Right Fit Leading

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Right Fit Leading: National Military Appreciation Month – What Does Service Mean to You?

By Dr. Michael A. Brown Sr., PhD Deputy Director, JTF-CS Public Affairs May 24, 2017 FORT EUSTIS, VA – – President Barack Obama said, “If we aren’t willing to pay a price for our values then we should ask ourselves whether we truly believe in them at all.”   President Thomas Jefferson said, “The price of freedom is eternal vigilance.”   These words should be special to Joint Task Force Civil Support (JTF-CS) members as we celebrate National Military Appreciation Month. We are “Ever Vigilant and Always Ready” to support our Nation when it needs us most, but the quotes shared here speak poetically to service in general. If they affect you in the same way they affect me, they make you focus on what your own contribution to service really means.   The May observance is important because over many years groups of volunteers took action to capture the public’s attention to honor the support, awareness, and patriotism of military members and their families. National Military Appreciation Month (NMAN) officials describe the start of the observance “as a simple idea; to gather America around its military to honor, remember, recognize and appreciate those who serve and have served.”   The fact that volunteers took action to make this national observance a reality is in tune with the military tradition. Even in times when there was a draft, there were brave men and women who still volunteered to support and defend this country; to keep Americans safe from any harm from any enemy foreign or domestic.   As I participate in the observance and some of the special events in the community, I think back to my days of military service. When I enlisted, I was not thinking about protecting anyone. I wanted a good job and I wanted a chance to travel. Along the way, I got more than I bargained for, because I started to learn about service. Service is about people doing something that needs to be done even if others aren’t doing it. It is a selfless act to support an idea of what this country has always been about.   I want to share two major events in my military career that taught me what service is all about. The first was really a series of events. I spent my career in public affairs, so I worked Air Force open houses in North Carolina, New Jersey, Illinois, and Kaiserslautern, Germany. An open house is when the installation opens to the public for free; letting anyone come experience what the military has to offer. As I worked the events, the joy on the faces of people to see what we do to protect our nation made me proud. When I worked the events in the U.S., people wanted to know where we were from and they wanted to know what job we did. They loved the aircraft, but I felt that they loved us more.   My experience working open houses in Germany was feeling a great deal of respect from the German people. They seemed very thankful and they anxiously told us about their country. Most seemed genuinely interested in why we do what we do. When we ventured into the Kaiserslautern community, we were received with open arms everywhere we went.   The second event was the primary experience in getting me to fully appreciate the gift of service. It was the return of the remains of the Unknown Soldier of Vietnam in spring 1984, a remembrance of fallen veterans from World War I, World War II, Korea and Vietnam. The Tomb of the Unknown Soldier is the resting place for one servicemember representing all unidentified persons from each conflict. I worked media escort for the Air Force as an Army caisson carried the Vietnam Unknown from the Capitol to the Memorial Amphitheater at Arlington National Cemetery on Memorial Day, May 28, 1984. President Reagan presided over the funeral and presented the Medal of Honor to the Vietnam Unknown.   The ceremony was amazing and the pride I felt in being a part of bestowing these honors is still overwhelming. To know the true meaning of this sacred place, you only need to read the inscription on the back of the Tomb: “Here rests in honored glory an American soldier known but to God.” The Vietnam crypt now has the inscription “Honoring and Keeping Faith with America’s Missing Servicemen, 1958-1975.”   These events are the reasons we serve. And as we serve, we remember. We remember all those who went before us, wearing the uniform and paving the way for our service. We remember those who stand beside us and stand guard, making sure Americans are always safe. And as we remember, we applaud those who have joined the defense line to take protection and safety into the future.   I retired from the Air Force as a chief master sergeant after 24 years. My fondest memories are my days in service to the proper morale, welfare and utilization of the force. The military changed me and made me see that in our service we are responsible for every American. I miss my time taking care of the troops.   National Military Appreciation Month is every month for me. I hope it is for you.   EDITOR’S NOTE: In 1998, DOD scientists using DNA testing identified the remains of the Unknown Soldier of Vietnam as those of Air Force 1st Lt. Michael Joseph Blassie. He was shot down near An Loc, Vietnam, in 1972. Officials decided that the remains of the Vietnam Unknown will now remain vacant.   See the story at: http://www.jtfcs.northcom.mil/News/News/170524_militaryappreciation.aspx or www.facebook.com/jtfcs.

