RELEASE NUMBER: 100208-02
DATE POSTED: FEBRUARY 8, 2010

Special Operations Soldiers bring print, broadcast information to people of Haiti

By Sgt. Tony Hawkins

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (Courtesy of Special Operations Command South, Feb. 8, 2010 — Providing quick, reliable information to local civilians is key to the humanitarian effort here, and the Army special operations soldiers from the Product Development Detachment play a central role in ensuring they know where to go to receive aid.

"Our mission is information dissemination to support the combined efforts of USAID, the World Food Program and our teams on the ground," said Sgt. 1st Class Vince, the non-commissioned officer-in-charge of the PDD.

In addition to the Special Operations Media System-Broadcast, which serves as a mobile FM radio station covering a 20-kilometer radius in Port-au-Prince, the detachment has a fully-functional print product development station. It has the capability to produce thousands of leaflets per hour, as well as handbills and posters to provide crucial information to local Haitians regarding the humanitarian aid effort.

"Right now, the majority of our products are focusing on food distribution points," he said. "There has been some confusion among the local populace about when they can go and what the procedures are for receiving aid. Since we're currently in the World Food Program's 14-day aid surge, there are more supplies going out to civilians at more locations, so it's our job to provide proper directions and procedures allowing the distributions to go smoothly."

The process for developing a product begins with the information support teams on the ground, who assess the needs of an area and determine what issues need to be addressed, such as food distributions, health or sanitation. The teams then send up a product request to the PDD.

"I have graphic illustrators and intel analysts who get the precise description of what the teams want, and then come up with a product design to meet the intent," Vince said. "Once we get it designed, it goes up for approval then into a testing phase before we finally put it into mass production."

Currently, the PDD has the capability of producing a nearly unlimited quantity of leaflets or handbills, based on their supplies, he said. Though before a large number is produced, its effectiveness must be tested.

"We want to ensure the products we give out will actually be beneficial rather than a hindrance," he said.

 

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