The Defense Information School (DINFOS) is a

United States Department of Defense The United States Department of Defense (DoD, USDOD or DOD) is an executive branch department of the federal government charged with coordinating and supervising all agencies and functions of the government directly related to national sec ...

(DoD) school located at

Fort George G. Meade Fort George G. Meade is a United States Army installation located in Maryland, that includes the Defense Information School, the Defense Media Activity, the United States military bands#Army Field Band, United States Army Field Band, and the head ...

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It shares borders with Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware and the Atlantic Ocean t ...

. DINFOS fulfills the Department of Defense's need for an internal corps of professional journalists, broadcasters, and public affairs professionals. Members from all branches of the U.S. military, DoD civilians and international military personnel attend DINFOS for training in public affairs, print

journalism Journalism is the production and distribution of reports on the interaction of events, facts, ideas, and people that are the " news of the day" and that informs society to at least some degree. The word, a noun, applies to the occupation (p ...

photojournalism Photojournalism is journalism that uses images to tell a news story. It usually only refers to still images, but can also refer to video used in broadcast journalism. Photojournalism is distinguished from other close branches of photography (such ...

photography Photography is the art, application, and practice of creating durable images by recording light, either electronically by means of an image sensor, or chemically by means of a light-sensitive material such as photographic film. It is emplo ...

television Television, sometimes shortened to TV, is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. The term can refer to a television set, or the medium of television transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertising, ...

and

radio Radio is the technology of signaling and communicating using radio waves. Radio waves are electromagnetic waves of frequency between 30 hertz (Hz) and 300 gigahertz (GHz). They are generated by an electronic device called a tr ...

broadcasting Broadcasting is the distribution of audio or video content to a dispersed audience via any electronic mass communications medium, but typically one using the electromagnetic spectrum (radio waves), in a one-to-many model. Broadcasting began wi ...

lithography Lithography () is a planographic method of printing originally based on the immiscibility of oil and water. The printing is from a stone (lithographic limestone) or a metal plate with a smooth surface. It was invented in 1796 by the German a ...

, equipment maintenance and various forms of

multimedia Multimedia is a form of communication that uses a combination of different content forms such as text, audio, images, animations, or video into a single interactive presentation, in contrast to tradit ...

. The

American Council on Education The American Council on Education (ACE) is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) U.S. higher education association established in 1918. ACE's members are the leaders of approximately 1,700 accredited, degree-granting colleges and universities and higher educatio ...

recommends college credit for most DINFOS courses.

History

The Army Information School was founded in 1946 at

Carlisle Barracks Carlisle Barracks is a United States Army facility located in Carlisle, Pennsylvania. The site of the U.S. Army War College, it is the nation's second-oldest active military base. The first structures were built in 1757, during the French and I ...

Carlisle, Pennsylvania Carlisle is a borough in and the county seat of Cumberland County, Pennsylvania, United States. Carlisle is located within the Cumberland Valley, a highly productive agricultural region. As of the 2020 census, the borough population was 20,118; ...

. Other branches of the military merged with the Army Information School in 1948 to form the Armed Forces Information School at Fort Slocum,

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

. The joint service venture disbanded due to poor enrollment until 1964, when Assistant Secretary of Defense for Public Affairs Arthur Sylvester chartered DINFOS. DINFOS moved to Fort Benjamin Harrison, just outside

Indianapolis Indianapolis (), colloquially known as Indy, is the state capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Indiana and the seat of Marion County. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the consolidated population of Indianapolis and Marion ...

Indiana Indiana () is a U.S. state in the Midwestern United States. It is the 38th-largest by area and the 17th-most populous of the 50 States. Its capital and largest city is Indianapolis. Indiana was admitted to the United States as the 19th ...

, in 1965 where it remained until its 1995 move to

Training

Leadership courses

The Public Affairs Leadership Department is one of four departments in DINFOS. The Public Affairs Leadership Department offers the Qualification Course (PAQC), the Joint Expeditionary Course (JEPAC), the Joint Intermediate Course (JIPAC), and the Joint Senior Course (JSPAC). Courses are offered to military officers, senior enlisted personnel, Department of Defense civilians, and members of coalition partners from around the world who are preparing for or already in billets of public affairs leadership. The Public Affairs Qualification Course (PAQC) provides those who are new to the public affairs field the fundamentals of public affairs to include military-media relations, the different mediums used to facilitate the flow of accurate and timely information, and how to conduct public affairs operations in support of the command's mission. In addition, the students are taught the fundamentals of news, journalism, and how to write and copy-edit in accordance with the Associated Press (AP) Styleguide. The Public Affairs Expeditionary Course is a ten-day, intensive follow-on course to PAQC. Students are expected to have a basic working knowledge and experience in PA as the course is focused more on the application of PA skills in a field environment.

Journalism courses

Journalism classes feature basic writing skills and include a headline style known at the school as " headline-ese," a style for writing and developing headlines. Students are taught a variety of writing styles and formats such as news, sports and feature writing. Photojournalism courses focus on composition, exposure and general camera operation skills. Flash photography is introduced in the basic photography course. Students learn advanced photo-editing, composition and other techniques not taught in basic photojournalism classes. For military journalists, DINFOS offers the 6-month Mass Communication Fundamentals Course (MCF), two-week Intermediate Public Affairs Specialist Course (IPASC) and four-week Content Management Course. U.S. Army students are awarded the Military Occupational Specialty (MOS) designator of 46S, Mass Communications Specialist, U.S. Air Force students are awarded the Air Force Specialty Code (AFSC) 3N0X6, Public Affairs, and U.S. Marine Corps students are awarded the MOS 4341 Combat Correspondent. For military Broadcast journalists, DINFOS offers the Broadcast Communication Specialist Course. Broadcasters begin by attending several weeks of BWAS - Basic Writing and Announcing Skills. If the class requirements are met, students may continue into Radio and Television broadcasting classes. Students in all courses hail from all branches of the U.S. military and Reserve as well as international military students.