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Call for Chapters: Social Media Performance Evaluation and Success Measurements

As many organizations work to create social media policies that improve online interactions and provide security protections, performance is neglected.  Organizations do not tend to inquire about return on investment or performance implications until they are well into social networking activities.  This book demonstrates that using measurement tools facilitates success in social networking activities and in policy decisions.  This is important because it gives organizations tools with which they can impact online interactions as they happen.  Effective measurement can also suggest methods to affect behaviors that support the organization’s goals and objectives.  There are two major objectives.  First, help organizations identify social networking participation expectations, value and return on investment of time.  Second, highlight the true value of social networking, focusing on public administration to evaluate social networking and individual performance differences in participation, behavior, technology acceptance, and trust.  This is a new approach to social networking.  Issues in evaluating trust in social media, examining social networking participation in a different way, and addressing digital communication return on investment, all point to the need for an edited collection of original research in this area. This project is intended to provide researchers and academicians a new source for social networking methodology.  The scored survey instrument, research findings and relevant discussions from industry experts will be helpful in teaching and training applications.  The body of work focuses on the end state of social networking activities rather than the social media platform, an important distinction.  The basis of the book is a published dissertation by Dr. Michael A. Brown Sr.  SNIP doesn’t focus on “how to” use platforms, it’s about deciding on an end state and devising a strategic approach to arrive at that destination.  The focus is on expectation, value and return on investment of time in social networking, and the author believes there is no reference that focuses on that approach. The target audience of this book will be composed of professionals and researchers working in the various fields of public administration, and can be used to reinforce organizational training and improve internal and external communications. This work directly relates to the information and business fields in terms of communication; however, social networking and social media continue to grow in medical and engineering science, making the book relevant there as well. Further, there are implications for information and knowledge management in various disciplines, e.g. library, information and communication sciences, administrative sciences and management, education, adult education, sociology, computer science, and information technology. Recommended topics include, but are not limited to, the following: Social media/social networking historical development Social networking theoretical implications New research directions in social media/social networking What is social networking engagement: day-to-day issues What is social networking engagement: crisis communication applications What is social networking engagement: attacks on brand identity Evaluating social networking participation Information acquisition and sharing Interactive communication Finding social networking success – case study/research Finding support for social networking participation – personal or organizational Evaluating quantity vs quality in social networking Trust in social networking Privacy in social networking Trust model Trust as capital Inter-organizational communication Interpersonal trust Trust building Cognitive trust and affective distrust Submission Procedure Researchers and practitioners are invited to submit on or before Friday, January 22, 2015, a chapter proposal of 1,000 to 2,000 words clearly explaining the mission and concerns of his or her proposed chapter. Authors will be notified by January 30, 2016 about the status of their proposals and sent chapter guidelines. Full chapters are expected to be submitted by April 30, 2016, and all interested authors must consult the guidelines for manuscript submissions at http://www.igi-global.com/publish/contributor-resources/before-you-write/ prior to submission. All submitted chapters will be reviewed on a double-blind review basis. Contributors may also be requested to serve as reviewers for this project. Note: There are no submission or acceptance fees for manuscripts submitted to this book publication, Social Media Performance Evaluation and Success Measurements. All manuscripts are accepted based on a double-blind peer review editorial process. All proposals should be submitted through the E-Editorial DiscoveryTM online submission manager. This book is scheduled to be published by IGI Global (formerly Idea Group Inc.), an international academic publisher of the “Information Science Reference” (formerly Idea Group Reference), “Medical Information Science Reference,” “Business Science Reference,” and “Engineering Science Reference” imprints. IGI Global specializes in publishing reference books, scholarly journals, and electronic databases featuring academic research on a variety of innovative topic areas including, but not limited to, education, social science, medicine and healthcare, business and management, information science and technology, engineering, public administration, library and information science, media and communication studies, and environmental science. For additional information regarding the publisher, please visit www.igi-global.com. This publication is anticipated to be released in 2016. Important Dates Feb 5, 2016: Proposal Submission Deadline TBD: Notification of Acceptance April 30, 2016: Full Chapter Submission June 30, 2015: Review Results Returned August 15, 2016: Final Acceptance Notification August 30, 2016: Final Chapter Submission Inquiries can be forwarded to Dr. Michael A. Brown Sr, PhD dr.michael.brown76@gmail.com (757) 876-6589

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