MR. HAL PITTMAN

Director

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Mr. Hal Pittman, a member of the Senior Executive Service, serves as the Director of the Defense Media Activity (DMA) at Fort Meade, Maryland. As the senior career (non-politically appointed) civilian public affairs official in the Department of Defense (DoD), Mr. Pittman leads the Department’s global communication capability that develops and distributes multi-media content and broadcast programming to 3,000,000 servicemembers, DoD civilians and their families. He is also responsible for training the military’s 4,000 public affairs and visual information specialists.

Prior to DMA, Mr. Pittman was an executive with Arizona’s largest utility company, Arizona Public Service, and before that, was President and CEO of Special Olympics Iowa, leading sports training and wellness efforts for 11,000 children and adults with intellectual disabilities.

Joining the Navy following college, Mr. Pittman served a full career as a U.S. Navy officer in assignments all over the world, rising to the rank of Rear Admiral. In uniform, he led public affairs for some of the military’s most visible and sensitive operations, including twice serving as U.S. Central Command Communication Director during combat operations in Iraq and Afghanistan. He also commanded the Joint Public Affairs Support Element; served in the Pentagon as Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Joint Communication; and was a Special Assistant for Public Affairs to the Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. In his last active-duty deployment, Mr. Pittman led communication efforts for the 140,000-strong NATO International Security Assistance Force in Afghanistan. 

During his military service, Mr. Pittman’s teams earned numerous public relations and media industry awards, including Public Relations Society of America Silver and Bronze Anvils, the International Association of Business Communicators’ Gold Quill, and the National Association of Government Communicators’ Blue Pencil Award. Following his assignment as U.S. Central Command Public Affairs Director, Mr. Pittman was recognized as “PR News” Government Public Relations Person of the Year; he has also received the American Business Award "The Stevie" as America’s Best Corporate Communicator.

In 2016, Mr. Pittman founded the Arizona Corporate Council on Veteran Careers promoting veteran workforce development, growing this Arizona business coalition to more than 35 companies. He is also Founder and Past President of the national utility industry non-profit Veterans in Energy and has served with Boards of Directors for other non-profits and start-up companies. Mr. Pittman is a past recipient of the Amateur Athletic Union’s Brother Bennett Award for Volunteerism and has been honored as a Veteran Champion of the Year in Corporate America by “GI Jobs” magazine. He received the Arizona Governor’s Lifetime Community Service Award in 2019, and in 2021 was inducted into the Arizona Veterans Hall of Fame.

Mr. Pittman earned his undergraduate degree from Appalachian State University, an MBA from Temple University’s Fox School of Business, and a master’s degree in journalism from American University. He was also an MIT Seminar XXI Fellow in foreign politics and international relations and is a graduate of the Dartmouth Tuck Business School Advanced Management Program.  Mr. Pittman’s military decorations include the Defense Superior Service Medal (four awards); the Defense Meritorious Service Medal (three awards); the Navy Meritorious Service Medal (four awards); the Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Medal (three awards), and the Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medal (three awards).