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| FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS (FAQs) - Welcome to our Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) & Answers Page. This is designed to answer some of the questions you may have about the Defense Media Activity (DMA) and its impact on your future and your career. |
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| Click here to see additional answers based on the DMA Employee Survey. |
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| Why create a Defense Media Activity? |
| What is the DMA mission? |
| How large will this new organization be? |
| What is the DMA facility’s size and cost? |
| Will everyone be relocating to Ft. Meade, MD? |
| What organizational activities are relocating to Ft. Meade, MD? |
| What are OSD-PA and the Services doing to ensure a smooth transition to the DMA? |
| What are the major milestones? |
| To whom does the DMA report? |
| To whom will my organization report? |
| Will there be Service elements associated with the DMA? |
| When will I become a DMA employee? |
| Where on Ft. Meade will the DMA be located? |
| Will I be required to move to Ft. Meade, MD? |
| If I am moving to Ft. Meade, MD, where can I get information about the entitlements, benefits, and family assistance that will be available to me? Or, if I prefer not to move, where can I get information about the programs that will be available to assist me? |
| Where can I access information about BRAC, Ft. Meade, surrounding communities, and Maryland? |
| How can I contact the DMA Transition Team? |
| How far from the Pentagon is Ft. Meade? |
| What are the annual recurring savings for the consolidation of the media activities at Fort Meade? |
| Will the DMA be advertising open civilian positions? |
| What steps are being taken by the DMA to invest in the development of its workforce? |
| Why create a Defense Media Activity? |
The 2005 Defense Base Closure and Realignment (BRAC) Commission recommendations require the Department of Defense to consolidate the Army Broadcasting Service, Soldiers Radio/TV, Soldiers Magazine (now the Soldiers Media Center), the Naval Media Center, the Air Force News Agency, and the Army/Air Force Hometown News Service into a new Defense Media Activity (DMA) located at Ft. Meade, MD. It also requires the Department to collocate the Alexandria operations of the American Forces Information Service (AFIS), a DoD Field Activity under the ASD (Public Affairs), with the new DMA at Ft. Meade, MD.
While this BRAC initiative is a positive step, its end result would be two DoD Field Activities, operating side-by-side, with each performing similar and closely related media functions. To exploit the full transformational potential of the BRAC, the Deputy Secretary of Defense directed that all of the above organizations consolidate into a single DoD Media Activity (DMA) reporting to the Assistant Secretary of Defense (Public Affairs) and that the collateral internal communications elements of the Marine Corps also be included in the consolidation. This initiative will provide a streamlined organizational structure and opportunities for additional economies of scale in the execution of DoD media functions. |
What is the DMA mission? |
The mission of DMA is to:
- Provide a wide variety of information products to the entire DoD family (Servicemembers, family members, retirees, DoD civilians, and contract employees) and collateral external audiences through all available media, including motion and still imagery; print; radio; television; web; and related emerging internet, mobile and other communication technologies.
- Communicate messages and themes from the Secretary of Defense, Service Secretaries, JCS, and other military leaders in order to support and improve quality of life and morale, promote situational awareness, and sustain readiness.
- Provide U.S. radio and television news, information and entertainment programming to military service members, DoD civilians and contract employees, and their families overseas and on board Navy and other authorized ships.
- Provide high quality visual information products, including Combat Camera imagery depicting U.S. military activities and operations, for use throughout the DoD and the American public.
- Provide joint education and training for military and civilian personnel in the public affairs, broadcasting, and visual information career fields to meet DoD-wide entry level skills and long term career development requirements.
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How large will this new organization be? |
The DMA will consist of about 2,400 employees and have an annual budget of more than $200 million. |
What is the DMA facility’s size and cost? |
The DMA facility will consist of administration, technical and production centers, for a total of 186,000 square feet. It will provide workspace for about 650 employees. The current estimated building cost is $83 million. |
Will everyone be relocating to Ft. Meade, MD? |
No. About one fourth of the organization will be at Ft. Meade. The rest will remain at their current locations. The following components will remain in place:
Defense Media Center (March Air Reserve Base, CA)
Defense Visual Information Center (March Air Reserve Base, CA)
Stars and Stripes (Washington, D.C. and overseas operations)
Joint Combat Camera Center (Pentagon, Arlington, VA)
Defense Information School (Ft. Meade, MD)
Joint Visual Information Distribution Activity (Tobyhanna, PA)
American Forces Radio and TV Service (AFRTS) overseas networks/outlets
Fleet Support Detachments (U.S. and overseas)
DMA Pentagon Bureau (Arlington, VA) |
What organizational activities are relocating to Ft. Meade, MD? |
BRAC requires that the following activities move to Ft. Meade:
Air Force News Service (AFNEWS) and Army/Air Force Hometown News
Center, San Antonio, TX
American Forces Information Service (AFIS) headquarters and operations located in
Alexandria, VA
Army Broadcasting Service-Soldiers Radio/TV, Soldiers Magazine, Army New
Service, and print components of the Soldiers Media Center (SMC), Arlington, VA
Naval Media Center (NMC), Washington, D.C.
