Well, since you asked CS... I arrived here in Paris today. CNO just arrived here for meetings the next couple of days at French Navy and Joint HQs. He'll be talking with French and Paris-based US media on Wednesday.Charlie is good people; the CNO is blessed to have him ... but can big Navy help a brother out?
He was in Toulon this weekend and was briefed at the French Navy's Med HQ, and visited a French Navy LHD, an AAW Destroyer and their carrier today, and he told me he was impressed with all he saw. The CO of the French LHD, coincidentally, had previously served with CNO.
For latest on CNO's trips, you can also check out his Facebook page at www.facebook.com/chiefofnavaloperations.
Very respectfully,
CDR Charlie Brown
CNO's PAO
As of 20:30 last night over at navy.mil, what do we have as the top stories?
And when I do a news.google search for Roughead and Toulon I get ...
... and for Roughead France I get ...
If you do just a web search you get one hit from DVIDS for Toulon and Facebook and Twitter for France. That is it. Sad thing is the DVIDS hit is a mistake - it is just VADM Harry Harris's visit to Toulon in APR that happens to be on the same page as ones of the CNO. You can see it in cache.I can understand the fact that we can put out all we want - but if the media does not pick it up, then it dies. I also understand Facebook and Twitter working - the CNO's Staff controls that.
The larger issue is another example of our messaging. DVIDS and Navy.mil ... and other Navy sites just are not picking it up. I can think of few other relationships more important, outside Japan and the UK, than the one we have with the French. The fact that this visit gets so little coverage internally and externally should give us pause.
Now, if I do CNO Affinity Groups I get, well - you click.
PAO is a tough job - I'm glad we have pros like Charlie trying to do the best they can.
