Community’s Opinion of the Military
In developing a planned community relations
program, it is imperative for you to find out what the
community knows and thinks about the organization,
how its information is received and how public opinion
about the command and its personnel is formed
Since military installations seldom can conduct or
contract for public opinion or attitude surveys, they may
have to rely on other means to appraise community
attitudes and knowledge. While there is no fully
satisfactory substitute for the professionally constructed
and conducted attitude survey, there are other
economical but less effective means of getting much of
the desired information. A variety of sources are
available and include the following:
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Records
Reference books
Bibliographies
Syndicated research data published in news-
papers and magazines
Current periodicals
Reports
Publications of individual companies and of
other federal agencies
Directories
Newsletters
Catalogs
Periodic reviews of incoming and outgoing
correspondence can identify community relations
problems, as can spot checks on telephone courtesy of
personnel who are in frequent contact with the public.
Formal and informal contacts by key officers and
individuals on and off the job also can be used to gauge
public opinion, knowledge and attitudes.
Staff meetings and the inevitable grapevine can also
be important internal sounding boards. Special attention
should be given to an appraisal of internal public
attitudes toward the organization.
Community Survey File
You must gather considerable information about a
community to be certain you are using the right channels
to get your message across to a particular community.
Since facts about the community are required on a
day-to-day basis in public affairs activities, it is
advisable for you to collect the facts gathered in a survey
into a community survey file. This file should be kept
up to date by the public affairs staff. It should contain
detailed facts on the following:
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Local channels of communication
Civic, economic, social, educational and
religious organizations
Local customs
Traditions and mores
Geography, manpower, industrial capacity,
housing facilities and services existing in the
community
Names and biographies of local elected, civic and
business leaders
In an overseas area, this survey should be developed
in close consultation with representatives of the
Department of State, the U.S. Information Service (the
overseas name for the U.S. Information Agency) and
other members of the U.S. Country Team.
The actual geographic area to be included in a
community survey file will vary significantly from base
to base. In general, the community relations area of an
installation is the area where the base has an economic
or social impact.
INFORMATION TO SEEK.– Your community
survey file should include the following information:
1. Area. Include a geographical description with
population, historical and economic data, and
cost-of-living index.
2. Recreation and entertainment. List recrea-
tion and entertainment available, including museums,
parks, commercial facilities, theaters, cultural attrac-
tions, and so forth.
3. Civil government and officials. List key per-
sonnel in the local government with as much back-
ground information as needed (within the bounds of the
Privacy Act). Include their specific duties, titles, office
addresses and telephone numbers. Avoid detailed files
of personal data.
4. Organizations. Describe organizations within
the area, including civic, fraternal, women’s groups,
youth activities, business groups, labor organizations
and particularly veterans’ organizations. Include names
of contacts within these groups, such as president,
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