Marine Corps News (MCN), Arlington, VA |
What are OSD-PA and the Services doing to ensure a smooth transition to the DMA? |
Following the Congressional approval of the BRAC recommendation, the Assistant Secretary of Defense (Public Affairs) began coordination and consultation with the Military Service Chiefs of Public Affairs. He also established a DMA Transition Team, comprised of Service and AFIS representatives and consultants, who are responsible for developing, coordinating, and overseeing implementation plans. In addition, specialized BRAC working groups—Executive, Administrative, Operations, Engineering, Plant/Facilities and IT were established to focus on specific areas of emphasis. |
What are the major milestones? |
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This is the effective start date for implementation of the 2005 BRAC recommendations and establishes the point in time for resource levels that will be transferred. It starts the clock for all subsequent BRAC actions.
The DMA will be formally established on or about this date. At that time, the Director, DMA or a designee of the Assistant Secretary of Defense (Public Affairs) if a Director has not yet been appointed, will assume full operational control of the activities being transferred to DMA. Administrative support will continue to be provided by the military services and AFIS, as in the past, and these activities will remain in place and will continue to be housed in Service and AFIS facilities.
AFIS and Service personnel and resources that were placed under the operational control of the Director, DMA on January 1, 2008 will formally transfer to the DMA on this date. In addition, construction of the new DMA facility at Ft. Meade, MD is scheduled to begin during this FY2009.
This is the target for completing construction of the new DMA facility. Once it is ready for occupancy, those elements identified for relocation will begin to move to Ft. Meade, MD. By law, all BRAC moves must be completed by 15 September 2011. |
| To whom does the DMA report? |
| The DMA will be established as a DoD Field Activity under the authority, direction, and control of the Assistant Secretary of Defense (Public Affairs), who will coordinate and consult with the Military Service Chiefs of Public Affairs in overseeing the DMA. |
| To whom will my organization report? |
| All organizations transferring to DMA will report to the Director, DMA or an Acting Director designated by the ASD (Public Affairs) as of 1 January 2008. However, because of the issues involved in transferring budgets and resources, personnel will remain assigned to their current Component until 1 October 2008. In the interim, operational control of SMC, NMC, AFNEWS, MCNEWS will be exercised by the Director of DMA through the commanders of these organizations. |
| Will there be Service elements associated with the DMA? |
| Yes, the Services will retain small elements that will be collocated with DMA and report to their respective Service Chief of Public Affairs. The elements will provide real-time liaison for Service leadership and the identification of Service-unique requirements, media products, messages and distribution requirements. |
When will I become a DMA employee? |
| All military and civilian personnel come under the operational control of DMA on 1 January 2008. However, because of the issues involved in transferring budgets and resources, personnel will remain assigned to their current Component until 1 October 2008. In the interim, operational control of SMC, NMC, AFNEWS, MCNEWS will be exercised by the Director of DMA through the commanders of these organizations. |
| Where on Ft. Meade will the DMA be located? |
| The DMA will be located at the intersection of Mapes Road and Taylor Road, on what is presently the Ft. Meade golf course across from the Defense Information School. |
| Will I be required to move to Ft. Meade, MD? |
| If your job is moving to Ft. Meade, MD, you will be formally notified by your servicing personnel office. In this event, you will be offered a position similar to and at the same level as the one to which you are currently assigned. Military members will follow the PCS rules established by their parent Service. For civilian employees, the decision to move or not to move is a personal one, based on individual circumstances. Nonetheless, we encourage all current employees to become a member of the new DMA team. Rest assured you will have a meaningful position at Ft. Meade. |
| If I am moving to Ft. Meade, MD, where can I get information about the entitlements, benefits, and family assistance that will be available to me? Or, if I prefer not to move, where can I get information about the programs that will be available to assist me? |
At this point not all of these details have been worked out. Once they have, we will be sending teams to brief employees on these matters, as well as other aspects of the DMA stand-up and BRAC implementation plans. In the meantime, however, the following links provide useful information and guidance for civilian and military personnel affected by BRAC:
Civilian Personnel
http://www.cpms.osd.mil/brac/brac_index.aspx
Military Personnel
http://www.defenselink.mil/brac/pdf/Family-Resources.pdf
Army
http://cpol.army.mil/library/general/brac/index.html
Air Force
http://ask.afpc.randolph.af.mil/main_content.asp?prods3+2500&prods2+2499&prods1=99
Navy
https://www.donhr.navy.mil/Brac/ |
| Where can I access information about BRAC, Ft. Meade, surrounding communities, and Maryland? |
The following websites are useful sources of such information.
