Pentagon Channel available to all Airmen

  • Published
  • By Tech. Sgt. David A. Jablonski
  • Air Force Print News
WASHINGTON --  The Pentagon Channel is available to practically every active-duty, Air National Guard and Air Force Reserve Airman and his or her family thanks to a recent expansion of services.

Officials from the office of the secretary of defense for public affairs made the Pentagon Channel free to all cable providers throughout the continental United States in May, and via streaming video in June at: http://www.pentagonchannel.mil.

The inaugural broadcast took place May 14.

In order to get the channel, cable television subscribers living off base must call their local provider and ask them to carry it.

“It’s up to cable companies, but we’ve found that they are committed to supporting their customers,” said Allison Barber, deputy assistant secretary of defense for internal communications. “If enough customers call to ask the provider to carry the Pentagon Channel, that would be the best scenario. In the meantime, people can download the streaming video.”

The Pentagon Channel is also available to any Air Force installation that has a commander’s access channel included in the on-base cable package. But currently, only six Air Force bases are taking advantage of it.

“It’s an awareness issue,” Ms. Barber said. “We need more (people at) Air Force bases to know about the channel. We’re only available on six Air Force bases, but we’re on a large number of Army, Navy and Marine Corps bases. In fact, we’re on 51 military bases now with over 400,000 (Department of Defense) personnel and growing.”

Getting the channel is a simple matter of capturing the satellite signal and adding it to the base’s cable television program list. A portion of the Web site gives all the technical data to do this. If that is beyond the scope of local experts, the Web site offers assistance over a toll-free telephone line.

“Our Web site contains all the information necessary to download the signal,” Ms. Barber said, “and if that’s not enough, they can call us for help.”

If a base or National Guard armory needs a satellite receiver and dish, OSD-PA can even provide them a set.

The Pentagon Channel broadcasts military news and information for the 2.6 million members of the U.S. armed forces and 650,000 civilian DOD employees worldwide. Programming includes DOD news briefings, military service news, interviews with top defense officials, daily news and information from overseas areas including Iraq, Europe and the Far East, and short stories about the specific projects of our military units and individual military members in the United States as well as overseas that are contributing to the war on terrorism.

But most people are still not getting the message.

“Our latest research from military members around the world shows that less than 50 percent feel up to speed about military news and information,” Ms. Barber said. “And that’s a problem.”

“That gives me my marching orders every day. That’s why we are so aggressive and driven to improve. They deserve better,” Ms. Barber added.

“Secretary of Defense (Donald) Rumsfeld and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General (Richard B.) Myers are very committed to improving internal communication, so this is supported at the highest levels,” Ms. Barber said. “It’s important for everyone to have access, for the local commander to get that access and get the channel distributed in their communities.”

A recent example of how important it is to get the word out happened when President George W. Bush signed the new Soldiers and Sailors Relief Act, but national news media did not cover it.

“One of the new provisions was the leased vehicle turn-in provision,” Ms. Barber said. This provision allows reservists and guardsmen who are being deployed to turn in a leased vehicle and end the contract without penalty. “That saved troops a lot of money. The national media never told that story, so we put that out over the Pentagon Channel.”