Thanks for the ride Sheppard

  • Published
  • By John Ingle
  • 82nd Training Wing Public Affairs
SHEPPARD AIR FORCE BASE, Texas --  It all began in the early 1940s as the Tex-Acts, the first official newspaper of Sheppard Field.

That newspaper went away when the installation was closed down shortly after World War II. But, the need of Sheppard Air Force Base in the late 1940s breathed new life into the base newspaper, this time the Sheppard Senator; the first publication came out Nov. 6, 1948.

For the next 58 years, the Senator would provide base news in different formats to the people of Sheppard.

But a new era is set to begin as public affairs offices across the Air Force keep up with high demands and improved technology to deliver the same news to the same people. Today's issue of the Senator is the last to be produced by the 82nd Training Wing Public Affairs Office.

"It's a sad time as we are giving up something that has been perhaps the most identifiable product of Sheppard and a staple of what we do," said 82nd TRW Director of Public Affairs Maj. Mike Young. "Base newspapers have been the main artery for base commanders throughout the Air Force to communicate their message - their mission with the rest of the base."

The major said this is also an exciting time because public affairs is moving in a direction that enables them to get more information out to people more expeditiously than ever. Sheppard's new public Web site is now the primary source of information for active-duty men and women, civilians and retirees.

Most of the information found in today's newspaper will be on the public site. Major Young said there are a few items that are being addressed at higher levels, but the changes will be minor.

"We are still going to provide quality news coverage of events on Sheppard," he said. "Our internal communication division is still charged with telling the story of Sheppard and its people just like we have done all along."

An Air Force-level working group is currently examining the current regulation to determine how public affairs offices can continue to provide the same products in an online format.

The impetus behind changing formats was made after rounds of military and civilian drawn-downs occurred recently. About 200 public affairs positions were cut from 800 that were on the books. It was estimated that layout and design of the newspaper took up roughly 40 percent of newspaper staffs' time, with the remainder going to stories and other duties.

"We've begun leveraging technology to offset the impending 30 percent reduction in Public Affairs manpower," said Col. Michelle Johnson, the Air Force's top public affairs officer in a recent PA newsletter. "Based on the recommendations of the AFSO21 working group, the course of action we adopted is to transition to a real-time online web presence using the Public Web, in other words, migrate from a hard-copy newspaper to a web-based one."

The Sheppard public Web site is currently up and running. Beginning the first week of January, the internal communication staff will begin populating the site with daily news, features and commentary items.

There are several links on the home page to help visitors to the site find what they are looking for, including community information, the 82nd Services Division and housing privatization. Visitors will also be able to view local news video clips of different Sheppard events and stories.

The top stories for Air Force and Air Education and Training Command news services are also listed on the home page, as well as videos produced by AFNEWS.