Communication is an essential tool for the twenty-first century Air Force

Transcription

1 The Tongue and Quill AFH AUGUST 2004 Communication is an essential tool for the twenty-first century Air Force

2 BY ORDER OF THE AIR FORCE HANDBOOK SECRETARY OF THE AIR FORCE 1 AUGUST 2004 Communications and Information THE TONGUE AND QUILL COMMUNICATING IS A POWERFUL TOOL FOR THE TWENTY-FIRST CENTURY AIR FORCE The Tongue and Quill is dedicated to every man and woman in today s Air Force who will ever sling ink at paper, pound a keyboard, give a briefing, or staff a package to support the mission. Currently, The Tongue and Quill is widely used by Air Force military and civilian members, professional military school educators and students, and civilian corporations around the United States. As United States Air Force employees, it is important we communicate clearly and effectively to carry out our mission. This handbook together with AFMAN , Preparing Official Communications, will provide the necessary information to ensure clear communications written or spoken. The use of the name or mark of any specific manufacturer, commercial product, commodity, or service in this publication does not imply endorsement by the Air Force To all you enthusiastic users worldwide, keep up the good fight! SUMMARY OF REVISIONS This revision improved organization; rearranged layout; updated quotes, art and word lists; and added material on preparing to write and speak, writing with focus, communicating to persuade, research, meetings, briefings and listening; updated information on electronic communication and , and added information on Air Force writing products such as awards, decorations and performance reports. Supersedes AFH , 30 June OPR: ACSC/DEOP (Mrs. Sharon McBride) Certified by: ACSC/DEO (Lt Col Bart Kessler) Pages: 378 /Distribution F

3 PART VI: THE QUILL This section expands upon the functions and formats for written communications with the US Air Force as outlined in Air Force Manual (AFMAN) , Preparing Official Communications. We ve included the most frequently used formats, which are only a fraction of the total used throughout the Department of Defense. Although functions and formats may differ somewhat among major commands, the information that follows should be useful at any command or staff level. However, if your organization publishes a supplement to AFMAN , an OI (operating instruction), or its own administrative style guide, be sure to check those sources for command-unique guidance on preparing staff work. AIR FORCE WRITING PRODUCTS AND TEMPLATES 165

4 The Tongue and Quill WHEN YOU WRITE FOR THE BOSS There may be a time when you will be tasked to prepare a staff instrument for a general officer s signature. Is there an added dimension when we write for a general officer? From discussions with numerous generals and their executive officers, the answer is yes. These are facts and hints to help you through this added dimension! First... see if the boss has preferences! Run to see the general s secretary! It will ease your pain. For instance, when one particular general writes personal letters to higher ranking individuals, he uses Respectfully as the salutation, and for lower ranking individuals, Sincerely. Use Sincerely on all personal memos. Now having said that it s up to your commander s preference. Some generals write Very Respectfully above Sincerely when addressing higher ranking officers. Read step one of the seven-step checklist. Learn all you can about the general s views on the subject and the relationship with the addressee. Try to capture the general s wider perspective before you pick up your pen. What peripheral issues facing the general could be directly or indirectly affected by your words? What is the desired purpose? What tone (pages 23-24), pattern (pages 59-62) and correspondence style (pages ) are most appropriate? Keep it simple or face frustration. A general s time is spread over many issues. Get to the point, make it, and move on. If the addressee needs only the time, don t send instructions on how to build a clock. Your first draft will probably be twice as long as needed. If you must include details, use attachments. Go easy on the modifiers. A general doesn t need to be very interested in something being interested is sufficient. Also, avoid emotionalism. Quality check, quality check, quality check! From your logic to your grammar, from your facts and figures to your format, triple check your work. You have nothing to lose but your credibility! HINT: Ensure you use the current address since military members move around so often. Go one step further. Look efficient when doing a personal letter and provide the general with the go-by name of the addressee. Try using a yellow sticky! Don t expect your glistening product to fly the first time. Not even the best staffers are clairvoyant. Why should we write differently for general officers? Why should that added dimension apply only to the boss? There s no good reason. We d become better communicators if we assume all of our correspondence were starbound. 166