Equipment maintenance courses

The Basic Television Equipment Maintenance (BTVEM) course includes apprentice level instruction in the repair of all types of studio and transmission equipment. Students also learn how to maintain the Adobe Premiere non-linear digital editing systems. The U.S. Army MOS 25R is awarded upon completion. Since December 2006

Air Force An air force – in the broadest sense – is the national military branch that primarily conducts aerial warfare. More specifically, it is the branch of a nation's armed services that is responsible for aerial warfare as distinct from an ...

class graduated, DINFOS no longer trains Air Force personnel in the BTVEM course. The Broadcast Radio and Television Systems Maintenance course is an advanced level course where students learn the ins and outs of American Forces Radio and Television Service (AFRTS) engineering standards and practices. Both maintenance courses are nationally accredited by the Society of Broadcast Engineers (SBE). Upon completion of either course with an average GPA of at least 85%, students are certified by the SBE as broadcast technologists (CBT).

Notable alumni

Rob Riggle Robert A. Riggle Jr. (born April 21, 1970) is an American actor, comedian, and former United States Marine Officer. He is known for his work as a correspondent on Comedy Central's ''The Daily Show'' from 2006 to 2008; as a cast member on ''Sa ...

, Actor/comedian * Pat Sajak, disk jockey at Armed Forces Radio *

Al Gore Albert Arnold Gore Jr. (born March 31, 1948) is an American politician, businessman, and environmentalist who served as the 45th vice president of the United States from 1993 to 2001 under President Bill Clinton. Gore was the Democratic ...

, print journalist, Vietnam War *

Dan Quayle James Danforth Quayle (; born February 4, 1947) is an American politician who served as the 44th vice president of the United States from 1989 to 1993 under President George H. W. Bush. A member of the Republican Party, Quayle served as a U.S. ...

Dale Dye Dale Adam Dye Jr. (born October 8, 1944) is an American actor, technical advisor, radio personality and writer. A decorated Marine veteran of the Vietnam War, Dye is the founder and head of Warriors, Inc., a technical advisory company specializi ...

*Lionel Bascom, Pulitzer Prize juror in Journalism, Columbia University * Adrian Cronauer *Zsa Zsa Gershick *Chas Henry * LouAnne Johnson * Clarence Page"Defense Information School Holds Inaugural Hall of Fame Induction"
United States Army. 2013 Mar. 26. Retrieved 2014 Jul. 5 *Rod Simmons *

Marshall Thompson James Marshall Thompson (November 27, 1925 – May 18, 1992) was an American film and television actor. Early years Thompson was born in Peoria, Illinois. He and his parents, Dr. and Mrs. Laurence B. Thompson, moved to California when he was a ...

*James E. Whaley, Siemens Corporation, Vice President of Communications & Marketing * Earl Woods, father of golfer

Tiger Woods Eldrick Tont "Tiger" Woods (born December 30, 1975) is an American professional golfer. He is tied for first in PGA Tour wins, ranks second in men's major championships, and holds numerous golf records. * * * Woods is widely regarded as ...

Mark Rosenker Mark Victor Rosenker (December 8, 1946 – September 26, 2020) was an American aviation official who served as the 11th chairman of the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) from August 2006 through August 2008. He was nominated by Preside ...

, Retired USAFR Major General, CBS NEWS Transportation Safety Analyst * Major Megan McClung *

Gene Siskel Eugene Kal Siskel (January 26, 1946 – February 20, 1999) was an American film critic and journalist for the '' Chicago Tribune''. Along with colleague Roger Ebert, he hosted a series of movie review programs on television from 1975 until his ...

* Tony Dow, Leave It To Beaver * Walter F. Mondale, 42nd Vice-President of the United States. * John William Chancellor, a television news anchor and author * Nicholas A. Basbanes, author of numerous works of nonfiction, including '' A Gentle Madness: Bibliophiles, Bibliomanes, and the Eternal Passion for Books'' and ''On Paper: The Everything of Its Two-Thousand-Year History''; Spring 1968. * Sunny Anderson,"DINFOS graduates reflect on their careers in panel discussion"
Ft. Meade SoundOff. Retrieved 2014 Nov. 18 * Jonathan Young (psychologist), commentator,

Ancient Aliens ''Ancient Aliens'' is an American television series that explores the pseudohistorical and pseudoarchaeological ancient astronauts hypothesis, past human- extraterrestrial contact, UFOs, government conspiracies and related pseudoscientific topi ...

series on the

History Channel History (formerly The History Channel from January 1, 1995 to February 15, 2008, stylized as HISTORY) is an American pay television network and flagship channel owned by A&E Networks, a joint venture between Hearst Communications and the Disney ...

. * JD Vance, author of NYTimes bestseller Hillbilly Elegy.

References

External links

* {{Authority control Military education and training in the United States Educational institutions established in 1946 Organizations based in Maryland American journalism organizations Universities and colleges accredited by the Council on Occupational Education 1946 establishments in Maryland