scope:

Purpose of Community Engagement.

Community and public engagement is a crucial Departmental activity that reinforces trust and confidence in the United States military and in its most important asset - people. Proactive community outreach ensures we connect with the American people and our partner nations outside the continental United States (OCONUS) to inspire the best and most qualified candidates to serve; support our troops at home and in dangerous places throughout the world; and ultimately transition our military families back into communities ready to support them through education, employment, and wellness initiatives. These proactive engagements showcase our superior combat power, demonstrate readiness to defend the Nation, and help to preserve the all-volunteer force. Effective engagement builds an informed public that is more inclined to support military operations and less susceptible to the effects of adversary misinformation or inaccurate information in the public sphere.

Community Engagement. Community engagement encompasses activities of interest to the general public, businesses, academia, veterans, service organizations, military-related associations, and other non-news media entities. Targeted engagements with and through various groups enhance mutual understanding, cooperation, and support necessary to create desired effects that support the Air Force's communications objectives. There are also other programs managed externally from public affairs that have a community engagement component (i.e. encroachment management, Air Installation Compatible Use Zone (AICUZ) program, and science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) outreach, etc.).