Working at MCAAP, one gets the privilege and opportunity to meet some very accomplished professionals who have been federal employees for many years. Most of these individuals offer a wealth of career advice, insight, and knowledge about their craft. Recently I met the Public Affairs Specialist for MCAAP, Mark Hughes.

Mr. Hughes gave me a glimpse into the average day on the job as the MCAAP Public Affairs Specialist. He is tasked with providing the commander with public affairs advice (the commander is an actual military officer who is the commanding presence on the installation. He serves as the installation manager, making all executive and command decisions). Mr. Hughes also publishes a 12-page monthly newspaper. He writes the articles, takes the photos, and designs the layout for the publication.

Mr. Hughes gets the high honor of representing the command at community relations events and committees such as Armed Forces Day. He obtains the military fly-over for Armed Forces Day, and provides information to the McAlester News Capital (the local newspaper) on this holiday. Mr. Hughes is also charged with coordinating and preparing for the arrival of active duty military personnel from across the United States when they get orders to come to MCAAP. He even provides protocol services such as planning the itinerary, lodging, ground transportation, and meals for distinguished visitors coming to the installation.

In his role as Public Affairs Specialist, Mr. Hughes also responds and coordinates media queries, assists in planning special events, drafts speeches for the commander and the civilian deputy (a civilian who is the second in command next to the commander), coordinates significant articles in major DoD publications, and coordinates Freedom of Information Act requests from the media.

Mr. Hughes also provided me with some wise and insightful advice. I asked him how he perceived the value of public relations in his organization. He said that the value of public relations is vital to the success of MCAAP, but that the real question is what does the leadership think about the value of public relations? He went on to explain that a public relations practitioner can only be as valuable as the leadership with let him/her be.

Because of this, Mr. Hughes said it is imperative for public relations professionals to be able to define value, which is why it is essential for them to be able to measure the worthiness of what they do and their ability to contribute to the bottom line. He also said that if the leadership of an organization is going to relegate public relations into the background, then they do not need public relations. Instead, they need "more sandbags to build a defensive wall around them from the media, which ultimately fails and then the company is exposed to the light of public opinion."

Mr. Hughes has been a great asset to me so far and I look forward to his continued counsel as I progress in my career at MCAAP.