5 PERSONAL LETTER DEPARTMENT OF THE AIR FORCE HEADQUARTERS UNITED STATES AIR FORCE 15 Jan 04 SMSgt Robin Edwards Assistant Executive 1700 Air Force Pentagon Washington DC Mr. Peter Overall ECI/EDECT 50 South Turner Boulevard Maxwell AFB-Gunter Annex AL Dear Mr. Overall Thanks for your recent efforts to analyze the feasibility of creating a world wide web home page to educate customers on intelligence capabilities. The extensive research you performed during your off-duty time will assist Air Force Intelligence in determining the most effective methods to advertise our capabilities to support warfighting. We plan to use the background papers and prototype hypertext computer program you developed to brief the Technology Tiger Team in our upcoming general officer summit. Your work and demonstrations will add credibility to our concepts and visions. Customers worldwide will be able to instantaneously access up-to-date information to understand how to integrate and use intelligence as an integral part of warfighting. We look forward to continuing our work with you. We found your input invaluable in our efforts to disseminate and communicate intelligence capabilities to our many customers throughout the world. Sincerely cc: Mrs. Elizabeth Adams, ECI/EDECT Robin Edwards ROBIN EDWARDS, SMSgt, USAF 167

6 DRAFT--NOT FOR IMPLEMENTATION OR COMPLIANCE The Tongue and Quill DEPARTMENT OF THE AIR FORCE AIR UNIVERSITY (AETC) [1.75 inches or 10 lines from top of page] 5 Sep 04 Chaplain, Lieutenant Colonel David Davis Staff Chaplain 105 South Hansell Maxwell AFB AL Chaplain, Lieutenant Colonel Fred Walker, CAP 824 Sunrise Court Marshall MO Dear Fred Thanks for your fax. Here is the information you requested concerning the Air Force s use of the personal letter. This letter also functions as a cover letter for the draft copy of the new CAP Chaplain Handbook I promised you. Personal letters are usually prepared on letterhead stationery with the sender s address element one to two lines below the date. Font size should be Times New Roman 12 point. The date is placed 10 lines from the top of the page on the right side. The salutation is normally in the format Dear Xxxxx and complimentary close is normally Sincerely. Begin the salutation one line space under the receiver s address. Type the complimentary close element Sincerely one line space below the text of the letter three spaces to the right of page center. Notice that you do not use punctuation after either. The signature element begins five line spaces below and aligned with the complimentary close element. Place your list of attachments one line below the signature element and flush with the left margin. Personal letters are really official memos prepared in a personal style. They are appropriate for welcome letters, letters of appreciation, letters of condolence, or any other occasion when a situation might be better handled in a personal manner. Attachments, if any, are listed the same way as in an official memorandum. Hope this answers your questions. I look forward to your input on the handbook. My address is david.davis@maxwell.af.mil. Look at my homepage at Sincerely[3 spaces to the right of page center] David Davis [Start signature block on fifth line] DAVID DAVIS, Chaplain Lieutenant Colonel, USAF Attachment: Draft CAP Chaplain Handbook NOTE: Triple space equal 2 blank lines Double space equal 1 blank line 2-inch top margin and 1-inch bottom margin 1-inch left and right margins 168

7 Personal Letter DEPARTMENT OF THE AIR FORCE AIR UNIVERSITY (AETC) 23 May 04 Colonel Jacob R. Bradley Director of Plans and Programs 550 McDonald Street Maxwell AFB-Gunter Annex AL Colonel William J. Nash Program Director 75 South Butler Avenue Patrick AFB FL Dear Colonel Nash Thank you for your outstanding presentation to the Air Command and Staff College Class of Your briefing was right on target and expertly integrated many aspects of our curriculum into a focused leadership perspective. Our students face increasingly complex challenges, and your keen insights were invaluable in preparing them for the future. We appreciate your support and look forward to future visits. Sincerely JACOB R. BRADLEY, Colonel, USAF Letter of Appreciation 169