| Public Affairs Branch | |
|---|---|
 Badge of the Public Affairs Branch | |
| Active | 1979-Now |
| Country | Canada |
| Branch | Canadian Forces personnel branch |
| Role | To inform Canadians of the policies, programs, services, activities, operations and initiatives of the Canadian Forces |
| Motto(s) | Latin: Veritas "Truth" |
| Colours | Black, grey and white |
| March | "The Liberty Bell" |
The Public Affairs Branch (French : Branche des affaires publiques) is a personnel branch of the Canadian Armed Forces (CF).
The mission of the Public Affairs Branch is to inform Canadians of the policies, programs, services, activities, operations and initiatives of the Canadian Armed Forces in a manner that is accurate, complete, objective, timely, relevant, understandable, open and transparent within the law. Public Affairs Officers are assigned to Commands, Formations, and Bases across Canada and are often deployed overseas.
Public Affairs Officers are both line and staff officers who provide advice and professional services to commanders and staffs at the tactical, operational and strategic levels in the areas of:
An initiative to improve and enhance military Public Affairs and military strategic communications more broadly began in 2015. This effort sought to have public affairs officers become directly involved in information activities including the possibility of deception and psychological operations against Canadians and Allies, with positions created for information operations and psychological operations staff reporting to Jay Janzen - a brigadier-general, now retired - the senior military public affairs officer at the time. The Military Public Affairs Enhancement and Employment Concept (MPAEEC) set out the reasons for change and vision for the Branch, explaining that the current construct "lacks the proper readiness to effectively support overseas operations", and noted five deficiencies of the public affairs function and officers within: insufficient military culture, expertise and readiness; reactive, rather than strategic-driven engagement; ineffectual management of visual communications; lack of innovation; and insufficient [Canadian Armed Forces] capacity and mindsets. [1]
The situation was described as a consequence of structural changes over time within the Assistant Deputy Minister Public Affairs organization that put emphasis on civilian rather than military practitioners, and "led to a dilution of military culture and a lack of focus on martial imperatives. In recent years it has been difficult to distinguish the difference in roles between the civilian and CAF communications, leading to a corporate mindset among some [Public Affairs Officers] and Image Techs." [2] The initiative was stood down in December 2020 by the Chief of the Defence Staff General Jonathan Vance, and its personnel re-assigned.
In June 2021, then-acting Chief of the Defence Staff General Wayne Eyre and Deputy Minister Jody Thomas, determined that "the effort to expand the formal range of duties of Public Affairs Officers into the [Information Operations/Influence Activity] domain, including the draft [MPAEEC] paper, were incompatible with Government of Canada Communications Policy, and the DND/CAF vision, mission and principles of Public Affairs." [3] The senior leaders also acknowledged "it is clear that the development of the various information-related capabilities have suffered from a lack of institution-wide strategic level direction and guidance ... governed by appropriate authorities and oversight."
In May 2022, a history of the initiative titled "The Rise and Fall of Military Strategic Communications at National Defence 2015-2021: A Cautionary Tale for Canada and NATO, and a Roadmap for Reform" was published by the Canadian Global Affairs Institute. [4]
The Army of the Republic of North Macedonia is the military of North Macedonia. The army is organized, prepared and trained to conduct armed struggle and combat and other actions to achieve its constitutional function of defending the independence and territorial integrity of North Macedonia. The army consists of the ground forces and the air force, which are further divided into branches and services. Being landlocked, it didn't have a navy. The army has a permanent composition and reserve forces. Since 2005, it is a fully professional defense force compatible with NATO standards. On 27 March 2020, North Macedonia joined NATO as the 30th member.
The Canadian Armed Forces are the unified military forces of Canada, including land, sea, and air commands referred to as the Canadian Army, Royal Canadian Navy and the Royal Canadian Air Force. The CAF also operates several other commands, including the Canadian Forces Intelligence Command, the Canadian Joint Operations Command, and the Canadian Special Operations Forces Command. Personnel may belong to either the Regular Force or the Reserve Force, which has four sub-components: the Primary Reserve, Supplementary Reserve, Cadet Organizations Administration and Training Service, and the Canadian Rangers. Under the National Defence Act, the Canadian Armed Forces are an entity separate and distinct from the Department of National Defence, which also exists as the civilian support system for the forces.
The Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) is the body of the most senior uniformed leaders within the United States Department of Defense, which advises the president of the United States, the secretary of defense, the Homeland Security Council and the National Security Council on military matters. The composition of the Joint Chiefs of Staff is defined by statute and consists of a chairman (CJCS), a vice chairman (VJCS), the chiefs of the Army, Marine Corps, Navy, Air Force, Space Force, and the chief of the National Guard Bureau. Each of the individual service chiefs, outside their JCS obligations, works directly under the secretaries of their respective military departments, e.g. the secretary of the Army, the secretary of the Navy, and the secretary of the Air Force.
Defence Research and Development Canada is the science and technology organization of the Department of National Defence (DND), whose purpose is to provide the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF), other government departments, and public safety and national security communities with knowledge and technology.
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Personnel branches, in the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF), are groupings of related military occupations. Personnel branches were officially established at unification in 1968 to amalgamate the old Canadian Army corps and similar occupational groupings in the Royal Canadian Navy and Royal Canadian Air Force.
The National Command Authority (NCA) is the authority responsible for safeguarding the national security of Pakistan through command, control and operational decisions regarding Pakistan's nuclear weapons programme.
Canadian Special Operations Forces Command is a command of the Canadian Armed Forces. It is responsible for all special forces operations that respond to terrorism and threats to Canadians and Canadian interests around the world.
The Ministry of Defence of Ukraine is the ministry of the Ukrainian government that oversees national defence and the Armed Forces of Ukraine. The head of the ministry is the Minister of Defence. The President of Ukraine is the Supreme Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
The Australian Defence Organisation (ADO) is composed of the armed forces of the Commonwealth of Australia, the Australian Defence Force (ADF), and the Australian Public Service government department, the Department of Defence which is composed of a range of civilian support organisations.
The Estonian Defence Forces is the unified military force of the Republic of Estonia. The Estonian Defence Forces consists of the Estonian Land Forces, the Estonian Navy, the Estonian Air Force, and the paramilitary Estonian Defence League. The national defence policy aims to guarantee the preservation of the independence and sovereignty of the state and maintain the integrity of its land area, territorial waters, airspace, and constitutional order. Its main goals remain the development and maintenance of a credible capability to defend the nation's vital interests and of the defence forces in a way that ensures their interoperability with the armed forces of NATO and European Union member states in order to participate in the full range of missions for these military alliances.
The Ministry of Defence is a government ministry of Nigeria with the statutory responsibility of overseeing and supervising the Nigerian Armed Forces. The Ministry of Defence is headed by the Minister of Defence, a cabinet-level head who reports directly to the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. Its main mission is to provide administrative and support services, timely and effectively to enable the Armed Forces of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
The Interallied Confederation of Reserve Officers, commonly referred to by its French acronym CIOR, is a confederation of reserve officers' associations within NATO and beyond.
National Defence Headquarters (NDHQ) was created through the integration of the Canadian Armed Forces Headquarters with the civilian Department of National Defence (DND) staff in October of 1972. NDHQ is not a specific location, but is instead housed throughout a collection of offices in buildings across the National Capital Region, although it is most commonly identified with the Major-General George R Pearkes Building on Colonel By Drive in Ottawa.
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The Defence Public Affairs Learning Centre (DPALC) is a Canadian military training institution that provides Department of National Defence and Canadian Armed Forces personnel with specialized military public affairs and communications training. It is part of the Assistant Deputy Minister organization and executes its mandate under the authority of the Canadian Defence Academy.
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Rebecca Patterson, OMM MSM CD RN CHE is a Canadian Senator for Ontario and a retired Rear Admiral in the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF).
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