We spend a lot of time in the social media world talking about the importance of leadership or “senior leader buy-in.” That’s why today is of particular importance to all of us in Army Public Affairs, as Chief of Public Affairs Maj. Gen. Kevin Bergner is retiring. He’s ending a career and service to our nation that began in an ROTC program at Trinity University in San Antonio, Texas. Relatively unique to our general officer leadership he’s also “one of us” – a Defense Information School graduate and someone who has experienced the world of Army Public Affairs first-hand.
He came to the Office of the Chief of Public Affairs (OCPA) more than qualified. He had an operational mindset but is also a savvy communicator and someone with a heart for innovation. We often see leaders in our military who posess one or some of these qualities but where they come together it’s a benefit to all who serve under them. If I were to write a true tribute to Maj. Gen. Bergner’s career it would be far too long for a blog post, so I’ll focus on the issue that’s near and dear to my heart – social media.
Few may realize it, but Maj. Gen. Bergner’s real “coming out” as Chief of Public Affairs actually took place at the MilBlog Conference – where he agreed to step in and do a live blogger’s roundtable with participants, answering questions as varied as “what’s the deal with the Army’s new uniform?” to “when in the heck is the Army going to release a policy on blogging and social media?”
Following that conference he took the initiative to ask what OCPA was really doing in the social media space. And contrary to a lot of folks who may have wished social media would go away or tried to push it into another office or division, he decided it merited its own seat at OCPA’s table – and formed the Army’s Online and Social Media Division in January of 2009.
Our charter? To manage the Army’s online image – to include our official Web site, our milblog relationships, and our social networking presence. It’s a big mission for a small division but an incredibly, and increasingly important one. We remain OCPA’s smallest division but no lesser in importance only because he continues to push our issues to the forefront, and highlight not just our efforts but the importance of engaging online to leaders at all levels.
Through Maj. Gen. Bergner’s leadership every pre-command course at Fort Leavenworth and an increasing number of general officers now get a social media 101 briefing. It helps to guide them through the questions they’ll need to ask themselves concerning how they will lead from the front on social media issues.
He’s also helped the Army’s social media division pen some of our catchiest phrases (many of which I still wish I could take credit for), including the importance of “education versus regulation” and a three pillar approach of “presence, relevance and penetration” as guiding themes in our efforts.
He has been a perfect example of what all of us wish for in our Army leaders’ understanding of social media. He hasn’t “drunk the kool-aid” but he has empowered his staff to explore the space, be edgy, get out there, and take risks.
We wish him the best in his new endeavors and sincerely thank him and his family for their service and commitment to our nation. Any of you who would like to do the same are welcome to write a note in our comments section.
