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Wing continues to embrace social networking

  • Published
  • By Captain Wayne Capps
  • 315 Airlift Wing Public Affairs
CHARLESTON AFB, S.C. --  Social networking and alternative communication continues to grow in popularity across the world and now the Air Force is getting in on the craze.

The Air Force, including the 315th Airlift Wing, is taking advantage of the exposure offered by social networking sites like Twitter and Facebook.

The 315 AW started a MySpace, Facebook and Twitter sites back in Dec 2008, being one of the first wings in the Air Force Reserve Command and the Air Force to take advantage of the new trend. "Social networking is a great way to get the Air Force message out," said Maj. Bill Walsh, public affairs officer for the 315th Airlift Wing here.

"If we don't embrace this new communication trend, the world will pass us by," said Walsh, and embrace the Air Force has. The Air Force recently started a Community of Practice about social networking in order to research how Air Force members use the sites and if these sites can be beneficial to the Air Force mission.

Several wings across the Air Force can now be found on social media sites. "These sites are also a great way to communicate with traditional reservists who are not on base and accustomed to checking the wing's public web site," said Walsh. "We post everything from news stories to announcements. It is a great way to keep our wing and community aware of what is going on here."

As social networking and alternative communication methods continue to become more popular, agencies across the Air Force will continue to look for different methods to tell their story. Recently, the Air Force Reserve's 403rd Wing at Keesler AFB, Miss. Conducted the Air Force's first ever "Blogger Flight". This gave bloggers from across the country the chance to fly with the unit and report, an opportunity normally only available to traditional media outlets.

The 315 AW can be found on Twitter and on Facebook under Charleston AFB Reserve Wing. The wing's MySpace page was deleted because of the lack of traffic and growing trend away from MySpace.