DOD BRAC Homepage
http://www.dod.mil/brac/
Army BRAC
http://www.hqda.army.mil/acim/brac/braco.htm
Air Force BRAC
http://www.af.mil.brac/
Navy BRAC
http://www.bracpmo.navy.mil/
Ft. Meade, MD Homepage
http://www.ftmeade.army.mil/
Ft. Meade Alliance
http://www.ftmeadealliance.org/
MD BRAC
http://www.choosemaryland.org/businessinmd/militaryaffairs/militaryaffairs.html
Anne Arundel County
http://www.aacounty.org/
Howard County
http://www.co.ho.md.us/
http://www.visithowardcounty.com/
Odenton, MD
http://www.city-data.com/city/Odenton-Maryland.html
http://www.odenton.org/
http://www.wunderground.com/US/MD/Odenton.html |
| How can I contact the DMA Transition Team? |
| Click here to access the Contact Us link. Your question or comment will be forwarded to an appropriate member of the DMA Transition Team for response. We will get back to you as quickly as possible. To make this process work efficiently, please fill out all of the fields in the information request form. |
| How far from the Pentagon is Fort Meade? |
| Approximately 29 miles if driving I-395 and I-295 through Washington, DC, the Baltimore-Washington Parkway, and exiting onto MD 175. The drive time is approximately 35 minutes in non-rush hour traffic; but the drive time can increase significantly depending on time of day. See the Resources Center for a regional map. |
| What are the annual recurring savings for the consolidation of the media activities at Fort Meade? |
In February 2007, the Army, as Business Plan Manager, with input from the Navy, Air Force and AFIS, estimated the annual recurring savings of $9.4M per year beginning in FY12. These savings are generally attributed to reduced personnel costs due to position eliminations already taken by each of the Services. There is also some savings due to reduced facility maintenance costs.
At present, the Military Services are updating their plans and budgets. We expect to get a new estimate of savings in February 2008 when the President’s FY 09 Budget is presented to Congress.
We fully expect there will be other benefits of consolidation that are yet to be quantified. These benefits may include increased efficiency in procurement of equipment and contracts, wider information sharing between print, broadcast, Web, visual information and other media, and better coordination across the DoD public affairs enterprise. |
| Will the DMA be advertising open civilian positions? |
Yes, eventually. The DMA will not hire civilian personnel until some time after its establishment on 1 January 2008. It will take some time for the DMA to get its own entry on the agency list on the Office of Personnel's USA Jobs Web site.
Until then you will not see uniquely 'DMA' jobs advertised. Positions transferring to the DMA from the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps and the AFIS, will transfer on October 1, 2008.
In the interim jobs will likely be advertised under the American Forces Information Service (AFIS) agency listing. If you go to OPM's USA Jobs (http://jobsearch.usajobs.opm.gov/agency_search.asp) and do an agency search (Defense Department, then American Forces Information Service) you'll see advertised positions there. You may also search against the Army, Navy and Air Force for similar positions in the Military Service media activities.
When the DMA gets our own agency listing on the USA Jobs site, we will make an announcement to that effect on the DMA Web site and provide a direct link to USA Jobs.
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| What steps are being taken by the DMA to invest in the development of its workforce? |
| All supervisors, either in the Military Departments or in Defense Field Activities have the responsibility to develop the workforce. That will not change when we've all moved to the DMA.
Military members in the DMA will have the same requirements for Service-specific schools and training as they have today. The Military Departments retain the responsibility to develop the professional military skills of their soldiers, sailors, airmen and Marines. The DMA will support this by making military members available for training and will assume responsibility to pay any organization costs just as the AFNEWS does today. Further, we'll depend on the Senior Officer and Noncomissioned Officer from each Service to be responsible to the DMA Director for military matters (including military career development and training) for the members of their Service in the DMA.
The DMA will make use of the full range of DoD (including Military Department), Federal and academic training and education opportunities for its civilian workforce. Those opportunities you currently enjoy as an AFNEWS employee are but a subset.
While we intend to have an employee development program, we do not have a formal program at this time. Our newly hired Director of Human Resources, due in 17 August, will be responsible for its development. If you have suggestions or recommendations, we'd be happy to pass them to her upon her arrival.
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