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Air Force Featured Stories

AF hosts Magazine Day at Pentagon

  • Published
  • By Senior Airman Hailey Haux
  • Secretary of the Air Force Public Affairs Command Information
WASHINGTON (AFNS) --  Roughly 15 representatives from a variety of magazines ranging from Popular Mechanics and Runner’s World to People and Buzzfeed attended the Air Force’s second annual Magazine Day event at the Pentagon May 13.

Magazine Day was created last year to assist in making connections and establishing long-term relationships with media outlets for future story ideas.

“You are going to meet some fantastic Airmen and hear their stories,” said Air Force Secretary Deborah Lee James in her welcoming remarks. “They are very engaged in all that is going on. We want to have an open dialogue with you, so please give us feedback and thank you for telling our story.”

Throughout the day reporters were able to attend breakout sessions with various Air Force personnel, both civilian and uniformed, covering topics including women and leadership, space, remotely piloted aircraft and human performance.

Popular Mechanics Magazine reporter Sean Manning traveled from New York City to the Pentagon to participate.

“I didn’t really know what to expect; I just hoped that maybe I would get a couple story ideas and I think I walked away with a notebook full of ideas,” Manning said.

Dr. Wayne Chappelle, the surgeon general’s consultant for aeromedical clinical psychology at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio, said he appreciated the opportunity to talk in detail about the work the Air Force is doing.

“We are honestly making a very considerate, deliberate, methodical effort to take care of our Airmen, to adapt to their unique needs and make sure we are doing the best job in terms of how we are utilizing our limited resources,” he said. “I am hoping that these reporters will walk away going, ‘Wow, the Air Force is doing great things.’”

If other reporters feel the same as Manning, Chappelle isn’t far off.

“The most impressive thing to me was the level of transparency, to a degree -- the fact that everyone was very candid with their assessment of their job and where they see the future going,” Chappelle said. “I think it was really refreshing that it wasn’t glossed over or guarded.

“The biggest importance was to meet people and make connections and build those relationships over time.”