] In 1977 AFIS was established. [2] AFIS was originally responsible for the Armed Forces Information Program as well as the Armed Forces Radio and Television Service. [3]

Department of Defense Directive 5105.74 [4] disestablished AFIS on October 1, 2008, and created the Defense Media Activity . The DMA provides news stories about military operations worldwide and includes all the military service media centers, Stars and Stripes newspapers as well as the American Forces Radio and Television Service and its American Forces Network (AFN).

Related Research Articles

Central Security Service United States Department of Defense government agency

The Central Security Service (CSS) is a combat support agency of the United States Department of Defense which was established in 1972 to integrate the National Security Agency (NSA) and the Service Cryptologic Components (SCC) of the United States Armed Forces in the field of signals intelligence, cryptology, and information assurance at the tactical level. In 2002, the CSS had approximately 25,000 uniformed members. It is part of the United States Intelligence Community.

Goldwater–Nichols Act 1986 U.S. law strengthening civilian authority in the Department of Defense

The Goldwater–Nichols Department of Defense Reorganization Act of October 4, 1986Pub.L. 99–433,, made the most sweeping changes to the United States Department of Defense since the department was established in the National Security Act of 1947 by reworking the command structure of the U.S. military. It increased the powers of the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and implemented some of the suggestions from the Packard Commission, commissioned by President Reagan in 1985. Among other changes, Goldwater–Nichols streamlined the military chain of command, which now runs from the president through the secretary of defense directly to combatant commanders, bypassing the service chiefs. The service chiefs were assigned to an advisory role to the president and the secretary of defense, and given the responsibility for training and equipping personnel for the unified combatant commands.

Defense Courier Service Military unit

The Defense Courier Service (DCS) is established under the United States Transportation Command (USTRANSCOM), and is a global courier network for the expeditious, cost-effective, and secure distribution of highly classified and sensitive material. Operational control of global courier activities is exercised through USTRANSCOM's Defense Courier Division (TCJ3-C). The division oversees and synchronizes activity of 18 courier stations worldwide to service over six thousand accounts. Major accounts include the White House, the Department of Defense, the State Department, other federal agencies, authorized government contractors, and allied nations.

Defense Finance and Accounting Service Agency of the United States Department of Defense

The Defense Finance and Accounting Service (DFAS) is an agency of the United States Department of Defense (DOD), headquartered in Indianapolis, Indiana. DFAS was established in 1991 under the authority, direction, and control of the Under Secretary of Defense (Comptroller)/Chief Financial Officer to strengthen and reduce costs of financial management and operations within DOD. DFAS is responsible for all payments to servicemembers, employees, vendors, and contractors. It provides business intelligence and finance and accounting information to DOD decisionmakers. DFAS is also responsible for preparing annual financial statements and the consolidation, standardization, and modernization of finance and accounting requirements, functions, processes, operations, and systems for DOD.

Defense Logistics Agency Combat support agency in the United States Department of Defense

The Defense Logistics Agency (DLA) is a combat support agency in the United States Department of Defense (DoD), with more than 26,000 civilian and military personnel throughout the world. Located in 48 states and 28 countries, DLA provides supplies to the military services and supports their acquisition of weapons, fuel, repair parts, and other materials. The agency also disposes of excess or unusable equipment through various programs.

Network-centric warfare, also called network-centric operations or net-centric warfare, is a military doctrine or theory of war that seeks to translate an information advantage, enabled in part by information technology, into a competitive advantage through the robust computer networking of well informed geographically dispersed forces. It is based on ideas of marshal of USSR Nikolai Ogarkov, set out by him in early 1980s. It was pioneered by the United States Department of Defense in the 1990s.

James A. Williams United States Army general

James Arthur Williams was a United States Army lieutenant general. Williams served as Director of the Defense Intelligence Agency in the 1980s. He was a 1987 inductee of the Military Intelligence Hall of Fame and was the chairman of the board of directors for the National Military Intelligence Association.

National Military Command Center Main war rooms for the President and Secretary of Defense in the Pentagon

The National Military Command Center (NMCC) is a Pentagon command and communications center for the National Command Authority. Maintained by the Department of the Air Force as the "DoD Executive Agent" for NMCC logistical, budgetary, facility and systems support; the NMCC operators are in the Joint Staff's J-3 (Operations) Directorate. "The NMCC is responsible for generating Emergency Action Messages (EAMs) to missile launch control centers, nuclear submarines, recon aircraft and battlefield commanders".

DoD News Channel Former American television channel

DoD News Channel was a television channel broadcasting military news and information for the 2.6 million members of the U.S. Armed Forces. It was widely available in the United States as a standalone television channel, or as part of programming on local PEG cable television channels. It could be viewed FTA in most Central and Western European countries, Africa, the Americas and most of Asia via satellite, and globally via the Internet. DoD News Channel was free, in the public domain, and accessible 24/7 to all U.S. cable and satellite providers.

Armed Forces Radiobiology Research Institute Joint American military radiobiology research institution

The Armed Forces Radiobiology Research Institute (AFRRI) is an American triservice research laboratory in Bethesda, Maryland chartered by Congress in 1960 and formally established in 1961. It conducts research in the field of radiobiology and related matters which are essential to the operational and medical support of the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) and the U.S. military services. AFRRI provides services and performs cooperative research with other federal and civilian agencies and institutions.

