NOT The eNeMY - USAREC - U.S. Army

By Fonda Bock
Associate Editor
22 | RECRUITER JOURNAL | OCTOBER 2010
Taking Advantage
of
D. Charone Monday, Columbus Battalion Public
Affairs Specialist, was an Army broadcaster while
on active duty in the late ‘80s and has 22 years of
experience in video and TV production and public
affairs in the private sector.
Free
Assets
Sergeant Robert Dodge made his television and radio debut in
August. As a guest on the weekly public access television and radio
show “Get Social” in Tipp City, Ohio, he talked about what it was
like being deployed, what kind of benefits the Army offers and what
kind of questions students ask during high school visits.
“It was good publicity,” said the Huber Heights, Ohio, recruiter,
because the area where this show was broadcast “is one of the harder
areas for us to get into the schools.”
Turns out, show host Mike McDermott was so pleased with Dodge’s
presentation, he’s agreed to a request by Columbus Battalion A&PA
specialist D. Charone Monday to have the recruiter on every three
months to talk Army.
“Free is always good,” said Monday, who seizes on opportunities to
get free publicity for the recruiters in her battalion. She made the request
to McDermott after he approached Dodge during a recent air show. The
TV host was so impressed with the latest Army technology displayed
at the Army exhibit he invited Dodge to be on his show — a one-time
appearance. Monday thought talking about the Army could fill up more
than one show and made a pitch for additional appearances.
“Now, Sgt. Dodge will be able to get his face in his community in his
school area at least every quarter on a show that he’ll have at least 20
minutes to talk about whatever he wants. And we’re going to [coordinate
with the host what kind of topics to discuss on each show], so we’ll be
able to get a lot of bang for the buck on the kind of jobs, training and
education benefits kids get after they go in.”
This is not the first time Monday has taken advantage of the free
air waves offered by public access TV. She produced a series of 12
15-minute shows titled “In The Know,” that aired over the course of a
year on 10 television stations throughout 3d Brigade.
Hosted by Sgt. 1st Class Michael Kyle, the series includes shows
answering the top 20 questions prospects have about basic training,
candid talk about what to expect from drill sergeants, Future Soldiers
talking about why they enlisted, what it’s like to be in the Army Reserve
and Soldiers discussing life in a war zone. All the questions are answered
by Soldiers. Each show aired an average of eight times in different time
slots and on different days of the week. Feedback reported back from the
stations was positive.