Inside the Pentagon with Former Assistant Secretary of Defense for Public Affairs Robert Hastings

A conversation about the chain of command inside the Pentagon, Secretary of Defense Robert Gates and caring for wounded warriors with Robert Hastings, vice president communications Northrop Grumman Information Systems and former acting assistant secretary of defense for public affairs, who presented a case study about Wounded Warrior Care: Practical Applications in Strategic Communications.

 

01:23 – An explanation of the civilian oversight of the military, the reporting structure within the US Department of Defense and what it’s like inside the control center at the Pentagon.

 

03:26 – Just how advanced IS the technology inside the US Department of Defense?

 

04:28 – Why some US Armed Forces service members are more guarded than others when talking to the new media.

 

07:40 – Secretary of Defnese Robert Gates’s observation of the tension between “exquisite systems” we may need to win the war tomorrow versus getting the gear we need to win the war today.

 

09:37 – How the SecDef cut through the bureacracy to improve the quality of treatment for wounded warriors, faster MRAP requisitioning and the procurement of faster and better intelligence on the battlefield.

 

10:53 – How the Department of Defense secures and develops intelligence.

 

11:29 – The Wounded Warrior Care case study that Robest Hastings is presenting at the 2009 PRSA International Conference.

 

12:58 – The most important lesson learned from the Wounded Warrior Care case study.

 

15:17 – How Robert Hastings came to be appointed as an Assistant Secretary of De fense.

 

17:24 – What it was like interviewing at the Pentagon with SecDef Robert Gates for the job of Assistant Secretary of Defense.

 

19:24 – A discussion of a strategic communications intiative undertaken by the US Dept. of Defense

 

20:25 – Which branch of the US Armed Forces officer’s dining room at the Pentagon has the best food.

 

22:25– End

 

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Eric Schwartzman (@ericschwartzman) is an independent new media and social media communications consultant, the creator of the top-rated New Media and Social Media Boot Camp, which has been attended by more than a thousand public relations and marketing executives from the private, public, government and nonprofit sectors. In addition to advising clients on best practices for online newsroom design, deployment and management, Schwartzman offers a portfolio of social media training courses to accelerate the acquisition of social media communication skills, as well as social media strategy and campaign support.  Schwartzman is also the founder of online newsroom software as a service provider iPressroom.

 

This episode of On the Record…Online, the Official PR Podcast of the 2009 PRSA International Conference, was recorded live at the conference. 

 

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