United States Department of Defense United States Federal Executive Department

The United States Department of Defense is an executive branch department of the federal government charged with coordinating and supervising all agencies and functions of the government directly related to national security and the United States Armed Forces. The DOD is the largest employer in the world, with over 1.4 million active-duty service members as of 2021. More employees include over 826,000 National Guard and reservists from the armed forces, and over 732,000 civilians bringing the total to over 2.8 million employees. Headquartered at the Pentagon in Arlington, Virginia, just outside Washington, D.C., the DoD's stated mission is to provide "the military forces needed to deter war and ensure our nation's security".

Defense Media Activity

The Defense Media Activity (DMA) is a United States Department of Defense (DoD) field activity. It provides a broad range of high-quality multimedia products and services to inform, educate, and entertain Department of Defense audiences around the world. The Defense Media Activity is located on Fort Meade, Maryland. DoD field activities are established as DoD components by law, by the President, or by the Secretary of Defense to provide for the performance, on a DoD-wide basis, of a supply or service activity that is common to more than one Military Department when it is determined to be more effective, economical, or efficient to do so. DMA operates as a separate DoD Component under the authority, direction and control of the Assistant to the Secretary of Defense for Public Affairs.

George C. Marshall European Center for Security Studies

The George C. Marshall European Center for Security Studies is a bi-national United States Department of Defense and Federal Ministry of Defence (Germany) security and defense studies institute. When the Marshall Center was founded in 1993, its mission was to create a more stable security environment by advancing democratic institutions and relationships, especially in the field of defense; promoting active, peaceful, security cooperation; and enhancing enduring partnerships among the nations of North America, Europe, and Eurasia. As of Oct. 1, 2014, the Marshall Center's regional mission changed to a transnational one based on an Office of the Secretary of Defense directive to change from a European to a global participants' base.

Technical Division, Air Training Command Military unit

Technical Division, Air Training Command is an inactive United States Air Force unit. It was assigned to the Air Training Command, stationed at Scott Air Force Base, Illinois. It was inactivated on 14 November 1949.

Military Intelligence Agency

The Military Intelligence Agency is the military intelligence agency of the Ministry of Defence of Serbia. The Military Intelligence Agency is an expert and governing body of the intelligence of the Ministry of Defence of Serbia and makes an integral part of the security system of the Republic of Serbia. It is tasked with and responsible for providing information, as well as representing and protecting the interests of the Republic of Serbia abroad. It carries out its tasks through activities pertaining to military intelligence and military diplomacy.

Ministry of Defense (Kazakhstan)

The Ministry of Defense of the Republic of Kazakhstan is a government agency of Kazakhstan which is the main executive body in implementing military policy. The Defense Minister of the Republic of Kazakhstan is the head of the Ministry of Defense, whose duties are to exercise the administrative leadership of the Armed Forces of the Republic of Kazakhstan. The ministry was established in May 1992. The first Minister of Defense was Army General Sagadat Nurmagambetov who served from May 1992 to October 16, 1995.

Organizational structure of the United States Department of Defense

The United States Department of Defense (DoD) has a complex organizational structure. It includes the Army, Navy, the Marine Corps, Air Force, Space Force, the Unified combatant commands, U.S. elements of multinational commands, as well as non-combat agencies such as the Defense Intelligence Agency and the National Security Agency. The DoD's annual budget was roughly US$496.1 billion in 2015. This figure is the base amount and does not include the $64.3 billion spent on "War/Non-War Supplementals". Including those items brings the total to $560.6 billion for 2015.

Inter-Services Public Relations is the public relations division of the Bangladesh Armed Forces. It disseminates military news and information to the country's media and general public.

Howard W. Penney Former senior officer in the United States Army

Lieutenant General Howard W. Penney of United States Army, was first director of Defense Mapping Agency from July 1972 to August 1974. Under Penney's leadership, the new agency focused its assets into a decentralized structure with a lean staff to respond to the rising demands for geographic information by a variety of military users.

References

  1. "The Agencies and Activities Involved". Army Study of Defense Agencies and DoD Field Activities (Report). Vol. 1. Department of the Army Headquarters. 1987-08-31. p. 11. hdl:2027/uiug.30112101041090. In 1952, the first of the current Defense Agencies, the National Security Agency (NSA), was established by Presidential directive and placed under the Secretary's direction. In 1952 also, an Office of Armed Forces Information and Education (precursor of what eventually would become the American Forces Information Service field activity) was established in OSD.
  2. "Introduction". Army Study of Defense Agencies and DoD Field Activities (Report). Vol. 1. Department of the Army Headquarters. 1987-08-31. p. 2. hdl:2027/uiug.30112101041090. CURRENT DEFENSE AGENCIES AND DOD FIELD ACTIVITIES IN ORDER OF ESTABLISHMENT... FIELD ACTIVITIES... American Forces Information Services (AFIS) 1977
  3. "The Agencies and Activities Involved". Army Study of Defense Agencies and DoD Field Activities (Report). Vol. 1. Department of the Army Headquarters. 1987-08-31. p. 15. hdl:2027/uiug.30112101041090. AFIS is responsible for the DOD Armed Forces Information Program and Armed Forces Radio and Television Service, including the dissemination of internal information;
  4. Article title [ bare URL PDF ]