The U.S. military produces a broad variety of media with two primary aims:
- Capture the activities of DoD personnel to inform elected representatives on the conduct and outcome of military operations
- Inform the taxpayer as to the use and impact of monies directed to defense operations
To achieve this, many military units have Public Affairs (PA) offices, where PA specialists work in strategic communication, media relations, community relations and internal information operations. Though trained in journalism, PA specialists operate as corporate communicators, balancing a mandate to inform the taxpayer with accurate and timely information on the conduct of military operations, express military messages and protect information that could compromise national security. Separate from propaganda, falsehoods are strictly prohibited in PA products.
Where to access military media
All six service branches have a similar structure to produce PA products. First, each primary service has a both a public facing website designed mostly around recruiting and a second website around publishing news. Each branch also uses website systems where individual PA offices produce content regarding their unit, mission and personnel.
- DoD news sites
- Department of Defense Online
- Service branch news sites
- U.S. Army
- U.S. Navy
- U.S. Marine Corps
- U.S. Coast Guard
- U.S. Air Force
- U.S. Space Force
- Individual Unit news sites – We will not remotely attempt to list every military unit main web site. However, see below for individual service directories.
- U.S. Army
- U.S. Navy
- U.S. Marine Corps
- U.S. Coast Guard
- U.S. Air Force
- U.S. Space Force
Permissions and legalities of non-gov agencies using DoD VI
Want access to military imagery but aren’t sure of the legalities of it before downloading? Here’s a quick primer on how the government allows entities to use its media, known as “Visual Information” (VI).
- DoD: Do I need permission to use photos from DOD?
- DIMOC: Public Use Notice of Limitations
- DIMOC: DoD Visual Information-related Instructions
The Defense Media Activity is the primary hub of all DoD media governance and output. Those looking for high quality media materials can start there, as well as reference the Defense Visual Information Distribution Service (DVIDS) for raw source material.
