Will the Army ever learn good media relations techniques? Walter Reed as a case study

Military Review, May-June, 2008 by James T. Currie

The "press-as-enemy" syndrome, so common during and after Vietnam, is still alive and well among general officers in today's Army. This is true despite the fact that not one of them served while the Vietnam War was going on. (33) This inherited fear of the press betrays an untoward fear of transparency. One wonders if it stems from a corrosive lack of confidence in the rightness of one's aims and the strength of one's abilities. It certainly reveals a skewed attitude toward public service. Following are some lessons Army leadership can take away from this fiasco.

* When confronted with allegations of malfeasance, misconduct, or just plain negligence, admit them if they are true. How many times in your Army career have you responded to a personal failure by offering a lame explanation or excuse to a superior? Not many, I'd bet. I realize it's a bit simplistic, but a more sophisticated version of the old, "Yes, sir," "No, sir," and "No excuse, sir" should still be the basis of your answers. Offer the mitigating circumstances if there are any, but then explain what you are doing to correct the problem. In this case, there really was no excuse for mouse droppings and dead cockroaches in rooms where our wounded were recuperating.

* Do not blame the messenger. Claiming "yellow journalism" or lamenting that the press never writes about the good will never suffice. There have been plenty of stories, for example, about how good the care is at Walter Reed, and Bethesda, and the Brooke Army Medical Center (San Antonio) burn facility. (34) It is the job of the fourth estate to report on the foibles and the follies of government officials.

* Realize that reporters are human, too. If you double-deal them, they will resent it and you. Trying to scoop them by alerting their rivals ahead of publication is not acceptable. (35) The karmic blowback from such tricks can be bracing. These reporters will not be apt to forget or forgive, and the next time you go to them with a request, they are probably going to respond immoderately and question your lineage.

* It really doesn't matter if you don't like the press. The Constitution you swore to defend protects them; they are going to do their jobs; and your career--as some of our Army officials have learned to their dismay--may depend upon how you interact with them. You don't have to like them, but you need to learn to work with them in a reasonable, civilized fashion.

* Cultivate the reporters who cover your area of responsibility. If they know you personally, they are much less likely to write something without getting a full and fair understanding. Such familiarity could well persuade them that there is no story.

* Remember that in most situations you only need to survive one day's news cycle. Unless your fiasco is truly monumental--and WRAMC was in that category, as few others are--you will be bumped from the front page by someone else's. Walter Reed was eventually bounced from the front pages by stories about Attorney General Alberto Gonzalez and the fired federal prosecutors, but its aftermath remains highly visible. Of course, you can, if you wish, keep the coverage going by attacking or trying to manipulate the press.