Noah Shachtman at Wired’s Danger Room (a great new miltiary tech blog) obtained a copy of the USAF’s talking points for acquiring more funding. They boil down to the essense of “we’re at war, too!”

While I agree that the Air Force is at war, too, the message crafters usually don’t understand what message would sell their point more effectively. They should take a cue from the Marines (whose self preservation efforts are the envy of Madison Avenue PR firms).

Two items that should be in their arsenal involve the USAF Pararescuemen (aka PJs). My mentor in my early career as a Sergeant was both Special Forces and Pararescue qualified. He was one of the most physically and morally tough individuals I have ever met. So Tech Sergeant O, here’s some payback.

For the Air Force PR mongers, first, here’s a podcast that I do weekly on ABC radio in Boston called Someone You Should Know (based on the Blackfive.net series). It features USAF Pararesecueman Jason Cunningham who saved US Army Rangers during a difficult fight 10,000 feet up on the side of a Afghan mountain. Here’s the link to the podcast:

Pundit Review – Jason Cunningham – Someone You Should Know

Second, have some High Altitude Low Opening (HALO) adrenaline courtesy of the PJs:

You can hear more podcasts about our men and women fighting the war at Pundit Review (scroll down to Someone You Should Know). You can read more about them at Blackfive.